31. Mary Ave Footbridge remaining funds & quail sculputureCUPERTINO
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
SU UVIARY
AGENDA ITEM 3 _
AGENDA DATE April 6, 2010
SUBJECT AND ISSUE
Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge Project
Review of the remaining project funds and the closeout work for the Mary Avenue
Bicycle Footbridge project.
2. Report on the theft of the Quail sculpture from the Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge
entry plaza and the feasibility of installing a security camera system to protect the
artwork from future vandalism.
REMAINING PROJECT FUNDS AND THE CLOSEOUT WORK
On November 20, 2007 Council authorized and ,warded the $7,469,735 construction contract for
the Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge to Golden State Bridge and authorized the Director of
Public Works to expend $1,000,000 in construction contingency.
On April 30, 2009, the bicycle footbridge was opened to the public in a celebration ceremony
held at the entry plaza in Cupertino.
On May 25, 2009, Final Completion of the Golden State Bridge contract, reflecting all of the
construction, was achieved by the general contractor.
Final Acceptance, formal action taken by Council when all of the construction related items were
complete, was authorized by Council on September 15, 2009. This action allowed the release of
retention and initiated the process of releasing bonds. The project was then recorded in the Santa
Clara County Recorder's office.
To date, the City has released all but 10% of the Faithful Performance Bond, which will be
released on September 15, 2010, in accordance with City policy.
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ANALYSIS
It is common for a project of this magnitude, involving outside agencies, to have a number of
closeout issues requiring substantial time to resolve before the project can be declared complete.
A project such as this may require as much as two years finishing the remaining items of work to
close it out. The project is expected to be fully complete and closed out with VTA, Caltrans, the
Water District, PG &E, AT &T, the design team, and the general contractor, between September
2010 and December, 2010.
Caltrans provided oversight of the project and the City constructed the bridge in accordance with
Caltrans criteria and standards covered by a formal Cooperative Agreement. The City is
obligated by that agreement to provide, among other things, As -Built drawings, project
completion documents, land transfer documents, and project related material. The collection,
organization and distribution of that information is currently underway. The following are the
close -out items (including the Caltrans matters) to be accomplished by the end of 2010.
Required Clo
•
•
•
•
;e -Out Items
Caltrans Right of Way Dedication
Caltrans Project Acceptance
Water District Encroachment Closeout
PG &E Easement Closeout
AT &T Easement Closeout
Privacy Screen Extension
Miscellaneous Administrative Expenses
There is approximately $110,000 remaining in the account of which $35,000 has been set aside
to execute the above required closeout items on the project which are underway.
Balance Remaining in Project $ 110,000
Set -aside for closeout 35,000
Balance $ 75,000
The balance of $75,000 has been proposed to complete the re- installation of the Quail sculptures
and the security camera system as discussed below and as shown in Attachment A to this report
MARY AVENUE BICYCLE FOOTBRIDGE ENTRY PLAZA QUAIL SCULPTURES
AND SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM
The Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge was opened to the public on April 30, 2009 in a
celebration ceremony held at the entry plaza at the southern end of the bridge in Cupertino. The
entry plaza design included seven slightly oversized bronze Quail and a bronze Red Tailed
Hawk. The hawk was mounted on a pole overlooking the plaza and the Quail were mounted on
two large granite boulders in the center of the plaza within easy reach of the public.
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Several weeks after the opening, one of the smaller Quail was discovered to have been stolen
from the site, with just the feet and legs left still attached to the boulder. The Quail appeared to
have been broken off its legs by a significant impact, which left the legs still anchored to the
boulder with the original stainless steel anchor rods and epoxy adhesive. City staff removed the
broken legs and began to seek evidence from the local residents and the bridge users about the
vandalism that might lead to the return of the Quail. Unfortunately, the Quail was never
recovered.
Within two weeks, a second Quail was stolen in a similar manner, and out of concern for further
loss, all of the Quail were removed from the boLdders. A local resident, adjacent to the plaza, did
report hearing a large impact sound similar to it ball bat hitting a metal surface one day around
noon time, near the date -of the second Quail theft. The second Quail has also not been
recovered.
The artist's concept for the bronze sculptures was to present a representation of native birds that
are common and appealing to many people. The Quail were intended to be within easy access of
young children and were specifically designed to withstand the typical forces children and adults
might exert on them. The design of the legs and feet were naturally of special concern. The
original bronze legs were designed to be strong enough to resist any of the imagined forces that
young children and adults might exert on the birds, however, it was not expected that the Quail
would be attacked in a vicious manner with the intent of destruction.
