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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-17-2005-1ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 17, 2005 SUBJECT: 2004 Facilities Study Group Key Issues Report DEPARTMENT: Purchasing, Planning, Engineering, Economic Development ATTACHMENT(S): Update on Key Issues Site Plan A and B for Valley Forge Property Action Agenda Item No. I PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Jones, (919) 245 -2652 Craig Benedict, (919) 245 -2585 Paul Thames, (919) 245 -2300 Dianne Reid, (919) 245 -2325 PURPOSE: To receive updates from the 2004 Facilities Study Group regarding key issues. BACKGROUND: The Facilities Study Group has met a number of times to discuss the resolution of key issues stemming from the 2004 Facilities Study Update and other space - related issues that have arisen since the publication of the report. The Justice Facilities Expansion project will be presented by Ken Redfoot with Corley Redfoot Zack, with additional presentations from staff on the projects listed in the attached document. FINANCIAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact to receive the updated information. Fiscal impacts for each project discussed will be noted as may be appropriate. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board accept the information and provide comment and direction to staff as the Board may choose. 0 2004 Facilities Study Group Update on Key Issues October 17, 2005 The Facilities Study Group has met a number of times to discuss outstanding space issues related to the 2004 Facilities Study update, as well as space issues that have arisen since the publication of that report. This report to the Board is intended to present information that is of interest to the Board and to present issues that have reached some degree of resolution with the facilities study group and are now ready to be discussed, modified and /or approved by the full Board of Commissioners. As a reminder, members of the 2004 Facilities Study Group include County Commissioners Steve Halkiotis and Barry Jacobs and County staff: John Link, Paul Thames, Dianne Reid, Craig Benedict and Pam Jones. The 2004 update furthers the work begun in the original study completed in 20oo by a group that included Commissioner Alice Gordon and then - Commissioner Margaret Brown. Information and updates regarding the following topics will be presented during the October 17, 2005 worksession: • Justice Facilities Expansion • Parks Operations Base /Parks Administration office location • ERCD office location • Status of acquisition of storage facility • Board of Elections space • Animal Shelter • Miscellaneous updates: i. Property for a Carrboro Library ii. Sportsplex /Central Orange Senior Center update iii. County Building ADA Compliance • Parking in Downtown Hillsborough • High Performance Building Guidelines Justice Facilities Expansion Project CRZ has worked with both the interior and exterior planning committees on this project in some context. Since the interior of the building drives many decisions regarding the exterior of the building, the exterior planning committee work has been primarily limited to discussions about the public market (farmer's market) and River Park. The purpose of the presentation by CRZ during the October 17, 2005 worksession is to test assumptions made about the proposed size of the addition. The program for the new addition, as developed by CRZ in consultation with the users of the building, reflects a need for approximately 38,000 square feet to meet the basic program for the building. The project heretofore has been structured around a building of approximately 25,000 -- 27,000 square feet, which was derived from previous court facility studies that showed a need for approximately 1oo,000 square feet, built in four phases. In previous action, the 3 Board of Commissioners agreed that only one phase of courthouse expansion would be built on Margaret Lane. The additional square footage is estimated to cost an additional $2.2 - -$2.5 million, which is would be within the current debt capacity in the timeframe during which the funds will be needed, according to the Budget office. It should also be noted that the 2004 Facilities Study update provides approximately 37,000 square feet in addition to the courthouse expansion, by consolidating County operations to a central campus by 202o and reallocating the vacated buildings to court functions. The Jail is the only remaining facility that will need additional consideration beyond the 2004 Study update. Parks Operations Base/ Parks Administrative offices at Valley Forge ro ei The Parks Strategic Plan calls for Parks operations to be located at the Blackwood Farm on Highway 86 at New Hope Church Road at some point in the future. In the interim, the 2004 Facilities Plan Update recommended that the Parks and Recreation administrative staff, parks operations base staff and the Environment Resource Conservation Department be relocated to a County -owned building on Valley Forge Road. This in an effort to reduce rental costs for the parks operations base, currently in leased space; and to provide limited relief at the Planning and Agriculture Building, which was a top priority in the study. Additional meetings held by the space