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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 11.13.2012 CC-WMinutes of the Meeting of the Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, November 13, 2012 The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. Council Present: Council Absent: Patty Eason, Danny Meigs, Bill Sattler, Tommy All Council Present. Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe, Troy Hellmann, Jerry Hammerlun Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Jim Briggs, General Manager of Utilities; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Wayne Nero, Police Chief Minutes Policy Development/Review Workshop - Call to order at 03:30 PM A Overview of the September 30, 2012 year end preliminary financial information -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer This item was pulled from the agenda by staff. B Presentation and update on the programming, planning and design of the Public Safety and Training Complex -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager and Wayne Nero, Police Chief Gonzalez absent. Brandenburg said, at the last Council Workshop, there was a very brief overview of this project. He said, on the dais, there should be a layout of the different elevations and plans for the project. He said staff wanted to talk to Council about the programming, planning and design as well as the next steps for the project. He said this will be the City's largest facility at 70,000 square feet. Speaker, Ian Reeves President of Architects Design Group, introduced himself and Susan Gant one of the other seasoned associates working on the project. He said they would like to outline the process for the project. He noted there are three separate phases for the project and we are engaged in the second phase. He showed Council a methodology for the project. He spoke about the different phases of the project. He spoke about phase one of the project and what occurred in that stage. He spoke about the importance of planning for the future growth when building this facility. He provided a summary of what occurred during the site analysis in Phase One. He noted they received a lot staff input during this phase. He said they are trying to identify how to take advantage of the natural topography on that site. He said they have analyzed the site and have comprehensive training areas which will require large public parking sites as well as secured staff parking areas. He said this building does not shut down and noted, that is why these buildings cost a lot more than standard administrative buildings. He provided Council with a summary of the concept analysis of the plan. He said, after they went through the site analysis, they moved into Phase Two, the design of the building. He noted there are three phases to the design and he described those for the Council. He showed Council the final site development concept. He said the project fronts DB Woods Road, the public parking is out front, there are City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 3 Pages water retention areas set up, perimeter walling is in place around the site as well as secured staff parking. He said the future firing range and training facility are also planned. He noted there is a driving course with a skid pad. He said they are trying to separate the training components from access from the general public. He showed the Council upper level furniture plan and office setup. He said police and fire administration will be sharing the space together. He noted they sought out opportunities to make the space multi -purpose. He said the upper level is really at grade. He continued to describe the plans for the other levels of the building as well. He spoke about the incorporation of natural like into the design of the building. There was much discussion regarding the details of the plan. Nero reviewed the spatial needs assessment timeline. He spoke about the size of the facility and how it is directly related to the population. He noted he was tasked with looking at where the organization will be in thirty years and added he would like to be at 1.8 officers per thousand people. He noted they projected that ratio and came up with the final space needs for the facility. He described the reasoning behind some of the important additions to the size of the proposed facility. He spoke about how they came to the current proposed facility size. Reeves said, when they started working on the design documents, they worked with staff to understand the City's architectural design guidelines and other regulations. He said they had a long and linear building and added the City of Georgetown facade articulation requirements increased the building by 1,309 square feet. He said the introduction of natural light on the lower level coupled with the long length of space has been addressed and adds to the square footage by 2,648.He said, now that they are receiving utility spaces, the program requires 577 more square feet in that regard. He noted that number could reduce back down because it is still being refined. He said those four components contributed to about 4,700 worth of the square footage increase. He continued to speak about the importance of natural light. He said the Council needs to take care in cutting these things out because he believes they can still meet budget even with the increase in square footage.The current design is at 76,831 square feet. He provided Council with a design status update. He said the project is on schedule, the design team has completed the design development phase and more than half of the design effort is yet to be completed. He said they are currently through 46.6% of the total design effort. He said the schematic design has been completed (20% of the design effort) and the design development is also completed (26.6% of design effort). He said the construction documents have not been started. He noted the project is temporarily on hold pending the Construction Manager at Risk selection. He described why he thinks the Construction Manager at Risk method is the best method for this type of project. There were many comments. