City Council Reluctantly Approves Boundary Oak Clubhouse Renovation

A split Walnut Creek City Council reluctantly approved a plan to renovate the ailing clubhouse at the Boundary Oak Golf Course.

The council took two votes on the project at their meeting Tuesday night.

They first voted 4-1 to authorize city engineers to continue with the design phase of the renovation. Councilman Justin Wedel voted against the motion.

After an hour-long debate, the council then voted 3-2 to have city staff continue preparing for the sale of bonds to finance the $5.8 million project. Wedel and Councilwoman Kristina Lawson voted no.

The council was also told the city's engineers will be taking over as the project managers on the renovation.

In a report to the council, City Engineer Steve Waymire explained the council approved a budget for $5.8 million for the project last spring.

However, changes were made when BAR Architects brought back schematic designs with an estimated project cost of $8 million.

Waymire said city engineers were concerned about the cost increases, so they put the BAR contract on hold. At that point, Waymire said they thought they might have to give up on the renovation.

Waymire said his department then concluded they could save money by having the city engineers oversee the project and divide it up into several smaller, trade-focused projects.

"By breaking up these projects, it gives us some latitude," he told the council.

Waymire said this set-up would place an extra burden on his department, but they would adjust to make it work. He said it wasn't the ideal situation, but it would assure the project is done within budget.

The project would take three years to complete. The bulk of the work would be done from January to March when the facility isn't as busy due to rainy weather.

The rehabilitation would be to the clubhouse only. A separate project with its own funds is planned for the golf course.

Waymire said the clubhouse is 40 years old and hasn't had any major work done in decades.

The clubhouse renovation would include replacing and upgrading part of the heating and air conditioning. It also would include seismic bracing, patching and repairing the roof and completely remodeling the bathrooms.

Council members expressed dismay over the project's scope and the way it's being financed.

Councilman Bob Simmons said he'd like to see the clubhouse upgraded to the level of some of the city's other landmark buildings such as the Lesher Center for the Arts or the downtown library.

"I'm disappointed," said Simmons. "If the project is completed as proposed, it will not be a building I can be proud of."

Councilwoman Loella Haskew agreed but said the clubhouse is in serious need of repairs.

"We need to move forward," Haskew said. "The building will continue to get worse and worse and worse."

Wedel, however, said the council should take a few months to re-evaluate the project and see if they want to do a more comprehensive overhaul.

"It's time to take a step back and take a closer look at what we're trying to accomplish," he said.

Wedel was also concerned about city engineers having the time to oversee the renovation.

"City staff is already overwhelmed," he said.

However, Mayor Cindy Silva joined Haskew, Simmons and Lawson in supporting the project and the motion was approved.

Lawson then brought up the possibility of the city loaning the money from one fund to another as a way to finance the project instead of selling bonds that the city will pay interest on for 25 years.

City Manager Ken Nordhoff said they have done this type of borrowing on past projects and he wasn't sure there was money available from funds that weren't considered emergency accounts.

Lawson and Wedel discussed whether to delay a vote on the financing until Nordhoff could bring back more information on the self-financing option.

"I have had more heartburn about this than anything I have had in a long time," said Lawson.

However, Silva said the clubhouse needs repairs now and the bonds were the best way to pay for it.

"Our first and primary responsibility is to protect the asset that we now have," she said.

Simmons and Haskew said they would reluctantly vote to proceed with the bonds because they didn't see the city had any other viable options at this time.