study group with both David Stancil, ERCD Director and Lori Taft, Recreation Director yielded modifications of the original recommendations as follows: ERCD • ERCD has requested that their offices be located at the Julia Blackwood property, Millhouse Road, Chapel Hill. • This move provides limited expansion (1300 + /- square feet) at the Planning and Ag Building. The Board is asked to endorse the move, which is targeted to be effected during the fourth quarter 2006. Parks Operations Base /Administrative Offices The County Engineer has developed a site plan for the Valley Forge property that reflects the traffic flow requested by the Recreation Director. Site Plan A reflects the access road design if the Hillsborough flood plain buffer is followed. Site Plan B reflects the access road design if the County flood plain buffer is followed. This project lies within Hillsborough's planning jurisdiction. Both designs will accommodate the movement of large vehicles pulling equipment trailers that will be brought to the site as a result of the parks operations, however, the cost for T development of Site Plan B would likely cause the County to re -think the use of the building for the Parks Operations Base purposes due to cost of the construction of the access road. An evaluation team consisting of a building inspector, fire marshal and staff representatives from Public Works, Planning, Purchasing and Engineering has conducted a site visit to assess the current structure on Valley Forge Road facility. Their findings will be presented during the worksession on October 17, 2005. Orange Enterprises, the current occupant of the building, will be moving to their new location by January 2006, thereby clearing the way for the County to implement whatever plans we deem appropriate regarding the use of this building. Based on information provided herein and during the worksession, the Board may wish to explore options that include, but are not limited to, whether the County should: • Option is Renovate the building and site to accommodate the Parks Operations Base /Parks Administration; o If renovations are to occur, recommend which site plan should be used as the basis for design; • Option 2: Not renovate the building to accommodate the Parks Operations Base /Parks Administration • If no renovation is to occur, discuss the advisability of building a structure for the parks operations base somewhere in the vicinity of the Public Works /Fairview Park site; or • In the alternative, continue to lease the existing parks operations base until such time the appropriate facilities are constructed at the Blackwood Farm as a permanent location of the operations base. The current annual lease for the parks operations base is $33,000. • Option 3: Consider relocating other County offices to the building. Outstanding issues that have arisen since the publication of the 2004 Facilities Study Update and that potentially could be addressed at this facility include: • Board of Elections need for additional office space and storage for equipment, ballots, etc. • Expansion of Farm Services Agency (FSA), presently located at the Planning and Agriculture Building. (Note: Relocating FSA to this facility should likely also include the relocation of all other agriculture related functions in the Planning and Agriculture Building in order to maintain effective collaboration among the departments.) • Option 4: Consider marketing the building for sale. FYI, the current tax value according to the Tax Assessor's office is $291,877 Storage Facility Acquisition 5 The County continues in negotiation with the property owner regarding acquisition of a facility that can adequately address the long -term storage needs for the County, as well as provide needed expansion space for the Emergency Management and Information Systems Departments (and potentially the Economic Development Commission as noted below). The Board may recall that Emergency Management, in particular, was noted as a high priority department for whom additional space should be provided. The new facility would accommodate the administrative and fire marshal staff and would also provide a location for a new Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Resolution of this matter is expected within a matter of a few weeks. Board of Elections Space Request The Board of Elections (BOE) has requested additional space for their operations and storage needs within the past few months. While the aforementioned storage facility can theoretically address their storage needs for equipment, it does not provide relief for operations space. The Economic Development Commission (EDC) office has agreed to allow the BOE primary use of their conference room in the Court Street Annex, the current location of both departments, however, this does little to address the overall space concerns expressed by the BOE. The space study group has identified two options as potential solutions: • Option is Relocate the EDC offices to the proposed storage facility building at such time acquisition is finalized and allow the BOE to expand into the approximately 741 square feet now occupied by EDC; or • Option 2: Relocate BOE to the approximately lo,000 square foot Orange Enterprises facility in the event the Board chooses not to upfit the facility for