TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or his designee, to execute any documents necessary to accept a non-monetary donation of planning, labor, materials, and equipment, valued at approximately $100,000, from the Los Angeles Clippers for improvements to the playground and basketball courts at Coolidge Park; execute any documents necessary to use funding of up to $30,000 of the Healthy Eating Active Living Zone Initiative Grant from Kaiser Foundation Hospitals for the installation of outdoor equipment, signage, and playground and court surfaces at Coolidge Park; and execute new right-of-entry permits and any related documents with Madrid Equipment Rental, Inc., and Chris Kelley, Inc., dba Childs Play, and/or their agents, to make the aforementioned improvements. (District 9)
DISCUSSION
On October 23, 2013, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) received notice from the Los Angeles Clippers Basketball Team (LA Clippers) of the National Basketball Association, that Coolidge Park, located at 352 East Neece Street, had been selected to receive approximately $100,000 in playground and basketball court improvements as part of the LA Clippers' FIT Campus Playground & Court Refurbishment Program (FIT Program). The LA Clippers' funded improvements would include: labor; replacement and installation of new playground equipment; new playground surfacing; and new basketball court backboards and basketball court resurfacing. The playground at Coolidge Park, last replaced in 1995, is one of the oldest playgrounds in the City of Long Beach (City), and has been identified by PRM as in need of refurbishment. The aforementioned improvements would replace the current aging playground equipment, which is not currently serviceable by the original vendor, and is noncompliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and current City playground safety standards.
Concurrent to the LA Clippers' FIT Program proposal, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been working with PRM to install outdoor fitness equipment, signage, and surfacing within North Long Beach, pursuant to the Healthy Eating Active Living Zone Initiative Grant (HEAL Grant) from Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. The HEAL Grant was accepted by the City Council on January 17, 2012, for $1,000,000 over three years. The HEAL Grant is designed to address the growing obesity epidemic and prevent chronic diseases. The goal of the DHHS HEAL Zone Initiative is to help make healthy choices more accessible to people in underserved communities through environmental changes that are sustained by community education and promotion. A total of $30,000 of the HEAL Grant has been earmarked for improvements at Coolidge Park, including installation of new outdoor exercise equipment, signage, and surfaces, which are intended to complement and enhance the new playground equipment, basketball courts, and backboards. The HEAL Grant improvements will be administered and executed by the LA Clippers, with general oversight by PRM, as well as by the City, where required, in its role as regulatory agency.
In return for this project, the LA Clippers have requested placement of a recognition plaque at Coolidge Park. No other naming or sponsorship-type benefits have been requested or proposed. Once installed, PRM shall assume maintenance of the equipment, as it would for any City asset. The LA Clippers shall have no future or ongoing obligation for maintenance.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Gary J. Anderson on October 29, 2013, and by Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on October 30, 2013
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on November 19, 2013, in order to enable the execution of right-of-entry permits and any related documents to allow the LA Clippers, and/or its agents, to begin work on the proposed project as soon as possible.
FISCAL IMPACT
The LA Clippers will purchase and donate up to $100,000 worth of planning, labor, materials, and equipment of the total proposed project cost of approximately $130,000. The remaining amount of up to $30,000 shall be paid with Kaiser Foundation Hospitals HEAL Grant funding, as approved by the City Council on January 17, 2012, and which is currently budgeted in the Health Fund (SR 130) in the Health and Human Services Department (HE). The recommended action may result in a positive impact on jobs, as several temporary construction jobs may be created to complete the project.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
GEORGE CHAPJIAN
DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE
KELLY COLOPY
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER