To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Art Morales, Fire Chief
Title
Resolution Approving a Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Acquisition of Certain Property Located at 1259 Park Street, Castle Rock, Colorado [Public Safety Training Building]
Body
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Executive Summary
On June 6, 2017 Town Council directed staff to pursue the purchase of the property located at 1259 Park Street, in Castle Rock, for use as a Public Safety Training Building. The Town Attorney negotiated the purchase with the owners, Kyle and Jennifer Tripp, who agreed to sell the property to the Town for the Town sponsored appraisal price of $1.69 million. The purchase agreement is between the Town of Castle Rock and the Jennifer Lee Tripp Living Trust. Additionally, the Trust has agreed to include $18,000 worth of furnishings with the property purchase.
The purchase of the 1259 Park Street property will serve to anchor the Public Safety Training Complex, provide needed classroom and office space, and allow the full implementation of the emergency vehicle maintenance program. If the contract is approved by Council, the closing will take place on August 1, 2018.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Town Council was approached by staff about the purchase potential on May 16th, 2017, with a formal detailed presentation to Council on June 6th, 2017. Council directed staff to proceed with the purchase agreement to be presented to Council for approval at a future meeting.
Discussion
The need for a permanent public safety training facility (PSTF) has been pursued since 2006. Financial limitations and challenges faced by the Town have prevented the project from moving forward on several occasions. In 2014 Council supported the PSTF concept by funding the lease and re-model of the building located at 1335 Park Street in order to meet the training space needs of the Police and Fire departments. It was understood that this was an interim step until a permanent facility could be built or purchased. The initial lease was for two years, with an additional year extension possible upon request. The current owner of the property is now reluctant to renew the lease and has agreed to extend for one last year. The Town pays $6700 per month rent for the PSTF.
With the future of the PSTF lease uncertain, the search began for a solution that could meet the needs of the public safety departments. A space needs study was completed by HB&A to determine the actual needs.
It was determined that a permanent public safety training facility would need to have four major components:
1. A fire training burn building
2. A classroom building with multiple training rooms
3. A warm vehicle storage building with a large training room
4. Adequate parking for training attendees
The original vision for the PSTF was centered around the existing fire live burn tower (Building 1) that was built in 2002.
With this vision in mind, the property adjacent to the burn tower was purchased to construct the warm storage building. A dedicated classroom building has increased in priority due to the tenuous nature of the current lease.
The solution to the training needs of both the Fire and Police departments for the next decade is to proceed with the completion of the essential components of the Public Safety Training Facility plan as identified in the Town space study. The needed classroom building can be resolved with the purchase of the Tripp Construction building, located across the street from the Training Burn Tower.
In November of 2016, the Fire Department was approached by the owners of Tripp Construction in regards to the potential sale of their building at 1259 Park Street. This building meets the needs of the classroom building and can serve the needs of the warm storage building on a temporary basis until the warm storage building (Building 3) is constructed.
The appraiser hired by the Town, David Kilty, placed the value of the property at $1,690,000. The owners of the property, Kyle and Jennifer Tripp, have agreed to sell the property to the Town for the appraised price.
As the building is not fully ADA compliant, an elevator will need to be installed, and remodeling of the north 5 office suite into a large classroom will need to be completed. The building will also need a fire protection sprinkler system installed. The estimated costs for the improvements to the building are $300,000.
Additionally, the Trust has agreed to include $18,000 worth of furnishings with the property purchase.
A budget amendment for the purchase of the building and remodel costs has been approved by Council on first and second reading without opposing public comments.
Budget Impact
The 2017 budget has been amended to account for the purchase. The budget amendment has been approved by Council on first and second reading.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the Real Estate Purchase Agreement for the property located at 1259 Park Street, Castle Rock, Colorado.
Proposed Motion
“I move to allow Town Staff to proceed with the Real Estate Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of certain property located at 1259 Park Street, Castle Rock, Colorado.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Purchase Agreement
Attachment B: List of Assets