MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
From: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to petition regarding
Streetscape improvements in front of the Skills Development Center
DATE: May 22, 2000
This report provides information about what steps
need to be taken to design and construct Streetscape improvements in front of
the Skills Development Center. It also
provides preliminary cost estimates for the work and suggests different
approaches to scheduling its completion.
Adoption of Resolution A would authorize the Town
Manager to allocate $60,000 in available Streetscape bond funding to reimburse
the Orange County Skills Development Center for the cost of Streetscape
improvements within the public right-of-way on the south side of the 500 block
of West Franklin Street.
Adoption of Resolution B would authorize the Town
Manager to postpone Town construction projects scheduled for fall 2000 and
allocate $20,000 in available Streetscape bond funding to construct Streetscape
improvements within the public right-of-way on the south side of the 500 block
of West Franklin Street using Town labor in fall 2000.
Adoption of Resolution C would instruct the Town
Manager to include construction of Streetscape improvements within the public right-of-way
on the south side of the 500 block of West Franklin Street among options for
upcoming consideration by the Council for construction using Town labor in late
spring and summer of 2001.
The Manager recommends adoption of Resolution A.
In late 1998, during construction of the interior
renovations at the Skills Development Center, preliminary plans were provided
to the Town for development of a landscaped area in front of the building
located at 503 West Franklin. During
the Town staff’s review of these plans it became apparent that development of
this landscaped area would likely involve some construction in the public
right-of-way and would impact future Streetscape improvements in this
area. In response to this, the County
provided more detailed plans (Attachment #1), dated February 17, 1999, that
included reconstruction of much of the existing Streetscape. At that time the Town staff requested
revisions to the plans to make the Streetscape elements of the project more
compatible with other downtown areas and to tie the sidewalk material, location
and width into the improvements underway in front of the adjacent Chapel Hill
Newspaper Building.
On April 19, 2000, the Council received a petition
from County Commission Chair Moses Carey, Jr. requesting that the Town fund
improvements to the public right-of-way in front of the Skills Development
Center during the 2000-2001 fiscal year.
A copy of this petition is attached (Attachment #2).
DISCUSSION
Completion of final construction plans, including
recommended Streetscape revisions and showing how the improvements in the
public right-of-way will be integrated with the proposed landscaped area have
yet to be developed. This is a
necessary next step that will be improved by coordination between the Town
staff and the County’s consultant hired to design the landscaped area. It is possible that the Town staff could
provide all of the necessary design services for work within the public
right-of-way, but we recommend that the design work be closely coordinated with
the County’s planning if possible. We
believe that it may be more efficient to design the anticipated Streetscape
improvements first, and then, as necessary adjust the proposed landscape
improvements rather than design the Streetscape improvements in response to the
current landscape plans. The Town staff
could initiate this Streetscape design work during the current fiscal year.
The project area is approximately 175 feet in length. We recommend right-of-way improvements
including new curb and gutter, a new driveway apron, an underground conduit
bank for utilities, a new 8’ wide concrete sidewalk, and low brick planter
walls along the right-of-way similar to the new walls in front of the Chapel
Hill Newspaper Building. A preliminary
materials cost estimate for this project, based on recent Streetscape projects
utilizing Town labor, is approximately $20,000. If this work is contracted privately, we anticipate that the cost
would be approximately $60,000.
If constructed by the Town, the Public Works
employees who would be responsible for constructing the improvements are made
up primarily of Construction Division employees. These would include two of the
additional Construction Worker positions approved by the Council in FY 98 – 99
specifically to extend the amount of sidewalk and Streetscape construction the
staff can complete each year. If labor
and fringe benefits costs for the existing Construction Division positions is
considered for purposes of comparison with the privately contracted cost
estimate, approximately $32,700 could be added to the $20,000 materials cost
for a total estimated Town investment of $52,700. Because this additional $32,700 labor-related cost is already
budgeted in the General Fund and would not need to be allocated from available
Streetscape funds, Resolution B which utilizes Town labor, authorizes only
$20,000 for the necessary construction materials.
The Town currently has approximately $424,000 in
available bond funding for Streetscape improvements. We anticipate that approximately $75,000 will be expended this
summer during construction of approximately 400 feet of improvements on the
north side of the 1000 block of East Franklin Street, leaving a balance of
about $349,000. A portion of this money
could be made available to fund the proposed improvements, either by Town labor
or private contract. The remaining
balance would then be available for other Streetscape projects. We anticipate providing options to the
Council for the use of available Streetscape funding this coming fall.
As discussed in the section on construction
planning, additional design work would be needed before construction can
begin. Working with the County’s
consultant, we believe that this work can be completed this summer.
Option A: Private Contractor Constructs
Because construction of the Streetscape improvements
is so closely linked to construction of the landscaped area we believe that
there are advantages to constructing the two components concurrently. This would most readily be accomplished by
contracting with the contractor responsible for landscape construction and
having the sections in the public right-of-way billed separately.
One significant advantage to this approach is that
it permits the County to schedule all the construction work at times most
advantageous to the Skills Development Center and it does not require that the
Town’s limited labor resources be used for this project. By doing so, this approach has the effect of
increasing the amount of Streetscape construction we can do in the upcoming
year without redirecting the construction crew from other needed projects.
Contracting out the work would also provide the Town
staff with a first-hand opportunity to quantify the cost effectiveness and
construction quality associated with utilizing a private contractor. This will
assist us in determining whether this approach should be considered during
upcoming years to increase the speed in which Downtown improvements are being
made.
