The California Democrat has obtained a copy of the documentation sent by Larkin Aquatics to the City of California last year detailing its "Scope of Service" for the recently-approved Aquatic Park, shedding light on the city's process working with the Kansas City-based engineering consulting firm.
The City Council approved plans for the Aquatic Park at its October meeting. Larkin's initial contact took place in September 2018, when it submitted documentation detailing a proposed construction program and concept development plan. The firm planned to study facility usage at California's existing indoor pool to get a clearer idea of attendance, revenue, operational costs and program utilization, along with a market analysis to better reflect California on the whole.
Beyond the city's existing facility and market, Larkin stated it planned to present programming recommendations, along with three to five conceptual plans for the future facility, after which these initial layouts would be presented for review and comment and a final concept would be generated to present to the public - the design from October's meeting.
Larkin also stated it would estimate operating and staffing costs, based on estimated actual utility costs and local wages. With an approved concept, Larkin stated it would be able to create a projection of construction cost - the number ultimately presented by the City Council was $3.2 million, though that projection was later revised to $3.5 million at November's City Council meeting.
Notably, the document details the cost to the city for Larkin's services thus far. For the construction program and concept development plan detailed above, the price was $4,750. The document listed a number of additional services available that the city could request, if so desired, including a technical evaluation of the indoor pool, performance of bidding services and construction administration, but no price points were listed for such options.
The City of California and Larkin Aquatics officially entered into their billing agreement during October 2018, so preparation of the proposal given to the City Council for public consideration took about a year in total.