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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/06/1990 VB Minutes Working SessionMINUTES VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORKING SESSION JANUARY 6, 1990 I. The meeting was called to order to 9:00 a.m., in the Trustees' Room, Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. Board members present were: Mayor Gerald L. Farley; Trustees Ralph Arthur, Mark Busse, Timothy Corcoran, Leo Floros and George Van Geem. Absent from the meeting was Trustee Theodore Wattenberg. Staff members present included: Village Manager John Dixon, Assistant Village Manager Mike Jannis, Police Chief Ron Pavlock, Fire Chief Ed Cavello, Planning and Zoning Director David Clements, Economic Development Director Ken Fritz and Finance Director David Jepson. Also present were: Fred Borich and Naras Statkus of Donohue and Associates; Janet Hansen; Hal Predovich; John Eilering; Earl Johnson; Paul Hoefert and three members of the news media. II. Mayor Farley stated that the first item for discussion was the determination of a need for a new Public Safety Building to house Police and Fire -operations. Mayor Farley then asked the Board members for their initial comments: Leo Floros - I agree there is a need for additional facilities, but I do not think it should be a foregone conclusion that we need a new facility. Tim Corcoran - I agree with Trustee Floros. Ralph Arthur - I am thoroughly- convinced we need a new facility. Mark Busse - I believe we need to do something, and we should look at the cost versus the benefits of a new facility compared to remodeling the present facility. George Van Geem - I do not believe it makes any sense to renovate the existing building based upon the figures presented in the Donohue Report. I believe we have a window of opportunity to come up with a long --term solution to an ongoing problem and we should build a new facility. Mayor Farley then called on Fred Borich, of Donohue and Associates, to summarize their findings. Mr. Borich stated that they had spent 10-12 weeks reviewing the existing operations and facilities of the Police and Fire Departments and in their opinion, there was a 38% shortfall in the space needs of the two Departments. Additionally, they confirmed there were numerous Building Code violations in the existing facility that should be corrected. After their research, Donohue came up with eight possible alternatives including "gutting" the present facility and rebuilding it with a two-story addition, demolishing the present building and constructing a new building at the present location, and building an entirely new structure on Pine Street. Mr. Borich stated their charge was to come up with a long-term solution to the space needs of the two Departments and to provide preliminary cost estimates of the various alternatives. It was pointed out that this stage of the process only addressed space needs and estimated costs and that detailed financial analysis would be more appropriate after a specific plan and location were determined. Trustee Floros asked Mr. Borich if a possible solution would be to demolish the Annex, build a huge addition and simply renovate the existing building. Mr. Borich stated that this was basically Option D, but it was the most expensive and bast cost-efficient solution. He explained that because of the variety of Building Code items that need to be addressed, it would be more efficient to relocate existing operations, "gut" the building and do all the remodeling work at one time. During the discussion that followed, it was determined that it would be helpful if Donohue would submit an addendum to their Report which would include an option for a minimum remodeling project. The new option would address all Priority One deficiencies and as many Priority Two deficiencies as possible and include an itemization of the various cost components such as remodeling costs, building addition costs and parking costs. Mr. Borich stated that the additional work would take them approximately six weeks to complete and that it would be necessary to include a contingency factor of 15-20% in their estimate. Mayor Farley called on other members of the audience to express their views regarding the need for a new or a remodeled Public Safety Facility: Hal Predovich - A previous study indicated that an additional 20,000 square feet of space was needed and things have not changed since then. The larger issue is the location. The need has been expressed, let's take advantage of the window of opportunity that exists. John Eilering - Citizens are very sensitive to increasing costs of government, but I believe the estimated cost is acceptable. It is important to me to have good Police and Fire services and I think we should move forward. Earl Johnson - I support staying at the present location, but I'm not sure what should be done. We should not get entangled in minor details. -2- Paul Hoefert - I believe we can use the present building with some remodeling. Janet Hansen - We need to get all the information we can, but I don't believe we should take a piecemeal approach. There was a consensus of the Board members that it would be worthwhile for Donohue and Assgciates to proceed with an Addendum to their Report of November 30, 1989. It is expected the additional Report will be completed by February 16, 1990. III. The second item on the Agenda was a consideration of the size and estimated cost of a new and/or remodeled Public Safety Facility. Mayor Farley asked Fred Borich if it would be possible to realize any reductions in the estimates that had been proposed. Specifically, the Mayor asked Mr. Borich if there could be an overall 10% reduction. Mr. Borich stated that reductions could be realized if either the scope or the quality of the project were reduced. He said it was the Engineers' responsibility to make recommendations regarding the various construction options and through discussions with the Village, he thought there could be some economies. He also stated that if the size of the building was reduced, there could be savings. During the discussion that followed, it was pointed out that the proposed options were designed as long-range solutions and included a growth factor of approximately 20% in Police operations but minimal growth for Fire operations. It was explained that increases could be expected in Fire operations but it would be incorporated into satellite facilities. The consensus of the Board was that any specific action regarding the size or cost of a new facility should be deferred until a specific plan and a specific location had been selected. IV. The next item on the Agenda was a review of the possible locations for a new Pubtic Safety Facility. Village Manager John Dixon stated there were two sites which met all the criteria that had been established: The present location on Northwest Highway and the site of the old Public Works Building on Pine Street. Mr. Dixon pointed out that there were advantages and disadvantages for each location, but that it was important to determine a site so that potential developers would know what area would be available. Mr. Dixon then indicated that the Planning and Zoning Department had recommended a strategic planning session where the issues would be put on the table, decisions made and some firm direction established. -3- Ken Fritz then distributed a memo summarizing how the process had been utilized in Pontiac, Michigan. He explained briefly that representatives of the Village Board, staff and the community would meet with a Facilitator to discuss the specific issues and make specific recommendations to the Village Board. It is expected that these recornrrrendations would take the form of a Position Paper which would then be formally adopted by the Village Board. The recommended participants in this work session would be the following: 1. Planning Consultant/Facilitator. 2. Financial Consultant, skilled in investment and packaging of pul)lic/commercial/inultiple-family development. 3. Developers who may be potentially interested in downtown development and who have a track record in downtown development achievements. 4. Village elected officials. 5. Local bankers and lenders. 6. Business leader or Chamber representative. 7. Business District Development and Redevelopment Commission representative (BDDRC). Mr. Fritz stated that there is every expectation that a work session with the representatives mentioned above, together with a strong Facilitator, would be able to achieve a working paper providing direction for downtown development within a 30 to 45 day period. David Clements added that this is a fast-track process to resolve issues and that a strong Facilitator can bring things to a head. During the discussion that follows, there was a consensus that the Village should proceed with the strategic planning session. Village Manager Dixon suggested that it would be appropriate to have an indication of the Board members regarding the costs associated with a strategic planning session and the additional costs to be incurred by Donohue and Associates. The following actions were taken subject to ratification at a regular Village Board meeting: 1. AUTHORIZATION TO INCUR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH A STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION: YES: Trustees Busse, Corcoran, Floros and Van Geem. Mayor Farley. NO: None. -4- 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR DONOHUE AND ASSOCIATES TO PROCEED WITH AN ADDENDUM TO THEIR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY SPACE UTILIZATION STUDY OF NOVEMBER 30, 1989, ADDING AN OPTION FOR A MINIMAL REMODELING PROJECT AND INCLUDING AN ITEMIZATION OF THE VARIOUS COST COMPONENTS. YES: Trustees Busse, Corcoran, Floros and Van Geem. Mayor Farley. NO: None. V. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and Trustees, the meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m. Respectfully submitted, DAVID C. JEPSON Finance Director DCJ/rcw -5-