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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/21/2024 - Workshop APPROVED WORKSHOP MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Aschenbeck Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. CITY CENTER/POLICE REMODEL Case asked the Council to provide feedback on the City Center and Police Department remodel proposal. Getschow stated two options will be discussed tonight: remodeling only the police department, or remodeling the police department and additionally bringing the lower level amenities and offices to the upper level. The construction schedule and debt levy impacts will be discussed. BKV Group was hired as the construction management firm. Sackett introduced Michael Healy and Paul Michell, BKV Group Project Architects, and Jason Rentmeester, Kraus Anderson Construction Manager. Healy explained BKV Group completed a 20 year needs assessment. There are 91 Police staff currently, expected to increase to 113 in 20 years. 72,700 square feet are needed for the Police department. Healy outlined project goals including meeting 20-year Police operational needs with room for growth, providing indoor parking for Police vehicles, improving wayfinding and identity of the Police department, improving the working environment for recruitment and staff wellness, improving workspaces and operational flow, securing outdoor parking for Police staff, and relocating all City department offices and meeting spaces to one level. In one option lower level city center functions including IT, facilities, and the heritage meeting rooms would be brought to the upper level. The portion of the building previously leased by UNFI would be repurposed as the Police station. Healy displayed a conceptual site plan of the outdoor police parking lot, including 90 stalls secured by gated access points. There would be an entry into the squad garage, an entry for evidence vehicles, and an entry into a temporary holding area. There is potential to add additional equipment storage space to the north where the playground is currently located. Toomey asked if the playground is used. Rick Clark, Facilities Manager, confirmed the City Council Workshop Minutes May 21, 2024 Page 2 playground has not been used since the education center ended its lease. Freiberg asked if the outdoor secure parking provides space for private cars. Sackett confirmed the lot is for police staff private cars and any accessory vehicles, and any overflow vehicles if the indoor garage is full. Toomey asked where the mobile command center will be located. Sackett confirmed the mobile command center will likely be located at a fire station. Healy displayed a site plan of the lower level where UNFI and the education center were previously located. The space would be converted into a 54 stall garage. Most of the existing finishes, flooring, and HVAC would be removed. A temporary detention area with an after hour release lobby and interview space would be constructed. There would be an evidence space for processing vehicles, and long term evidence storage. A new staircase and elevator would be constructed. There will be a small vehicle washing area inside the garage for washing and maintenance, in addition to a K9 room with kennels and a bath area. Storage rooms off the garage include armory, weapon cleaning, evidence processing, and equipment storage spaces. There will be temporary detention center, an interview space, and a release lobby. There are storage spaces for officer duty bags, body cams, and additional field equipment items. Toomey asked how many squad cars the Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) has. Sackett answered the EPPD has 50 vehicles at full fleet, including investigative and specialty vehicles. Toomey asked if the garage should be larger than the currently planned for 54 spaces. Sackett answered the EPPD does not want to add too many spaces as it hinders flow of traffic and vehicles are more easily damaged. Additionally, it is rare the entire fleet will be inside at once. There is only a finite amount of space available. Overflow parking spaces would be located outside. The EPPD toured multiple police garages in preparation for the remodel. Almost every garage is under ideal capacity due to cost restraints. Toomey asked if there is space to add on in the future. Getschow stated additional space could be built to the south. Narayanan asked if there will be Electric Vehicle charging stations in the garage. Sackett confirmed the garage will be constructed with prewired conduit. Healy displayed a site plan of the upper level where UNFI was previously located. The existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing spaces will be reused as much as possible to control costs. All office, support functions, and meeting rooms for the City would be relocated to the upper level. Two additional large meeting room would be constructed at the north side of the building. Nelson asked if the public meeting rooms will be equipped with enough technology so the EPPD could use if needed. Sackett explained technology needs now and into the future are mostly wireless and could be set up if needed. Healy stated a shared fitness space would be constructed in the upper level. The new fitness room will have two private changing/shower rooms. Narayanan asked how many offices IT has. Healy confirmed IT would have three offices. Narayanan noted the trend in the IT industry is to not have an assigned office. IT employees value flexibility to work from home, and reserving a workspace for days they anticipate being in the office. Case asked where the Garden Room would be relocated to. Healy confirmed the City Council Workshop Minutes May 21, 2024 Page 3 Garden Room would remain where it is. Getschow added the Garden Room would be leasable space to be used at the City’s discretion. Nelson asked if the Garden Room elevator would be relocated. Sackett confirmed the elevator would stay as is. A new elevator would be installed within the Police department. Healy