On July 16, 2019, the City Council authorized a contract in the amount of $347,606 with PeopleSpace to commence the Civic Center 3rd Floor Redesign Project. This project has been an organizational goal for many years to accomplish the following:
- Bring current office furniture up to date to improve both safety and the ability to reconfigure space as time goes on;
- Design and build offices for mid-level managers currently in cubicles original to the building, in order to facilitate discretion and supervisory conversations; and
- Bring individuals within the same department - who were, in some cases, working on separate floors - closer together for the sake of increased efficiency, collaboration, and innovation.
With the original contract, staff was able to accomplish two of the three goals by purchasing and installing all new workstations across the entire 3rd floor of the Civic Center. While all of the furniture for the 3rd floor was intended to be purchased at one time, many design choices, aside from the workstations, hadn't yet been decided, and a product price increase was set to take place in February 2020. As a result, staff proceeded with purchasing the workstations in January 2020 to lock in the lower product price. If there had not been an upcoming price increase, all items in the attached quote would have all been purchased at one time with the workstations, as originally intended.
While staff had projected the number of new workstations needed, the amount purchased increased to accommodate employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers requiring work space on the 3rd floor that were not originally planned for in the project scope. In addition, some employees required larger workstations to accommodate technical equipment, large-scale plans, and other items essential to their job function. These additions were extensions of the original scope, but were essential to provide necessary accommodations. Exhibit A contains photos depicting the new, fresh look established throughout the 3rd floor. These new workstations revive the approximately 40-year-old office furniture original to the building, bringing enhanced employee safety and the ability to reconfigure spaces as time goes on. Furthermore, the workstations have allowed individuals from departments, some of whom were working on separate floors, closer together for the sake of increased collaboration and innovation. Employees have expressed their satisfaction with the workstations in providing increased capacity to work more collaboratively with their co-workers. The workstation installation not only completed two of the three overall project goals, but it has also accomplished the majority of the project’s scope.
To continue this project, on June 16, 2020, City Council authorized a contract in the amount of $180,805 with PeopleSpace for the purchase and installation of demountable walls for the manager offices, two small meetings rooms, and a dedicated "mother's room." For reference, Exhibit B contains photos of existing manager cubicles.
Staff is now seeking City Council approval to amend the original contract to purchase the remaining furniture. As previously indicated, this furniture was originally slated to be ordered at the same time as the workstations, but was temporarily put on hold in order for staff to focus on submitting the workstation order prior to the vendor’s price increase. Now, with the workstation price increase avoided and the rest of the design decisions solidified, this order will fulfill the remaining scope of work this project set out to accomplish and will tie together the overall intended design. Staff is also requesting an additional 5% contingency should any quantities change between the time of amendment approval and product ordering. Included on this order are the following:
- Furniture for the offices being built, consistent with the modified look established by the installation of the new 3rd floor workstations;
- Panels to replace existing 40-year-old panels to enclose Police Administration's small break area, as they lack a full-functioning kitchen in their now enclosed office area;
- Conference and small meeting room tables to furnish meeting rooms being created as a result of the redesign that will facilitate private and group conversations outside of the open office environment;
- Collaborative storage tables which will support some departments' needs for additional storage, as well as serve as a location for staff to collaboratively discuss work projects, especially with the removal of visiting guest chairs in cubicles;
- Two additional small storage cabinets for two departments to maintain consistency with the new finishes;
- Functional workstation accessories, which staff has the opportunity to select from a list of universally corresponding components to offer a small customization to their space and provides increased functionality and vertical slat wall storage at workstations, especially for those that have been reduced in footprint;
- Remaining desk chairs required for staff in new workstations;
- Name plaques to replace the old style and more closely match and adhere to the new design; and
- Material to modify one workstation panel in order to better accommodate technical equipment in one department.
The completion of this order will accomplish the last goal of the 3rd Floor Redesign and Furniture Purchase project. These remaining items will bring together the complete design intended for the area. Staff is confident that the total project will be wrapped up this calendar year and will remain within budget.
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At their August 11, 2020 meeting, the Finance Committee reviewed this item and requested further clarification over the amount quoted for the functional workstation accessories. As a follow-up from this discussion, staff is reporting the following information:
- The proposed workstation accessories will provide a uniformed way to increase functionality and organization within the new desks via a vertical slat wall. Accessories affixed to the slat wall are intended to provide employees with vertical storage options, especially since some workstations have been reduced in footprint from the prior workstations. Choosing accessories will also allow employees to have a small level of customization in their new spaces.
- The workstation accessories are proprietary to PeopleSpace. Accessories in the order are specifically designed to fit the slat wall affixed to each workstation.
- Staff consulted other vendor prices on similar items and found that PeopleSpace’s prices are comparable, if not less, in some cases.
- PeopleSpace also uses California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) pricing, which provides the City with the most competitive product pricing. Furthermore, staff discussed the price presented to the Finance Committee with PeopleSpace, and the vendor agreed to an additional $2,000 discount on the workstation accessories.
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William Gallardo, City Manager
Prepared by: Jenn Colacion, Management Analyst and Melissa Davis, Management Analyst
Concurrence: Chris Emeterio, Assistant City Manager, Cindy Russell, Administrative Services Director, and Tony Olmos, Public Works Director
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