Sutter supervisors to vote on design contract for Casa de Esperanza today
Fire ravaged domestic violence shelter back in April 2016
Two years after a fire ravaged the area's only domestic violence shelter, Sutter County is taking the next step toward reconstruction.
The Board of Supervisors will vote today (Tuesday) on awarding a contract for design services for the reconstruction of Casa de Esperanza, which was burned in April 2016.
The large county-owned house in Yuba City has served since 1977 as a transitional home for victims fleeing from domestic violence and child abuse. The organization provides shelter, counseling and advocacy.
The location of the shelter and the clients' identities are kept confidential for their protection.
Flames hit the southwest side of the house as 20 clients and staff were awakened by a woman screaming "fire." All escaped unharmed, according to Appeal-democrat archives. Portions of the first and second floors and the roof were damaged, according to the report.
If approved, Thornton Tomasetti of San Francisco will be preparing plans and an estimate for the reconstruction.
The design contract will cost $105,000. In November 2017, the board approved a budget amendment authorizing appropriation of insurance proceeds of $525,698 and General Fund monies in the amount of $324,302, according to the staff report.
All eligible project costs will be funded from the county's insurance award and the General Fund money
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints already appropriated, though it's not clear if it will be sufficient, Director of Development Services Neal Hay said Monday. The total project cost will become known after the design is completed.
The design work will require the department to contract separately for additional services like geo technical testing, mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering and cost estimating. Once the documents are complete, the department will return before the board seeking the approval to solicit bids for the construction, according to the report.
Hay said that the design phase should go through July, with the construction bid phase from August through October. He's hoping construction will start in November and finish up in March 2019.
Since the fire, Casa de Esperanza relocated to temporary housing provided courtesy of the Rideout Health Foundation, according to Appealdemocrat archives.
In its temporary quarters, Casa is unable to house additional people who need safe housing. Casa’s previous location had enough room for 43 beds, but the temporary set-up can only house 23 mattresses. All 20-plus residents are sharing two showers, and there is no kitchen inside the temporary quarters, according to archives.
“We would like to talk to the Board of Supervisors about the possibility of speeding up the process,” Casa de Esperanza Director Marsha Krousetaylor said Monday.