To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Fritz Sprague, Deputy Town Manager
Bill Detweiler, Development Services Director
Trish Muller, Finance Director
Title
Discussion/Direction: Possible expansion of Town Hall to construct offices for Development Services Department to be paid by Development Services Fee Fund
Body
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Executive Summary
In 2014, the Town embarked upon a comprehensive, Townwide site and facility planning process that resulted in a plan that was presented and formally accepted by Town Council. The goal of this planning effort was to solve the Town’s growing space needs and maintain current service levels over the next ten years.
Implementation of the of this plan is already in motion; the Utilities Operations and Maintenance Center is under construction, and the Police Department basement remodel will soon be underway.
The next step on the path of implementation calls for the relocation of the Development Services Department from its current position in Town Hall to make room for the return of the Innovation and Technology group, which is currently in a leased facility.
After carefully evaluating options, creation of additional office space by the expansion of Town Hall to the east is the preferred alternative to accomplish this goal.
Discussion
Staff has evaluated an array of options for moving Development Services out of its current space, including construction of a Development Services facility on the Utilities property at Kellogg Court; purchase of an existing building Downtown; and the preferred alternative of expanding Town Hall.
An advantage of expanding Town Hall is that we own the land; all utilities exist; and customer service parking and access to Town Hall remains as-is. It also keeps the vital Development Services Department Downtown, within the seat of Town government. Expanding Town Hall also adds flexibility in terms of design and use for all of Town Hall.
The positive impacts if the Development Services Enterprise (DSE) paid for and moved into an expansion of Town Hall include:
• The purchase secures space for the Development Services Department in Downtown and, therefore, ensures a critical Town customer service agency remains in Downtown.
• The expansion of Town Hall allows the DSE to eliminate rent payments for the space it presently occupies in Town Hall, which cost that fund more than $135,000 a year.
• The expansion of Town Hall is an excellent Town investment as the community grows to 100,000, because it secures Downtown space for the Development Services Department.
• Expansion of Town Hall provides a landing spot for the Festival Park Bridge crossing Sellars Creek.
• Expansion of Town Hall creates an anchor for the north end of the Civic Place noted in the Downtown Master Plan.
• An $80,000 annual savings would be realized starting in 2017; this is what is paid for DoIT’s current leased space.
• Expansion of Town Hall would address additional office space needs by providing additional space for personnel in the Finance Department and other compressed areas.
• Investment by the Town to expand Town Hall would assist with promoting Downtown investment and development by others.
A considerable (and unusual) amount of debris was discovered during excavation of current Town Hall building site back in 2000. Debris included concrete (old bridge abutments), tires, metal and a number of cars buried at the site. In addition, the removal of this debris required Ash & White, the firm that constructed Town Hall, to replace the debris with suitable fill that would support the new structure. Accordingly, a soils evaluation of the new site would be necessary.
As with any expansion project in a Downtown area, parking would be a challenge. Town Hall currently has 104 parking spaces for staff and customers. Currently, 73 employees work out of Town Hall, and 14 Town-owned vehicles are housed here. DoIT has 18 employees and four fleet vehicles, which would bring these totals to 91 employees and 18 fleet vehicles. Additional work will be put into identifying short-term and long-term parking solutions that will also extend beyond the Town Hall expansion project.
Staff recommends that expanding Town Hall is a good and secure option for Downtown investment, and it meets the goals identified above. The expansion plans for a 7,000 sq. ft., two-story structure adjoining and east of Town Hall, next to the parking lot.
Cost and Financing
Financing options will be funded by the Development Services Enterprise Fund (DSEF). Initial project estimates for the Town Hall expansion are in the range of $2 to $2.5 million. We are working with the consultant/architect and team to determine exact costs. If Council agrees with the expansion, staff will begin the process of RFPs and bids to secure a contractor and begin construction this year.
As Council is aware, a Certificate of Participation currently exists on Town Hall, as it is pledged as a collateralized asset for construction of Phase I for Philip S. Miller Park. The expansion of Town Hall would increase the valuation of this indenture. The financial structure of how this expansion would work using the DSE will be finalized as we complete soils testing and construction documents.
Council Discussion and Direction
Expanding Town Hall and keeping the Development Services Department Downtown is supported by our development community partners, as it keeps an important customer service program Downtown and provides an anchor to the Downtown Master Plan’s Civic Place. The expansion of Town Hall is an executable plan that we can complete in a short period of time, and the DSEF has the funding to implement the expansion.
Proposed Motion
“I move to direct staff to proceed with bidding construction documents, conduct soils testing and formalize financing options for the expansion of Town Hall”
Attachments
Attachment A: Building Façade Renderings
Attachment B: First Floor Plan
Attachment C: Second Floor Plan