explained there would be a new Police public entrance on the upper level. The police lobby would have natural light and would be connected to the main lobby via a new corridor. There would be a kitchen space and a single user restroom. Interview rooms and a designated children’s space would be adjacent to the police lobby. There would be a conference room for media events. The Police area would be housed within a secure perimeter. The upper level Police station would include investigative offices, administrative offices, a locker room, forensic labs, a dispatch area, evidence storage areas, and an interview suite. The patrol section will have a collaborative bullpen area. The break room has potential to open to an outdoor deck. The goal is to make a warm, inviting, and collaborative space. Narayanan asked if the entrances to the police department are well protected. Sackett confirmed the border walls comprising the secure perimeter will be reinforced for ballistics. BKV and Kraus Anderson have installed these safety features in many past public safety projects. Narayanan asked if a command center is needed as a headquarters for large scale events. Sackett explained there is a large Emergency Operations Center in Fire Station 1. Additionally, the patrol conference room could also be used as it will be outfitted with the necessary technology. Healy explained the cost of the police department and bringing all city hall departments to the upper level is $26 million. This is comprised of $21.45 million of construction costs, and $4.55 million of soft costs such as architectural engineering fees, special inspections, surveying, furniture, and equipment. The cost of the police department only, without bringing all city hall departments to the upper level, is $21 million. This is comprised of $17.1 million of construction costs, and $3.9 million of soft costs. Both options include structural reinforcement and engineering to bring the building up to current building codes. There have been reductions to the scope of the work in both options to maximize savings, including reducing in-floor heat in the police garage. Case asked if the City has the option to heat the entire floor. Getschow stated it could be added as an alternate option to be decided if bids are favorable. Nelson stated she does not see a reason to cut back on heating the entire floor as there is never going to be a cheaper time than now. Healy displayed comparative costs for public safety buildings renovations by BKV Group. The projected cost of the City’s renovation is comparable to nearby public safety buildings. New construction is twice as expensive per square foot. Getschow stated owning the entire building is an asset for the City. It is entirely paid for, and it provided a reliable stream of lease revenue for years. Surrounding cities are constructing new police and fire stations for a cost of $50 million or more. Building a new garage would be over $300 per square foot, compared to $210 per square City Council Workshop Minutes May 21, 2024 Page 4 foot to renovate existing space. Converting the existing building space to a garage is by far the most cost effective option. Getschow explained next steps. Design development and construction documents would be completed in the fall. Bids would be accepted November and December. The Council would vote in December 2024 or January 2025 to accept a bid. Narayanan asked how the project would be funded. Getschow confirmed it would be funded by debt. A year ago, the projected debt needed to fund the police remodel and necessary fire trucks was $21 million. The debt levy would have increased from $2.1 million to $3.3 million. The fire trucks will be funded by public safety aid funding and existing Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funding, the City will no longer need to issue debt. The total annual debt levy, including the police department and city center remodel, would be $3.47 million. There is a one-year increase to the debt levy of $2.3 million in 2026, it would remain the same each year following. When the police station/city center remodel was first added to the CIP, the City’s debt levy was $33 million. It is now down to $13 million, one of the lowest debt levies for comparable surrounding cities. Some neighboring cities pay annual debt levies that approach $10 million. Case noted the City has been able to keep its levy low relative to surrounding cities. With a higher than normal levy increase council must communicate the reasoning and need for the remodel. Toomey asked if any state or federal money is available for the police department remodel. Narayanan asked if there are grants the City can apply for. Getschow answered there is no state or federal funding or grants available for the police department remodel, however the City is receiving public safety aid to pay for fire trucks and the mobile command center. Instead of issuing debt for the fire trucks and mobile command center, the debt can instead fund the remodel. Case asked the Council for their consensus on the remodel proposal. Nelson and Toomey noted they are in favor of remodeling the police station and bringing all city offices and meeting spaces to the upper floor. Narayan noted he is in favor of remodeling the police station but is undecided on bringing the city offices to the upper floor. Freiberg stated he would like to see a third option. Getschow noted there have been multiple options over the years the City has moved on from, those options can be revisited again. Case noted he is in favor of remodeling the police station and bringing all city offices and meeting spaces to the upper floor. The majority of the Council is in favor of remodeling the police station and bringing the meeting rooms and remaining city offices to the upper level. However, Case asked Getschow to return to a future workshop to follow up on Council members outstanding questions and requests. The Council thanked Healy, Michell, and Rentmeester for their time. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT