Memorandum

City of Lawrence                 

Public Works

TO:	Mark Thiel
FROM:	Steve Bennett, Building and Structures Manager
Date:	7/20/2010
RE:	2010 Facilities and Structures Update

I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a mid-year update and status of our 2010 Facilities and Structures Program.

The Facilities and Structures Division is responsible for four budgets-- the Lawrence Douglas County Health Department [$994,788], Lawrence Arts Center [$133,790], Lawrence Municipal Airport [$197,443], and Facilities and Structures [$739,667]. We also maintain two parking garages: Riverfront Parking Garage and the New Hampshire Parking Garage. This division has seven full time employees – five skilled maintenance workers (electrician, HVAC technician, multi-trade maintenance person for all buildings, one assigned to health facility, one assigned to airport, one assigned to parking structures) and a custodian for City Hall. The Facilities and Structures Division is responsible for building maintenance for approximately 40 municipal buildings. It maintains the Downtown lighting: pedestrian, parking lots, and city owned street lighting. We respond to Planning/Development Services and Police reports of Graffiti. We spend a minimum of eight hours a week at the I.T.C. Center on Bob Billings Parkway. This division also provides technical support for other departments as well.

As of June 30, 2010 the Division highlights are:

· Replaced the old heaters in the Container Maintenance building. Installed energy efficient gas fired radiant tube heaters. This is a very efficient way to heat a large area that has large doors. Cost of replacement was $27,000. They could have a 20 to 25 percent savings in energy use.   

§ Installed occupancy sensors throughout City Hall. Cost approximately $2,000. Energy saving varies with use.

§ Lighting in the Riverfront parking garage was updated replacing metal halide with energy efficient T-5 fixtures. This resulted in an approximate $500.00 monthly savings.

§ Fire/Med #4 was upgraded from pulse start metal halide to T-5 fixtures and installed occupancy sensors throughout the building; project cost $3,900. The lighting change out has a payback in 20,000 hours. The sensors will improve that figure.

· A paint striping machine was purchased. This will be used at the airport, parking lots, traffic maintenance, and for temporary street maintenance. This not only saved money, but we have a greater control of coordinating projects by performing this in-house. The average cost per foot to contract this work is $0.20 compared to $0.033 per linear foot. Maintaining parking striping enhances the appearance of our city and makes it much easier for drivers to park properly.

§ Replaced 2- 30 foot street light poles downtown that were in very bad condition.

§ Replaced additional City Commission room lights for energy saving. Eight 150 watt halogen were removed, 22 watt LED were installed. Saves 1040 watts of usage per hour.

§ Replaced electrical service into the solid waste building. Current drop was causing problems with the computer equipment.

§ The old operable windows of City Hall are in disrepair. The wood frames have deteriorated and waste energy. We had replacement windows manufactured. The new weather seals and solid wood have greatly decreased the draft around the windows. We are staining, adding hardware, and custom fitting each one. All of the operable widows are being replaced. We have replaced 40 of the most deteriorated windows in house. We have another 11 on hand to be installed. As budget allows we will replace the remaining 71, according to their condition.

§ Temperature settings in city buildings are being adjusted in an attempt to save energy. Setting the temperature at 78 degrees saves 10 to 15 percent in energy costs.

§ The Library roof has been cleaned and flashing has been coated. All penetrations have been recoated. Depending on the funding for the roof replacement, a white sealant coat will be added if replacement is delayed.

· We are aggressively trying to control the pigeons at the New Hampshire parking garage. We are using pigeon repellant and spike strips. A small improvement has been noticed. More spike strips are needed.

· The Library HVAC replacement and upgrade is a capital improvement project that was awarded ARRA stimulus funds in 2009 for the upgrade of the HVAC system at the Lawrence public library under the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant program.  

§ Some projects for the Community Health Department include:

o Requested quotes for painting metal exterior of building. Quotes have been received and painting will start as soon as they are reviewed.

o Replaced two frequency drives:  air handler 3 and chill water pump.

o Removed wall for Human Resources Director to make her office larger.

o Enclosed an area in Visiting Nurses to provide an office for the new Information person.

