Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-09-2006-1cOrange County Space Needs Update November 9, 2006 Updated Executive Summary November 2006: This document provides updated information to the 2005 County Space Needs Report, as presented to the Board of County Commissioners in March 2005. The updates will appear in dark blue (or in the case of black and white copies in bold italics). Purpose The purpose of this report is: 1. To identify departmental changes that may. impact the recommendations or implementation of the 2000 , Space Needs Task Force Report; and 2. To -modify Study recommendations to reflect changing conditions and Board direction received since the original report; and 3. To create a fundable roadmap for developing adequate space to meet the operational needs of county departments through 2020; and 4. To identify facility needs which require additional study and/or may fall outside of the study period. Assumptions and Principles Overarching principles used to formulate study recommendations include: 1. Co-location. Co-locating departments that serve the same customer base with similar services promotes greater efficiency and creates a more desirable level of customer service. 2. Consolidation. The findings in this report will support the consolidation of County operations to as few sites as may be practicable. The recommendations contained in this study do not support the expansion of existing facilities for the most part, but rather advocate for the development of an alternative county campus to be sited ' in central Orange County in or around the Hillsborough area. The property on Homestead Road in Chapel Hill serves as the County's main service delivery location for the southern part of the county and has proven to be a wise investment. As the Hillsborough area continues to develop, it seems prudent to replicate that effort and establish a new campus While the availability of land is still somewhat reasonable. 3. Ownership. The findings contained in the report continue to support owned space vs. leased space to house permanent County offices. In 2000 the County paid $349,000 per year for nine leases as opposed to 2004, which carries lease costs of approximately $349,000 for five leases. The bulk of the lease costs reside with the Senior Centers. Within two years, both Centers should be operational, thereby eliminating the need for leased space. The County's annual commitment for leased space at that point will be approximately $200,000. 4. Re- assignment of Space to Courts Function. The planned 25,000 square foot expansion of the existing courthouse is slated for completion in late 2007. County offices in downtown Hillsborough would systematically be assigned to court functions as needs dictate and as new county facilities are brought on line, in order to provide future court operation needs. 5. Green Building Practices. The County has for several years integrated green building practices into new construction and renovations alike. A basic premise of the recommendations of this report is that green - building practices will continue to be integrated as appropriate. Further, a policy will be brought forward for Board consideration that would further institutionalize the practices. The Board approved the Environmental Responsibility Goal, which incorporates green building practices into all County construction projects, to the extent practicable. Each of the facilities designed for the County within the past several years, including the Durham Technical Community College campus building and the recently approved expanded County campus project, has included a significant number of sustainable design features in the project. . 6. Cost estimates. Project recommendations within this report are accompanied by a cost estimate that utilizes cost guidance from recently designed buildings for Orange County. Projects nearing the commencement of their development timeline should be thoroughly assessed for accuracy of the cost estimate in order to avoid budget shock at such time bids are solicited. Criteria for Tier Level Placement As was the case with the 2000 study, the following criteria were observed when placing projects within a designated Tier level: 1. Overcrowded facility. The present facility is significantly overcrowded. 2. Growth and no recent new space. The Department has been allocated no additional space to accommodate significant employee growth or increases in service demands. 3. Improved service and /or collaboration. Carrying out the recommendation will provide significant opportunities for improved service delivery and /or collaboration among like- function departments within County government. 4. Reduced rental costs/ Carrying out the recommendations will provide the opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of, or eliminate the need for existing property for which the County currently pays rent. 5a Long- standing need. The initiative is a long- standing need with considerable pubic support. MMF The functional groupings based on related service functions or like client base, remained fairly consistent with the 2000 report. However, three new categories were created to reflect the organization changes that have occurred: 1. Parks and Open Space A new category that has been titled "Parks/Open Space" was created to more accurately capture the department's evolutionary role. Parks is coupled with the Environment Resource Conservation Department (ERCD) as one with whom adjacency would be most beneficial. Update: ERCD has opted to not be adjacent to the *.Parks function. Recommendations for location(s) are included with the departmental write ups. 2. Agriculture Services The Agriculture Services function has also been added to more accurately reflect the focus of departments who would remain at the current Planning and Agriculture Building. Agriculture Services departments would include Cooperative Extension and Soil and Water, as well as USDA Rural Development and the Farm Service Agency, two non-County programs currently at the Planning and Ag Building. 