I.

I. INTRODUCTIONS

The Library's Capital Program Director Alex Harris thanked everyone for coming, and introduced Parks and Library staff present:

• Alex Harris, Library Capital Program Director
• Erin Devoto, Parks & Recreation Planning & Development Director
• David Kunselman, Library Capital Projects Manager
• Tim Motzer, Parks & Recreation Project Manager

Alex Harris discussed the following:

• Scope of the Library's Plan
• Site Selection has been complete and the site acquired by the City
• Public process is an important aspect of all the Library's capital projects as the community is represented and involved throughout the design process

Erin Devoto discussed the following:

• Community Center/1999 Pro Parks Levy Programs
• Scope of the Programs
• Northgate's inclusion in Programs

David Kunselman discussed the following:

• Submittal (due 9/17/02)
• Letter of interest
• In addition to site planning, specify projects of interest
• Submittal organization: 60 sides i.e. 30 pages front and back. 254/255s need not be included in that page count. It is not necessary to include 254/255s for all subs, but is important to include them for those subs considered the most relevant to your firm being selected for the work. If 254/255s are not available, salient information from those forms should be included in another format. Goal is to be as concise as possible.
• 15 copies of the submittal
• Specific criteria submittals will be judged on is outlined in the RFQ, as well as how each criteria is weighted

II.

Consultant Selection Process

• Initial staff screening
• Consultant selection advisory committee screening (comprised of LFA and Parks staff, a design commission representative, two community members and a Library Board steward).
• Interviews: firms are encouraged to hold time on calendars for interviews the week of 10/14/02. Shortlisted firms will be notified as soon as that list is available. Shortlisted firms not selected for interviews may still be in contention for future design work as that selection has not yet been determined.
• Parks Superintendent & Library Board make final selection
• Tentative schedule:
  • Submittal Deadline: 9/17/02
  • Staff Screening: Week of 9/23/02
  • Committee Screening: Week of 9/30/02
  • Community Open House: Week of 10/14/02
  • Interviews: Week of 10/14/02
  • Selection by Parks Sup't. & Library Board: 10/22/02

Tim Motzer discussed the following preliminary project information:

• Handouts for Architects & Landscape Architects
  • Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan
  • Northgate Community Workshops
  • Northgate Work Plan Matrix
  • Northgate Area Comprehensive Area Evaluation - Update #1
  • 5th Avenue NE Streetscape Design Plan
    
• Northgate Community Center
  - Size: 20,000 SF
  - Design & Construction budget: 6.186 M
  - Schedule: Opens 2005
  
• Park
  - Size: 1.67-acre
  - Design & Construction budget: 1.031 M
  - Schedule: Opens 2005

David Kunselman discussed the Library's preliminary project information:

• Northgate Branch Library
  - Size: 10,000 SF
  - Total project budget: 5.139 M (includes land acquisition)
  - Schedule: Opens 2005

Erin Devoto discussed the following:

• How important is library/community center/park experience?
• Preferred/not required
• Public experience also preferred

II. QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

Q. Will there be any preference in selection for firms applying for all of the projects as opposed to individual projects?
A. No. We are preserving the possibility of hiring separate firms to do the design of the park, library, and community center, using the firm selected for the site planning to do all or part of that design, or other combinations. We will fully consider firms interested in all or part of the project elements.

Q. Have Parks and the Library compared programming documents? There seems to be some redundancy of needs, e.g. meeting rooms.
A. Yes, and we are looking for the site planning effort to identify efficiencies to be gained by shared spaces. Clearly the community center and library serve different needs, and it will be important to look at possible shared spaces and how to maximize efficiencies in those areas. There are likely to be advantages and disadvantages of shared spaces, which should be identified through the site planning effort.

Q. Has the notion of a single, large building been eliminated?
A. No. We are looking to the master planning effort to help us realize advantages and disadvantages of consolidated versus separate spaces. It will be valuable to explore all of the options before we decide on a preferred plan.

