Exedra note: In response to what it says is misleading information circulating in the community about cost overruns related to the community pool project, members of the Bond Oversight Committee submitted the following letter to the Piedmont Exedra on Friday, Jan. 17. In the email, the chair of the committee said that “we strongly feel that misinformation to the community must be corrected so that no one continues to believe the 20% cost overrun was actually 79%.”
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We, the members of the Measure UU Pool Bond Oversight Committee, have been meeting regularly since October 13, 2022 and have carefully followed spending for the Piedmont Community Pool Project.
Here are the facts:
The total pool project cost was estimated at $23 million on July 20, 2020 with a recommended face value amount of $19.5 million in bonds to be issued. The actual net proceeds of the $19.5 million bond measure came in at $24.4 million because they were sold at a premium.
The City Council approved a total project budget of $28.9 million on December 5, 2022, when it awarded the construction contract. This includes both hard costs (construction) and soft costs (project management, architectural design, engineering). A major contributor to the increased budget was the unprecedented 32% spike in the California construction cost index from July 2020 (initial pool cost estimate) to January 2023 when construction began.
The City Council has approved three subsequent increases to the pool project, bringing the total budget to $34.9 million. These increases have been due to weather related project delays, utilities and undergrounding requirements, the discovery of two buried fuel tanks at the site, remediation costs, soil disposal, the complexity of pool electrification, and other factors.
It should also be noted that the total pool project costs are funded by not only the Measure UU bond measure, but also included PRFO, PBF, Kroeger Estate, grants, a zero-interest rate loan for pool electrification, and the sewer and facilities capital funds.
In summary, the $19.5 million face value for Measure UU was never intended to represent the total cost for building a new community pool, nor does it represent the actual funding Measure UU bonds provided for the project. When computing the cost overrun, the appropriate baseline is $28.9 million, the total project budget approved by City Council before construction began.
Members of the Bond Oversight Committee
John Chiang
Billy Deitch
Margaret Hiller
Al Lee
Patricia Leicher (Chair)
And when will the pool be completed?