3. Animal Services The Animal Services functional group was added in order to acknowledge the County's new and expanded role in this area. While the Animal Shelter building has always been a County facility, the County also assumed operation of the Shelter in July 2004. This group includes the Animal Shelter, Animal Control and the Animal Services Director. unctions Not Included In Study Jail and Court functions. ,Expansion of approximately 25,000 square feet to the Courthouse is currently under design pursuant to the recommendations included in the Justice Facilities Reports,.as written in 1995 and updated in 1998. The new addition will house both court offices and the Sheriff's Department. Additional future expansion of the Courthouse is not contemplated, however, long term space needs of the court system may be met through reallocation of County office space in downtown Hillsborough as court needs dictate and as new County facilities are brought on line. The first such step will occur when space vacated by the Sheriff's office is reallocated to accommodate court-related functions. Update: Since the Justice Facilities Expansion will be limited to a single addition and since the addition of 25,000 square feet would not support the long-term need of the Sheriff's office and the ' Court system, the Board approved the project for approximately 38,000 square feet, a 13,000 square foot increase over the original project On November 1, 2006 the Hillsborough Historic District Commission approved the project's Certificate of Appropriateness. This allows the project to move forward to the Hillsborough Board of Adjustment for consideration during their November 8, 2006 meeting. Assuming expedient approval by the Board of Adjustment, the project specifications will be solicited for bids by the end of December 2006, with receipt of bids slated for mid January 2007. Construction is likely to begin by April 2007, with completion anticipated Fall 2009. The District Attorney, Jim Woodall, has requested that his department be allowed to relocate from the Courthouse to the current Sheriff's building after the new construction is completed. The DA's offices were scheduled to expand into offices being vacated by the Clerk of Court on the first level of the New Courthouse, however, with several new positions funded during this fiscal year, coupled with the promise of at least one new attorney and support staff funded for FY 2007 -2008, available space within the courthouse is not sufficient to meet the DA's long -term space requirements. An area will remain in the New Courthouse for use by the District Attorney and staff as staging area on court days, but in general, all District Attorney operations will be based in the 144 E. Margaret Lane facility. Further, out of concern for his long -term expansion needs, the Sheriff has expressed a desire to have space in the old portion of the Courthouse allocated to his department, in addition to the approximately 15,000 square feet of new space in the new addition. It is likely that some of the space made available by the DA move will be allocated to the Sheriff's Office. Chapel Hill Coin Facilities Two additional facilities are utilized in order to deliver court services in Chapel Hill: the Old Post Office, owned by the Town of Chapel Hill and located on Franklin Street and the Moody Building in Carrboro, which has been leased by the County for ancillary court services since 1987. Additional study regarding the long -term accommodations for court services in southern Orange should be initiated. However, cost implications of providing adequate school and county facilities, in addition to funding the expansion of the Hillsborough court facility dictate that construction of court facilities in southern Orange be considered beyond the scope of this study period. Update: The Board has recently requested that staff pursue discussions with the Town of Chapel Hill to determine the long -term viability of Court facilities in the Old Post Office on Franklin Street; and to further to explore opportunities at that site to develop the required court-related services for which the County is mandated to provide. Should permanent options to providing the space be made available at the downtown site, the County may be able to consider alternative uses of the building footprint previously discussed as the area for future court expansion at the Homestead Road campus. IV Likewise, an independent study is recommended at some point in the future to identify and assess options for providing Jail space to meet the County's long -term detention facility needs. Update: Despite the S`heriff's best efforts, the current capacity of the ,Jail is frequently exceeded with State and Federal inmates. The current CIP includes $1.2 million to develop additional beds for "weekenders" and female inmates; and to develop expanded visitation facilities for inmates and attorneys, etc. Staff have investigated options regarding the use of modular cells either within the confines of the current facility or a modular jail unit that would be located somewhere outside of the current facility. No conclusions have been reached However, options for the Sheriff's consideration are being prepared by the Construction Manager with whom the County contracts. Non - Departmental Agencies Agencies that may reside in County facilities, but for which the County is not mandated to provide space, were also not included in the current space analysis. Examples of such include day care activities that are located in the Northern Human Services Center, Cedar Grove as well at the Northside