The Devine City Council was scheduled to vote on approval of the final design layout of the Devine Golf Course clubhouse in a Special meeting held on press night Tuesday, October 27.
Edward Garza and Raul Reyes of GRG Architecture presented the design layout at the Regular meeting on Oct. 20.
“So what this does is lays out, takes all the input that we’ve had up to this point and sort of settles on what direction we believe we need to move forward with construction documents,” Garza said. “And that is primarily with the renovation of the restrooms and then the expansion of providing for a better kitchen layout.”
Garza said GRG tried to consolidate areas of plumbing to avoid demolishing the clubhouse’s concrete foundation as much as possible, and was conservative with interior finishes.
ADA compliance and life safety issues, such as emergency exit doors, routes, and occupancy limits were also addressed.
“I think, again, what this document does is it establishes and defines where we think the design ought to be, the placement of items,” Garza said. “And then, with this approval, we will move on to preparing the construction documents where the engineers will start designing their plumbing systems, designing their electrical loads, designing exactly what we’re going to need for air conditioning and so forth.”
Mayor Cory Thompson asked if the design layout as presented was still within the Council-approved budget, and Garza said it was going to be a challenge.
Council approved a $342,000 renovation plan on August 18, with the caveat that the City would purchase an estimated $92,000 kitchen equipment on its own for a lower price, thus lowering the plan’s overall cost.
Council approved a three-year, $450,000 tax note to pay for the clubhouse renovations on September 22.
“I really think it’s going to put the facility in a good place moving forward because not all of these kitchen items have to be bought prior to launch,” Garza said. “It can be sort of built out as time goes by.”
Garza estimated it would take three weeks to create construction documents after Council approves the design layout, with another three weeks of advertising for bids.
Between bid evaluations, contractor negotiations and mobilization, and the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays, the renovation is unlikely to begin before February 2022. Construction is estimated to take four to five months.
A motion by District 5 Councilwoman Debra Randall and District 1 Councilman Rufino “Flipper” Vega to postpone voting on the design plan until the Oct. 27 meeting passed 4-0 with the support of District 2 Councilman Steve Lopez and District 4 Councilman Chuck Guzman. District 3 Councilman David Espinosa was absent.
Front porch structure
Garza sought opinions on the state of the porch overhang from two engineers. One engineer estimated a report to cost $1,250, and the other said that the cost of his report as well as repairs may cost just as much as replacing the porch altogether.
“We haven’t gone the next step an asked what that replacement cost would be to do new,” Garza said. “It does need, as one of the engineers pointed out, significant repair.”
GRG brought the poor state of the porch overhang to Council’s attention at a previous meeting, but it is not in their scope of work or budget for the clubhouse.
Thompson asked what the next step is since GRG believes the overhang needs to be replaced.
“I would think that if we didn’t touch it at all there shouldn’t be a problem,” Thompson said. “But if we have to actually do something, what would be the next step?”
Garza suggested that the City contact contractors directly, or have GRG facilitate contractor bids as an additional service.
Scott Grego of SG Golf Management said the outdoor space was important for entertainment at the course.
“We do utilize that space quite a bit, mostly in the afternoons and evenings,” Grego said. “Especially during COVID. If we hadn’t had that, I would have had no way to operate for three or four weeks.”
A Randall-Vega motion to have City Engineer Raul Garcia examine the porch overhang and get cost estimates passed 4-0.
By Marly Davis
Staff Writer