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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-27-1998 - Special Meeting0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Special Meeting April 27, 1998 - 5:00 p.m. ROLL CALL - All Present CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CITY HALL NEEDS ASSESSMENT. Mayor Edwards explained that the Study Session arose from a request by Council Member Glover on March 23 to discuss the City Hall needs assessment for the next decade. City Manager Murphy reviewed the staff report, noting the concerns regarding the projected cost for a comprehensive study, the scope of the study, and the assumption that judgments may have already been made about the future of City Hall. He stated his understanding that Council is concerned with long range planning and indicated that Rush Hill offered, at no cost to the City, to brief Council on how Newport Resource Management would handle these types of concerns. Rush Hill, Newport Resource Management, discussed general questions like "Why the City would want to consider this at all" "If it was decided to consider this, why would the City want to consider it now;" and "If now is the appropriate time, what would the City do ?" Mr. Hill expressed the opinion that housing staff is one of the most difficult questions that a public body faces. Although he understands that funding over the past 6 to S years has been geared toward more visible services, he presented photos of a residential main sewer line that demonstrates the extent of the City's unseen infrastructure. He indicated that, if these invisible projects are not taken care of, it could become costly to the City in the future. Regarding City Hall, Mr. Hill stated that the City is dealing with high maintenance and utility costs, termite issues, and the inefficiency of staff. He reviewed the history of City Hall and stated that it makes sense to try to bring the facility into some type of cohesiveness where elements of productivity are gained, workflow and service are increased, and cost efficiencies are attained. Mr. Hill stated that it is not uncommon to not have staff housing standards and then look at the size of staff, the projection of staff size, and workflow change when a department is relocated. He stated that feasibility would be looked at next to help rule out alternatives and that funding sources will also need to be identified. Once all this is determined, an implementation plan can be generated. Mr. Hill stated that doing nothing is an alternative, but is not a luxury since the problems will need to be addressed at some time. In response to Council questions, Mr. Hill stated that the City would need to Volume 52 - Page 1 `I IZ �T City Hall Needs Assessment (33/35) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes April 27, 1998 INDEX • determine staffing (existing and projected), allocate square footage by function for each staff person, and functions that do not require staffing (i.e., conference and meeting areas, service counter, copy centers) to conduct a needs assessment. He stated that this is often modeled after the existing organization and that the City will still need to allocate for growth and flexibility. He also reported that City Hall sits on about 5 to 7 acres. Council Member Noyes expressed concern that the City does not currently have standards for beautification and suggested setting standards. Mr. Hill stated that developing a program entails determining what type of space the City has and what should be allocated. He indicated that an alternative would be to paint the building, fix the electrical problems, and add or change what the City currently has. Mr. Murphy stated that it is his understanding that, prior to conducting a study, Council will want to articulate its vision of what the complex should be in the future. Council Member Noyes explained that the timeframe and the cost will need to be determined as refurbishing an older building may be more costly. Mayor Edwards added that determining space allocation versus space needs will also need to be addressed. Mr. Hill stated that the process will include achieving the functional responsibility of the City (efficiency in energy consumption and work productivity); and achieving flexibility which usually costs more money than • conventional types of construction. He believed that decisions will be made based on funding and affordability, and do not need to be made in one day. Council Member Glover stated that she requested a study session because of the rumors surfacing in the community. She expressed the opinion that it is faulty thinking to believe a government entity can assume continued growth, noting the great expense the South Coast Air Quality Management District spent on its new building and the layoffs that are being made to help augment the cost. She believed that Council needs to discuss where City Hall should be placed and the quality of service to the people. Council Member Glover expressed concern relative to the stigma that "old is bad" and suggested evaluating City Hall's infrastructure. She stated that Council will need to estimate the needs for the next 30 to 50 years. Mr. Hill stated that reducing costs in utilities or staffing is an option if the City is functioning efficiently and effectively. He expressed the opinion that the time to plan for that is now. Council Member Hedges stated that the Study Session stems from the Fire Department's request to build a new administration office using Building Excise Tax Funds. He expressed the opinion that this discussion presupposes that all other City needs have been met and are proceeding satisfactorily in providing for those needs. He stated that it is beneficial to have this discussion to help determine whether to go further and believed that government revenue growth is going to be under pressure eventually. • Council Member Hedges expressed the opinion that all City buildings should be evaluated, not just City Hall. He noted that there are City Halls Volume 52 - Page 2 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes April 27, 1998 INDEX throughout the country that are much older than Mayor Pro Tern O'Neil stated that flexibility would be the key if the City proceeded with a needs assessment and expressed the opinion that future build out would eventually reduce the need and size of a number of departments. He stated that occupying a multiple story building and renting out the extra space may be the most practical and efficient way to structure some kind of government building. Regarding funding, he believed that taxpayers are not in the mindset to pay for modernized facilities for local government when underground infrastructure may have priority. He questioned whether the current site is being used to its highest and best use. Council Member Debay indicated that the Federal government is making funding more available to conduct construction and that