Officials try to keep civic center on budget

The Calabasas Civic Center design remains on time and on budget, officials said at last week’s city council meeting.

The civic center, which will include a 27,700-square-foot city hall, a 25,700-square-foot library and a 3,000-square-foot assembly hall, will be built on Park Sorrento near The Commons shopping center.

“The civic center task force went to New York (the week before last) to meet with the architect for the civic center, the library and the city hall,” said Calabasas City Councilmember Jonathon Wolfson, a civic center task force member.

“We went over the final finishes for the interiors of the civic center, their concepts for the interiors, and we discussed the direction (of) those concepts. We also did preliminary work on the interior pieces—the furniture—that will be in the civic center, the city hall and the library,” Wolfson said.

Accoridng to Calabasas Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Washburn, also a civic center task force member, “There was considerable debate, discussion and even arm wrestling over the stuff, so it wasn’t just rubber-stamped. I wish in some cases that some folks would see the fact that we put a lot of care into that.”

The city council will vote later on the civic center interiors. The materials that officials have in mind are within the city’s budget, according to Wolfson.

“(Some residents might not) realize the difficulty that we’re having managing the escalation in construction costs,” Washburn said. “You’re paying . . . $3.50 a gallon for your gas? That affects everything.” The city also faces the competition of the construction materials during the rebuilding of the Gulf, Washburn said. “Those are all issues that have been continually watched.”

The civic center budget is $38 million, including $28 million for construction, which is scheduled to begin next spring.

The city carries contingency funds to cover rising costsCalabasas City Manager Tony Coroalles said.

“We will really not know (actual costs) until the project goes out for bid and we get bids back,” Coroalles said. “If it comes back that we need more budget, over and above our contingency, we’ll have to discuss that. But the design process is on time and on budget and the design will be delivered on time and on budget.”

Calabasas Mayor Barry Groveman said he feels confident that the project will remain on target and that the contingency funds will suffice.