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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3638 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3638) Committee for Potential Infrastructure Finance Measure Staff Report Report Type: Meeting Date: 3/28/2013 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: IBRC Final Report Recommendations Update Title: Update on Implementation of the Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission Final Report Recommendations From: City Manager Lead Department: Public Works Recommendation This is an informational report. No action is required. Background The Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission (IBRC) released its final report, titled “Palo Alto’s Infrastructure: Catching Up, Keeping Up, and Moving Ahead”, on December 22, 2011. The final report included a number of recommendations for improving the City’s management and funding of its infrastructure needs. This informational report provides an update on the implementation status of each of the IBRC’s recommendations. Discussion Attachment A provides an update on the implementation status of the IBRC recommendations. Staff will continue to provide periodic updates on the status of the recommendations as additional progress is made. Attachments:  A: IBRC Final Report Recommendations Update (DOCX) IBRC Final Report Recommendations Status Update March 15, 2013 1 # Recommendation Status 1-1 Establish an Infrastructure Management System (IMS) to maintain an up-to-date inventory of the City’s infrastructure, its catch-up and keep-up needs, and available funding. Such a management tool will support ongoing staff and Council attention to infrastructure budgeting, planning, and accountability. This system should integrate with programs the City now uses to manage infrastructure and finance. As a multi-departmental technology initiative, the project will be jointly administered by the City’s IT and Public Works Departments under the recently developed IT Governance Structure. A Project Charter that defines the scope, goals and objectives of the project, key stakeholders and their roles, timeline and budget, and the anticipated consulting services that will be needed to implement an IMS will be developed by April 30 and presented to the Council Finance Committee in May. The RFP for consulting services is expected to be released by June 30. 1-2 Establish a single point of responsibility, at a high level, for infrastructure management. This position should be within the City Manager’s Office (CMO). PW Director Mike Sartor has been identified as the lead staff member for infrastructure management. At this time, staff is not recommending that a position in the CMO be created to manage infrastructure; however, City Manager Jim Keene will be actively engaged in the City’s infrastructure work. 1-3 Require that an IMS summary report be presented to the City Council as the lead element in each year’s General Fund Budget review, and that it highlight any gaps in infrastructure funding. Staff will present Council an IMS summary report on budgetary implications related to infrastructure and any associated gaps when an IMS is created. 1-4 Establish a permanent public commission, appointed by the City Council, to give ongoing oversight to infrastructure maintenance, to consider and make recommendations regarding future infrastructure needs, and to assure proper attention to the City’s physical assets. This commission should have as its staff liaison the Director of Planning. At this time, staff is not recommending the formation of an infrastructure maintenance oversight commission. 1-5 Establish a policy that the City Manager, in coordination with the public commission on infrastructure, report to the City Council at least twice a year on infrastructure. The City Manager will report to the Council at least twice per year on infrastructure without a public commission. 1-6 Dedicate sufficient funding to infrastructure on a long-term basis. Since the publication of the IBRC Final Report, additional funding has already been identified and allocated for infrastructure. The City is also planning for a potential infrastructure finance measure, and plans to conduct an initial feasibility survey in Spring 2013. IBRC Final Report Recommendations Status Update March 15, 2013 2 1-7 Mandate periodic audits of infrastructure maintenance by the City Auditor. The Office of the City Auditor is open to performing periodic, infrastructure related audits similar to the 2008 Infrastructure Scorecard and the 2006 Audit of Street Maintenance cited throughout the Commission’s report. As the City Auditor’s Annual Work Plan is risk-based and subject to the input and approval of the Council, it is likely unnecessary to cause this to be a mandated audit. 3-1 Build a new Public Safety Building (PSB) as soon as possible on a new site, incorporating the Police Department, the Fire Department administration, the Communications Center, the Emergency Operations Center, and the Office of Emergency Services. The construction of a new PSB as described is currently under consideration. A public/private partnership to provide a PSB is under review, and funding for construction of a PSB is being evaluated as part of the infrastructure revenue ballot measure initial feasibility survey. 3-2 Rebuild and significantly upgrade Fire Station 3 (Newell and Embarcadero) and Station 4 (Middlefield and East Meadow) at their present sites as soon as possible. Funding for rebuilds and upgrades of Fire Stations 3 and 4 is being evaluated as part of the infrastructure revenue ballot measure initial feasibility survey. 