Title
Approval of a Resolution Authorizing an Amendments to an Agreement with Department of Enterprise Services and Ameresco for Investment Grade Audit Services for the Armory Project
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve a resolution authorizing amendments to an agreement with the Department of Enterprise Services and Ameresco for Investment Grade Audit Services.
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve a resolution authorizing amendments to an agreement with the Department of Enterprise Services and Ameresco for Investment Grade Audit Services.
Staff Contact:
Valerie Roberts, Armory Building Manager, Parks, Arts & Recreation, 360.753.8468
Presenter(s):
None - Consent Calendar Item.
Background and Analysis:
Armory Project Background:
The City of Olympia will transform the historic Olympia Armory into a new Armory Creative Campus-a space that will support the arts as integral to Olympia’s way of life; encourage community growth through creativity and innovation; use the arts to connect people, ideas, and place while working within an equity framework.
The conceptual design through community visioning was completed in November 2022. In July 2023, artists, culture bearers, and a youth action council imagined possible uses of the space through art installations and creative projects through NEA funded Art Interventions.
In January of 2024, eight non-profit arts organizations were identified as future tenants (Anchor Partners for the building), including The Bridge Music Project, Capital City Pride, Community Print, Kokua Services/Hummingbird Studio, Olympia Film Collective, Olympia Lamplighters, PARC Foundation and TC Media. These organizations will create a core partner group to activate the campus and bring the vision to life.
DES Energy Savings Program
The Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES) Energy Savings Program allows the City of Olympia to do essential upgrades to the Armory building while providing other multiple benefits including contracting support by way of their own Project Manager (in addition to the City’s), to guide the process and ensure compliance, performance, price, and energy savings guarantee, and a faster turnaround on timeline. A majority (over 90%) of Phase 1 building enhancements fit within the scope for Energy Service Company (ESCO) work. Additionally, there is an opportunity for financial support with an ESCO through the pursuit of federal energy savings grants.
Ameresco was selected as the primary contractor through the DES Energy Savings program for the Armory project in October of 2023. They are a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner, and operator. They work to reduce operating expenses, upgrade, and maintain facilities, stabilize energy costs, improve occupancy comfort levels, increase energy reliability and resiliency, and enhance the environment.
Investment Grade Audit
The current Investment Grade Audit proposal includes energy audit services, engineering and environmental studies, and architectural and engineering services. The facilities which have been identified by City of Olympia are the Armory and Annex Building. Through preliminary efforts by the City of Olympia and Ameresco, it has been determined that the overall renovation and upgrade of the facilities expand beyond the current funding resources the City of Olympia currently has available. With this understanding, Ameresco, the City of Olympia and DES are using a phased approach to the upgrades to the facility. The first phase of the overall project will have the overarching goal of making the Armory safe, accessible, functional, and open to the public while improving and implementing energy savings opportunities.
To meet the needs of the Olympia Armory, Ameresco (again in collaboration with the City of Olympia and DES) has completed 80% design for the entire Armory project while conducting the Investment Grade Audit. The goal is to make future improvements ready to proceed with a reduced design effort as additional funding becomes available. Taking the design through to this level provides sufficient information to accurately budget the initial phase of construction and provides a clear design concept for future phases. This additional design effort will also empower the project team to achieve a thorough understanding and enable us to strategically plan the development and implementation process.
Two Projects Identified in the Work
Since beginning the Investment Grade Audit, Ameresco and City Staff have identified and gathered funding for two separate projects. Although both projects are being conducted by the same contractor, they are separate projects with completely different scopes and work-plans.
Phase 1:This phase focusses on essential life safety and accessibility upgrades to the current building. This project will allow the building to be retrofitted with all the essential systems that will allow it to open and this project is in part funded by the Capital Heritage Projects Grant from the WA State Historical Society.
Heritage Capital Projects is a two to one matching grant, for requests between $10,000 and $1,000,000. The City of Olympia has received $1,000,000 from this grant for the 2023-2024 biennium for exterior stabilization and preservation to halt water intrusion, and design work in preparation for major systems renewal. This grant cannot be matched by other State Grant Funding for this project component.
