SUBJECT
Title
GENERAL SERVICES - APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR A NEW RAMONA COMMUNITY SHERIFF STATION AND RELATED CEQA EXEMPTION (DISTRICT: 2)
Body
OVERVIEW
The Ramona Community Resource Center at 1424 Montecito Road was constructed in 1972-73 to accommodate a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department station, the Agriculture & Health Department offices, the San Diego County Superior Court, the Ramona Unified School District offices, and the Ramona Library. The current Sheriff’s Department station is spread between two buildings and the structures are over 50 years old and if not replaced, would require significant investment in renovations to maintain operations over the coming years.
Today’s proposed action would authorize the Department of Purchasing Contracting to advertise for demolition of the existing community resource center structures as well as design and construction services for the new, approximately 18,000 square foot, Ramona Sheriff Station with a community room. Approval to advertise for the design and construction services for the proposed new Ramona Sheriff Station would result in a modern and safe facility for employees and members of the community.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. Find, in accordance with Section 15302, Replacement or Reconstruction of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, that the proposed actions are categorically exempt from CEQA review.
2. Pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22185 through 22185.11, authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting, to:
a. advertise a contract for the demolition of the existing structures as well as the design and construction of the new Ramona Sheriff Station;
b. subject to the availability of funding, award a contract for the design and preconstruction activities related to the new Ramona Sheriff Station;
c. subject to the availability of funding, amend the contract to add the remaining design, preconstruction, and construction activities to complete the new Ramona Sheriff Station for a guaranteed maximum price;
d. take any action authorized by Section 401, et seq. of the Administrative Code and Public Contract Code with respect to contracting for the demolition of the existing structures as well as the design and construction of the new Ramona Sheriff Station.
3. Designate the Director, Department of General Services (DGS), as the County officer responsible for administering the construction contract for the development and construction of the new Ramona Sheriff Station and authorize the Director, DGS, to execute any and all documents necessary for the implementation of the construction contract.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services that aim to protect everyone's human right to life, liberty, and security of person and strives for equitable outcomes in our communities. The approval to advertise for the design and construction services for the proposed new Ramona Sheriff Station would result in a modern and safe facility for employees and members of the community. To ensure equity, inclusionary contracting criteria will be incorporated into the source selection process.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The new Ramona Sheriff Station project will implement low impact development standards and use sustainable design principles, practices, and performance. The project will obtain a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification and achieve Zero Net Energy (ZNE). ZNE is defined as a building which has extremely energy efficient end uses and on-site renewable annual energy production which is greater than the annual energy consumption. The design will incorporate energy efficient technologies and use a Building Automation Systems to monitor and control the energy use.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this request are partially included in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Operational Plan for the Capital Outlay Fund in Capital Project 1026160, Ramona Sheriff Station ($2,000,000). An additional $5,000,000 for this request will be included in the Fiscal Years 2024-26 CAO Recommended Operational Plan for the Ramona Sheriff Station project. The funding source is General Purpose Revenue. There will be no change in net General Fund costs and no additional staff years.
Preliminary project costs for a new Ramona Sheriff Station are estimated to be $41,519,449, depending on final design. The balance of total project costs will be included in future years Operational Plans in the Capital Outlay Fund for Capital Project 1026160, Ramona Sheriff Station as additional funding is identified and made available.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
The procurement of a Progressive Design Build (PDB) entity to design and construct the new facility will encourage participation from local small businesses. The County intends to award a PDB contract to the Design Build Entity (DBE) that offers the best value to the County. The County determines which proposer offers the best value by comparing proposals on several factors. One factor will be local business and local worker participation. The DBE will be required to make a specific and measurable commitment to local participation for the project. Examples of such local participation include partnering with local organizations, local apprentice programs, local employment resource centers, workforce community outreach programs. The DBE must also comply with the Board Policy B-39a, Veteran Owned Business (VOB) and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (DVBE) program, which requires at least 3% DVBE participation.
Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
County staff has presented the new Ramona Sheriff Station project to the Ramona Community Planning Group (CPG). Comments heard at the meeting, as well as in response to several Ramona Sentinel articles, were extremely supportive and the Ramona CPG looks forward to a collaborative process and welcoming facility. During the design phase, the County will continue to meet with the Ramona CPG and will also meet with the Ramona Design Review Board (DRB) to gain their valuable insight into the facilities design. The County staff will also solicit input from a diverse sampling of the community and incorporate community input on design where feasible and in the County’s best interest.
BACKGROUND
The Ramona Community Resource Center was constructed in 1972-73 and originally known as the San Diego County Ramona Branch Buildings project. The facilities were designed to accommodate the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (Sheriff’s Department), the Agriculture & Health Department offices, the San Diego County Superior Court, the Unified School District offices, and the Ramona Library. The current Ramona Sheriff’s Department Station is spread between two buildings, having taken over both the Agriculture & Health Department offices and the former Ramona Library. The buildings have been renovated several times to accommodate the change of use and the specific needs of the occupant agencies. The structures are over 50 years old and, if not replaced, would require significant investment in renovations to maintain operations over the coming years.
The Ramona Community Resource Center is currently home to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Station and the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). The Sheriff’s Department occupies the East and South buildings. HHSA occupies the West building and provides services to members of the public at the facility. At the time of writing, the North building, the former San Diego County Superior Court, is unoccupied. HHSA intends to vacate the West building and move to a new, larger County facility currently under construction in Ramona by the end of 2024, adding another unoccupied building to that campus.
