Memoranda

Lawrence-Douglas County

Fire Medical Department

 

TO:

Tom Markus, City Manager

 

FROM:

 

Mark Bradford, Fire Chief

DATE:

August 10, 2017

 

SUBJECT:

Fire Station No. 1 and Senior Resource Center Construction Delay

 

This memorandum summarizes the major delays associated with the original design and construction time line:

ž   Project initially was only to remodel the fire station portion of the existing building.  Once the project started the City elected to add the Senior Resource Center (East wing) to the project for remodel as well, but this effort between City and County took nearly 4+ months to solidify.  This decision was critical as existing building mechanical systems were still serving both sides of the building.

 

ž   The building was added to the Kansas State Historical Register following design team selection.  Further it was determined, later that the project would seek tax credits as a funding mechanism to assist with overall project budgeting.  This intent tightens the requirements for documentation to insure the granting of tax credits sales by KDOR (Kansas Dept. of Revenue).  Additional cost was required to hire a firm to manage the photo documentation requirements for the tax credit portion of the project.

 

ž   The project has now consisted of 4/5 sub-projects issued by the design team and coordinated through bid and construction prior to getting to the actual main building remodel and restoration.  This many sequential steps and required sub-project documentation and coordination was not anticipated when original design and construction schedules were generated.  The bid packages have been developed, coordinated and bids taken at very limited cost to the project in the way of design fees in efforts to forward the interest of the project. I.e. platting, hazardous substance soil testing, obtain set back wavier for existing building from BZA.

 

ž   Temporary Housing:

1.    Senior Center:

1.    Design team toured and evaluated multiple potential options with this group prior to having the East wing added to the project scope.

2.    DCSRC very quickly acted in best efforts to get out of the existing building, paving the way for construction progress.

 

ž   Fire Department Temporary Housing:

1.    Design team toured and evaluated six different locations for potential temporary housing and due to response times for City coverage, trailer housing on the existing site became the most plausible answer.  This however had to be designed and documented as a building project and released for bid through the City procurement process because its anticipated value was more than the threshold of $50K.  This project was designed bid and is now under construction.  In order to commence hazardous materials remediation activities, another of the 4+ projects mentioned above, it was believed that building needed to be unoccupied before commencement of this work.  Hazardous materials remediation should have begun in late June or very early July.

 

ž   Historic Resources Design Requirements:

1.    The design team is on its fourth design configuration effort for the code required vertical circulation addition planned for the west side of the structure in order get a design appropriate for submission that should meet with approval from the Historic Resources Commission, and that will help insure tax credit funding is approved.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Attachment:   Design and Construction Schedule – June 2017