Q. Thornton Creek is an issue in this area. What is your take on the issue?
A. Our site is not directly impacted by these issues. The site will be in proximity to the Thornton Creek corridor, and needs to consider linkage to natural areas along the creek. We will need to be sensitive to environmental aspects of storm water runoff. The City has discussed building a detention pond on the remaining South Lot parcel, and it may be possible to utilize such a facility for storm detention for this site.

Q. Clarification on this RFQ: is this for planning purposes only?
A. No. This initial selection will be for site planning only, but these submittals will also be used for architect selection, so it is important to keep that in mind as you prepare your submittals. Do include design information for your team. It is possible one firm may be selected for site planning and another for design. Firms shortlisted in the planning effort remain in the running for design selection.

Q. Tim - you defined outdoor open space as active recreation area. Does Parks have any guidelines/specifications for the area?
A. The area is not programmed.

Q. Referring to the map of Northgate and the identified site boundaries, is there a preference for what is located where, and how does parking fit in?
A. We are looking to the site planning work to determine the best placement of these three elements. It is a priority for us that the overall development has a strong civic presence and has visible presence on Fifth Avenue. Identifying how best to fit the parking onto the footprint and exploring various alternatives will be part of this effort.

Q. What is the goal or intent regarding LEEDS rating?
A. All three of our funding packages passed prior to the City's mandate for LEEDS ratings, so our project budgets do not contain sufficient funding to achieve silver ratings. Having said that, we consider sustainable buildings a priority and will look at efficiencies that help us achieve savings to long term operating costs wherever our project budgets can support it. We try to go as far as we can towards green building standards with the funding we have available.

Q. Is there any potential for federal funding/triggering requirements for WMBE?
A. Our projects do not have any federal funding. We strongly encourage WMBE participation in all our projects.

Q. Will this project be jointly managed by the Library and Parks?
A. We are currently working on a Memorandum of Agreement to outline project management and other issues, so the answer will be determined as site planning progresses. We are committed to ensuring our collaboration does not create difficulties for consultants working on the project. Depending on the alternative chosen, there could be separate management of separate building projects, or shared stewardship of a building project serving both departments.

Q. Has environmental analysis been completed on the site?
A. Environmental analysis has not been completed. The City is exploring the possibility of an area wide environmental analysis, which would be completed in time to benefit these projects. (Phase I & Phase II environmental assessments have been completed.)

Q. Do you recommend our teams have a geotechnical aspect?
A. Geotechnical services will be necessary on the project. However, consultants do not need to include them as part of their team. (The City will hire the geotechnical consultant directly.)

Q. Have there been any studies of contamination on the site?
A. Yes, Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments have been completed for the site and show minimally contaminated soils on the Goodyear Tire site that are fairly well contained and should be easily removed.

Q. How do the square footage allotments breakout in terms of shared usages?
A. Preliminary programmatic square footage breakouts are listed in the supporting document to the RFQ. The City purchased the property with three separate funding sources in mind. At some point, we need to ensure each agency has an allotment commensurate with the separate funding sources for the acquisition of the property, but we do not want that to hinder site planning efforts at this stage.

Q. Parks' budgets are not listed as "total project budgets"; please clarify.
A. The construction contract amount (the bid amount) for the community center is $4,181,000 excluding taxes and $660,000 for the park. The Library's project MACC (maximum allowable construction cost) has not been set. It will be approximately $2.2 million.

Q. If the team doesn't include a geotech, will you make that selection?
A. Yes. The City will hire the geotechnical consultant directly.

Q. What is the timeline of the construction sequence?
A. We are committed to completing the entire project in 2005.

III. CONCLUSION

Alex Harris referred people to the following Web site for additional information. Meeting notes and sign up sheets will be available on these Web sites by Thursday evening:

• Parks: www.seattle.gov/parks/
• Library: www.spl.org

Return to Building a New Northgate Library

Content Modified: 05 September 2002

06/30/2003