Center in Chapel Hill. While recommendations will include adaptive reuse of existing buildings in some instances, the space needed to accommodate the predictable growth cannot be found on property.currently owned by Orange County. For this reason, a primary focus of the study is the development of an alternative County campus at a site yet to be determined. Ideally the site would be in or around Hillsborough and offer sufficient acreage, to develop a campus, conceptually similar to the County's campus on Homestead Road. The campus would offer the opportunity to locate most County operations currently located in Hillsborough to the site when growth at their present location could no longer be accommodated. Build out of the campus would be a lengthy process, but would afford the county the opportunity to create a master planned site that allowed rational and sustainable growth for decades to come. In addition, a well located campus might allow the county to promote collaboration with other partners as facilities are developed, encourage mass transportation initiatives, create open space areas and implement other initiatives valued by the County. Update: County Commissioners approved a $23.4 Million project on November 2, 2006 that will provide an additional approximately 93,000 square feet of space in three different buildings. The Gateway Center Building will contain approximately 22,800 square feet and is scheduled for completion in November 2007. The office building, containing approximately 46,700 square feet, plus the new Main library building, containing approximately 23,450 square feet will be completed around May 2008. Allocation of departmental space is discussed further in this update. V Project Development Phases The commencement of project construction or renovation, as may be the case in some of the interim measures suggested, has been segmented into five-year development increments beginning in 2005 and categorized as Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 projects. Therefore: ® Tier 1 projects would begin construction during the period 2005-2010; ® Tier 2 projects would begin construction between 2011 and 2015; and ® Tier 3 projects would begin construction between 2016 and 2020. Additionally, each Tier has been subdivided into 2 1/2 year increments so that projects may be categorized to more accurately reflect the priority of the project. For example, a project that is Tier 1A would begin construction during the period 2005 through mid 2008 and a project designated as Tier 313 would begin construction during the period beginning mid 2018 through 2020. Many of the projects listed will require a pre-construction period of up to two years. During this period, designers would be selected, planning groups consulted, regulatory approvals obtained, bids solicited, etc. in preparation for the construction to begin during the specified project development phase. Funding in the Capital Improvements Plan is likely to reflect planning/design money two years prior to the construction period specified. M � Land Services—Tier 1A A new building at the campus is proposed for "Land Services Departments". The building would ultimately house all land services departments including: Planning and Inspections, Health Department's Environmental Health, Land Records, Register of Deeds, County Engineer, Revenue Department and the Tax Assessor. The county could choose to construct it in ' phases, with priority being given to the Planning and Health Department's Environmental Health functions. Update: The Land Services Departments cited above are recommended for inclusion in the recently approved expanded county campus buildings. There are two office facilities included in the expanded campus, the Gateway Center and the Office Building. The breakdown of potential resident departments for each, as well as potential options to backfilling the space being vacated is listed below. VI The Gateway Center is scheduled for completion in, November 2007. The study group recommends that the register of Deeds and Land records be relocated to this facility. Gateway Center Gross Building Area 22,846 Circulation factor (30 %) 6,854 Net Space Available for Use by Departments 15,992 New Facility Resident Department Current S.F. Desired S.F. Allocation Land Records 3,800 5,930 5930 Register of Deeds 5,263 9,000 9000 Total De t'I Allocation 9,063 14,930 Back —fill location: John M. Link, Jr. &overnment Services Gen 'rer Department Budget Office Finance Office New Facility Current S.F. Desired S.F. Allocation 700 1,740 tbd 1,000. 2,350 tbd AND One of the following depts: Personnel Department 1,350 OR Information 1,900 1,240 1,690 The Office Building is scheduled for completion around May 2008. The study group recommends that the following departments be relocated to this facility: planning and inspections, Environmental Health, revenue Department, Tax Assessor, Economic Development and the County Engineer. One of three other, departments may also be a candidate -for the facility: the Personnel Department, Information Systems or /-lousing and Community Development. Each of these departments has space requirements that would fit within the square footage available for allocation. Recommendations for backfilling the vacated space: o Planning and Agriculture Building: Vacated space would be allocated to Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water and ErCD, pursuant to recommendations of the original space study. Farm Services, a Federal Agency with offices in the Planning and Ag Center may also receive additional space, based on availability. Vll o John M. Link Jr. Government Services Center (The Lints Center): Both the County Manager's office and the Board of Commissioners office would be allocated additional space within this building following completion of the office building. In