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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-25-2000-1aDRAFT Revised 9,-`07100 ORANGE COUNTY Policy an Planning and Funding School Capital Projects (This document is intended to clan fig the expectation,~~ of the Orange Coarnty Boas' of Coraa~aaissioners in collabo~°ating with t1~e Boas°ds of Education in planning for and implementing school capitalp~~~ojects. This ~~ersion of the. ch°aft includes com~rnents recei~~ed Ji°ona the. J"chool Capital Plannii~g~Ficnding Task Foy°ce. and Sa,~perintendents from both School Syste~aa~s. The staff' assuraa~piion is that additional comments may be received froraa members of the. Taslt Force. Follotiving the. receipt of those comments, additional wog°k rna}.~ be done on this draft. ~ final draft of tl2is policy will be tr°ansr~2itted to the BOCC and the two school boards 1. Background The County's ten year capital investment plan is a planning document that is updated annually. Before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Board of County Commissioners approves the funding plan in concept. However, funding of individual projects is contingent upon the scope of work required to complete the project. Concern: Clearly • Level 1 Projects: Level one projects are those projects that have a relatively define Level 1 and small scope of work and can be accomplished using a single prime contractor, Leve12 projects. in-house staff or entail purchasing equipment and vehicles. Specific examples of Level 1 projects include roofing projects, parking lot paving and re-wiring Possible -~' of existing buildings. The Board approves the entire pr~je~ct ordinance at one time. Solution • Level 2 Projects: Level two projects are major projects that require several phases to complete. For these projects, the Board approves funding for individual components as project scope develops rather than allocating a lump sum for the life of the project. Major components include: Concern: Continue to • Planning, architect, engineering use the "phased • Site acquisition and associated fees approval approach" • Construction for Leve12 projects but decrease the • Equipment, Furnishings, Non-Reeuning Start-Up costs number of times the I ~ * Technology Board of Commissioners approves the project and ordinance Tzming is a major concern in the fnulti- Possible Solution Page 1 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Revised 9,-`07100 2. Site Standards In accordance with North Carolina State Statutes, a local board of education cannot execute a contract nor expend funds to purchase a facility site without the consent of the local board of county commissioners. As each school system in Orange County plans for future school-related facilities, it is important that they adhere to the following guidelines related to the potential acquisition, either by purchase or donation, of a site, in addition to any siting criteria they may have established internally: Pote7~tial Sites -The Board of Education is to notify the Orange County Board of Cotnmissioners, in writing, whenever they have tentatively identified a potential school site for purchase, or if a potential donor indicates interest in donating a site to the system. The written correspondence should provide the following information for Commissioner consideration: • Location, including tax map numbers, of the potential site; • Opportunities for additional facilities to be co-located as a park site, as outlined in the "Memorandum of Agreement for Providing Coordinated Site and Facility Planning"; • The availability of public utilities at or in close proximity to the site; • If a donated site: • Any knowledge of a donor's plans for adjacent development; Concern: Ensuring that the • Special considerations or expectations the donor may have entire Board of referenced in initial discussions pertaining to the donation; Commissioners is aware of tallcs Upon receipt of the Board of Education's notification, the Commissioners and potential will appoint, by a majority vote of the Board, a representative to work sites from the beginning; avoid directly with the Board of Education. As a partner with the school system, "surprises" in the the Commissioner representative ~~~ill receive information and provide input end Page 2 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Re~~ ised 9,-`07100 Possible Solution Environmental Factor°s - A school system is to pay particular attention to the physical environment surrounding the site and new facility. + In order to avoid future flood hazards, a facility should not be located in close proximity to wetlands, stream buffers, or in a flood plain. Facility siting should also avoid other physical factors that create either additional construction or longer-term maintenance problems, or other unfavorable enviroiunental impacts. + Once a system acquires a site and before grading begins, each school system receives State approval of its erosion control plan and additional County review to ensure that unnecessary cutting of trees or clearing of land does not occur. Adequate natural buflers are to be left intact with existing trees, or replanted if the areas are disturbed during constttiiction. Special attention should be paid to "specimen" trees as outlined in the County land development code. Roacl and Utility Requirements - l~lajor elements for a system to consider in siting a new facility relate to infrastructure requirements by a Town or other public utility. In some recent instances, the systems have been required to provide costly infrastYucture such as sidewalks and road improvements. These elements greatly inflate construction costs of new facilities. As a system begins initial planning, there should be a joint meeting between elected Town, County and Education officials to discuss particular requirements that all parties expect of other project partners. Concern: CHGCS has a 3. Building Design Standards concern with the "detailed cost comparison analysis"; As a school system selects a particular facility design, it is important that they feel this would add to the most cost-effective design alternative be pursued. Historically in the cost of the project and Orange County, new school buildings have been designed uniquely for may not be able to be provided until the architect each particular project. The Board of Commissioners encourages has proceeded far into the systems to pursue non-traditional, or prototype, designs that can be project replicated for use on more than one project. Should a system choose a unique design, it is to provide a detailed cost cotnparison analysis and Perhaps this needs further justification in ~i-~riting of ~~~hy that particular approach was chosen o ~ discussion to address a prototype design. Commissioner concerns that using prototype signs is one area «here 4. Construction Standards school systems could Over the past fe~v years, the County has given special attention to defining construction standards for each school level -elementary, middle and high schools. The standards provide a Page 3 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Revised 9/07/00 minimum and maximum square footage and student capacity for each level. As a system undertakes construction of a new facility, it is critical that the system adheres to the most recent school construction standards (estimated project cost should include a reasonable allowance for inflation). The Conunissioners agree to provide funding for new school facilities that are designed within the adopted standards. They do not agree to fiend projects that go beyond the adopted standards unless there is sufficient justification provided in writing by the Board of Education. One justification for going beyond the standards centers on conmiunity use of the new facility. For example, a system may design a facility with a "larger than standards gymnasium" that allows for citizen/community use. In this case, the system must provide detailed explanations outlining the benefits to be offered to the community and citizens, in the context of the intergovernmental "Memorandum of Agreement for Providing Coordinated Site and Facility Planning". 