FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - At the May 15 Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District (FORPD) Board meeting, a grant was awarded to the district from the Greater Sacramento Softball Association (GSSA) for improvements of the softball fields at Fair Oaks Park and the La Vista fields.

“It’s going to go a long way to help offset the cost and improve the quality and conditions there,” said Recreation supervisor Davey King.

Greater Sacramento Softball Association Commissioner and CEO Jeff Morrow presented the board with a giant check in the amount of $2,550 from the association’s 2024 Public Agency Grant. Morrow said one of the fun parts of his position is to give “local member agencies…a hand-up to be able to help with revitalizing some of the softball facilities.”

During general Public Comment, Teri Gorman said she’s a resident of Temescal Street in Fair Oaks and her house faces the ongoing construction in the Village. Gorman complained that the work is taking too long and that pieces of heavy equipment are parked there with weeds growing up around them. She said other construction projects in the region are finished much more quickly, while this project is taking years to complete.

The board then considered a proposal to renovate the Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre outdoor seating. District Administrator Mike Aho said that the current Measure J-funded project to construct a new amphitheatre building does not include renovations to the outdoor bench seating. While that project includes the addition of two ADA-complaint seating areas to meet accessibility requirements, the majority of the seating was not included in the project due to budget constraints. Aho said that the initial plan was to get the new building constructed and upgrade the seating in the future.

However, now that the building is nearing completion, Aho said it has become clear that the old seating will not match the new building’s style and quality. In addition, future renovation of the seating area would be extremely challenging because heavy equipment won’t be able to access the outdoor amphitheatre space once the building is completed: “It is a constrained site,” said Aho. “It will be even more constrained as we go forward.”

With material and labor costs rising due to inflation, Aho said, the seating renovation will end up being exponentially more expensive if a new construction crew is mobilized to do the work in the future. Starting another construction project in the amphitheatre would also disrupt the use of the new facility.

Aho said it would be more cost effective and less disruptive to add the seating into the current project. Bobo Construction offered a rough estimate at $904,935, which includes demolition, construction, regrading, paving, seating, aisle lighting, installation and architectural services.

Additional funding sources would be needed to cover the cost of the seating renovation and Aho suggested two possibilities. The first option is a $1,275,000 loan at 5% interest over 20 years, secured with the district’s Administration Office. This option would give the district access to the funding very quickly with no restrictions on how it could be spent but the total cost with interest over the 20 years would be more than $2 million.

The second option is to sell the district’s cell tower lease, which has an estimated value of $1.5 to $2.1 million. This could also quickly provide unrestricted funding but would result in a loss of income since the lease annually brings in $90,000. However, Aho said, it’s possible that cell towers will become obsolete at some point, so selling the lease now might make sense. The sale could bring in more funding than needed for the seating renovation, so the extra money could be invested into interest-bearing accounts to make additional revenue for the district.

“The timing is critical to get in there and do this before we button everything up” at the new amphitheatre,” Board Chair Ralph Carhart said, “If we come in later, we delay the availability for rentals and use of the facility. Plus, the cost and difficulty of getting another contractor in there and the anticipated increase in prices.”

Director Raymond James Irwin said he was not comfortable with the loan option but he would support moving forward with the process of selling the cell tower lease. However, he was not sure he wanted that sale tied to the seating renovation project. Director Irwin said rather than doing a change order on the contract with Bobo Construction, he might prefer to put the seating project out to bid.

Carhart said he would rather negotiate the cost with Bobo Construction since it is already on site and familiar with the project. He didn’t want the facility disrupted again by bringing in a new construction crew.

“I strongly think time is of the essence,” said Carhart. “There’s a timeline to get this done in the Jan. 15 target.”

Any seating renovation could extend that completion date already, Carhart said, and he didn’t want to see any further delays than necessary. He added that the seating renovation has to fit into the sequence of work on the current project, which will be easiest if it’s handled by the same crew.

“I think it’s a mistake if we just linger on this,” Carhart said.C

Carhart motioned to authorize staff to move forward with finalizing the construction documents for the seating renovation, obtaining a firm estimate for the work from Bobo Construction, starting the review and permitting process with Sacramento County, and moving forward with the potential sale of the cell tower lease. The motion passed 4-1, with Vice-Chair Delinda Tamagni dissenting.

The cost estimate as well as the potential terms of cell tower lease sale will both come back before the board for consideration at a future meeting.

The next Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. June 19 at 10326 Fair Oaks Blvd.