Solar and Battery Storage:
This second proposed project for the City of Olympia Armory aims to support the sustainability of the Creative Campus by utilizing the Department of Commerce decarbonization grant to implement solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems will enable the facility to generate renewable energy while storing excess energy in batteries for use during peak demand periods or emergencies. Solar and BESS technologies significantly reduce reliance on conventional energy, lower emissions, and enhance its energy resilience.
Department of Commerce Community Decarbonization Grant Award for the Olympia Armory, which has awarded the City of Olympia with $1,542,000 to install solar and battery storage systems at the Olympia Armory.
Recommended Action:
Two amendments to our contract with DES and Ameresco being requested - one is because they encountered additional required studies and work from our pre-conference meeting with CP&D that resulted in an increase to the estimates.
• The first amendment is to change the overall cost of our agreement with DES from $820,000 to $872,600 ($52,000) and an additional $25,000 for a new agreement for the Solar and Battery Storage, ultimately an increase of $77,600.
• The second amendment is because DES requires a separate Investment Grade Audit for each individual project as described above and through their contracting, a fee must be assigned to the work done to investigate the project through an Investment Grade Audit.
Our initial contract with Ameresco included an Investment Grade Audit only for the Phase 1 project. The Solar and Battery Storage project requires a second Investment Grade Audit and this resolution allows for an amendment to move some funds from the initial Investment Grade Audit for Phase 1 into a new project contract for a for the Solar and Battery Storage project. By splitting out the Solar and Battery Storage we are able to use a portion of the Phase I work as matching funds for future grants.
Climate Analysis:
Through working with the DES Energy Program and Ameresco, all building improvements for the Armory Creative Campus will be approached through an Energy Conservation Lens. Because building use will change and occupancy will increase, we will most likely see an increase in energy use but a longer-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the improvements to this building.
The installation of solar and battery storage at the Olympia Armory is a continuation of the work to ensure that all building improvements for the Armory Creative Campus are approached through an Energy Conservation Lens. Because building use will change and occupancy will increase, we will most likely see an increase in energy use but a longer-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the improvements to this building. Solar and battery storage will not only reduce the Armory’s reliance on greenhouse gas emissions but will also create a more resilient community hub.
Equity Analysis:
The Olympia Community, Arts Nonprofits, Anchor Partners and more will benefit from this work as it is the first step to upgrading the Armory to be available for community use. Although this portion of the work does not have a high community engagement component, it is based on community engagement work done previously through the 2022 Concept Plan. Finally, this work will be done with Ameresco, whose commitment to DEI and hiring local subcontractors who are minority and women owned is high and demonstrable.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The Eastside Neighborhood Association (ENA) has a strong interest in the Armory and was an active advocate for the City’s acquisition of the building and its listing on the local Heritage Register. The City of Olympia has designated a Creative District that covers much of Downtown and extends within two blocks of the Armory campus. The district includes some 150 enterprises and is intended to retain, promote, and encourage Olympia’s quirky, vibrant and artistic community. The Armory is considered an asset to the nearby neighborhoods and there is interest in integrating the Armory Creative Campus into the City’s Creative District over time. A community arts center has been identified as a need for our community dating back to 1989 and has been in 8 planning documents and 2 voted measures since then. The YES Olympia Parks Coalition was heavily involved in the formation of the Olympia Metropolitan Park District and members continue to take a strong interest in the parks system.
Financial Impact:
This will increase the cost of the overall project by $77,600 and will separate this current agreement into two project contracts (one for $25,000 and the other for $872,600).
Options:
1. Approve of a resolution authorizing an amendment to the contract agreement with Department of Enterprise Services (DES) related to Investment Grade Audit services for the Armory project for a $77,600 increase.
2. Do not approve a resolution authorizing an amendment to the contract agreement with DES related to the Investment Grade Audit for the Armory Project.
Attachments:
Resolution
Agreement with Department of Enterprise Services
Agreement for Solar and Battery Project
Amendment to Department of Enterprise Services Contract
Amendment Request
Resolution Passed March 5, 2024