addition, the Budget, Finance and Information Systems offices would be relocated from the Government Services Center Annex to the Link Center. A large meeting room, similar in size to the Board Boom at the Southern Human Services Center is envisioned for the Link Center. The room could be set up for a variety of functions including, but not limited to: televised meetings for County Commissioners, Town of Hillsborough and the Orange County School Board. The Hillsborough Town Manager has expressed enthusiasm for this alternative, which might enable the Town to limit the size of its new facility at Fairview and therefore eliminate the need to intrude upon an adjacent significant stand of hardwood trees. The study group also discussed possibilities of designing the space such that it could also be used for community performances. Such a development would be a partnership activity with a variety of groups that would likely be called upon to provide assistance with capital funding, should the plan be implemented. Funding to upfit this and other vacated spaces could be provided through the County's CIP during the time appropriate for the work. However, additional funding will likely be required, depending upon the extent of construction for the meeting room /performance space. Partnership funding to support this expense would be pursued as previously referenced. Space vacated in the Government Services Center Annex would be reallocated for Court-related use, consistent with the original Study recommendations. viii Individual space assignments for new and vacated space: Office Building Gross Building Area 46,716 Circulation factor (30%) 14,015 Net Space Available for Use by Departments 32,701 Backtilling space in: John M. UnK, Jr. Government services c;enTer Current S.F. Desired S.F. New Facility Department Current S.F. Desired S.F. Allocation Revenue 1,400 2,100 2,100 Tax Assessor 3,500 3,500 30500 Planning and Inspections 4,800 13,150 13,150 County Engineer 300 700 700 Environmental Health 2,000 7,030 7,630 Economic Development 741 1,020 1020 Sub total 27,500 AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DEPTS Personnel 1,350 1,900 tbd Information Systems 1,240 1,690 tbd Backtilling space in: John M. UnK, Jr. Government services c;enTer Backf illing space in: Planning and Agriculture Building Department Current S.F. Desired S.F. New Facility Department Current S.F. Desired S.F. Allocation County Manager 1562 2,570 tbd County Commissioners 1,200 2,900 tbd Board Room 0 5,000 tbd Backf illing space in: Planning and Agriculture Building Department Current S.F. Desired S.F. Cooperative Extension 5,892 10,250 Soil and Water 1,436 1,970 ERCD 960 1,600 Farm Services Total Dept'l Allocation IX New Facility Allocation 10,250 1,970 1,600 tbd 13,820 Animal Services Building-Tier 1A New construction at a location yet to be designated would function, which the County assumed in 2004, the Animal recently created department that will be responsible for Services activities and the Animal Control offices, whict Hillsborough at the Planning and Agriculture Building. house the Animal Shelter Services Administration, a supervision of all Animal are currently located in Update: The County has acquired property adjacent to the south face of the Landfill on Eubanks Road, upon which to situate the new County Animal Services Facility/. Dixon Weinstein Architects, Chapel mill was approved by the BOCC as the architect of record for the Animal Services Facility design. Dixon Weinstein opted to partner with Gates Hafen Cochraine, a Boulder Colorado firm with extensive national experience in the design of animal shelters and animal support services. The property falls within the jurisdiction of both the Town of Chapel Hill and the County. The timeline for acquisition of the needed approvals (Special Use Permit and re- zoning) is estimated to take at least 95 months and potentially up to two full years. The facility -is planned for a September 2009 completion. However, as noted below, the University of North Carolina is expressing a desire to relocate the facility prior to that time. The Town did grant expedited review, as requested. In December, the BOCC will be asked to consider a lease with the University of North Carolina for the University owned property upon which the present shelter is located. The present site is part of Carolina North, a new campus being planned by the University. The County has requested a three year term to the lease, through 2009, in order to complete the new facility. The University has expressed concern that the three -year term may impede their development of the new campus; however, they are working with the County to develop a lease term that may be mutually satisfactory to all parties. The timeline for the funding of this project remains as a 9A project, which provides funding during FY 2006, FY 2007 or FY 2008. Solid Waste Operations Center -Tier 1A This structure is- needed prior to the Town of Chapel Hill vacating the existing site at the expiration of their lease on December 31, 2007. In addition to offices for the Solid Waste Management staff, the building would also contain a sizeable training room that could accommodate the busloads of school children that routinely visit to learn more about recycling and other related topics. An architect to design the building will be recommended to the Board in the near future. 