Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: MARCH 1, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: JEFFREY W. COLLIER, ACTING City Manager
PREPARED BY: MEG MCWADE, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
MATT LIGHTNER, ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST II
SUBJECT: Facility ConDition Assessment – COST ESTIMATES UPDATE
SUMMARY
In advance of the budget process, this report provides updated costs for the previously completed Facility Condition Assessment for 20 buildings, as well as a more detailed look at City Hall and Police Department Facility needs. Staff will utilize the information in this report should the City opt to pursue a City Facility Use Optimization Study in the future.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact from the review of this report which provides information in advance of the budgeting process and any facility use study. The 2019 EMG Facility Condition Assessment Study reviewed 20 of the City’s 108 facilities and identified $86.7 million (staff has escalated costs throughout the report to reflect current construction pricing and inflation conditions) in needed upgrades over a twenty-year period. The 2019 study identified $18.9 million in upgrades by FY 2023-24. The City will continue to utilize its annual allocation of $540,000 in Facility Capital Repair funding to address some of the Facility Report items as well as other priority repairs and upgrades not considered in the report.
DISCUSSION
Facility Condition Assessment
The City currently maintains 108 structures including community centers, park snack stands and bathroom structures. To better understand the City’s infrastructure needs, the City hired a consultant in 2018 to perform a condition assessment of 20 of the City’s 108 facilities. The 20 selected facilities included main City structures including City Hall, Fire Stations, the Police Department, etc. The other 88 city facilities include community centers, park snack stands and bathroom facilities. Specific facilities in the report, such as the Police Department, include multiple buildings as one facility. The Police Department operated in three separate buildings that the report considers one facility.
EMG conducted the facility assessment reviewing items such as lighting fixtures, floor rehabilitation, roof rehabilitation and other similar repair needs. While the report identified some obvious mechanical, electrical and plumbing items, the study examined visible areas. The assessment provided a timeline represented as one-year (immediate), three-year, five-year, ten-year and 20-year costs. The City’s adopted Infrastructure Conditions and Funding Report FY 2019-20 included the original funding needs. The EMG reports indicated Fullerton would require a minimum of $79,551,500 to upgrade these 20 facilities over a 20-year period using a 3% year-over-year inflation rate. To account for current construction inflation as well as possible costs associated with ARPA funding constricting supply and demand in the next five years, staff applied an additional 9% to the original study estimate. The revised amount is $86,711,135 over a 20-year period. The following chart shows the anticipated need by facility:
Facility Condition Findings: City Hall and Police Department Staff attached the EMG Reports for City Hall and Police Department facilities (Attachment 1 and 2 respectively) with this report. The funding needs for these buildings by 2039 total approximately $24M to proactively address replacements rather than addressing these items as failures occur. The funding needs identified in the first five years (FY 19 through FY 24) totaled $5,351,900. Of this amount, City Hall identified repair costs of $4,542,400 and Police Department repair costs of $809,500 over a five-year period.
While the City performs some of the minor repairs and upgrades in-house, the City needs capital funds to address the majority of these issues. As mentioned in the Fiscal Impact section, the City has an internal service fund that collects an amount from user departments to provide for future capital improvements related to facilities. The funding collected equals approximately $540,000 per year, an amount that has not escalated due to budget constraints, although facilities continue to age and costs continue to increase.
Since the time of the completed Study, staff worked to complete identified facility repair needs at City Hall and the Police Department buildings predominantly through the City’s operational budget. City staff has completed 14 repair items identified by EMG with a total repair cost of $178,655. The Police Department buildings have received six EMG identified repairs with a total cost of $11,130. These repair items include lighting fixtures, drinking fountains, elevators and water storage.
EMG also identified a large amount of lighting repair needs which the City will address through the energy efficiency upgrade project with NORESCO. The identified work handled through this program totals $538,715. The City will use energy savings that result from installation of more efficient lighting to fund these projects.
Please see Attachment 3 - City Hall and PD Facility 5-Year Identified Repair Needs for a full list of recommended repairs from the EMG study for completion by FY 2024.
Staff identified other repair and upgrade needs for both facilities since completion of the study. City Hall added a storage facility in the basement for files requiring specific retention. The five-year plan provided by EMG did not include floors but the City completed needed repairs for the second floor. The elevators also present a constant expenditure not identified as an on-going expense in the report. The cost for these unidentified repairs has totaled approximately $164,000.