Following the removal of the Quail, staff contacted the artist, sculptor and the foundry to discuss
ways to improve on the strength of the legs. The sculptor and the foundry owner all agreed that
the legs of the remaining birds could be reconstructed with large diameter stainless steel rods and
anchored inside the bird's body. The stainless steel could then be tinted to match the bronze
color of the body. The sculptor agreed to make a new mold and the foundry agreed to recast the
two missing Quail and to repair the other Quail, at no cost to the City.
Once this reconstruction was accomplished, each of the birds was placed in a heavy vise and
several people at the foundry attempted to bend or break the birds from their legs in a variety of
ways. The new legs held up perfectly without showing any evidence of the forces applied to
them. The reconstructed bronze Quail are currently waiting to be reinstalled on the granite
boulders or in some other suitable location.
Following the theft of the Quail, a numb(!r of trail and bridge users expressed deep
disappointment in the vandalism and encourages[ the City to consider installing a security camera
system at the plaza.
ANALYSIS
The surveillance system proposed a dual camera security system, that captured frontal images
from either side° of the plaza. The cameras, to be effective, have to be capable of capturing
images in the variable light conditions of both nighttime and daytime. The images also need to
be stored on a secure file server and the most reasonable location is the Municipal Service Center
IT room.
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The images need to be sent to the file server and unfortunately, the remote location of the site,
although quite close to the Service Center, makes it necessary to send the images using wireless
microwave technology. All of these unique conditions contribute to the budgetary cost estimate
of a suitable system. The most recent cost information indicates that a suitable dual camera
security system will cost- approximately $75,000. A more detailed description of the surveillance
system is- described in Exhibit A.
There are, of course, other alternatives to' the expenditure of these funds, including, simply
reinstalling the Quail and risking another theft but trusting to the strengthening of the legs as
sufficient to deter future theft and/or vandalism. Another alternative would be to not reinstall the
Quail family at all by the bridge but to install them in a more protected location.
Each of these alternatives, as shown in the attached Exhibit A for the Council's consideration,
have cost implications, but are much less costly than the surveillance system.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Council may wish to defer action of the Quail alternatives for consideration during the 2010-
2011 Capital Improvement Program. However, a key fiscal impact is that any funds remaining
after complete project closeout must be equally shared with the Valley Transportation Agency
(VTA), the major source of funding for this project. For example, if the Council elects to proceed
with the least cost alternative (i.e., installing the reinforced Quail in their original location for
$5,000) the balance remaining would be $70,000. By agreement, $35,000 of that amount would
be refunded to the VTA for other bicycle programs in the county.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council preserve the remaining project funds for the necessary closeout
activities. Staff will provide a more detailed explanation of the dual camera security system
components during the CIP review process or at a future Council meeting should more detail be
desirable.
Submitted by
`7Z/-1 6 a CC (As
Ralph A. Qualls, Jr.
Director of Public Works
Approved for submission to
the City Council:
avi a
City Manager
Attachment:
Exhibit A -Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge Entry Plaza. Public Art and Security Camera Alternatives
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EXHIBIT A
Mary Avenue Bicycle .Footbridge Entry Plaza
Public Art and Security Camera Alternatives
Following the theft of the two quail from the public art display in the entry plaza in early
summer of 2009, staff began investigating; the feasibility of installing a digital video
security system for the entry plaza. The system, as currently envisioned, includes the
major components listed below:
• Weatherproof power cabinet with pad at Entry Plaza
• Conduit for power and image transmission
• Two poles, each with a digital camera
• Microwave transmission dish mounted on one of the camera poles
• Microwave receiving dish mounted on top of the Service Center
• File server and digital recording and storage devices in Service Center
The system, as currently envisioned, would provide the ability to capture and retain
images for a short period or up to 30 days on a file server in conjunction with a recording
device. Suitable cameras have been identified that have high resolution and contrast
control to enable positive identification during both day and night light levels. It is
thought that the most cost effective way to transmit the images to the file server is by use
of low frequency wireless microwave technology.
The cost estimates below are provided to assist in the development of a project budget for
the work described. The budgets include anticipated administrative and project
management costs in addition to the costs for equipment, material and labor.
ALTERNATIVE A $5,000
Install the reconstructed quail on the boulders in the entry plaza and trust that the rebuilt
legs are sufficiently strong enough to prevent their theft.
ALTERNATIVE B $15,000
Do not reinstall the quail at the entry plaza but plug the old anchor holes and repair the
boulders. Display the reconstructed quail in City Hall or another protected indoor public
location. (cost may vary depending on the location selected by Council)
ALTERNATIVE C $75,000
Design and construct a security camera system at the entry plaza to provide the capturing
and storing of digital video images sufficiently detailed enough to aid in the arrest and
prosecution for criminal behavior in that area and reinstall the quail on the boulders after
verification that the camera system works properly.
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