Foster City plans to hire new engineering staff and allocate $55 million to finance the replacement of its aging recreation center, with the City Council focused on keeping costs within budget.
“I know we are approving the $55 million, but the whole idea is to really meet our needs and come in as close as possible to what we need versus what we can spend,” Councilmember Sanjay Gehani said.
The council is focused on a “build-to-budget” option of no more than $55 million, with $36 million from Capital Asset Acquisition and Replacement Funds and $19 million from General Fund reserves. CAAR’s finding is from the sale of city property, with the council establishing the fund in 2012. Use of those funds needs four-fifths council approval. The general fund reserve in 2021 was around $50 million. However, the city has predicted losses over the next five years due to revenue declines caused by the pandemic and rising costs.
Foster City is in the midst of its replacement project for the William E. Walker Recreation Center, focusing on finalizing the staffing, companies and financing needed. The center’s age, emergency shelter readiness and water intrusion issues have made replacing the structure a city priority. Foster City has made patchwork updates to the center since its 1974 opening through various additions and renovations through the decades, with the city now needing a full-scale rebuild. The center is around 36,000 square feet, with about 18,500 square feet for meetings. The remaining space is for lobbies, storage, mechanical rooms and long hallways.
Foster City began planning a new recreation center in 2016, with RJM Design Group gathering community input and presenting its findings in 2017. The City Council in June directed staff to work with the Parks and Recreation Committee on community engagement and survey tools about recreation center replacement and park system improvements. After a hold on project plans in 2019, the council decided to move forward again in 2021.
City staff estimates the project rebuilding cost at $55 million. Around $42 million is for construction, $4.2 million for contingency, $4.6 for design services and $3.3 million for management services.
The city also asked the council for input on two new staff positions to help with the Recreation Center Replacement Project, an assistant engineer at $213,180 a year and a senior engineering technician at $162,917 a year. The city will bring back more details with a budget analysis from the Public Works Department. The city will also look to find firms for the design services process and present the three finalists to the council for feedback and review.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
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