DATE:
| 8/9/2022 | TO:
| HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL | FROM:
| JOAN MALLOY, CITY MANAGER | SUBJECT:
| STUDY SESSION AND INFORMATIONAL REPORT ON CURRENT CONDITION OF CITY HALL AND OTHER CITY FACILITIES, AND SEEKING DIRECTION ON NEXT STEPS |
Staff recommends that the City Council receive this informational report, which includes the City Hall and Police Building Draft Condition Assessment Report by Swinerton Management and Consulting (Swinerton) and consider other aging infrastructure issues of City facilities and discuss possible options. Based on the Council's feedback, staff could return with a more detailed report of next steps.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Goal A: Financial Stability and Sustainability.
Strategy: Determine the feasibility of a revenue ballot measure for November 2024 and/or November 2026 that could consider a new landscape and lighting district (indexed to CPI) and/or a tax to fund a new City Hall/ library.
GOAL C: Economic, Community Development and Public Safety
Strategy: Develop a space needs assessment to evaluate police and other city departments' facility needs.
GOAL D. Environmental Sustainability and Infrastructure
Strategy: Create and implement a plan to maintain and upgrade City's building.
BACKGROUND
The Civic Center complex was built in approximately 1977 and has served the City well for the past 45 years. The Civic Center includes two buildings: the City Hall Administration and Police Department building and the Union City Library building. Over the years there have been some improvements to the City Hall Administration and Police Department building. These improvements, include tenant improvements in the first floor Police Department facilities, some office expansion in the second floor administration offices, bathroom upgrades, replacement of one air handler, structural seismic retrofit work, and roof repairs. The library building has also had minor upgrades and repairs to keep it operational.
Overall, the Civic Center facilities are in good condition though they are showing wear and tear. Some needed repairs have been identified, and some infrastructure is reaching its’ design life and should be considered for replacement. Two of the repair projects underway include the roof repairs to the library building, and re-waterproofing the landscaped planter in the atrium lobby of the administration building. As a result of these known waterproofing issues and other infrastructure concerns, staff sought a professional assessment from Swinerton. Attachment 1 to this staff report is Swinerton's City Hall and Police Building Draft Condition Assessment Report (Report). Recommended improvements in the Report focused on the City Hall and Police Building and include a combination of infrastructure replacement, code upgrades and modernization improvements. This Report is to provide the City Council with a snapshot assessment of the city hall building, recommended improvements, and most important, a preliminary cost estimate for program level budgeting in the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
However, staff is also aware that other City facilities are aging and in need of repair and maintenance, but these facilities have not been fully evaluated or assessed in the same manner as the City Hall and Police Building. Below is a summary of the repairs and upgrades that have been identified in the Swinerton Report and other City facilities that are highlighted in the current Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Attachment 2. A complete list of City facilities is attached as Attachment 3.
DISCUSSION
CIVIC CENTER
City Hall and Police Department Building
Swinerton reviewed the following elements of the City Hall and Police Department Building:
- Mechanical – HVAC system
- Electrical – power and lighting
- Plumbing
- Life Safety – fire suppression and fire alarm
- Accessibility per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Telecommunications and technology
- Office Environment including conference rooms and Council Chambers
- Site – parking lot and access
- Building shell
The report evaluated the cost to bring the building up to current code standards, including replacing and upgrading the outdated infrastructure to meet Climate Action Plan goals of the City and the state. The report concluded that the cost to upgrade City Hall would be approximately $17 million, which is less costly than building a new City Hall and Police Department Building. However, maintaining the current building will not address growing staffing needs as the City continues to add population, especially the staffing of the Police Department. Completing all or some of the proposed recommendations should keep the building in good operation for another 20-30 years.
Library Building
Swinerton is assisting City staff with the preparation of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process of the library building roof repair, which will also require interior repairs and repainting. The library roofing project will likely take place in two phases. The first phase is to repair the membrane under the tile roof this fall. The second phase, which will likely be deferred until spring, 2023, will be to repair the flat roof area. Due to material delays in the supply chain, it is unlikely that the flat roof area could be completed prior to the onset of winter rains. Any identified leaks would be patched this fall, but the full reroof effort of the flat roof would take place in 2023.
Staff has informally consulted with roofing contractors on the needed library repairs, and costs have ranged from approximately $300,000 to over $450,000. To staff's knowledge, there are no other significant repairs needed to the library, though no assessment has been prepared.
OTHER CITY FACILITIES
Museum
The Old Alvarado Fire Station, which has been used by the Union City Historical Museum has a leaking roof that has also caused interior damage. It is suspected that the west facing wall of the building may also require waterproofing work, though more evaluation is needed. Staff is in the process of having this building better assessed to understand the full needs of the building. Initial estimates for this building's roof repairs were approximately $100,000, though the scope of work was incomplete and did not include interior and exterior wall repairs, or other possible repairs to reported plumbing problems.
Fire Stations
Union City owns and maintains the City's three fire stations: Fire Station 31 on Central Avenue, Fire Station 32 on Alvarado Boulevard, next to the Holly Center, and Fire Station 33 on 7th Street. Fire Stations 32 and 33 are the oldest stations in the City and updated diesel exhaust systems are planned to be installed in the near future as funding and staffing become available.
Fire Station 31 is also planned to have the kitchen and bathrooms renovated during the current Five-Year CIP.
Corporation Yard
Portions of the Corporation Yard remain unpaved, which limit the use of the yard during the winter season. The Corporation Yard improvements includes adding paved areas for material storage, canopies to project vehicles and equipment, fencing, and additional storage containers. These upgrades are near-term improvement (identified in the CIP), pending available funding.
