Monte Sereno considers future of former city hall
Building could become clean energy showroom, emergency center
Monte Sereno councilmembers are working to renovate the annex adjacent to city hall and turn it into an emergency center, community space and clean energy showroom by the end of the year.
The proposed changes to the 947-square-foot building, which has been vacant for nearly a decade, include adding a large concrete patio and solar panels and battery storage, resurfacing the parking lot and renovating the interior structure.
But the primary purpose of the building is to “fulfill our obligation for emergencies,”
Councilmember Bryan Mekechuk said. Monte Sereno currently contracts with Los Gatos to utilize its Emergency Operations Center, but Mekechuk said this space would be an additional resource for Monte Sereno residents to utilize in case of emergencies like wildfires.
“When it's not being used for that, it's going to be idle so we can have it as a community center, because Monte Sereno has nothing,” Mekechuck said. “Why don't we do it and turn it into a showcase? Because we're building it anyway, it's got to be resilient to wildfires, so if all the power goes off
it has to keep running. We need batteries, we need to have solar power, we need to have network access…so that becomes a bonus.”
The city worked with GKW Architects to design the project and plans to put out a request for bids in early May. They expect to award a contract by June and open the renovated space to the public before the end of the year.
The city initially put out a call for bids last year to renovate the space to be ADA compliant and serve as an emergency center, and set aside $600,000 for the project in the 2021-22 budget. But project bids came in well over budget, ranging from $750,000 to $1.3 million, so council chose to send the project back to the Ad Hoc Finance Committee to make changes.
Mekechuk, who is on the committee, presented the new plan to add energy-efficient features and offer the space as a showroom at an April 5 council meeting.
“I think they realized the price probably isn't going to go down much, but they could probably get more offering new ideas, more value like … highlighting the green energy system, the graywater system and all these things,” City Manager Steve Leonardis said.
Bids for the updated project are expected to come in late May, and it's likely that the costs will be higher than the previous round of bids due to inflation. The former bid request also did not include features like solar panels and battery storage.
The ultimate goal, Mekechuk said, is to get local energy and water companies like Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), Valley Water and Acterra to feature their technology and systems in the building to help offset some of the costs and add more value to the site.
“What we will be able to do is justify the increase in the expenditures in the cost reduction, just like a normal business,” Mekechuk said. “Even if we don't get any funding, which would be a worst case scenario, we will still get a payback
on the investment to make these changes.”
Energy-efficient technologies like solar panels with battery storage, rainwater collection, induction cooktops and LED lights can
help save money in the long term but cost more upfront.
“Sometimes people don't realize that it's not really an increase in budget; it's a decrease,” architect Gordon Wong said. “The item itself might cost 15% more, but in the long run, it will return back the money you paid within the longevity of the equipment.”
Wong said he hopes the showroom will demonstrate to residents across the West Valley the importance of energy conservation.
“It helps people see what is out there. It's not just Tesla and Elon Musk doing things; everyone has to do their part,” Wong said. “Energy itself is extraordinarily expensive to produce.
It's just if everyone got on board with (energy-efficient development), it would be a little better in terms of how humans use the resources.”
The project is partially funded through $180,000 in state grants from Proposition 68 and $18,000 from SVCE for solar power installation. The remaining costs came out of the 2021-22 fiscal
year budget.
The nearly 70-year-old building has served several roles over the years. It was Monte Sereno's city hall until the 1980s, then was transformed into a post office until around 2014.
Conversations about what to do with the building started back in 2009, when council called for a
large-scale renovation that ultimately stalled.
“It was very grandiose; they were talking of scrapping the entire building and putting in a large new structure that would have had underground parking and all kinds of things,” Leonardis said. “That was not really attainable because it was very pricey.”