Ill take a latte with that building permit

MUNICIPAL FACILITIES PLANS:
Strategies for Success

MUNICIPAL FACILITIES PLANS MUNICIPAL FACILITIES PLANS
Strategies for Success September 21, 2012

PANEL
KENNETH BUCKLAND AICP LEED AP
Principal
The Cecil Group
buckland@cecilgroup.com

LAURA A. WERNICK AIA REFP LEED AP
Senior Principal
HMFH Architects, Inc.
wernick@hmfh.com

LAURENCE S. SPANG AIA LEED AP
Associate Principal
Arrowstreet
spang@arrowstreet.com


SESSION OBJECTIVES

What to consideration when planning municipal
spaces, offices and functions
Special needs and requirements for
municipal spaces and facilities planning
Methods for gaining approval
Learning from examples of other municipal
facilities plans


SETTING GOALS
Key Guiding Principles

For public projects we believe there are unique and important aspects to the design of
functional buildings. The following are the key guiding principles that could apply:

Sustainability/Life-Cycle Analysis
Strategic Asset Analysis
Short term and Long term budget Options
Options for Public/Private Cooperation
Public Accessibility and Service Delivery
Image and Legacy


ASSESSMENTS: OPERATIONS
Information for Analysis
For complex facility planning projects, there are multiple data sources that are
considered while refining the recommendations. These include:

Municipal operations and
management
Department operations and
management
Departmental requests and
potential operations
Relationships between departments
Public user needs
Service and response areas


ASSESSMENTS: FACILITIES
Information for Analysis

Facility assessments
Facility use and potential
Site assessments
Coordinated operation
opportunities
Means, methods and design
options to accommodate
space needs
New technologies
Successes in other communities


DATABASE and Sources of Information
Methods DEVELOPMENT

Department Database
Facility Assessments
Inter-Departmental
Relationships
Delivery of Service


EVALUATION
Comparative Evaluation of Space Needs
Use a spreadsheet matrix form for listing, ranking and weighting the facilities and
needs against the criteria. The evaluation factors usually include:

Service needs and improvements
User needs and improvements
Short term and long term budget impacts
Scheduled and actual growth (demographics and services)
Facility O&M costs
Areas of deferred maintenance
Overall facility conditions and opportunities


SPACE NEEDS Requirements
Specific Space
Current methods for measuring space needs have improved with new technologies
and new design for the major elements:

Office Spaces
Meeting Spaces
Records Filing


CONCLUSIONSLearned
Lessons
Special attention and consideration should be focused on:

A. THE MISSION
Municipal departments are “mission centric.” That means
they are driven by their limited resources to perform the main
functions for the service delivery and are often unable to
search beyond their immediate needs for ways to advance
consolidation and coordination. That becomes the role of the
consultant and town leadership.


CONCLUSIONSLearned
Lessons
Special attention and consideration should be focused on:

B. SERVICE DELIVERY
Agencies typically define their needs by numbers of users or
calls for service, and suggest that changes in those numbers
are cause for change in staffing and space. However,
because of changes, or lack thereof, in the ways those
services may be delivered, the real needs could be directed
in quite different ways. This in turn must be considered as
you program facilities and spaces.


CONCLUSIONSLearned
Lessons
Special attention and consideration should focus on:

C. PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY
The perception and reality of accessibility and service
delivery must be melded together in a way that the public
better understands how to obtain those services and how the
design functions with them in mind as users. This requires
an understanding of public mobility and the changes in
mobility and communication.


CONCLUSIONSLearned
Lessons

D. TECHNOLOGY
Technology has changed municipal government and the way
it functions. Embracing different options in the use of
technology to provide interaction and services, while
currently a special cost to building design, ultimately
provides significant benefit to the community’s capital needs.


CONCLUSIONSLearned
Lessons

E. POTENTIAL REUSE
The private reuse potential of municipal buildings is
determined by a number of different conditions, but in most
cases marketable options can be found. Sometimes it
requires knowledge of how the building could be a new
opportunity within a particular market sector.


Planning for Successful Outcomes

Laura Wernick, AIA, REFP, LEED AP

HMFH Architects, Inc.


Successful outcomes require planning for
community engagement on day one!


Only community members can determine if
the burdens required are offset by the long term
benefits.


Components of a Community Engagement Plan

Plan the composition of the Planning Committee
Articulate goals
Define the baseline - What is the problem to be solved?
Develop a schedule for community input/engagement
Develop a communications plan
Anticipate concerns/develop data to address those concerns


“Newport School Committee Establishes
the Middle Grade Housing
Subcommittee”

Representatives from all Newport power bases
Individuals with social and cultural influence
Individuals representing opposing points of view


Clearly articulate goal
Anticipate sensitive issues

Is the goal user satisfaction or operational efficiency?
How will the value of historic resources be measured?
Should metrics be established for energy efficiency payback?