Over the course of the next five to 10 years, electric vehicle charging stations will need to be installed in the Corporation Yard in a number adequate to charge the Public Works fleet and Union City Transit and Paratransit vehicles. Staff is working with EBCE vendors to explore options to install charging stations to support the City’s vehicles.
In addition, the Corporation Yard will be impacted by the construction of Quarry Lakes Parkway and the relocation of the Line M Channel. These improvements will impact the southerly boundary of the yard, but have not been fully identified, yet.
Community Centers and Ancillary Facilities
The City operates four community centers and several ancillary facilities. The Kennedy Youth Center was renovated in 2017, but several items that were not completed as part of the renovation, including:
- The transformer needs to be moved and replaced
- HVAC needs replacement
- Mop sink is needed in Café to lease out, per health department
- Exterior lighting should be improved
- Amphitheater shade covering needs replacement
In approximately 2008 the Mark Green Sports Center was completed. Now, after 14 years of use, the facility is beginning to show wear. The motorized doors to the fitness room need to be replaced and the gym curtain and motors are beginning to fail.
The Ruggieri Senior Center has a heavily used commercial kitchen and the appliances are beginning to fail and need to be repaired or replaced.
The Holly Center has not been upgraded in many years and is due for improvements, including:
- Alarms,
- Roof, windows, and skylight leaks,
- Exterior paint,
- Interior finishes, including doors, tile, floors
- Electrical systems
- Kitchen and bathroom upgrades
- HVAC improvement
- Storage room expansion, and
- A trash/recycling dumpster enclosure. As one of the most popular rental facilities in the City, the Holly Center does not have a trash enclosure, which has proved to be an operational issue.
All community centers are planned to be retrofitted with generators and/or backup batteries. In case of emergency or in a disaster situation, the community centers would function as essential City facilities that could be used as an emergency operation center, a point of distribution, a temporary shelter, or other need.
Several smaller community facilities that are listed in Attachment 3 are repaired on an as needed basis and at this time there are no planned or scheduled improvements.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information Technology Infrastructure
The City’s telecommunication and security infrastructure that is managed by the Information Technology Services Department is integral to all City facilities operations. Telecommunication equipment has been deployed to provide required services like network connectivity, hosting of software applications, building security, video monitoring, and active and passive telephone equipment. The active equipment, like routers, servers, and audio/video equipment, has a life span of five to seven years. At the end of the life span, the electronic equipment becomes prone to failure, loses manufacture support, and becomes technically obsolete. The passive equipment, like telecommunication cabling and patch panels have a life span of 15 to 20 years. At the end of the life span the cabling is more likely to cause data failures and not support new connectivity standards.
The electronic equipment at City facilities also requires ongoing monitoring as it is sensitive to power fluctuations and temperatures. Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) are used to regulate voltage and keeps the equipment powered during outages. The data center and communication rooms at the City sites require separate cooling systems to keep the equipment within required temperature ranges. In additions, the City Hall Data Center has a dry fire suppression system in case of a room fire.
Information technology infrastructure is a critical part of City operations and supports all City facilities. Similar to other infrastructure, information technology must be planned and budgeted to maintain operations.
NEXT STEPS
Staff has provided an overview to the City Council, with a focus on the City Hall and Police Department Building. As the Council can surmise, there is no clear path forward to implement the recommendations for the City Hall and Police Department Building because of the $17 million cost. Alternatives the Council could consider, include:
1) Budget bi-annually to pay-as-you-go to address the most immediate improvements and identify CIP projects as anticipated over the next five-years. This is the approach the City currently uses. This approach works for limited-cost items, but it is difficult to undertake significant improvement projects that may exceed the capacity for any two-year budget to absorb.
2) Annually set aside general funds into a 'sinking fund' to build a reserve for expensive improvements or use short-term loans at commercial banking interest rates, or a combination of general fund and loan.
3) Explore the use of Development Impact Fees for capital facilities improvements. This has been a source of funding for some improvements to capital facilities, but the revenue stream is unreliable as it is tied specifically to new development. Updating the Development Impact Fees is underway and the City Council will receive a briefing in the fall, specifically on the Capital Facilities Fee.
4) Combine efforts of Options 1, 2, and 3;and/or
5) Consider a voter-approved measure (such as a facilities bond measure) to rebuilding and improve facilities. As the Council is aware, the City of Newark recently completed the construction of a new Civic Center campus with a City Administration building, Police Department building and a separate library. The cost of this option would require about seven to ten years to complete because of the several steps that would be required:
- Facilities Master Plan to set priorities;
- Programming, preliminary design, and phasing;
- Site acquisition, if needed;
- Voter-approval for financing;
- Set up financing (sell bonds, for example);
- Final design and bid; and
- Construction
Whichever steps the City Council may wish to consider, staff would suggest the completion of a comprehensive facilities master plan so that the Council could plan, budget, and prioritize projects that will be needed over the next several years. A facilities master plan will take several months to prepare and any conclusions or recommendations would likely come before the Council in 2023.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund at this time. Should the Council support moving ahead with a master plan that is focused on the City facilties, a Parks and Community Facilities Master Plan is identified in the CIP as Project Q and is funded through the Special Parks Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
No specific action is required as a result of receiving this report; however, staff requests that the City Council discuss and provide feedback on any specific approaches they would like to explore with regards to ongoing facilities improvements and repairs. Staff would also recommend that the City Council consider the preparation of a city-wide facilities master plan so priorities can be established, and projects can be properly planned for and budgeted.
Prepared by:
Joan Malloy
Submitted by:
Joan Malloy |