4-1 Expand the scope of the Municipal Services Center (MSC)/Animal Services Center (ASC) consultant study to include the possibility of establishing an auto dealer cluster or other economic development project on East Bayshore Road and to consider the best use of parcels the City may acquire on the Embarcadero East corridor. DPW staff is investigating how best to launch the study using consultant support to assess the activities and services currently provided at the MSC/ASC sites and alternatives for providing those services. The results of this study will identify the approximate acreage of City owned land that could potentially be repurposed for economic development. A second phase of the study will examine economic and land use alternatives to determine the highest and best use of the City owned land. An initial RFP for consultant services is expected to be issued by June 30. 4-2 Obtain current appraisals of the market value of the MSC site on East Bayshore Road and the auto dealer parcels on Embarcadero Road. Obtaining current appraisals of the market value of the MSC site will be a part of the above mentioned consultant study (4-1). IBRC Final Report Recommendations Status Update March 15, 2013 3 4-3 Update the City’s disaster response and resiliency and evaluate the risk of no or limited access to the MSC in the event of a disaster. The City’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) is working with the Public Works Department, the Utilities Department, and other City groups that utilize the MSC to mitigate the impact of loss of access to that site. In the 1998 Flood, larger vehicles (trucks) were able to traverse the flood waters to maintain core operations. However, the MSC is at risk of impaired egress from other events ranging from chemical spills on Highway 101 to large-scale criminal events. Therefore OES is encouraging the implementation of Emergency Operations Staging Areas to decentralize certain supplies as well as protocols to relocate equipment from the MSC, in cases where advance warning is possible. 4-4 Update the Baylands Master Plan regarding the MSC site and the Embarcadero East corridor. Appropriate updates to the Baylands Master Plan will be made if necessitated by action taken at the MSC site. 4-5 Perform economic impact analyses of the different scenarios for repair or replacement of the MSC. Performing an economic impact analysis of the different scenarios for repair or replacement of the MSC site will be part of the above mentioned consultant study (4-1). 4-6 Review the plan for delivering animal services to the City, the contractual obligations of the ASC to provide services to adjacent communities, and the possibility of a closer relationship with regional providers such as the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority. Through the FY 2013 budget process, the City Council approved a $449,105 reduction to the net cost of Animal Services to the City. Staff sought feedback from a Citizen Stakeholder Group to discuss and determine how best to reduce the budget, increase revenues and engage in partnership while still providing the high level of service the community has experienced in past years. Through this process, staff developed a proposal to achieve the budget reduction with on-going, structural expenditure reductions, fee revenue increases and the one-time use of donation revenue. Police Department staff is currently doing an organizational assessment of Animal Services which may include recommendations for strategic realignment, reorganization and partnership opportunities. IBRC Final Report Recommendations Status Update March 15, 2013 4 4-7 Study long-term alternatives for optimization of the Civic Center block. At this time, there are no plans to study alternative uses of the Civic Center block. 5-1 Consider four recommended alternatives for funding one-time investments and ongoing infrastructure needs. These alternatives do not include reallocations within current City budgets except for the possibility of funds that now pay for the Cubberley lease. Numerous infrastructure funding alternatives are under consideration as a part of the City’s infrastructure revenue ballot measure initial feasibility survey. 5-2 Direct the City Manager to dedicate 23 percent of General Fund revenue annually to infrastructure. Require a supermajority of six council member votes to reduce any year’s infrastructure funding below 23 percent. Require that any reductions below 23 percent shall be restored over the succeeding three years. Staff does not recommend dedicating 23 percent of General Fund revenue annually to infrastructure, as such a dedication of funds would result in limited budgetary flexibility. 5-3 Establish an Operating Maintenance Reserve to manage infrastructure budgeting and smooth year-to-year fluctuations, and a Strategic Construction Reserve to deal with unanticipated infrastructure needs and opportunities. Staff is open to the formation of the recommended reserves once sufficient revenue is in place to fund them. 5-4 Decline to renew the Cubberley Lease and Covenant Not to Develop. This will free $6.1 million annually and avoid a substantial portion of the capital upkeep expenditures of $18.9 million and annual maintenance expenditures of $800,000. Decisions regarding the future of Cubberley, the Cubberley lease, and any associated payments are on hold until the release and consideration of the Cubberley Community Advisory Committee (CCAC) final report, which is scheduled for March 2013.