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BACKGROUND <br />The subject project consists of improvements providing for the replacement of marginal <br />and aging dimmers and electrical distribution for theatrical lighting in the Amador <br />Theatre. After the initial lighting upgrade design was completed in 2003, the consulting <br />engineer prepared an estimate of the cost of constructing the required improvements. <br />The estimated cost of the improvements was $405,683, or about twice what was <br />budgeted for the project. <br />DISCUSSION <br />To address this budget issue, staff evaluated the condition of the existing dimmer circuits <br />to determine if some of the old system could be utilized with the purchase of new dimmer <br />racks. However, it was determined that the old wiring system was not compatible with <br />the new state of the art dimmer racks. Additionally, this analysis found numerous code <br />violations, including many splices in the old wiring system. Staff therefore determined <br />that this was not a viable alternative and the project was put on hold pending additional <br />funding. <br />Additional funds for the dimmer system upgrade were approved in the 2007/2008 CIP <br />budget. In addition, staff met with Zeiger Engineering, Inc. to determine if there were any <br />alternate lighting upgrade designs that might make the project more affordable to <br />construct. Zeiger Engineering suggested an alternative method for wiring the dimmer <br />racks that could be more cost effective than the method initially specified for the lighting <br />system upgrade. Staff found it to be an acceptable alternate and contracted Zeiger <br />Engineering to revise the plans and specifications to incorporate this new wiring method. <br />The revised lighting system upgrade plans and specifications were bid on August 7, <br />2007, with three bids received. The bids ranged from $244,330 to $499,000, as <br />compared to the Engineer's estimate of $450,000 for the project. (See Attachment 2 for <br />Bid Summary.) <br />Since this project will be upgrading an existing system that is failing, staff recognizes the <br />potential for additional unanticipated work. Therefore, it is requested that a project <br />contingency of twenty percent of the cost of the construction contract ($48,870) be <br />applied to the project cost. <br />Page2of3 <br />