'Funding for this facility would be provided by the Landfill Enterprise Fund. X Update: Project designers, Dixon- Weinstein met recently with County staff to finalize design plans for the building. The project is expected to go out to bid within the next few weeks. Construction completion is anticipated by Fall 2007. The aforementioned lease extension for the University owned property upon which the Animal Shelter is built, will also affect the location of the current Solid Waste Administration offices. The lease will include this area and will be of a sufficient term to complete the Solid Waste administrative offices on Eubanks Road. The timeline for the funding of this project remains as a 9A project, which provides funding during FY 2006, FY 2007 or FY 2008. Library —Tier I In accordance with the Library Task Force Report and to provide sufficient expansion space for other Human Services Departments at the Whitted Building, a new main Library building is proposed. Approximately 45,000 square feet of Library space is proposed plus a Heritage Center of approximately 10,000 square feet, for a total of 55,000 square feet of new space. The Library could be located on the new county campus, assuming the site met criteria agreed to by the County Commissioners and others as may be appropriate. A cybrary/branch library will remain at the Whitted campus. Update: A new 23,454 square foot main Library will be constructed on the recently approved expanded County Campus in downtown Hillsborough. The County will select a library space planner within the next few weeks to assist with the development of the interior of the building, which is scheduled for completion no later than May 2008. The study group recommends that approximately. 90,000 square feet of the existing Library on Tryon Street be reallocated for use as a Heritage Center. As a reminder, the following information regarding the Heritage Center was included in the Library Task Force report: Orange County has many valuable, even irreplaceable, historical records. Currently these records are scattered and poorly maintained To preserve and consolidate these records and make them available for citizen use, an Orange County Heritage Center is proposed Currently, collections exist in the North Carolina Room (a part of the Orange County Public Library), the Burwell School (records of the Historic Hillsborough Historical Society), and the Orange County Historical Museum. Most of the records held by the last three organizations are not cataloged nor are they readily accessible to researchers. In addition, standard conservation practices are not in place. XI The types of materials already identified include books, periodicals, various types of primary and secondary historic documents, maps, photographs, and organizational records. Other possible resources include video and audio recordings, including collections of oral history. In addition to housing the resources, the facility will require staff and materials processing space, space for researchers, gathering spaces for symposiums and speakers, display areas, and security including lockers for visitors' bags. Environmental concerns must be addressed and the facility will be renovated to be conducive to the preservation of archival materials. Agriculture Services Building —Tier I This project allows renovation of the building being vacated by the Land Services Departments mentioned earlier. Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water and two non - county agencies will occupy the Agriculture Services Building. Update: These recommendations remain intact and would be carried out following relocation of the Planning and Inspections, Environmental Health and potentially ERCD to their various new locations. Square footage allocations by department are listed in the table included in the Land Services — Office Building Section above. The timeline for the funding of this project remains as a 1B project, which provides funding during FY 2009, FY 2010 or FY 2011. Southern Human Services Center —Pier 2A Original plans for the Southern Human Services Center included expansion area to the east end of the building. The Health Department has recently begun primary care at the Whitted Clinic. Staffing constraints preclude the service being implemented at the Southern Human Services Clinic at this time. The Health Director indicates that clinic patients could double within the next five years. As a Tier 2A project, construction of this facility would begin in the timeframe 2011 -mid 2013, six years hence. Social Services functions at this facility continue to expand. The Department added six new employees within the past three years to existing Child Welfare units. Further, in response.to increased service demands on the southern side of the County, an intake unit with seven employees was also relocated to the facility in 2004. Food stamp cases handled by DSS have increased approximately 60% since 2000. A Dental Clinic is, proposed for development contemporaneously with the expansion of the Southern Human Services Center. The current lease, which includes the space for both the Dental Clinic and the Public Defender, expires in June 30, 2008 and has an annual cost of approximately $105,000. Update: The SHSC can expand per the plan cited above. However, the long -term sufficiency of the expansion may be questionable if service delivery for Health services is modified pursuant to current discussions. The Orange County Health Department is exploring long -term service delivery options that would meet the XII rising demand for expanded health care through public health departments. The demand for primary care and refugee services has already outstripped the physical space available. If a large single service location option is fully developed, basic or triage public health services would likely be offered through smaller clinics staffed by one or two persons located strategically throughout the County. Should that service delivery method be employed, it is possible that a smaller clinic would remain at the Whitted Building, with the main clinic located at the Homestead Load Campus. Should this come to fruition, expansion of the SHSC greater than what was originally contemplated is likely. The modified health service delivery plan