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Crescent City councilors gave staff the green light on long-awaited upgrades to the flooring and HVAC systems at the Fred Endert Municipal Pool, despite a budget shortfall for the latter project.

Three councilors on Monday approved a $269,837 contract with Specialty Floors Inc. for the flooring project as well as a $1.172 million contract with Adams Commercial General Contracting (ACGC) Inc. for the HVAC and boiler upgrades.

To make up the $69,000 budget shortfall for the HVAC project, Councilors authorized the use of $70,000 in general fund dollars and agreed with staff’s proposal to use $40,000 in Measure S money for potential contingencies.

That $40,000 was originally budgeted for a crack seal machine, though City Manager Eric Wier said there’s not enough staffing capacity to use that machine. He said the Measure S Oversight Committee recommended foregoing that purchase and using the money for something else.

The oversight committee still needs to approve using that $40,000 for the swimming pool, however, Public Works Director Dave Yeager said.

There’s also $15,000 in unallocated Measure S dollars in the floor project’s budget that could be used for the HVAC project, Yeager said. However, Mayor Blake Inscore said the extra $15,000 may still be needed for the flooring project.

“You have a $300,000 project. If you leave the $15,000, you have a 10 percent contingency — what are the chances that you’re going to need it?” Inscore asked. “If you move it out of there, now you only have a 5 percent contingency for [the floor project] and you have like a 3 percent contingency for [the HVAC project]. I’m concerned that we need to make sure we have enough money to get this project done once.”

Councilor Kelly Schellong, who works with Bicoastal Media, recused herself from the vote, saying one of the subcontractors, First Service Plumbing & Heating, was a client of hers. Councilor Jason Greenough was absent.

The HVAC and boiler project has its origins in an energy efficiency audit Johnson Controls Inc. performed three years ago. The budget established at that time was for $1.186 million with about $516,000 coming out of Measure S and $670,158 coming from the general fund, according to Yeager’s presentation.

The goal is to get rid of the humidity at the pool, reducing condensation on the ceiling, and to increase the efficiency of the pool’s heating system.

In 2022, Crescent City contracted with AECOM to design the project.

On Monday, Yeager recommended the Council approve a base bid of $1.156 million plus an additional $16,712 as a “bid additive” to make building envelope upgrades, which includes caulking the windows and replacing dry rot and siding.

Reiterating that the overall budget for the HVAC project was $1.186 million, Yeager recommended adding an additional $140,000 for AECOM to finish the design for the project.

“That leaves us a shortfall of $134,000,” he said. “We do have that surplus from Measure S with the $15,000 [carryover].”

Earlier in the meeting, Wier said the Measure S Oversight Committee had recommended setting aside $30,000 in the 2023-24 budget and $20,000 from the 2024-25 budget to go toward the pool project. However, there’s still a $69,000 shortfall, Yeager said.

As for the floor project, according to Yeager, the original project budget was $320,000. Specialty Flooring’s base bid was $215,242, which includes installing decorative quartz as the flooring.

He also recommended the City Council approve three bid additives, which include adding new epoxy quartz coating on the pool deck, updating the treads on the stairs to the slide and fixing drainage issues in the sauna. These additions would put the total Specialty Flooring contract cost at $269,837, according to Yeager.

Yeager included another $20,000 to sand blast and paint the slide and $15,000 for contingency.

“The contingency on the flooring [project] should be minimal, but there is a potential for dry rot around the shower rooms where the linoleum has been kicked through,” he said.

According to Yeager, ACGC, the general contractor for the HVAC project, is using local subcontractors First Service and Northridge Electric. Yeager estimated that it will take eight weeks for materials to arrive.

After he and his colleagues approved the project contracts, Inscore noted that since it would take two to three months to complete, which means the pool would have to be closed staff should address how it would impact those who have annual passes.

“My recommendation would be we simply extend their renewal date for however long we have to be closed,” he said. “It’s one thing when we had the annual three-four week closure, but if we’re going to be closed two maybe three months it’s only fair we provide them an extended period of time — if their renewal was in January, then it should be moved to March.”

In other matters, the Crescent City Council authorized Police Chief Richard Griffin to purchase a cell phone analyzer, which includes hardware, software, software subscription and training costs for $16,500 in 2023 Homeland Security grant dollars.

Councilors also authorized Crescent City Fire & Rescue chief Kevin Carey to buy a UTV with a trailer for $17,000 in 2023 Homeland Security grant dollars.

According to Griffin, the Homeland Security grant is administered through CalOES. In addition to the $16,500 in grant dollars for the Cellebrite Forensic Analyzer, annual costs for the subscription fee and equipment is about $20,000. Measure S dollars will cover those costs, Griffin told the Council.

Meanwhile, Crescent City Fire & Rescue will use the UTV for response during the Del Norte County Fair, 4th of July and SeaCruise along with other community events. It will be outfitted with a small water tank and a hose.

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