REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Consideration of Land Use Alternatives and Financing Options for the Civic Center Modernization Project and Approval of Budget Modification No. 21 in the Amount of $125,000, with Funding from the Future Projects Set Aside in the Infrastructure Fund, to Continue Public Outreach and Planning Activities for the Project
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Through a series of community outreach efforts and workshops, site planning prototype designs have been developed to illustrate how different Civic Center alternatives would affect the 25-acre Civic Center campus. Preliminary costs estimates have been prepared to better understand project costs including new vs. remodeled buildings and a variety of parking types. Given the preliminary nature of project development, costs are expressed as a range. The lowest cost project alternative (Prototype B) has cost range of $203 million to $277 million and the highest cost alternative (Prototype G) ranges from $241 million to $313 million (in 2015 dollars).
Staff has also further developed financing alternatives for the project including an evaluation of existing City assets and revenues that could be used for the Civic Center Project (see Attachment 1). Using a defined set of assumptions staff also looked at the potential to generate new revenues through a general obligation bond. This would require voter approval and the level of voter support for a bond is currently unknown.
Next steps include polling voters to evaluate support for a potential bond measure in 2016 and further community outreach to help narrow project alternatives.
BACKGROUND
On February 24, 2015, Council approved a Community Engagement Plan for the Civic Center Project (RTC 15-0111). The Engagement Plan outlines a series of engagement activities including interviews, focus groups, community workshops, online surveys and City Council meetings that will be used to gather input before making decisions on land use altern...
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