is only in discussion stages at this point. Implementation would be several years hence and predicated upon reliable public transportation within all parts of the County. It is raised here, however, to acknowledge the possibility that the SHSC may require a footprint significantly larger than previously discussed, or that a second human services building on the Homestead road Campus may be needed In the meantime, planning for re- location of the Dental Clinic, currently operating from leased space at the Carr (Mill /Mall, should begin within the near-term. If fiscally possible, it is recommended that funding for project planning of the new dental clinic be appropriated in the 2007 -2008 CiP. This would allow the County to move forward with a modification to the SHSC SUP permit and be ready for construction as funding becomes available. The lease at Carr (Mill /Mall covers both the area occupied by the Dental Clinic and that occupied by the Public Defender. The Public Defender could be relocated to County -owned property in Hillsborough upon completion of the Justice Facilities Project, thereby vacating the entire leased premises at Carr (Mill (Mall. Although the County will need a three-year renewal of the lease at Carr (Mill /Mall to ensure sufficient space is available for both the public Defender and the Dental Clinic, the end is in sight for the over $105,000 annual lease cost. As a point of reference, $105,000 would support debt service of approximately $1 million. The last cost estimate for a dental clinic, now in need of updating, was $2 Million. The timeline for the funding of this project remains as a 2A project, which provides funding during FY 2011,. FY 2012 or FY 2013. Update: SHSC Residence This little house was designated in the original space study (2000) as .a "conference center ", which essentially consisted of two meeting areas, a kitchenette and an outside deck area that could be used for a variety of fair- weather activities. The house backs up to a park -like area that was envisioned to be "blankets -on- the - ground" seating area for performers that may have used the XIII deck area as performance space. Approximately $150,000 was allocated to the project to fund upfitting the house for handicapped access, developing restroom facilities to meet public building standards, constructing the deck and basically getting the house stabilized to usable condition. This concept was not endorsed during the study deliberations by the Board. Human Services Departments have submitted a proposal to develop the house for use as Family Life Center that would provide family-friendly meeting or counseling space for human services clients. Although their proposal identified uses for the kitchen in the residence, the study group recommends that kitchen requirements be met by collaborating with the Department on Aging for use of the commercial kitchen with demonstration area, in the Seymour Senior Center, almost directly across the street from the house. - No cost estimate was provided for the upfit of the facility for this purpose. As recently as October 17, 2006 the Board discussed the possibility of allowing the residence to be.moved to another location, where it could be used to provide affordable housing or renovating the house to serve as an office for lFC should a men's residential shelter be located at the homestead site. Removing the house would allow a bigger building footprint for future development. A brief analysis of the condition of the structure is forth- coming in a report prepared by a team of employees from Public Works, Building Inspections and the County Engineering office. Options include any one of those previously mentioned. The Parks and Recreation administrative staff, parks operations base staff and the Environment Resource Conservation Department may locate to a County -owned building on Valley Forge Road during an interim period. However, the long term plans, as defined in the Parks Strategic Plan, would construct the necessary facilities at the Blackwood Farm on Highway 86 and New Hope Church Road between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. This site is also proposed for the long -term site of the Arts Commission offices and studio space. Update: Recommendations have been modified to no longer co- locate either ERCD or the Arts Commission with the Recreation and Parks function. ERCD has previously indicated a desire to re- locate departmental operations to the Julia Blackwood property on Millhouse Road. Mrs. Blackwood is in the process of vacating the house so the house has not been fully investigated for needed upgrades for use as office space. That work can be accomplished within the next several weeks. XIV A second option for ERCD has recently become available as well. With the approval of the expanded County Campus project, which will provide the expansion space needed for Planning and Environmental Health functions, the need to provide additional space at the Planning and Agriculture Building is less critical. ERCD could, therefore, maintain offices at their present location. The Arts Commission location is recommended for the Graham Building in Hillsborough, pursuant to earlier studies. The Recreation and Parks Administrative offices, and any part of the Parks Operations Base that is conducive to the site is recommended for the current site of the Emergency Management Offices on New Hope Church Road. As will be indicated further in this document, Emergency Management (EM) operations are recommended for relocation to the Meadowlands facility in Hillsborough. EM desires to fulfill a long -term goal by maintaining a limited amount of space at the current building in order to provide redundant communications capabilities. Approximately 4,500 square feet of space is available for reallocation to Recreation and Parks. This