MEMORANDUM 07-52

TO: Mayor Hornaday and Homer City Council

DATE: March 20, 2007

FROM: Walt Wrede

SUBJECT: City Hall / Town Plaza Action Plan

The purpose of this memorandum is to outline a proposed action plan for constructing a new City Hall and Town Plaza within the larger Town Center development area. It is my hope that this memo will serve as a starting point for Council and public discussion about the most appropriate path to take to achieve this goal. This is just a broad outline and there are many possible variations on the proposed timing and the strategy. Some of these variations and options are discussed in the appendices.

PROPOSED CITY HALL / TOWN CENTER ACTION PLAN

Goal: Occupancy of the New City Hall by fall of 2009. The dedication of the new City Hall and Town Plaza is planned to coincide with the Fifty Year Anniversary of Alaska Statehood. This will be the City’s “Legacy Project” to commemorate the anniversary.

PROJECT BENCHMARKS

Benchmark Start Date Completion Date

Space Needs / Functional Needs Study (A) 4/9/07 7/30/07

Site Selection (B) 4/9/07 7/30/07

Public Information and Dialog (C) 4/9/07 on-going

Financing Plan and Preliminary Budget Approval (D) 4/9/07 7/30/07

RFP’s Architectural, Design, Engineering Contract 7/30/07 8/30/07

Design / Build Contract (E)

Bid Award / Architectural, Design 9/30/07

Project Approval / Budget Approval 4/30/08

Start Date Completion Date

Solicit Bids / Construction 4/30/08 6/15/08

Award Construction Contract

Notice to Proceed / Design Build 6/30/08

Construction Begins 6/30/08

Dedication / Occupancy Nov. 1, 2009

NOTE: This is a very aggressive construction schedule. According to Carey and our library architect, it might be that the only way to meet this schedule is to go with the design / build option. There are many variables and options here. This is intended to generate discussion and hopefully we will have a good one at the meeting. Carey will be there to help with some of the more technical questions.

APPENDIX A

SPACE NEEDS / FUNCTIONAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT

The purpose of this step is for the Council determine what the planning horizon is for the new building, what the space needs are, and what the functional needs are. For example, this will be the forum to decide what functions and services should be located in the new building, if city departments should be consolidated (should some or all of police, fire and Public Works be included), whether the Council Chambers should be large enough to double as a civic center, and so on. This step is closely tied to the Site Selection step since the size and function of the building will have an impact on where it can be located.

I would suggest that a subcommittee of the Council be formed to take on this task. Staff support would be provided directly by the Manager and Department Heads. Determining space needs and functionality can become difficult and complicated, especially when we look into a thirty year horizon and try to measure the long term needs of multiple departments and the useful life of the buildings they currently occupy. The council may decide to hire professional help if needed. After a preferred size and function is determined, the Council can share this with the public and solicit comments.

Tasks

Review space needs study produced by Anne Marie last year
Review Architects cost estimates for refurbishing and expanding old school
Reassess organizational and departmental needs
Assess other potential community functions for City Hall
Draft recommendations
Refer recommendations to Planning Commission for review and comment
Make final recommendations to Council regarding space and functional needs

APPENDIX B

SITE SELECTION

The purpose of this step is to determine the preferred location of the new City Hall and Town Plaza. The number of potential sites within the Town Center is limited and we believe that this step can be accomplished “in-house” without spending money on professional assistance. This step should proceed concurrently with the Space / Functional Needs Assessment. Final recommendations to City Council on preferred site(s) should be made after the Space / Functional Needs recommendations are finalized.

I would recommend that the Mayor appoint a City Hall / Town Plaza Site Selection Task Force. I would suggest further that the Committee might be made up of 2 members of the Council, 2 members of the Planning Commission, 2 members of the Parks and Recreation Commission, 2 members of the old Town Center Committee, and two members of the public. It would be desirable if the public members had experience in engineering, construction, soils, hydrology, etc. The City Manager and Department Heads will provide direct staff support.

Tasks

Review Recommendations on Space and Functional Needs
Identify potential sites
Develop criteria by which to evaluate potential sites
Develop a matrix which illustrates advantages and disadvantages of selected sites
Draft site selection recommendation
Refer recommendation to Planning Commission, Parks Commission, for review and comment
Make final recommendation to Council

APPENDIX C

PUBLIC INFORMATION AND DIALOG

The purpose of this step is to engage the public in a dialog about the new City Hall and Town Plaza. This will begin as an informational campaign that focus upon things like why a new city hall is needed and how this project fits with the proposed expansion and consolidation of the university campus and the overall development of the Town Center. Information will also be provided about the decision making process and how the general public can get involved.

As information about the design criteria, site location, and project budget become available, more detailed information will be provided. Information will be disseminated using a variety of resources such as coffee table discussions, newspaper articles, a project website, fact sheet updates provided in informational kiosks, direct mailings, etc. This step is very important. The City Hall / Town Plaza project can only be successful if the community embraces it. It is very important to engage the public from the start. This effort is on-going from start to finish. The Manager’s office will take responsibility for this effort.

APPENDIX D

FINANCING PLAN AND PRELIMINARY BUDGET APPROVAL

Drafting a preliminary budget with any degree of confidence will become easier when we have a better sense of the location of the facility, its size and function, and the estimated costs associated with infrastructure improvements and extending utilities. Therefore, this effort will depend largely upon the site selection and space / function efforts described above. The City staff will be working closely with those committees.

The work on creating a financing plan is on-going and will be conducted by the City Manager and Finance Offices. The Manager’s office will continue its efforts to raise as much money as it can. This will include research on grants and other funding sources, lobbying for legislative appropriations, and other fund raising options. Staff will also produce a discussion paper on the pro’s and cons of different types of financing options. This will include conventional methods like selling bonds and borrowing money through other sources, and leasing with the option to own.

The overall financing plan is likely to have a number of components (although, not as many as the library). They will likely include the $2 million the city already has, any new legislative appropriations or grants, funds from the sale of the old City Hall, a portion of the funds from the sale of the old library property, HART Funds, HAWSP Funds, appropriations from other City Sources and either a loan or lease agreement.

Tasks

Continue on-going fund raising effort
Work closely with Space Needs and Site Selection Committees
Draft Discussion paper on financing options
Present final recommendations on preliminary budget and financing plan to Council for approval

APPENDIX E

RFPS FOR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

When we get to this point, the Council will have a decision to make. We will discuss this with the Council long before a decision is required. There are two common ways to proceed. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The first is the way we did it with the library construction project. We started by sending out an RFP for Architectural, Design, and Engineering services. A committee was formed to evaluate the proposals and a recommendation made to the City Council. The Council awarded a contract and the next six months or so were spent designing the building. A committee was formed to work directly with the architect and all of these meetings were open to the public. The final product from this effort was a building design and a refined construction budget. The Council then approves the design and the final project budget and authorizes the Manager to Advertise for bids to construct the building. This assumes a financing plan is approved and all of the money needed is in place.

The other common way to do this is to award a Design / Build Contract. What usually happens here is that an architectural firm and a construction firm team up to submit a bid to handle both design and construction. This can in some cases save money in change orders and project administration because of the close working relationship between the architect and the builder. The builder is involved in the design from the beginning. The City would have to build clear approval benchmarks into the contract. This option may be attractive to the building owner if the City decides to enter into a lease to own arrangement whereby a third party builds the building.