Fitzgerald Field, one of Benicia’s oldest baseball fields. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

The Benicia City Council made a decision to move forward on the Fitzgerald Field Bleacher Replacement Project at its Tuesday meeting.
In May, the council set aside $750,000 to replace bleachers at the storied downtown baseball field. The construction cost estimate was expected to exceed the project budget. Staff entered a partnership with the Richmond architecture firm Interactive Resources to scale back the design. The Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Commission asked the design process be reopened for public comment and reassessment of the design following a review of the project. Commission staff were concerned about the possible inclusion of existing bleacher elements which were not included in the newest version of the design. According to staff, the additional design tasks utilized the full design budget and required an additional $20,000.
Staff recommended the council adopt the resolution approving a contract amendment the with Interactive Resources. This agreement would be in the amount of $20,000 with the additional design services of the Fitzgerald Field Stadium Renovation Project.
During the meeting, the council opened up the agenda item up for public comment. Only one person came up to speak.
“Is this a design bill or are you going to out for the construction part later?” Alan from Benicia asked.
Parks & Community Services Director Mike Dotson answered his question by stating it would be a design first and out to bid later.
“Value engineering is a way to design without it costing as much,” Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said. “Often I find in my experience when working with a very large agency in the state of California is that you pay more at the end of the day because you valued your engineering efficacy longevity out of the system.”
The council would approve the agenda item 4-0 with Councilmember Alan Schwartzman recusing himself due to conflict of interest.
As part of the approval of the consent calendar, Regina Sequeira’s claim against the city was denied. Sequeira filled the claim after her dog was attacked by a larger dog. It was recommended Council deny the claim against the city by Sequeira refer to the insurance carrier.
In other matters, three proclamations were read: one declaring October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, another proclaiming October as National Community Planning Month and another declaring this week as Fire Prevention Week.
The council will next meet Tuesday, Oct. 17.

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