location is in close proximity(less than one mile) to the Blackwood Farm on Highway 86, which was presented as the preferred location of parks operations in the Parks. Strategic Plan. The Parks Operations base currently occupies 4,000 square feet of leased space in the vicinity of Highway 86170A. This level of development, combined with the administrative space requirements, will be challenging to accommodate at the New Hope Church Road site. Additional facilities for a parks operations base could be considered during the development of the Blackwood Farm master plan. The timeline for the funding of this project remains as a 2A project, which provides funding during FY 2011, FY 2012 or FY 2013. XV Emergency Management/9-1 -1 Center -Tier 2 Emergency Management was classified as one of the higher priority needs in the 2000 study. The Department has since absorbed the emergency medical transport function, adding around 30 new employees. While the full complement of medical transport staff is not based from this facility, office space as well as sleeping space for one unit has been created. from a portion of the training room at the facility. The operations at Emergency Management have significantly out -grown the existing space and cramped conditions impair the daily efficiency of operations. The long -term solution, proposed as a Tier 2B project (2013 - 2015) would consolidate the administrative, communications, emergency medical and fire marshal divisions at the new county campus. However, County Commissioners have recently authorized staff to consider acquisition of a building that, among other uses, may serve as an interim location for the administrative and other staff of Emergency Management. The County Campus project approval allows additional space in the downtown area to accommodate the EDC and Information Systems Department, both of whom were scheduled to move to the building recently purchased by the County in the Meadowlands, along with the administrative and Fire Marshal units of Emergency Management. The available space at the Meadowlands facility is sufficiently sized and conducive in design to Emergency Management operations. Therefore it is recommended that the totality of EM operations be relocated to the Meadowlands site. New consoles acquired via a homeland Security Grant are currently under construction and would be delivered to the Meadowlands site in time for installation by March 31, 2007, which is the grant deadline. Further, an emergency generator for the existing Emergency Management building, also provided through grant funds, is being retooled for installation at the Meadowlands facility. The current Capital Investment Plan includes $400,000 for the upfit of this building. /approximately $150,000 is allocated for the upfit of the previous Orange Enterprises site on Valley Forge Road. This study recommends that these funds be re- allocated to the EM project, which will begin upon approval by the Board of Commissioners. Further, the Capital Investment Plan included $6 Million in FY for construction of a new 911 .Center, which may now be reallocated within the CIP projects to address building upfits that are prompted by the implementation of this Study. Public Works Administration and OPT Building —Tier 2 The State of North Carolina has leased a modular office building for use by OPT through 2008. This study recommends that.the lease be renewed, or contingent upon funding from the State a new facility be constructed in conjunction with the Public Works Administrative Building expansion. XV I Update: No change in the. overall recommendations is recommended. However, a master plan of the Public Works site should be completed in an expeditious manner, following decisions regarding the land swap between the County and the Town of Hillsborough. A vehicle compound of sufficient size to accommodate all "off duty County vehicles is to be included in the master plan. Public Works —Motor Pool —Tier 2 Since the Motor Pool was constructed in 1996, the County's fleet has grown by 25% (60 vehicles). Should this growth continue at a similar rate, expanding the six repair bays to at least ten repair bays should be considered in the 2013 -2015 timeframe. Absence of available repair areas will increase the overall cost of contracts to outside repair shops. Update: There is no change in this recommendation. Whitted Human Services Center —Tier 3A The Whitted site can accommodate only minimal expansion of the building. The recommendations of the report assume the relocation of the current Library and the reallocation of the approximately 12,500 square feet to Health and Social Services. One of the primary areas of focus at this building must be in the Health Department — Health clinic. The clinic, already heavily scheduled, began as a primary care facility on January 4, 2005. Already the clinic has seen over 50 new patients, with many more expected as the service becomes more widely known. The current clinic area includes the entire first floor of Building B and has no expansion capability within the current confines. While expansion to an upper floor is within the realm of possibility, the current building configuration would require patients to go outside to access an elevator that would take them the upper levels. In order to avoid this unacceptable practice, the study suggests that additional square footage be added to join the two buildings, thereby creating additional waiting /reception area, program space, meeting rooms., etc. The most important result however, may be the incorporation of the elevator into the interior of the building, which would significantly improve the flow of traffic between Buildings A, and B. a Update: The recently approved expanded county campus will address essentially all of the long -term space needs identified in this report, with the