LAKEPORT >> The Lakeport Department of Community Development is set to request a more than 40 percent increase in funding towards the design portion of Downtown Improvement Project Phase II. They intend to manage this without adding to the overall cost of the project.
City documents indicate that the department is expected to ask for the reappropriation of $67,899 on Jan. 5 at the city council’s first regular meeting of the new year. According to Community Development Director Kevin Ingram, the additional funding will pay for additional design work and research that was initially missed.
“The little extra we do now will save us in construction,” Ingram told the Record-Bee. “It would be more expensive to change things later.”
Originally approved for $164,835, the total cost for the design will be $232,734 if the request is granted. This large increase will not affect the grand total for the project — $2,592,299 — because contingencies were accounted for in the approximately $1.96 million redevelopment fund allocated in the city’s budget for the 2015 fiscal year, Ingram said.
Many items comprise this request, with the most expensive being further designs for mandated accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Co-written by Interim City Engineer Paul Curren, the document said the primary approach “would leave individual building owners with the responsibility and cost of upgrading to current ADA standards” because city sidewalks would have excessive slopes from the sidewalk many business doorways. With the exception of one business, the new design would make sure all downtown buildings in the scope of the project had ADA access.
“It is also important to note that this emphasis on providing ADA access significantly reduces the liability of both business owners and the City for non-compliance suits by citizens,” the proposal said. “This approach adds enormous value to the downtown overall, but also to each building owner and commercial client.”
Other budget requests were specific investigations into smaller details like upgrades for intersection lighting and LED bulb usage, saving in power and money long-term. Another one asked for funding to a hire a third-party consultant to oversee the construction process; it had an estimated allowance of $15,000.
And there are some savings, too — about $20,000 worth.
At the preliminary stages of the project, the city did not employ an engineer. Now that they have one, Ingram said, the city can provide pavement design, cost estimates, final contract preparations, and project building in-house.
But as good as that may be, Curren and Ingram both stressed that being too thrift in the design process is detrimental to the final product and safety.
“It is important to note that skipping important steps during design to ‘save’ money often results in expenditure of large portions of the project construction contingency to correct or address issues during construction,” the document said. “Money is far better spent during design to prevent foreseeable problems that wait until they develop during construction.”
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
