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REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING
TOWN OF GREENWICH
EXPLANATORY COMMENTS FOR
JANUARY 2006 MEETING
l. Administer oath to all members
2. Elect a Moderator
3. Elect a Moderator Pro Tempore
DEPARTMENT: Hamilton Avenue School Building Committee 0601HS01
REFERRED TO: Education, Finance, Public Works Committees
VOTES: Hamilton Avenue School Building Committee 6-0-0
Board of Estimate and Taxation 11-0-0
RESOLVED, that the sum of $2,700,000 be and is hereby appropriated to be added to the following account Z6801792 59550 25110 for Hamilton Avenue Reconstruction. Said appropriation to come from Capital and Non-Recurring Fund.
EXPLANATORY COMMENTS
This is a request for an additional appropriation of $2,700,000 for the construction of the new Hamilton Avenue School.
The 2004-05 budget had the initial appropriation of $860,000 for the school. In December of 2004, the Building Committee received an interim appropriation of $2,550,000 to pay for completion of plans, hire a Project Manager, and abate and demolish the existing building.
The following is a summary of those costs:
This leaves a balance in this appropriation of $144,514. This money is to be used for additional testing and project management.
The 2005-06 budget has an appropriation of $21,000,000 for the construction of the school. When the 2005-06 budget was being addressed by both the BET and the RTM, we indicated that this appropriation was at least $3,000,000 below what we would need. The $21,000,000 figure came from a cost estimate from URS Corporation that had no money included for the garage, no money for rock excavation that is estimated at over $600,000, and estimated the building abatement and demolition at $400,000.
The escalation rate used for inflation was 3.5%.
At each step of the design process (schematic design, design development, and construction documents), we had two professional estimating firms give us budget numbers.
As the plans were developed, we went through two value engineering exercises and reduced the cost of the building by $2,500,000. The final cost estimates placed the building cost at $22,000,000.
Because of the large increase in oil prices and the effects of Katrina, the construction industry has gone into an inflationary spiral with inflation rates running between 10% and 14% per year. Structural steel is up 13% from one year ago when it was at an all-time high. The same can be said for rebars, cement, lumber, roofing, and most other construction materials.
We have already bid and awarded a contract for Phase I, which is the shell of the parking garage. The cost of this work is $1,656,748, leaving us a balance of $19,343,252 of the $21,000,000 appropriation.
The following is a summary of the need for $2,700,000:
The Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment Fund of $1,000,000 and a working contingency of $800,000 will be requested as part of the 2006-07 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
None
DEPARTMENT: RTM Budget Overview Committee
CONTACT: Randall Huffman, Chairman BOC
REFERRED TO: Education, Finance, Land Use, Parks & Recreation, Public Works
Town Services, Transportation
VOTES: N/A
WHEREAS, The Representative Town Meeting (the “RTM”) of the Town of Greenwich (the “Town”) believes that the Town needs to provide a new police headquarters and administration facility on a site that will best serve the needs of the citizens of the Town; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Selectmen of the Town has previously determined to construct a new police facility on an enlarged site on Bruce Place where the existing police facility is located; and
WHEREAS, the RTM has previously approved appropriations of funds for site selection studies and for designs and plans for a new police facility and believes that moneys should continue to be available to permit the development of the new police facility as reasonably quickly as possible; and
WHEREAS, the size and scope of the proposed new facility has increased to encompass a proposed public safety complex, including new space linking the proposed police facility and police parking facility with a renovated fire station and fire administration facility, which will necessitate closing Bruce Place; and
WHEREAS, the increased size and scope of the project have led to increased cost estimates for the various components of the project; and
WHEREAS, many members of the RTM have raised questions concerning the scope of the project, the location of the proposed complex, the impact of the project on the downtown commercial area of the Town, the schedule for developing the project and the potential cost of the project, and a majority of the members of the RTM have stated that they would like to receive additional information regarding the proposed public safety complex; and
WHEREAS, David Melick has proposed a design which has been publicly discussed and which incorporates a public safety building, downtown parking, increased green space, additional athletic fields and accommodations for the Board of Education's offices which may be less expensive than the Board of Selectmen's proposal; and
WHEREAS, the RTM is obligated to the Town's taxpayers to consider viable, potentially less costly alternatives to achieving the Town's goals; and
WHEREAS, the RTM believes that in light of the scope and cost of the proposed public safety complex, and its impact on downtown Greenwich for years to come, in addition to its impact on other projects that will be considered for the downtown area, it is necessary and appropriate to make a comprehensive comparison of the Town's proposed public safety complex plan and of the alternative the plan that has been suggested to the Town; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Selectmen has stated that it intends to move forward with the project as presently proposed and will include major funding for the construction of the new police facility in the next year’s capital budget.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that it is the Sense of the Meeting that before the RTM is asked to approve additional funding for the development or construction of the proposed public safety complex, the Board of Selectmen of the Town should review the alternate proposal submitted to the Town and prepare comparable cost and time estimates, and, in particular, the RTM does hereby request the following:
1. The Board of Selectmen provide access to all written materials, including reports, estimates and assessments produced by or for the Town or any Town department, agency or advisory committee relating to the proposed public safety complex, the proposed parking structures in the downtown commercial area, the addition of green space or playing fields in the downtown area, or the relocation of the offices of the Board of Education.
2. The Board of Selectmen cause a review of the two alternatives to be performed, which review will consider and compare the estimated costs of the plan elements (public safety complex, Board of Education headquarters, downtown parking, athletic fields and green space), the time to construct, the disruption to the central business district, the effect on future central business district development, the effect on the tax roll and related future tax revenues and any other factors which the Board of Selectmen deems relevant to properly assess the two projects.
3. The Board of Selectmen present to the RTM parallel analyses by appropriate town officials, employees or consultants of the two approaches to the proposed public safety complex, proposed downtown parking facilities, proposed playing fields on downtown property and the development of new office facilities for the Board of Education, including costs, time lines, disruption of downtown and any other relevant considerations.
4. The Board of Selectmen obtain a "highest and best use" appraisal of the Bruce Place land upon which the Town presently plans to construct the police building and parking.
5. The Board of Selectmen present its analyses, conclusions and recommendations, based on the conclusions from the parallel analyses and assessments, to the RTM prior to the March RTM meeting.
EXPLANATORY COMMENTS
This Sense of the Meeting Resolution, prepared at the direction of the Budget Overview Committee, seeks a review and comparison of alternative proposals to the current proposals of the Board of Selectmen for the public safety complex and other proposed projects in the central business district of the Town.
ATTACHMENTS
None
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