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said the main issues to consider tonight when making a decision are that of the budget as well as the square footage and delivery method. Brandenburg added this is going to be a very large structure at over 70,000 square feet. Sattler said he would like to refer back to a schedule given to Council three weeks ago dated August 10, 2012. He said that schedule shows between October 20th and January 31, they will be working on 90% construction documents. Reeves said they would be working through to get to that point but, for now, the project is on hold until the construction delivery system is determined. Sattler said he is confused why the schedule was given to the Council if it is not accurate. Sattler asked and Nero said that document was given to Council prior to the project being put on hold. Gonzalez arrived at the dais. Sattler asked and Reeves said, if the Council approves this tonight, tomorrow he will start talking to the developer about scheduling the cost analysis effort. Sattler asked and Reeves said, for every day the process is delayed, the end date is delayed that same amount. Sattler said he will leave the building design and square footage to Chief Nero and his staff. Sattler asked and Nero said they just want to get the process done right. Sattler asked and Nero said he would go with what Ian Reeves is recommending by looking at the cost estimate at the end of the day and making cuts if necessary. He said, if the difference is negligible, then he would leave it. Meigs said he does like the idea of waiting until the cost estimates are completed. He noted it is very important that the City sticks to the budget. Reeves said they would never present possible problems to the plan without possible solutions. Hellmann said he is all for maximizing the return on investment. He said it would be worth it to get as much square footage as possible within the allowed budget. He noted, if we need to cut, that would be a great place to cut. Hellmann asked and Reeves said there is growth built into units into each department. Hellmann asked and Reeves said they have not received an update on the cave yet. Reeves spoke about how the plan can change to accommodate the cave if they need to work around it. Eason said she agrees with everything that Meigs and Hellmann have stated and she appreciates this more in depth presentation. She noted she agrees the City needs to move forward in order to get more numbers and more effectively make a final decision on these issues. She said she appreciates all of the work that has been done so far on the design of this building. She said she agrees that, when we find out the final cost number, the Council can determine if City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 3 Pages they want to reduce the square footage. Reeves said once they have the number, they would like to have another workshop briefing and provide solutions to the issue if it goes over budget. Hammerlun said it was an excellent presentation. Hammerlun asked about the other members of the team. Reeves listed the other members of the team. He said the team they have is the top notch team available in this part of the state. Hammerlun asked and Reeves said they will be holding weekly meetings with the CM firm of the Council's choosing. Hammerlun asked and Reeves said they peppered the site with borings pretty well to check for other caves but there is no guarantee. Hammerlun asked and Reeves said it will take three to four weeks to get a cost estimate. He noted there are a lot of things they are still waiting on. Hammerlun asked and Reeves said Keith Hickman will be on site regularly on behalf of the architect firm. Jonrowe said she is very excited about seeing this project up and running. She said she is impressed with what she is seeing and she is looking forward. Gonzalez said this is a 30-50 year building. He noted, looking at the budget, while it is nice, he wants to make sure they aren't leaving anything out. He said it is a great presentation and noted he looks forward to hearing more details. Mayor asked and Reeves said they have solar shading and added they use a specific glazing product that is insulated to address any sun issues due to the natural light features. He said it will be large missile impact glass. There were many questions and much discussion regarding the details of the design. Mayor asked about the delivery method and what the Council prefers. Gonzalez said the City need to choose whichever route is most expedient. Jonrowe said, with being involved in the selection, she is confident in who the City has chosen and the methodology that has been chosen. Hammerlun said he too will move forward and support the process the City has selected. Hammerlun said he thinks Reeves has convinced him of the Construction Manager at Risk advantages. He agreed with Jonrowe and said there were three different teams that were interviewed the process of selection was outstanding. He said he is disappointed that Reeves didn't have the advantage of the CM folks two or three months ago to benefit him in the process. Hammerlun said he appreciates them being proactive on offering options for how to start if the City needs to start making reductions. He said the dollar amount is finite and absolute. Sattler said he is not sure whether or not the city should do this and noted the City has lost a lot of the CMAR opportunities because of the delay. Sattler again referred to the schedule previously given to the Council. There were many questions about the schedule. Reeves said, after Council makes their final decision today, he would like to send Council a new schedule. Meigs said this seems like a good plan of action and he is ready to move forward. Hellmann asked and Reeves said, if they added the bid method to the process, it would add another two months to the project. Hellmann asked and Reeves said the Construction Manager at Risk method would be both the lower cost and lower risk option. Eason said her opinion is to go with the Construction Manager at Risk method and move forward. Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Section 551.071 of the Local Government Code -- 5:08PM Meeting returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 6:04PM Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 PM. App d _;� f, L4" Mayor Gaffrge rver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 3 Pages