Act V relocation greenlighted

A new Village Entrance in downtown Laguna Beach has moved closer to reality with the awarding of a contract for the relocation of a key city facility.

Metro Builders won the contract to move the city maintenance yard from Forest Avenue to the Act V parcel at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road.

A unanimous City Council Tuesday awarded the contract to Metro, whose bid was the lowest by more than $1 million. The $8.5 million bid covers the construction costs for the relocated city yard and a public parking structure on the Forest Avenue site.

The council rejected arguments that it was too soon to move forward on the relocation of the yard, which houses city transit operations and other facilities.

“Once again we have put the cart before the horse,” said Laguna Canyon Conservancy President Carolyn Wood, who advocates no action on Act V until plans for the Village Entrance project are finalized.

“Without some assurance that the Village Entrance project will become a reality in the near term, it is premature to proceed with the construction at ACT V and tie up millions of taxpayer dollars,” she said.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman said the relocation of the maintenance yard is an essential step to the revamping of the Village Entrance, part of the accord she reached with Mayor Elizabeth Pearson that ended years of bitter community wrangling. Fears that the Village Entrance will never be realized are unfounded, Iseman said.

“I can’t define it, but it will happen,” Iseman said. “But we have to move the corporation yard to put in the Village Entrance.”

“We have come so far; let’s keep it moving,” Mayor Elizabeh Pearson-Schneider said.

Construction at Act V is due to begin Sept. 5, a delay from the original schedule caused by issues raised by Caltrans, Assistant City Manager John Pietig said.

“Since the process has dragged out a little bit, we are revising the schedule,” Pietig said. “We will break ground after Labor Day so that Act V will be available for parking and trolley service this summer in its current configuration.”

Under the revised schedule, the new 264-space parking lot should be usable by summer 2007.

Construction will then halt until the fall. Jan. 31, 2008 is the target date for completion of the entire project, assuming there are no substantial rain delays or other unforeseen circumstances.

The delay will cost the city. Metro Builders requested a $25,000 increase from its original bid to cover rising costs of construction materials, bringing the total estimated cost to $8,498,306, which does not include an $855,000 contingency fund.

“I would think [the council] should use the money to build a parking structure at the Village Entrance,” resident Gene Felder said.

The council also approved the relocation of three utility poles in front of the project. Caltrans required the poles to be moved or the wires placed underground to make way for a right-turn deceleration lane, but also required some light poles to be installed, which lessened the benefit of placing the utility lines underground, Pietig said.

City staff originally estimated the cost of placing the lines underground at $375,000, about $135,000 more than relocating the poles ? a sum that was considered acceptable. However, contractors estimated a cost of $470,000, $220,000 higher than relocation estimates.

“With some regret, we are recommending relocation rather than undergrounding,” Pietig said.

Construction at Act V will be funded by the sale of city-owned lots above Irvine Bowl, anticipated to net $5.3 million; an Orange County Transportation Authority contribution of $1.9 million to house transportation operations, about 20% of the estimated total; and city capital improvement funds of $3 million, for a total fund package of $10,190,000.