The layout of the current facilities and their relationship to Main Street and public space in Ramona is highly problematic. The buildings are not immediately recognizable as a Sheriff’s station or important civic buildings in Ramona. The buildings are accessed from a central courtyard and do not support positive engagement between the Sheriff’s Department and the local community. This goes against best practices in essential facilities design and community policing. Lastly, the unoccupied buildings create maintenance and security challenges.
The East building is utilized as a ‘Patrol’ building and the South building is utilized as an ‘Administrative’ building. California Highway Patrol also utilize the ‘Patrol’ building to provide workspace for up to two of its employees. Spreading the station across two buildings and shared parking creates many challenges and effectively isolates the two work areas, which hinders a cohesive workflow.
The Ramona Sheriff Station faces significant challenges related to staff overcrowding, security and civic presence. A purpose-built, modern facility is required to provide a safe working environment for staff to perform their civic duties appropriately. The development of a new Sheriff’s Department Station also represents the opportunity to replace aging facilities with a purpose-built facility that meets or exceeds the County of San Diego’s stated goals for sustainable design and energy use. The integration of sustainable design strategies into a 24/7/365 essential facility can substantially reduce operational costs, support facility resilience and operations during emergencies, and improve overall occupant comfort and health.
Today’s proposed action would authorize the Department of Purchasing and Contracting to advertise for demolition of the existing structures as well as design and construction services for the new Ramona Sheriff Station. The approval to advertise for the design and construction services for the proposed new Ramona Sheriff Station would result in a modern and safe facility for employees and members of the community.
County staff intends to use the Progressive Design Build (PDB) method to complete the design and construction of this facility. With PDB, the County hires a single entity to both design and construct the facility. The Design-Build Entity (DBE) then works to design a facility within the County’s budget. Once the County is satisfied with the design and the price, the County can direct the DBE to construct the facility.
On March 12, 2024 (17), the Board approved the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment (CINA) prioritizing capital projects for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-25 through 2028-29. The CINA showed that the new Ramona Sheriff Station project is set to receive $5 million in funding in FY 2024-25 and the remaining $34.5 million in funding in FY 2025-26. County staff intends to hire a DBE during the fall of this year to start design and will pay for these services with the $5 million to be received in FY 2024-25. Upon the DBE’s successful completion of design at an agreed upon price, the County intends to direct the DBE to begin construction and will pay for these services with the $34.5 million to be received in FY 2025-26.
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
Today’s action is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines pursuant to Section 15302, Replacement or Reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure(s) replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure(s) replaced. The proposed project would reconstruct the existing Ramona Community Resource Center and replace it with an approximately 18,000 square foot Sheriff Station building, with new parking areas and driveways. The new station would include dedicated offices for officers, an evidence room and processing equipment, storage spaces, and a gym for use by the officers. A community room would be available to the public and accessible from a public entrance located off Main Street. Construction and operation of the project, including construction staging and access areas, buildings and paving, water treatment features, and landscaping, would be limited to the existing developed footprint, including the strip of landscape buffer area north of the access road. Construction activities associated with the project include demolition of the existing Ramona Community Resource Center, site preparation, grading, installation of underground utilities, physical building construction, landscaping and paving.
Standard Best Management Practices (BMPs) would be incorporated as part of the project and included in construction documentation. In accordance with San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDAPCD) Rule 50, the project would incorporate dust suppression measures, including watering two times daily during grading and ensuring that all exposed surfaces maintain a minimum soil moisture of 12 percent. In addition, the project would use coating with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content in accordance with SDAPCD Rule 67.0.1. Throughout construction, high-visibility construction fencing will be installed along the impact limits to keep construction personnel and equipment out of the undeveloped area. Additionally, pre-construction nesting bird surveys will be conducted in compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and California Fish and Game Code. The project would be required to comply with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and County stormwater quality requirements. This includes preparation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) describing BMPs to be implemented during construction and a Storm Water Quality Management Plan (SWQMP) detailing permanent BMPs to treat and/or runoff from the site prior to discharge into the public stormwater system. It is expected that during construction stormwater BMPs will be installed along the impact limits to prevent runoff from entering the undeveloped western portion of the site. Post construction, the project design will maintain the current hydrology of the western portion of the site, with no measurable change in water flow to this area.
The project is the reconstruction and replacement of an approximately 17,000 square foot Community Resource Center that houses the County Sheriff and other agency service provider offices and community spaces with a new site 18,000 square foot Sheriff facility that includes offices, administrative spaces, and a community room on the same development footprint as the existing Ramona Community Resource Center. Therefore, the replacement structure is located on the same site and has substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure being replaced. The project is consistent with this requirement and qualifies for a Class 2 Categorical Exemption, under Section 15302.
Additionally, the project does not trigger any of the exceptions outlined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 as no cumulative impacts have been identified, the project activities will not have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances, there are no officially designated or eligible state scenic highways within the project site vicinity, the project site is not on the lists compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code, nor will the project cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource or archeological features.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s proposed action supports the Community Strategic Initiative of the County of San Diego’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan by supporting safety for all communities.
Respectfully submitted,
SARAH E. AGHASSI
Interim Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment A - Notice of Exemption