· Some projects for Lawrence Municipal Airport include:

o Constructed a pad for equipment parking from asphalt grindings.

o Over seeded area adjacent to the driveway.

o Seeded the ditch projects.

o Cleaned the concrete LAWRENCE sign at end of runway.

o Sprayed around all lights for vegetation.

o Surveyed ditch for proper drainage.

o Sprayed cracks in runway for vegetation.

o Mowed, mowed, mowed

· LED lighting was made the standard for the City’s pedestrian lighting. This has been accepted by contractors and developers as well. We are presently evaluating LED cobra head lighting for street lights.

· Replaced main water line into Fire/Med #1.

· Coordinated asbestos removal from the Carnegie building.

· Remodel project at Neighborhood Resources.

· Removed concrete block walls in parking garages that collected debris and was used by the homeless.

Our Work Order system request form is accessed through the intranet. When a request is received we designate the priority, person it is assigned to, completion date, and estimated time involved. This is entered into the main system and an e-mail notification is sent to the person performing the work. When the work is completed the ticket is closed out. The date the work was completed, hours used, and a completion notification sent to the person who requests the work order. We have four “types” of work orders: scheduled repairs, emergency repairs, preventive maintenance, and demand. We have six priority classifications: emergency 2 hours response time, high 24 hours response, 2-3 days, 1 week, 1 month, and on the list. At anytime through the process the person requesting the work may check for updates on the ticket. We track quantity of work orders by type, priority, labor and property. Reports are only limited by the information that is entered. At present we are evaluating all budgets to insure we have adequate funding for the rest of the year. A work order customer satisfaction survey has been implemented.

Projects scheduled for the remainder of this year are:

· Finishing the HVAC replacement project for the library.

· Crack sealing and sealing asphalt at the airport. This needs to be completed to maintain appropriate serviceability of these areas

· Evaluating large energy usage at Fire/Med 4, as compared to Fire/Med #2. Possibly adding economizers on HVAC.

· Installing energy monitoring devices on the downtown lighting. Will be used for grant comparison.

· Evaluating cobra head replacements. We are looking at LED or other possible energy saving designs.

· LED lighting for downtown pedestrian lighting will possibly be funded by stimulus money. We are presently looking at two options:  a possible retrofit of existing fixture or a new LED fixture. The price difference, along with appearance, will be evaluated.

· Continued replacement of operable windows for City Hall.

· Tuck-pointing and exterior brick repair at the COA/Fire/Med 1 building. Water has been penetrating the exterior walls and bricks have been damaged.

· Replacing one 30 foot light downtown.

· Lower apron lighting at airport so they can be services with the equipment that is City owned.

· Pilot program for maintenance garage and container maintenance overhead lighting. We presently have 400 watt metal halide. We are looking at 330 watt universal replacement bulbs.

· Possible enclosure for the exposed elevators at the New Hampshire parking garage.

Looking forward:

· The north facing slate roof on City Hall needs extensive repairs or replacement. It is original to City Hall and extremely hard to maintain. A possible replacement would be a rubber slate look-alike. This has been used this on the Airport Terminal roof.

· The DCSC and Fire/Med #1 have two additional roofs that will need replaced; both are leaking and causing damage.

· The Traffic Division roof needs replaced as soon as possible. It is leaking and un-repairable. A roof was built over the original roof making leaks hard to locate.

· The Library roof should be replaced after the HVAC renovation takes place. Penetrations and traffic from the HVAC installation would reduce the life of a new roof.

· Crack sealing at the airport is needed. There is a pavement management program for the airport, which is required by the FAA. Their funding is based on how well we maintain their improvements.

· The apron by the terminal and around the hangers needs to be sealed. We are getting separation and gravel which as stated earlier, is a hazard for airplanes. 

· We would like to see a maintenance building for lifts, trucks, and equipment. Presently we have equipment and supplies stored everywhere possible. A maintenance building would clear out the stairwells and others area at City Hall where furniture and equipment is stored.

· Both parking garages will need to be inspected. This will be submitted in the 2012 budget. This should be done every 5 years to stay ahead of the wear and tear.

· The garage sweeper will need to be replaced in the next 2 years; we will address this in a budget request.

· Replace stairwell heaters in City Hall. We have five. One has been replaced. They are 30 years old. Two have failed.

· Replace Circon DDC controls at City Hall. Circon is not manufactured or supported anymore.

· Install DDC controls at Senior Center

· Replace HVAC at the SWAN building

· Construct two 10 hanger units at Lawrence Municipal Airport.

Please let me know if you have any questions.