Goals Articulated

School for grades 6,7 and 8
Broadway location
Part of economic/residential development of Newport
New, save or renovate but must be sympathetic to Broadway context
Must meet community needs
Value for money spent !!!


Define the baseline.
What is the problem that is being solved?


Develop a schedule for community engagement early on:

Meetings for input,
Meetings for feedback and
Meetings for action


Schedule for Community Engagement


Develop a Communications Plan

Content Development
Media Contact
Affiliated Support Groups
Web Site
Twitter
Engagement Opportunities
Mailers


Engagement = Participation in decision making

Ask for input and feedback
Consider activities that get audience out of their seats
Consider activities that get people talking to one another
Post feedback


Anticipate concerns.

Use data to address those concerns
and tell your story.

Do it in a manner that is clear, graphically
compelling and builds consensus.


Consensus Building

Over 80 community meetings, 3 – 30 People
Input solicited
Architect responded to input
More community meetings


Political Messaging

Political message articulated:
Serves the children
Serves the community
Satisfies the taxpayer – “Value for the Dollar”


Summary

Engage the leaders of the community
Engage your opponents
Establish goals that can be agreed upon
Develop a plan and schedule for community engagement
Listen to and address opponents concerns
Listen to and address community concerns
Have ALL of your facts
Demonstrate the depth and commitment to your goals


A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO FACILITY PLANNING

Laurence Spang, AIA LEED AP
Arrowstreet


A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO FACILITY PLANNING

1. Challenges
2. Programming Challenges and Issues
3. Case Study:
Somerville Municipal Building
4. Case Study:
US Air Force Services Transformation
5. Conclusions


CHALLENGES
MUNICIPAL SERVICES PROVIDERS


CHALLENGES
DISPERSED LOCATIONS

Operational
Inefficiencies
Customer
Frustration
Energy Inefficiency


CHALLENGES

Limited Access and Parking
Not Accessible
Energy Inefficient
Archaic Office Spaces
Redundant Resources


CHALLENGES

Customer Dissatisfaction
Limited Resources

Photo: Sage Ross


PROGRAM EFFICIENCES

Web Based
‘Enterprise Solutions’
Workplace Improvements
Electronic and Off-Site Records
Storage
Location Synergies


LOCATION SYNERGIES

Consolidation to Central
Location
Proximity to Center of
Population
Proximity to Transportation
(Auto and Transit)
Land Availability
(Building and Parking)

Diagram by Cecil Group


LOCATION CONSIDERATIONS

Economic Impact
Municipal Facility as a
Generator of Economic
Activity

Union Square, Somerville


FINANCING OPTIONS

Traditional – Bond Financing
– Reliable, low risk
– Requires long term funding obligation
– Subject to market fluctuations and bond ratings
– Becoming more difficult in today’s economic climate

Innovative – Private/Public Financing
– Examples
TIF / DIF
Build to Suit – Private Development
Mixed Use – City as Developer
– Higher Risk


SOMERVILLE MUNICIPAL FACILITY STUDY
STACKING DIAGRAM

Executive Functions Commercial
Offices

Administrative
Functions

Public Hearing Rooms

Street front
Street Level / Public Retail
Functions

Subsurface Parking


MASSING STUDY


VISUALIZATION


PHASING


US AIR FORCE TRANSFORMATION STUDY



Dispersed Facilities
Changing Population
Changing Tastes
Inefficient Spaces
Redundant Resources


SYNERGY OF USES


VISUALIZATION


CONCLUSIONS

Traditional municipal services are evolving towards a business
oriented model of customer service
Workplace planning needs to evolve to incorporate
operational efficiencies
Planning decisions should seize opportunities for strategic
efficiencies and larger economic impact.
Limited financial resources are pushing towards innovative
financing strategies such as build-to-suit or mixed-use to bridge
financing gaps


PUBLIC/PRIVATE PROGRAMS
Mix Program of Uses and Meet New Goals

Mixing functions and uses – including private commercial
uses – can be used to meet the goals of revitalization and
more cost-effective projects. Requires designs that meet local
market demands.


PUBLIC/PRIVATE PROGRAMS Goals
Mix the Program of Uses and Meet New

Brooklyn Municipal Building, Brooklyn, New York

Mix of Uses:
• City offices upper floors
• 37,000 SF on first two floors for
restaurant and home goods retail
• Rents $40-$90/SF/year for retail



Los Alamos, New Mexico

Mix of Uses:
• City Offices
• Mixed Commercial Space


Delft, Netherlands

Mix of Uses:
• City Hall
• Train Station
• Retail



Ferdinand Building, Dudley Square, Boston

Mix of Uses:
• City offices [Public
Schools]
• Retail on first floor
• Meeting rooms
• T Station


A Future Town Planner?


Ill take a latte with that building permit

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