exception of those of the Human Services departments, whose long -term plan for growth beyond the Whitted Building included relocation to an expanded campus. There are ways in which the space needs for these departments may still be met in an orderly and rational manner, however. As discussed in the section regarding the Southern.Human Services Center expansion, new service delivery methods being explored by the Health Department could minimize the amount of additional space needed at the Whitted Building. Expansion possibilities for the facility are constrained by the availability of parking (although the Library re- location will help in this regard); and expansion must also be sensitive to the residential community that surrounds the facility. XVI I While the reallocation of current Library space will be carried out upon completion of the new Main Library on the expanded county campus in 20 08, it seems prudent to make decisions regarding expansion of the Whiffed Building in consideration of decisions yet to be made regarding the preferred method of health services delivery. The Whitted Building expansion is scheduled as a 3A project (funded FY 2016, 2017 or 2018). Heritage Center. The Study recommends that the Heritage Center be located in the Whiffed Building, generally in the high ceiling area of the Library where. the current stacks are located; and the area currently designated as the Carolina Room. The current Library occupies approximately 12,500 square feet of space. Under this plan for reallocation of space, the Heritage Center would occupy approximately 10,000 square feet, with the remaining area reallocated for use by the Departments of Social Services, Health and Housing and Community Development. Areas available for reallocation to Human Services Departments include the current administrative offices on the first level of the building, the children's reading room, the current library conference room and the area currently used as offices for library staff. Significant funding for development of the Heritage Center would be provided through money provided several years ago by a patron. Recreation and Parks Department. As noted earlier in this document, the Recreation and Parks Administrative offices currently located in the gym on -the Whined Building site, are recommended for relocation to the current Emergency /Management Building on New Hope Church Road. This recommendation assumes that some Recreation staff would remain at the Tryon Street facility for oversight of programs that would be available at the facility. While some of the vacated space could be available for program use, such as after school programs, summer children's programs and others, this study recommends the that a much needed break area for the 100+ employees in the Whitted complex he developed in an area yet to be determined. Administrative Building —Tier 3B The last of the buildings recommended for construction in this plan is a facility to co- locate all administrative functions, including: County Manager, County Commissioners, Finance, Budget, Personnel, Board of Elections, Human Rights and Relations, Purchasing and Central. Services, and perhaps the Information Systems Department. At such time the Court needs dictated use of the Government Services Center, the Administrative building would be constructed at the County Campus and the aforementioned departments relocated to that site. XVIII Interim measures are recommended in order to accommodate the inevitable growth of these departments prior to the new facility's construction, however. Following relocation of the Register of Deeds, Land Records, Tax Assessor and Revenue office to the new campus facility, the Manager and Commissioner offices will be allocated additional space within the existing building. In addition, the Finance, Budget and Personnel offices, currently located at the Government Services Center Annex, will relocate to the Government Service Center. The Government Services Center Annex would then be available for reallocation to the Court system. Update: The Board of Elections will not relocate to the Link Center, but will rather remain in the expanded space made available at their existing site by the relocation of the EDC to the expanded county campus. This study recommends that the Human Rights and Relations Department remain at its current location at 503 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, rather than being incorporated into the Administrative Building. Consistent with earlier recommendations, the Government Services Annex will be reallocated for use by Court offices, such as Juvenile Services and Probation /Parole. Staff will be working with the court officers to determine the most efficient use of the space in their operations. Other elements of the Administrative Building project have been discussed elsewhere in this report and are, therefore, not repeated here. Next Steps/Recommendations 1. The report will be modified to reflect any changes agreed to by the Board. 2. Placeholders in the appropriate funding years will be incorporated into the 2005- 2015 Capital Improvements Plan to be presented in April 2005. update: 2007-2017 Capital Improvements Plan, to be presented in Spring 2007. 3. The report will be kept current by updating it periodically to 'reflect decisions made regarding space, such as the Library Task Force Report and the unadopted Parks Strategic Plan. 4. The space needs assessment team, along with other departmental representatives as may be appropriate, will review park properties and buildings contained thereon to determine potential uses that may be recommended. 5. In tandem with the formulation of the annual Capital Plan, cost projections will be updated by credible means for all projects within a two-year development window to ensure accuracy within current conditions. W.