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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-04-1995 - X-E r 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. X-E ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 4,1995 SUBJECT: Report: Justice Facility Study Group Findings DEPARTMENT: PURCHASING AND Public Hearing:Yes: No:XX CENTRAL SERVICES Budget Amendment Regd? NO ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Excerpt from report: "Summary PAM JONES, ext.2650 and Recommendations" Telephone Number- Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 967-9251 Mebane 227-2031 Durham 688-7331 PURPOSE: To present information resulting from the work of the Justice Facility Study Group. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners established a Justice Facility Study Group on January 4, 1994. The charge to the group was to: • Conduct a needs assessment for Court system functions, to include, but not be limited to, Superior Court, District Court, District Attorney, Clerk of Court, Juvenile Services, Probation and Parole, Guardian ad [item program, Public Defender, as well as to assess the needs of the Sheriffs Department, including the Jail function; and • Conduct an inventory of existing facilities available for use by the Court system and the Sheriffs Department; and • Analyze the adequacy of the identified facilities; and • Explore alternatives to traditional methods of service delivery by the Court system and Sheriffs Department as it respects facility use; and • Provide twenty year growth projections of anticipated space requirements for each agency; and • Make recommendations regarding future facilities needs. The results of the groups' many meetings over the past year are articulated in the Justice Facility Study Group report. The section of this report entitled "Summary and Recommendations" is attached to this abstract. Full copies of the report are available upon request to the Commissioner's office. Representative(s) from Grier-Fripp, the facilitator for the process will be present at the meeting to respond to questions. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report as information. CHAPTER 7 - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY To use a process that outlines a vision and develops a mission statement for long range planning is a unique opportunity for Orange County. The Justice Facilities Study Committee has set the course for sound and efficient planning to meet the future judicial and related agency service needs for the benefit of its citizens. Key to this effort has been the diverse representation of the membership comprising the Justice Facilities Study Committee. Each committee member represents one of the county government agencies addressed in this planning process. Each brought to the discussions his or her department's perspective of future needs necessary to deliver effective and efficient services to the citizens of Orange County. Mission and Master It is envisioned that the mission statement developed will Plan serve as the measure for all subsequent discussions for planning focused on meeting the needs of the existing and future requirements of the Judicial system. The master plan for the overall implementation of the projected phased construction plan responds to the mission statement, identifies current and future needs of the respective departments, is "citizen focused" in design and meets the strategic, geographic and demographic needs of the public. Concept Location The facilities that will house the Judicial and related services will be in two locations. The Primary Facility will be located in Hillsborough to take advantage of the capital investment in existing facilities and the opportunity afforded by available land strategically located between the New Courthouse and the Government Services Center. There is sufficient land to accommodate the projected facility needs through the year 2020 including the required parking. This concept assumes the continued reuse of the Old Courthouse and existing jail on the opposite sides of Margaret Lane. The Primary Facility will be a multi-level structure with an accompanying parking structure located off of Margaret Lane. It will be connected to and between the New Courthouse on Churtin Street and the New Government Services Center. Here there is the opportunity to combine existing facilities of judicial, law enforcement, detention and related services for "one stop shopping" at a central 7-1 J 3 1 CHAPTER 7 - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS related services for "one stop shopping" at a central governmental complex. There is also the added challenge of creating an architectural design that projects a "citizen friendly" image while developing an aesthetic that is sympathetic and responsive to the Historical Character of Hillsborough. Incorporating the existing courts and detention facilities into this future complex will realize significant savings for the overall cost of construction. The Secondary Facility will be a single story facility located in Chapel Hill possibly on land owned by the County on Homestead Road or along the I-40 corridor between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough (see Figure 1). This facility is envisioned to be a satellite facility providing limited duplicative services to the population center in the southern end of Orange County. The selected site will need to meet criteria that addresses ease of access to public transportation, availability to utilities, buildability and size with respect to being able to accommodate future expansion. Time Schedule for In order to address the identified 1995 deficiencies of space Occupancy (approximately 28,000 gross square feet) and construct facilities sufficient to meet the space needs through the year 2020, it is the Justice Facilities Study Committee's recommended goal to occupy both site locations by the year 2000. This means that initial steps towards achieving that goal need to be started immediately and following the outline in Figure 31. Scope of Project The projected gross square footage required for the years 2005 and 2020 are; 213,530 and 312,840 square feet respectively. The estimated total project costs for the years 2005 and 2020 are $24,228,100 and $34,723,400 respectively. These estimates include escalation for inflation and assume a phased construction building plan to be completed in the years 2005 and 2020. The total project costs spent for construction by the year 2020 would be $58,951,500.. 7-2 1 , CHAPTER 7 - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS If the optional plan is to complete all construction by the year 2000 such that the facility is large enough to meet the space requirements up to the year 2020, the total estimated project cost would be $51,961,230. This option would require only one construction period and a single financing effort as compared to a multiphased construction plan requiring multiple financing efforts. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations were made by the Justice Facilities Study Committee in order of priority; ♦ Work together with the Orange County Commissioners to either adopt or modify the recommended action plan of this Committee. ♦ Finalize Schedule for Action Plan. ♦ Coordinate with the Orange County Capital Improvements Program for establishing a funding timeline. ♦ Create a Steering Committee Identify Members and Their Roles Prepare for Consensus Building Create a"Game Plan" ♦ Contract for Needs Assessment Inmate projections Evaluate existing building systems ♦ Contract for Definitive Program Document ♦ Contract for Site Selection Create a Site Selection Committee ♦ Contract for Schematic Design Based on specific site, needs assessment and program documents ♦ Implement"Selling the Concept" Public Information Meeting Multi-Media and Event Exposure ♦ Obtain financing through bonds or other financing mechanisms identified in this report. 7-3 5 CHAPTER 7 - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ♦ Contract for Design and Engineering ♦ Bid and Award Construction Contract ♦ Complete Construction ♦ Occupancy by January 2000 7-4