there may be no end when repairing infrastructure since the demands are growing. She asked if it would be better to request bids and conduct construction during down times. She pointed out that a study was conducted in 1990 that did not go through. Council Member Debay emphasized that the main concern is how to best serve the citizens and expressed concern relative to the availability of visitor parking spaces, the lack of conference rooms, and the high cost of remodeling a facility rather than building a new facility. Council Member Thomson stated that the concerns deal with whether the Fire Department and City Attorney's office should be remodeled and made • more efficient, and the long range plan on how to best serve the people. He evaluated the square footage per employee of each of the City Hall buildings and proposed determining if the City Hall building is the highest and best use for the land. In response to Council questions, Mr. Hill stated that staff would be interviewed to help determine the needs and to separate the "wishes" in an attempt to generate alternatives. He stated that a needs assessment can also address a broader City needs analysis. He indicated that plans do not necessarily proceed and noted that the 1990 plan may have been shelved since it did not address some of the infrastructure elements of the existing facilities. Council Member Noyes stated that citizen input needs to also be incorporated in the study. Mr. Hill stated that Council needs to determine what is needed in order to perform the services that they are charged to do. In response to Council Member Debay's questions, Mr. Murphy stated that Council can give contractors guidelines for bidding on RFPs and that Council is not required to act on the RFP. Mr. Hill stated that the RFP would cover the needs analysis that would properly plan for the improvements. Once accomplished, part of the RFP should be an implementation plan that covers one or more different projects. Mayor Pro Tern O'Neil asked what type of new City Hall would be built on this property and noted that the City may not need all the land for a new City Hall. Mr. Hill added that renovation costs may be far greater than • building a new facility. Volume 52 - Page 3 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes April 27, 1998 INDEX • Mayor Edwards indicated that Council needs to weigh the needs and demands of the City, and how those needs are weighed in an overall assessment against anew facility. Mr. Hill stated that he was not sure how to answer those questions without conducting an analysis. In response to Council Member Glover's question, Mr. Murphy indicated that capital improvement projects that deal with certain infrastructure have been established and are conducted even during down periods. He stated that the City has continually evaluated the systems to develop on- the -shelf plans to identify and evaluate critical needs. He reported that he tries to evaluate the systems when he reviews the Capital Improvement Program and then brings it to Council for review. Further, that it is unsure where City Hall improvements sit compared to other City priorities since the City has not done a systematic analysis as is done with water, sewer, street light, and pavement management issues. Mr. Murphy questioned whether the deficiencies should be analyzed first. Mayor Edwards pointed out that the Council Chamber voting systems needs to be fixed. Mr. Murphy confirmed that City Hall will be placed as a capital improvement in the system. Mr. Murphy stated that it would be ideal to be able to look at all City facilities. However, it would make sense to conduct a remodel of City Hall. He added that the remodel does not need to be conducted all at once but can be spread out over a number of years and emphasized the importance of creating a plan. Mr. Hill added that it would • not be uncommon to establish a few emergency projects to satisfy the needs for a year or two while working on the remainder of the project. Tom Hyans stated that he has experience in building manufacturing plants. He stated that this came about because of a need to upgrade the Fire Department headquarters and the City Attorney's office. He believed that the Fire Department headquarters just needs a space planner. Dolores Otting stated that she thought there was already a set plan that deals with infrastructure. She believed that the bond issue with the library will be brought up if Council decides to build a new City Hall. Ms. Otting also expressed concern that the City's water system does not have a backup pump system if electricity goes out. Motion by Mayor Pro Tem O'Neil to put the City Hall needs assessment out for Request for Proposals and have it include the Council Chambers' voting and public address systems. Council Member Glover stated that she will not be supporting the motion as she believes the City is far from being able to go out to bid. She stated that she would be interested in conducting an assessment of the City Hall deficiencies and looking at it in pieces. Council Member Hedges noted that the Finance Committee did not just take a piece of the reserve policy that is on the regular agenda and work on it. He • expressed the opinion that all City facilities should be evaluated at once. Volume 52 - Page 4 • CJ City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes April 27, 1998 Substitute motion by Council Member Hedges to conduct a future study session and evaluate all City facilities and infrastructure. Motion died due to a lack of a second. Council Member Debay requested and received clarification from Mr. Murphy that an RFP will address deficiencies and current and future needs. Further, that the RFP will be brought back to Council prior to taking it out to bid. He stated that the cost incurred will only be staff expenses. Council Member Noyes stated that the study session forum is very productive as it affords Council the opportunity to view other Councilmembers' opinions. He suggested conducting another study session to discuss infrastructure. Substitute motion by Mayor Edwards to develop an RFP that covers deficiencies; needs analysis which incorporates the deficiencies; and a needs analysis that addresses how to integrate a remodel or new facility versus the other needs of the City. Motion died due to a lack of a second. In response to Council Member Thomson's question, City Attorney Burnham confirmed that General Services installed a door in the library so that meetings can be conducted that will not interrupt Deputy City Attorney Ohl. Mayor Pro Tem. O'Neil's motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Thomson, Debay Noes: Hedges, Glover Abstain: None Absent: None PUBLIC COMMENTS No public comments were presented. - 6:48 p.m. O'Neil, Noyes, Mayor Edwards The agenda for the Special Meeting was posted on April 24, 1998 at 3:00 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. 10 1 Volume 52 - Page 5 INDEX