An alternative to City Hall construction

By Dave Stormer

Public Safety has a great need for adequate space and this alternative will provide them with space at a cost that will be kept to a minimum.
The mayor has rightfully criticized the design of city hall on the amount of useable space assigned to façade and circulation. In support of his argument, I have measured the total space utilization of the building  and found that the first floor has 46% of the available space assigned to façade and circulation. Yet, despite this criticism, the position the administration is to continue the building as proposed by the original architect. They would leave what exists alone and add new space. New space costs approximately $200 per square foot, while remodeled space costs between $60 and $80 per square foot.
I have requested alternative plans previously. First, at the meeting when the architects presented the current plan to build an addition and again in my correspondence of April 19, 2009. The only alternatives explored were those I quickly suggested at the architect’s meeting – leasing space.  They were rejected, and no others were suggested.  At the time of meeting with the architects, I asked for a scale drawing. Following that meeting, and in response to later requests, I was told that a scale drawing of the existing building was missing. On June 9th I spoke with Ms. Rooks who advised that the current architects had borrowed the drawings of City Hall earlier. She contacted them and was advised that they had returned the original, but had retained a copy which they would let the city borrow.  The copy was duplicated on Friday, June 12th and I picked up the copies on Monday, June 15th. The point being made here is that this is not some last minute alternative.
Before we add space, let’s examine the use of the current space:
* First floor total space: 4320 square feet (sf).
* Circulation space (stairs, elevator, entrance, hallways, etc) 46% (1987sf) of first floor
* Office space (Including storage rooms currently designated as office) 37% (1610sf) of first floor.
*  Subtotal of space assignment:

- Public Safety:
Total office space = 741sf
Percent of office space = 50%
Percent of total first floor = 17%
Number of staff assigned 8-5, M-F = 7  (105sf/person)

- City Clerk/Public Works:
Total office space = 738sf
Percent of office space = 50%
Percent of total first floor = 17%
Number of staff assigned 8-5, M-F = 4  (184 sf/person)
Break room not assigned to either.

The current design promotes the façade at the entrance and corridors, the usable office space accounts for only 34% of the total first floor space.   This space is divided equally between Public Safety and City Clerk and Public Works administration, resulting is an unequal assignment of resources.  An administrative reassignment of office space has been in order for several years.
Several other factors have not been considered in the proposal to build another 5,000 or more square feet of space for city hall:
The operation and maintenance cost of the additional space will increase the budget by $10 per square foot, or over $50,000 per year.

When the new fire trucks were purchased this spring, they were to replace the old ones. Council was never consulted about keeping one and erecting a building over it. At the last council meeting the mayor announced the purpose is to have three squads. How many fire fighters does each truck require on the scene of a fire? How many trained fire fighters does the city have? (Historically 20% of volunteers respond to a call out.)

The argument used to keep the old truck was that it will improve the ISO rating.  By how much? How much will an improved ISO rating reduce the insurance costs for home owners in the city?

One argument for the new construction is that it will not increase the tax load, and this is true. The current payment on city hall is paid from, and it will continue to be paid from Payment In lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from water utilities.  It is my understanding that the current is annual payment is $85,000 per year spread among the 2000 customers, or about $42.50/year for each customer ($10/quarter). The current building is almost paid for, the debt retired and that cost avoided. In this case the user fee has the same impact as a tax in that only property owners pay water fees.  When costs are avoided, user fees can be adjusted.
I support the need to provide public safety with adequate space. I also see nearly one half of the first floor space in city hall devoted to façade and circulation.  It is my proposal to assign the entire first floor of city hall to public safety.  I will make no attempt to redesign the 4320 feet of space for public safety use.  I am confident that Mr. Boatwright can make good use of the façade and circulation space to provide adequate space for public safety operations.

I propose that the three Public Works staff members from the first floor be relocated to the historic water plant on East Hudson and provided with the 360 square feet of office space needed. This will remodel the existing building and lead to cleaning up the property for the benefit of the community.  I also propose the City Clerk be reassigned to the assist Mayor on the second floor.

The remodeling of the second floor is an alternative to building another structure and can include the following improvements:
* Nine full size offices rather than the current seven.
* A useable conference room adjacent to the offices
* A council chamber of 1080 square feet rather than the current 990.
* Two large meeting rooms, one of 300 square feet and the second of 360.
* Provides 544 square feet for landscape work spaces and a waiting area for visitors.
* Provides more storage than under the current configuration.

This is one example of an alternative that could provide adequate useful space without the expense of construction and operational expenses of a new facility.  New space costs $200sf to build and $10sf annually to operate whereas remodeled space costs between $60 and $80sf and the operational costs remain the same.

(Editors Note: An article that discusses and compares the two options will be available in the July 10 edition of the Folly Current)

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Editorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.