That the City Council:
A. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Crane Architectural Group for the renovation of two City-owned buildings located at 205-211 South Euclid Street and 106 East First Avenue;

B.  Authorize staff to issue a purchase order in the amount of $175,626 to Crane Architectural Group, which includes a ten percent (10%) contingency; and,

C.  Approve the appropriation of $175,626 from the General Fund facility improvement reserve for this project.

On June 2, 2022, the City executed a contract with Crane Architectural Group to provide professional services for Phase 1 - preliminary designs and layouts for the two recently purchased buildings at 205-211 South Euclid Street (the location of a former chiropractic business adjacent to Portola Park) and 106 East First Avenue (the location of a former electronics repair business across from City Hall). The purpose of Phase 1 was to develop conceptual design layouts to create offices for Community Services Department staff, Police Department Animal Control staff, and the La Habra Historical Society Museum within the building located at 205-211 South Euclid Street, and offices for the La Habra Art Association and La Habra Woman’s Club within the building located at 106 East First Avenue.  Phase 1 of the project is complete and staff is ready to continue with the development of final renovation designs and construction plans for the project. 

In order to do so, Crane Architectural Group (Crane) has submitted a comprehensive proposal that includes the preparation of construction bid plans and documents, bid support services, and construction management for the project. If approved, this project will create dedicated office space within the 205-211 South Euclid Street building for Police Department Animal Control staff, Community Services Department staff, a shared lobby and public counter, and a separate entry on the northern portion of the building to house the La Habra Historical Society Museum (a local non-profit organization) that is currently located in a City owned building next to the Veterans Hall. The architectural work and renovation project will include office space construction, upgrading electrical and plumbing, provide for Americans With Disabilities (ADA) compliant bathrooms, and upgrading the two main entries to the building to be similar in design to the entries at the Community Center and Police Department buildings. The project will also include new stucco for the entire building to match the architectural look of City Hall.
 
At the building at 106 East First Avenue, the architectural design work and project will include work space renovations to create separate spaces for the La Habra Art Association and the La Habra Woman’s Club. The project will include the construction of ADA compliant bathrooms, a shared lobby space and kitchen, a meeting room and storage for the Woman’s Club, and an art workroom, exhibit space and storage for the Art Association.

La Habra Municipal Code Section 4.20.080 specifies "Exceptions to Bidding Requirements" that allow for the purchase of certain professional services or the procurement of services for which professional policies prohibit competitive bidding, such as, but not limited to, architectural services, consultant services, legal services and engineering services, allowing staff to negotiate for the provision of such services.  Crane has extensive work experience designing similar projects, has had experience working on City facilities in the past, and City staff were able to negotiate a reasonable fee for these services in order to complete the project.

In 2021 the City had the opportunity to purchase two commercial buildings on Euclid Street just south of City Hall. City Council approved the purchase of these facilities, which then allowed staff the opportunity to propose redistributing certain programs and services to this part of Euclid Street in the downtown area, with the goal of creating a new downtown "Arts and Museum District" (District) incorporating the Children's Museum, Depot Theater, Historical Society, Art Association, and the Woman's Club in the core downtown Civic Center area, adjacent to City Hall. If approved by City Council, this will help further the redevelopment of the La Habra Boulevard corridor by realigning complimentary programs and services along Euclid Street from La Habra Boulevard to the south edge of Portola Park. This area of the City has been transformed in recent years to a major focal point of civic events and activities, including summer concerts, movies in the park, and the Tamale Fest, among others. Once complete, the District will become home to many of La Habra's arts and cultural activities and can become an attractive destination for residents and visitors alike. The proximity of each of these cultural arts activities could help create synergy that community groups can use to brand, publicize, and program events and activities.  City staff has met extensively with the various groups affected by this proposed project, and each are excited about the opportunities that the District would provide. 

In addition, the proposed relocation of the Art Association, Woman's Club and Historical Society to these new buildings will allow the City to redesign the recently constructed Community Center annex building to become a dedicated Senior Citizen's Center (Center) that can offer a unique, dedicated location for City seniors to receive services, socialize, and engage in learning and recreational activities.  The Center would provide space that better supports a variety of senior activities, and the proposed redesign will create new capacity at the Community Center's main spaces for other community events and activities. Furthermore, the move by the Historical Society will allow the City to redesignate the existing Historical Museum building for other civic purposes. Finally, the proposed move of the City's Animal Control staff will free up much-needed office space in the La Habra Police Department building for other staffing needs. If the proposed building renovations are approved, staff will return to City Council at a future date regarding any other facility renovations that may be necessary for the spaces that are vacated once the affected groups move to the newly renovated buildings.

There are sufficient funds in the City's General Fund facility improvement reserve to appropriate $175,626 for the architectural services necessary to develop renovation plans and other project services for the two municipal buildings located at 205-211 South Euclid Street and 106 East First Avenue.