Special Call Meeting: What To Do About City Hall? Is Demolish An Option?

New City Hall Project; Will The City Do It Again?

The City Website Has The Agenda Posted 427 Pages

Inspection Reveals New Problem: Numerous dead cockroaches and insects were observed

Plan of Action
 
Evacuate City Hall
 
The City must initiate mitigation efforts in order to reduce the levels of radon mold and asbestos within City Hall if it plans to continue to utilize City Hall as its base of operations in order to ensure the safety of its occupants.
 
In order to minimize and to mitigate any further exposure of employees and the general public to a potentially dangerous environment the City personnel and departments housed in the City Hall building will need to be relocated to an alternate
location.

Staff is requesting Authorization to negotiate lease arrangements for the relocation of personnel and operations to temporary accommodations.
 
Options to Consider
 
Fix Current City Hall Building
 
In order to address the serious concerns revealed in the testing conducted at City Hall at the Csity request on August 27 2012 Enviro Team North America submitted a Mold  Management Remediation Plan for City Hall.
 
This plan includes the following scope of work required to make the current site safe for employees and the general public
 
a Containment of basement area.
 
b Document removal disposal stored in basement.
 
c Gypsum Board and vinyl wall covering removal.
 
d Removal of fungal contaminated wood.
 
e Removal and replacement of ceiling panels.
 
f Removal and replacement of carpeting.
 
g Replacement and decontamination of air handling units and associated air conveyance system.
 
h Entire basement Area to be HEPA vacuumed and cleaned with detergent solution.
 
i Exterior Envelope of building to be sealed and coated to prevent migration of humidity and moisture from exterior.
 
j Replacement of exterior windows with impact resistant windows with proper water sealing.
 
k Roof membrane covering to be removed and replaced
 
l Basement exterior wall to be treated and sealed to prevent migration of moisture.

Based on the recommendations furnished by the environmental consultant Staff contacted several construction firms specializing in radon asbestos and mold remediation to estimate the extent and cost of work required to remediate the facility. 

Based on estimates the cost to repair these deficiencies at the existing City Hall facility will be approximately $2 million
and will take one year to accomplish.
 
If Council decides to proceed with this option City staff will follow with development of formal solicitation documents for request of proposals for the remediation work while office personnel is temporarily housed at an alternate site.
 
Build New City Hall
 
There are several relevant factors which need to be considered as the City decides whether or not to remediate the current building or build a new City Hall complex. 

It is important to note that the existing City Hall was built in 1958 when the population of the City of Homestead was approximately 9,000 compared with the current population of approximately 60,000. 

At the time when the City Hall building was constructed the building code and building practices in general were not as stringent or as sophisticated as they are now. 

Advancements in construction methods and materials have made newer buildings safer and more reliable than those built under previous building codes and practices. 

Consequently, the current City Hall Building does not
meet Hurricane Resistant Structure Standards for Governmental Buildings. 

This option contemplates the consolidation of most departments into a structure that is built to the latest construction codes to provide a safe building sized appropriately to house the personnel required to facilitate all the operations of the City proportional to the current and future projections of the population it serves.
 
Items To Consider
 
Location of New City Hall.
 
Potential sale and development of current City Hall site could yield $8.5 Million based on 2010 assessment.
 
Potential Halo Effect for Downtown Area.
 
Job Creation.
 
Direct Construction which includes labor and materials.
 
Indirect Stimulus to local businesses surrounding New City Hall Site.

Use existing plans originally Bid in 2009 or redesign.
 
Procurement Process
 
City has already spent approximately $6.7 Million on the New City Hall Site including Programming and Design Services.
 
Land Acquisition