Executive Summary:
In July 2024, the Ad Hoc Committee asked the full Council for direction on preparing a Design Concept for the Police Building Renovation Project, to either:
1) Evaluate a new Police Station on an alternate site,
2) Demolish the existing Police/Public Works building on the existing site and rebuild, and/or
3) Maintain the "bones" of the existing building, and renovate and expand on the existing site
Following deliberation and public comments, Council provided direction to pursue only Option #3. Since that time, the Ad Hoc Committee and staff have worked with the City’s architect, Indigo, to produce a schematic Design Concept, based on the programming needs of the Police Department, and a high-level estimate of project costs.
The purpose of this Agenda Item is to present Council with the results of the “homework assignment” given to the Police Building Ad Hoc Committee and staff at the July meeting. Following receipt of this presentation, Council is asked to provide comments, questions, and any desired added direction for how to proceed with the Project.
Background:
The current building that houses the Police and Public Works Departments was designed and constructed in the mid-1960s and has been occupied since 1968. No significant renovations or upgrade projects have been undertaken since its original occupancy.
Over the last seven years, several prior projects were generated with limited funding to improve only portions of the Police station. Other than minor improvements, no major repairs or upgrades were designed. More importantly, none of these past projects adequately addressed all essential repairs and improvements required to meet officer safety, building safety, current Police standards, or current Building Code requirements. Additionally, past City Council guidance was to focus on the needs of the Police Department component of the building to minimize costs and defer needed repairs on the Public Works portion of the building.
In June 2023, the Council awarded a Professional Service Agreement (PSA) to Indigo Architects, in the amount of $300,000, to perform a building condition assessment, develop space programming needs for the Police Department, and generate schematic designs. Their work started with an evaluation of the existing building and all its component systems. The analysis showed that because of the lack of prior investment and periodic updating to meet new codes, the current building and its power, ventilation, heating, plumbing, roof integrity, structural bracing, IT, and other building systems do not meet current codes and are at the end of their useful lives. Additionally, it was clear from the condition analysis that the building and system renovations are required for the whole building, including the Public Works segment of the building. It was also evident that even if the Police Department were to be relocated to a new site, a large investment would still be required to upgrade and repair the current building to acceptable safety standards for occupancy by any department. The order of magnitude cost of a new Police station and renovation of the existing facility was estimated at over $30 million.
In January 2024, Council received a report from the Ad Hoc Committee and staff regarding the condition of the current building and the space programming needs of the Police Department. The discussion included a concept to explore building a new Police Station on an alternate site, such as at Vista Lobos. Based on public comments, additional public listening sessions were subsequently held by the Ad Hoc Committee over the first half of 2024.
The July 2024 Council meeting was the culmination of six months of Ad Hoc Committee public meetings/listening sessions to provide information on Police needs, building conditions, and potential siting options for a new or renovated Police station. The staff report from the July meeting is included as Attachment 1. After receiving the Ad Hoc Committee recommendations and further public comments, Council directed staff to do the following:
· Abandon the idea of building a new Police station at another site
· Abandon the idea of demolishing the existing Police/Public Works Building on the existing site and build a completely new facility
· Maximize the use of the existing building and site to accommodate all current required Police programs as a priority, and accommodate Public Works programs to the extent that space is available
· Identify Public Works functions that cannot be accommodated on site
· Consider program growth potential to provide 50-year building functionality
The Council direction resulted in a substantial change in the original scope of work to be provided by the architect. While the firm did not have to prepare a Design Concept for a new Police facility on a unknown site, for which we have received a credit, they were required to expand the scope of improvements on the current site to accommodate Public Works functions, develop a concept plan for a satellite Corporation Yard at a site to be determined, and develop construction phasing plan that minimize swing space needs.
Indigo and staff have now completed the City Council directive and will report on the results at the January 7, 2025, meeting. The result of this effort is a preliminary Design Concept that lays out key operational/functional requirements and needed adjacencies. However, these floor plans and building mass diagrams do not show the style or architectural character of the buildings. All the other design disciplines, including structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering still need to complete their initial designs to develop complete floor plans, prepare a budget level construction cost estimate, and provide meaningful value engineering opportunities.
The Concept Design floor plans and mass diagrams for the proposed building are enclosed as Attachment 2. These plans will be presented by Chief Tomasi at the meeting. These plans demonstrate that all the Police programs and a large portion of the Public Works programs can be housed on the existing site if the building envelope is expanded. Indigo developed these plans in such a way as to minimize the impact on the residents adjacent to the proposed expanded facility. Also attached are conceptual plans for a notional Public Works equipment yard and storage space to house the overflow programs.
In addition, Indigo developed a very ingenious construction phasing plan that is designed to minimize the cost of providing swing space that would be abandoned after occupying the rebuilt facility. All of the above noted plans are available on the City website at: Police Building Project - City of Carmel
With Council’s direction to proceed on with the Project as currently planned, the Council will need to approve an Amendment to the PSA with Indigo to allow them to complete the preliminary design work necessary to provide good answers to the questions that the City and public will have. The Amendment will tentatively be on City Council agenda in February.