City of Hollister officials Monday reviewed recent improvements to Calaveras Park and talked about a stall in improvements to the Rancho San Justo Middle School sports facilities due to poor soil conditions.
Public works official Mike Chambless gave an update on the two projects to council members. He said they go back to April of 2017 and showed images of completed work to the Calaveras grounds adjacent to the west-side school. He noted there is an “older child playground” and a “younger child playground” now in place on site now. He also said the so-called “wooden bridge of death” on the grounds is now gone as well.
Chambless mentioned how there is a pavilion with a new roof, which is metal.
“It looks absolutely beautiful,” he said. “It looks like it was just built. It’s vandal proof, finally. They did try to burn it down the other day.”
The total cost was $330,000 for the roofing to the pavilion and about another $70,000 for the restroom for a total of $400,495. That came in nearly $100,000 under budget, and Chambless asked council members if they wanted to allocate those funds to the Rancho project due to the issues there.
The city is partnering with the Hollister School District on the projects and agreed to build a “sports house” at Rancho. The city allocated $400,000 to make it happen, but there have been difficulties with soil that have prevented improvements until there is a “geo-stabilization,” Chambless said.
The site requires a stronger foundation than originally anticipated, according to a staff report.
The cost estimate for the work is now $610,000, which leaves the school district about $210,000 short. The costs include $230,000 for the building itself, $225,000 for site work, $100,000 for geotech costs, and a $55,000 contingency.
The district is working to reduce the cost of the field house building by $50,000 and to get donations from contractors, but also asked if the city would move that $100,000 from the Calaveras project into the Rancho budget.
Councilman Karson Klauer suggested the city explore the idea of shifting the $100,000 into the project if the district would be willing to pay back the city on the back end of the shared-use arrangement that’s part of the deal.
Councilman Jim Gillio and Mayor Ignacio Velazquez appeared agreeable to that concept, while Councilwoman Mickie Luna said she wanted to keep the $99,000-plus in park-development funds with the city for something else.
Itemized Costs for Calaveras Playground Project
$54,746.64 – GameTime – Purchase of 2-5 Year Old Play Structure
$147,280.48 – GameTime – Purchase of 5-12 Year Old Play Structure
$69,140 – Coastal Park & Recreation – Installation of Play Structures
$1,348.79 – Graniterock/Coastal Park & Recreation – additional base rock for play surface material
$52,258 – GameTime – Pour In Place Rubber Play Surface Material
$3,821.90 – GameTime – Custom barrier for Orangutan Jeep (5-12 year old play structure)
$1,614 – J.W. Orta’s – Temporary Construction Fencing