• In terms of the process of renovating the Forest Theatre, the current process involving the McCann Forest Theater Pre-Design Study is substantively different than the process engaged in years ago with the Community & Cultural Commission and the Congleton Forest Theater Facility Master Plan; that is, the latter was characterized by multiple public hearings and public input over a lengthy period at the Community & Cultural Commission level, whereas the former has had minimal public input to date. Moreover, the City’s 12 month delay in placing the McCann FOREST THEATER PREDESIGN STUDY (dated May 7, 2007) on a City Council agenda and making the STUDY available to the public, combined with the Forest Theater Foundation’s and the City’s insistence that renovation be completed by 2010, the centennial of the Forest Theatre, has had the effect of polarizing the community into two groups. One group is represented by the Forest Theater Foundation and their proponents who are by and large in favor of the McCann Forest Theater Pre-Design and the process. And the other group who is represented by the four speakers at the Special City Council meeting on May 20, 2008, namely, Carolyn Hardy, Monte Miller, Skip Lloyd and Constance Fisher who articulated their preferences for the preservation of the rustic ambiance of the Forest Theatre and a desire for more of a collaboration between the Forest Theatre Foundation, theatre architect Richard McCann, the City and the public at large.
Lastly, the City’s intent to budget $65,000 for the Schematic Design of the Forest Theatre renovation by Richard McCann and the City Council’s request for an itemization of items and their respective costs indicates that the City Council, at a later date, will ultimately determine the elements of the Forest Theatre renovation based on the dollars the City Council is willing to expend for the renovation, no doubt considerably less than Richard McCann’s estimate of $3,990,000, not including infrastructure costs and architect’s and engineer’s fees.
• Interestingly, Carmelite Carolyn Hardy voiced concerns that the McCann Forest Theater Pre-Design may constitute an expansion of use and might therefore require an Environmental Impact Report. Specifically, concerns about an increase in traffic and parking congestion, an increase in noise, removal of trees, extensive excavation, site grading and fill and widening of Mountain View Avenue, enhanced amplification of voice, instrument and movies, expansion of the hardscape and mass of the buildings, new vehicular access from Santa Rita St. and Guadalupe St and increased water usage for restrooms expansion.
Notes:
Theatre architect Richard McCann’s presentation at Special City Council Meeting, May 20, 2008 (Beginning 07:58 – 53:10 Ending)
Public Speakers (Beginning 56:50 – 01:30:10 Ending)
7 comments:
So long as the members of this city council are in office, led by the Mayor, they will try hard to minimize public input. They will try every trick in the book to get around having to do an EIR and they will do everything possible to fly under the Coastal Commission's radar. People concerned that the renovation be an appropriate one had better keep a sharp eye on this project from the beginning so that Carmel doesn't end up with still another city council backed disaster. If the City Council performs true to form, it may unfortunately once again be necessary to bring a suit against the city for misfeasance or malfeasance in order to get the project back on the right track.
Well, well Sue McCloud is up to her old tricks. Is anyone surprised? It is so much easier for her to impose her tyrannical will than lead a collaboration of compromise and consensus. She fails to understand public participation is the essence of open government, not web casting or a web site or agendas at the post office.
Look for Sue to mischaracterize all things from now on to get the McCann plan realized. She has already started with the fallacious idea the McCann plan is a natural evolution of the Congleton plan. Expect more and more mischaracterizations, especially directed at those who disagree with her.
$4,000,000 million dollars plus. That is too much of an ambitious project for the city to embark on with all of the debt of the sunset center still remaining. What is everyone thinking? Money for entertainment but no money for fire dept. consolidation. Things are not kosher in paradise.
The $4M price does not include architect's and engineer's fees, related onsite/offsite infrastructure costs for sewer, water, power and reclamation (which are over and above construction cost estimates). Verification of square footage requirements, soil and footing conditions of the site, and design composition will also significantly impact the cost. So probably $6M may be more like it.
To add to all of the above, it is most interesting the city, in the context of the McCann presentation, has avoided mention of their consultant's report about the "Forest Theater" not qualifing as an historic resource; the site is historic. In other words, all of the existing buildings and stage can be demolished and replaced with new construction and the small WPA plaque preserved somewhere as the only requirement since it has been deemed an historic site.
What the city chooses to emphasize is not as important as what the city chooses to downplay or omit totally, in other words.
I bet another historic consultant could come up with a historic designation. As they say, anyone can hire a consultant to tell you what you want to hear.
Are there going to be historic resources board meetings and/or design review board meetings and/or planning commission meetings, and if so, what is the schedule?
On Monday, May 26, 2008, The Carmel-by-the-Sea WATCHDOG! emailed theatre architect Richard F. McCann requesting a cost estimate for infrastructure, architect’s and engineer’s fees, as follows:
“...in SECTION 4: PHASING/COSTS/VISION, you write “Related onsite/offsite infrastructure over and above construction,” including SEWER & WATER, POWER, RECLAMATION and architect’s and engineer’s fees over and above construction costs. QUESTION: To the estimate of $3,990,000 for the AUDIENCE/VISITOR CENTER ($1.02M) and MAINSTAGE & SEATING ($2.23M) and PARK/MEADOW LAND/PARKING ($740,000), what is your estimate for the infrastructure, architect’s and engineer’s fees?”
As of today, Friday, June 6, Richard F. McCann has not responded.
Architect McCann's letter to Forest Theater Foundation dated 8-24-04 re: fee summary review & explanation - pre-design & A&E Services
5 pages are attached to letter delineating cost estimates for design services:
A-E Fee SD/DD/CD design phases @ 10% of projected cost of project ($3.6M in 2004 dollars) plus professional liability insurance surcharge. TOTAL: $378,035
Not included:
Project related work and utility design services beyond property line; work relative to construction phase A&E document preparation services; work relative to construction phase A&E observation services; entitlement & permit fees; survey, civil engineering services by property owner; environmental (SEQA) analysis and reports.
The city has a copy of this in its files received 7-28-04.
So, you can calculate that if this project in today's costs are between $4M-6M today, an architect will charge 10% or $400,000-$600,000 for their work.
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