The City replaced the Sewer Main Line at the Police Department, due to an unanticipated failure. The approximate cost for this repair equaled $45,000. Staff recently applied for a grant to provide funding for the historic courtyard repairs. The following chart indicates the repairs and upgrades not considered in the original EMG Study:
Additional Improvements Identified for the Police Department The Police Department has identified additional repairs and upgrades, some of which the EMG facility needs assessment did not fully address. The following lists the improvements recommended by the users of the facility with many unscheduled due to need for additional funding to effectuate the project:
The report identified the locker room as a number one priority and separated it into two distinct projects: plumbing and showers and locker upgrades. The City has recently replaced a portion of the plumbing in the Police Department Men’s Locker Room and additional work remains in the planning phase to correct shower location, water flow, deteriorated tile, etc.
The separate locker upgrades are specifically designed for police personnel. The lockers provide air ventilation, electrical outlets to charge equipment, access drawers and garment hangers. The approximate price for this upgrade will range between $600,000 to $840,000, depending on the timing of project and design requirements.
Identified repair needs at the Police Department also included a solar panel shade structure for the parking lot, paint for the three police buildings, automated vehicle gate repairs, courtyard revitalization, options for the neon police sign and a covered walkway between the buildings. The City’s energy efficiency upgrade project will provide a solar shade structure over the parking lot once the project reaches the solar construction phase.
Staff is replacing the automated gates for vehicle ingress and egress. The project will replace the motors and chains since the gate structure itself is in working condition. While EMG identified these for later replacement, the continuing failures of these gates pulled the items forward for prioritization.
The building paint for historic structures creates an issue due to the lead-based paint used at the time of construction. Staff is looking into the remediation and paint costs for this project. The tower presents a logistical issue that will require more time to determine the best course of action for painting the historic buildings. Staff applied for grant funding to improve and revitalize the Police Courtyard. The City will receive award notification in March 2022.
Additionally, staff is reviewing historic building documentation concerning the neon Police sign. The sign is consistently vandalized, which the City can mitigate by moving the sign inside of the building or placing a case around the sign where it stands. Staff will weigh options against the historic status of the sign and possible placement in the building. Staff is reviewing the requested covered walkway between the police buildings related to future construction needs and design feasibility.
These prioritized needs will require an estimated $1,825,000. The City will pursue grants where possible, but the majority of the improvements will require additional City funding. This brings the five-year (FY 19 through FY 24) funding need to $2,634,406 for the Police Department facilities.
City Facility Repairs – General Information
The City has 108 identified structures repaired and maintained by City staff within the operational budget. The City’s work order program tracks the repairs, which helps extend the life of equipment and buildings. This program tracks the labor cost, supply cost and locations of repairs for the City. This program tracks the basic costs of maintaining facilities which include paint, floor repair, lock replacement and other minor repair needs. The EMG report identified some of these items addressed in-house. The City does not consider these repairs as a part of the Facility Capital Repair Fund as these comprise the basic repair needs for all 108 structures in the City. Repairs tracked through this program totaled $3,512,175 over a three-year period. City Hall repairs and Police Department building repairs account for $896,636 of this tracked cost over the same period.
Future Facility Options
Similar to many of the City’s infrastructure needs which have grown over decades, the need for repairs and upgrades outpace the funding available. City Council has the option to perform a facility use study that could review the operational needs of the City, facilities and current and future uses and make recommendations to consolidate and/or expand property utilized by the City. Should City Council desire to pursue such a use study to optimize space and facilities, this report provides condition assessment information helpful to a consultant in their development of recommendations.
Similarly, the City can look at other options for replacing facilities by investigating options for potential development of City land in return for construction of new facilities. Other cities have used this approach, including recently in the City of La Habra.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – EMG Facility Needs Assessment – 2019 City Hall Report Attachment 2 – EMG Facility Needs Assessment – 2019 Police Department Report Attachment 3 – City Hall and PD Facility 5-Year Identified Repair Needs Attachment 4 – Fullerton Police Department Facility Needs Report FY 22 Facility Condition Assessment – Update to Cost Estimates March 1, 2022 - Page 6