5. Project Approval A project's inclusion in the ten-year plan does not give the Schools or the County legal authority to expend funds. The legal authority to expend fixnds lies in County Conmlissioner approved capital project ordinances. Therefore, the schools should not incur any expenses for any capital project until the Board of County Commissioners approves the capital project ordinance. In order to provide timely flow of the approval process and ensure that all elements are addressed, the follo~~-~ing steps should be followed: • Details included in each system's ten-year Capital Investment Plans regarding the scope and timing of various phases of individual capital projects is limited. To that end, as individual Boards of Education begin discussions related to new capital projects (new construction, site acquisitions, major renovations, etc), they will be expected, in writing, to notify the Board of County Commissioners of the substance of those discussions. The rnernorandum from the School Board will: Provide the Commissioners ~~~ith an overview of the project concept along with other project specifics that the Board of Education has defined to that point; • Justify the need based on current school capacities and projected student enrollments consistent with the School Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (if the Ordinance is in effect at this time); • Provide a preliminary cost projection of the project based upon the adopted school construction standards and provisions of the Cost Effective Facilities Initiative (CEFI), -Thich has derived from earlier discussions about "value engineering" (if this policy is in Request that the Board of Commissioners approve a capital project ordinance to provide funding for the initial planning phase of the project; Page 4 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Revised 9,-`07100 • Instruct the Superintendent to update the County Manager, in writing, of the project's progress at his,~'her monthly meetings t~~•ith the County Manager. • Upon receipt of the memorandum from the Board of Education, the Board of Commissioners will: • Act upon the project concept by either approving it or asking the Board of Education to amend the concept plan; + Instruct County staff to confirm the project's cost estimate and student capacity in accordance with the County's adopted School Construction Standards Reports along with student enrollment projections; • If the Board of Commissioners approves the project concept, the County Budget Director will prepare an agenda abstract and related capital project ordinance that provides funding for the concept and pre-planning phase of the project; • Appoint, by majority vote of the Board, either a Comrnissi entative that ~ project) and one staff representative, or two staff representatives, to partner ~ ~ on design with the school system as the plans develop; Possible is same ~ working • Instruct the County Manager to update the Commissioners on a So~utinn ;h the siting regular basis regarding the written information shared by the School s Superintendent. 6. Expenditure of Project Funds Funding for Project Planning - School systems will not expend or encumber for planning of any project until the Board of County Commissioners has approved the plan concept. Backg~°ound -For several years, the Board of Commissioners has approved a capital project ordinance entitled Planning for Future Projects for each school system. The creation of these ordinances enabled a system to expend a portion of their pay-as-you-go funds for planning during a project's conceptual stages. Once a project grew beyond the concept stages, systems requested the Commissioners to approve a "project specific" capital project ordinance allocating all funds anticipated to carry out the planned project. In turn, each district expended their monies up-front for planning, design, architect, construction, furniture and equipment. In return, the County reimbursed each District with all of the project-related expenditures up to the total project budget. With the changes implemented by the County Commissioners in June 1999, this process has changed. It is important to note that wiles a County approved capital project ordinance is in place (i.e. adopted by the County Conmussioners), that the County is Page 5 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Revised 9i07i00 not legally or otherwise obligated to reimburse the school system foi• their expenditures. If the Board of County Commissioners approve the project concept and capital project ordinance as outlined in Item 5 above, the following steps occur: Following Board of Commissioner approval of final plans for the project, the school system advertises for construction bids; Once the system receives the bids, the School Superintendent notifies the County Manager, in writing, of the result of all bids received. • The bid 7. Submission Timelvies + While the Board of Education may receive the bids, it should not execute any contract until the Board of County Commissioners receives bid information and approves a capital project ordinance for the construction phase of the project; Concern: Include timeline, due dates, and docLUnentation requirements (bid tabulations, eta) for BOCC review and approval ~i.e. getting information on BOCC agenda) ~~ • Fourteen days prior to the meeting, the County Budget. Director submits a draft Possible agenda. abstract inchtdu1g the bid tabulation and capital project ordinance to the S°~Ot1O1 County Manager's office for review. Tlie Budget Director fot-~~~ aids (via e-mail or fax) a copy of the abstract and attaclunents to the School Finance or Budget Director- and the Director of Facilities for review and comments. Upon adoption by the Board of Commissioners, the County Budget Director informs the School Finance and Budget Director and the County Finance Director of the abstract Page 6 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects DRAFT Re~~ ised 9i07i00 approval and the assigned account number(s). This is done via a standard memorandum that indicates purpose and account codes. • All requests for payment from the School Finance Directors are fonuarded to the County Finance Department for payment. The County Finance Department ensures that the requisition for payment falls within the purposes approved by the Board of Education. Concern: l address BO approti~al of change orde Tinazng is a concern ora part o~f~thc 8. Change Orders The School Superintendent submits, in writing, to the County Manager all contract change orders for the project. Upon receipt of the information, the County Budget Director prepares an agenda abstract and an amended capital project ordinance for approval by the Board of Commissioners at their nett scheduled meeting. cause project expenditur over budget, the School ~ must receive approval fr Board of Commissioners Page 7 of 7 Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects