Title
LONGVIEW POLICE STATION REMODEL PLANNING UPDATE
COUNCIL INITIATIVE ADDRESSED:
Enhance public safety and emergency response
CITY ATTORNEY REVIEW: N/A
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
The Longview Police Department was originally a bank building, acquired by the City and partially remodeled in 1999, with the intent of further remodeling later to add office space. The building lacks adequate facilities for officers to conduct investigations and interviews without interruption, maintain confidentiality, and properly process and store evidence during investigations. The proposed remodel adds 3,400 square feet of finished office and working space, and improves 520 square feet of existing work area to address functional issues and allow detective, patrol, and street crimes officers to work more efficiently as units and individually.
Improvements include offices and work stations, interview rooms, evidence processing area, file storage, a conference room which will also support critical incident response command and planning, and the necessary electrical, mechanical, plumbing, communication and security systems to support the new spaces. Minor HVAC upgrades in other parts of the building are also included to correct ongoing heating and cooling deficiencies.
Additionally, while investigating the causes of heating and cooling complaints, the existing mechanical and HVAC systems which serve the entire building were identified as beyond their design life and needing to be replaced. The existing system is an antiquated electric boiler and chiller system dating back to 1968, and although inefficient, its replacement can’t be justified on energy savings alone. The recent energy savings performance contract captured savings with upgraded controls and VFD’s enabling night time shutoff or temperature setback in some areas of the building. However, the major components might have three to five years of remaining life and should be considered for replacement. The system requires near monthly repairs and constant re-adjustment in the summer. With good repair planning, down time is limited to seven or eight days per year but spare parts support is an issue due to the age of the unit; repair parts are expensive, if even available. Further, replacement of the full system at this time might prompt selection of a different HVAC technology and method for serving the newly finished Phase 2 remodel areas. And full replacement of the full system at this time will reduce disruption to the Police Department’s 24/7 workplace activities because the remodeled areas will be upgraded before staff occupies the area.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
Because the full extent and complexity of a remodel is difficult to reasonably determine in advance, a more detailed conceptual and cost estimate was developed by Collins Architectural Group to compare against the project’s original $900,000 estimated budget before proceeding to final design and construction.
Based on the 20% design, the total remodel project cost is estimated at $1,273,750 with 30% contingency and including $396,500 to replace the entire building HVAC system.
During its May 5 workshop, the City Council considered this project among many initiatives identified for the 2017-2018 budget and developed a plan to finance the total project including the new HVAC system using $877,250 from the Public Safety Fund and $396,500 from the Building Replacement Fund.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Motion authorizing the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance expanding the eligible uses of the Public Safety Fund expenditures, and authorizing staff to finalize the proposed remodel design including replacement of the entire building HVAC system.
STAFF CONTACT:
Amy Blain, Engineer