A disadvantage is the relative cost of utilizing a
private contractor versus Town labor.
Also, although this approach will not utilize Town construction labor
resources, it will require careful oversight by Town staff.
Adoption of Resolution A would authorize the Town
Manager to allocate $60,000 in available Streetscape funding to cover the
anticipated cost of this private contractor option. If the bids received for the project exceed this estimated
$60,000, we believe it would be reasonable for the County to pay the difference
in cost.
Considering the size of the project we anticipate
that it would take approximately 6 weeks to complete utilizing Town labor. The Town Construction Division intends to
begin this summer’s Streetscape construction project on East Franklin Street on
June 4, 2000, and complete it in mid to late August. If the Council wishes, Town labor could then be used to construct
the proposed improvements in front of the Skills Development Center.
An advantage to this approach is that the desired
improvements would be done relatively quickly at an estimated materials cost of
$20,000. Disadvantages to this approach
include not being able to fully coordinate the Streetscape and landscape area
construction, scheduling construction during a particularly busy period for
Downtown, and, most importantly, having to delay already scheduled construction
projects.
Currently we have a backlog of Street reconstruction
projects we hope to complete before the fall paving season ends and we plan to
begin construction on the High School Road sidewalk as soon as labor
availability permits. Extending our
construction time Downtown likely would result in our inability to complete
construction of the High School Road sidewalk this calendar year.
Adoption of Resolution B would authorize the Town
Manager to reschedule other construction projects and allocate $20,000 in
available Streetscape funding to cover the anticipated materials cost of
completing this section of Streetscape construction utilizing Town labor in the
fall of 2000.
Over the last several years the staff has provide
the Town Council with options for Streetscape construction projects utilizing
Town labor resources for upcoming summer construction seasons. We anticipate returning to the Council this
fall with a group of construction options for the late spring and summer of
2001. At that time we could include the
Streetscape section in front of the Skills Development Center among the
options. An advantage to this approach
is that it is less expensive than contracting out the project, as proposed in
Option A, and it does not require that already scheduled construction projects
be delayed, as proposed in Option B.
Disadvantages to this approach are that if it is a selected option, it
would not be constructed until late next spring and it would interfere with the
Town’s ability to do a single large project, like the work recently done on
East Franklin Street, in a single summer construction season.
Adoption of Resolution C would instruct the Town
Manager to include this section among the Streetscape construction options
provided to the Council this fall.
We recommend that the Town Council adopt Resolution
A authorizing the Town Manager to allocate $60,000 in available Streetscape
funding to support the private contractor option.
1.
Conceptual
plan of the proposed landscape area and Streetscape improvements.
2.
Petition
from Mr. Moses Carey requesting Town funding for Streetscape improvements.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO ALLOCATE $60,000 IN AVAILABLE STREETSCAPE BOND FUNDING TO REIMBURSE ORANGE COUNTY FOR THE COST OF STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS IN FRONT OF THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ON WEST FRANKLIN STREET (2000-05-22/R-13a)
WHEREAS, the Council has indicated that construction
of Streetscape improvements in front of the Skills Development Center is a high
priority; and
WHEREAS, there are advantages to constructing these
improvements concurrently with adjacent pocket park improvements; and
WHEREAS, bond funds are available to cover the
estimated $60,000 cost of these improvements;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the
Town of Chapel Hill that the Council authorizes the Town Manager to allocate
$60,000 in available Streetscape bond funding to reimburse Orange County for
the cost of Streetscape improvements within the public right-of-way on the
south side of the 500 block of West Franklin Street.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO POSTPONE OTHER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, ALLOCATE $20,000 IN AVAILABLE STREETSCAPE BOND FUNDING, AND SCHEDULE CONSTRUCTION OF STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS IN FRONT OF THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ON WEST FRANKLIN STREET THIS FALL (2000-05-22/R-13b)
WHEREAS, the Council has indicated that construction
of Streetscape improvements in front of the Skills Development Center is a high
priority; and
WHEREAS, there are cost advantages to constructing
these improvements with Town labor; and
WHEREAS, bond funds are available to cover the
estimated $20,000 materials cost of these improvements;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the
Town of Chapel Hill that the Council authorizes the Town Manager to postpone
Town construction projects scheduled for fall 2000 and allocate $20,000 in
available Streetscape bond funding to construct Streetscape improvements within
the public right-of-way on the south side of the 500 block of West Franklin
Street using Town labor in fall 2000.
This the 22nd day of May, 2000.
A RESOLUTION INSTRUCTING THE TOWN MANAGER TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION OF STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS IN FRONT OF THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ON WEST FRANKLIN STREET AMONG OPTIONS FOR FUTURE TOWN CONSTRUCTION (2000-05-22/R-13c)
WHEREAS, the Council has indicated that construction
of Streetscape improvements in front of the Skills Development Center is desirable;
and
WHEREAS, there are cost advantages to constructing
these improvements with Town labor; and
WHEREAS, bond funds are available to cover the
estimated $20,000 materials cost of these improvements;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the
Town of Chapel Hill that the Council instructs the Town Manager to include
construction of Streetscape improvements within the public right-of-way on the
south side of the 500 block of West Franklin Street among options for upcoming
consideration by the Council for construction using Town labor in late spring
and summer of 2001.
This the 22nd day of May, 2000.