the Parks operation or for relocation of farm services related functions, currently located in the Planning and Ag Building. Animal Shelter County Commissioners have recently approved the purchase of property on the south side of Eubanks Road, adjacent to the east side of the Landfill. Closing on the property is conditioned on the County being able to obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals from the Town of Chapel Hill to site the Shelter. The Town has indicated that the site will need a Special Use Permit (SUP) and a Zoning Compliance Permit (ZCP). The expedited review for the SUP, which the County would request, is estimated by the Town to take approximately 18 months; the ZCP, another five months. Since the SUP and ZCP require that the project architect complete much of the work, the Request for Proposal process to obtain an architect is being expedited at the County level. A recommendation to the Board is expected before the Holiday break. Much of the design of the facility would logically flow in tandem with the regulatory approval process. Assuming a construction time of approximately 18 months, combined with the SUP and ZCP approvals, the project completion is likely to be completed by mid -2009. While the University has heretofore expressed a willingness to allow the existing Shelter to remain at its present location after the January t, 2007 lease expiration, it is unclear how the move to I remediate the existing hazardous materials landfill on UNC land will affect their ability to fulfill that commitment. Options to the Shelter development timeline may be required. Staff will be working to identify alternatives that could enable a more aggressive timeline for project development and will keep the Board apprised of each new bit of information. As an aside, the development of this project may also need to include the construction of a water line to the property of Mrs. Nunn, which is located behind (south of) the property being acquired by the County for the Shelter. There is a provision included in the June 1999 recommendations from the Community Benefits Committee that certain conditions might trigger water line extension to the Nunn property. One condition that was specifically contemplated was "water lines being extended within the vicinity of the Nunn property (for example, water lines along Eubanks Road) ". Miscellaneous Updates Carrboro Library The Facilities Study Group, accompanied by a building inspector, toured a building in Carrboro that had been offered by the owner as a potential site for a library facility. Several properties have been referred to the County for consideration for that purpose. However, the County's limited capital funding is likely to be inadequate to address the priorities set forth in the Library Task Force report, which also prescribes a large central library facility in Hillsborough. In order to be able to consider property opportunities for a Carrboro library that may arise from time to time, the Board may wish to adopt a principle that encourages the Town to provide partnership funding in order to bring the library to fruition more quickly. Snortsplex /Central Orange Senior Center With the acquisition of the Sportsplex nearing closure, planning for the interior of the senior center will accelerate. The Board may expect to see recommendations for the planning committee to guide the interior design on a November agenda. ADA Compliance The Space Study group wants to ensure that County buildings are compliant with ADA requirements. To that end, members of the study group will facilitate the update of the County's plan and identify buildings that may have compliance issues so that funding to resolve them may be included in the upcoming CIP. Parking in Downtown Hillsborough As will be indicated in the Architect's presentation of the Justice Facilities Expansion project, on -site parking around the courthouse will be significantly reduced with the completion of the construction project. This will necessitate a new way of thinking about transportation to the downtown Hillsborough area. This presentation will not attempt to present solutions to the issue, but rather is 7 intended to prompt thought and contemplation about the needed resources to carry out a successful transportation plan. High Performance Building Guidelines It is also notable that the courthouse addition will incorporate many of the design elements from the High Performance Building Standards, developed by a task force led by Triangle J Council of Governments and including local government (Orange County included) and design firm representatives in the Triangle area. The Guidelines, first published in zooi, are now nationally recognized for their innovation and quality of results and are a model for others across the nation. .Although County projects incorporate the principles presented in the Guidelines, in the near future, the Board will be asked to consider officially adopting them for application in County construction projects. Should you like to review the Guidelines prior to them being formally presented for Board action, please visit the Triangle J website at www.tjcog.dst.nc.us. J ' S o! i Y �m i u o m r C K O tl * I K i S ikr P6� S at 1 N N m � / LWa 1 aSO \ o6i•� i m I G t ' W � t 'd� l0Q P w v i-i 2 'i u