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2003-06-04 Southlake Crime Control and Prevention District Board Meeting June 4, 2003 MINUTES Board Members Present: President Martin Schelling; Members: Frank Pittman, Stuart Spencer, Lou Ann Heath, Pam McCain, and Craig Sturtevant. Board Members Absent: Vice President Bob Mundlin Staff Present: Director of Public Safety Rick Black, Chief of Police Services Marlin Price, Finance Director Sharen Elam and Administrative Secretary Bobbye Shire. Agenda Item No. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by President Martin Schelling at 7:01 p.m. Agenda Item No. 2 and 3, Executive Session. No Executive Session was held. Agenda Item No. 4. Administrative Comments. Director of Public Safety Rick Black and the Board congratulated President Schelling on the birth of his daughter. It was recognized that Vice President Bob Mundlin had notified the Board of his absence in advance of tonight's meeting. Chief Price advised Boardmembers of the 800 radio switch to the Bedford system and the fact that Officers are extremely happy to report that they can now transmit in places they could not before the switch. He said Officers asked that Chief Price convey their thanks to the Board for their part in making this happen and to express appreciation for thinking about officer safety. Agenda Item No. 5A. Approval of the Minutes of the Crime Control and Prevention District Board Meeting held February 5, 2003. Boardmember Craig Sturtevant requested that the minutes be amended as follows: Agenda Item No. 6A., Page 2, Paragraph 1, 6th line down - "will forward to" will be changed to read "will be forwarded to". Page 3, 2nd Paragraph from bottom, 1St line - "2°d" will be changed to "second". Motion was made to approve the minutes as amended. Motion: Heath Second: McCain Ayes: Schelling, Spencer, Sturtevant, Pittman Nays: none Approved: 6-0 SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 1 of 6 Agenda Item No. 6A. Begin selection process for Architect and Construction Manager Agent for North DPS Proiect. President Schelling suggested giving staff marching orders to either (1) provide a long list of architects to present to the Board and allow Boardmembers to participate in all aspects of making the decision on which architect will be awarded the project, or (2) for staff and a sub-committee consisting of President Schelling and Vice President Mundlin to assemble the long list and, through the process of elimination, narrow the list down to a short list of qualified architects and bring it before the Board with their recommendations. The consensus of Boardmembers was to go with option number two. Motion was made to form a sub-committee consisting of President Martin Schelling and Vice President Bob Mundlin to work with staff to bring a short list of qualified architects to the next Crime Control and Prevention District Board Meeting. Motion: Pittman Second: Spencer Ayes: Schelling, Heath, McCain, Sturtevant Nays: none Approved: 6-0 Agenda Item No. 7A. North DPS Facility Operational Plan: Director Rick Black advised Boardmembers that consideration for the selection process for Architect and Construction Manager Agent for the North DPS project has been delayed because of concerns related to the construction of the North Facility. He stated this topic would be presented in detail at the City Council's June 19th work shop "Retreat". He said staff will review the presentation tonight with Crime Control Boardmembers for their input and once the final presentation is brought before the Council, direction should be provided on how they wish to pursue the building of the North site. He said the Council must first approve the plan to move forward. Director Black also commented that the presentation being given tonight to the Board is different than the report provided in their packets. Director Black revisited the history of the District's creation and accomplishments to date. He said three things that need to be addressed before the Council are: 1) convince the Council of the merits of opening the North facility in 2006; 2) discuss the operation costs associated with the North facility; and 3) convince the Council of the merits of staying on target with the current schedule and emphasize why it is important. Overall, the Council must be convinced that the City can afford to build the North facility. Chief Price spoke in detail on each of the following current DPS critical needs: • New Holding Facility • Emergency Communications Center • Emergency Operations Center • Criminal Investigation Offices • Operational Facilities • Administrative Offices • Fire Standard of Coverage Location SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 2 of 6 r He presented visuals of current working conditions for each of the departmental locations and explained each area's inadequacies. Chief Price explained that the building at 667 N. Carroll Ave. (East DPS location) was built prior to the Jail Standards Act and does not meet today's standards. He further explained that Southlake's current facility is considered a holding facility and not a jail, and that the City is getting closer to having to comply with jail standards because of its growth. He said the maximum number of occupants in the holding facility is six and when that number is reached, transport to Keller is required. Also, there is no separate female cell located away from existing cells which house male prisoners. Chief Price stated the present Communications area is small with no room for extra equipment. Health issues are a concern and another room is needed to place equipment away from Communications personnel. Additionally, the area needs to be hardened (protected from Mother Nature) with back up power available. The Criminal Investigations Division currently houses four detectives working out of an approximate 15' x 18' office. There is a need for a more secure juvenile room and for a more private place for citizens to come and talk with detectives. The Emergency Operations Center is a small conference room that is activated to a command center when the need arises. This room also needs to be a hardened secure room that can withstand large or natural disasters. Just outside this room are locked cabinets which hold telephones for the EOC and ammunitions and weapons. These cabinets are located in a hallway space that is open to public. The need for a more secure armor room is vital. Chief Price stated the Property room is small with bins stacked to the ceiling, the Sergeant's room is small with no place to conduct a private meeting, and there currently is no designated briefing room - with the Conference/EOC room now being used in that capacity as well. Director Black said funding for construction of the North facility is provided by the Crime Control and Prevention District and operational costs fall to the General Fund. Operational costs include building maintenance and personnel costs. Estimated maximum maintenance costs are $3 per square foot for the 62,000 sq. ft. building, which equals an estimated $186,000 cost per year beginning the second quarter of 2005-06. Personnel costs will be zero at opening. He said the need will present itself when personnel are required and, at that time, the Council will be approached for approval of additional personnel funding. The current need is to finish staffing the West DPS facility. Director Black explained that existing Police Operations Staff (46), Criminal Investigations (6), Communications staff (11), Administrative staff (8), and the Fire Marshal will move to the North facility upon completion of the building. Building Services will remain at the East facility, vacating the high maintenance cost areas that they now occupy, moving their offices to the vacated police area. Fire Services will continue to operate out of the existing East DPS facility. SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 3 of 6 The Recommendation is to: • Proceed with the Current Construction Schedule. • Add appropriate Fire and EMS staffing only when justified. • Continue with combined DPS facility to take advantage of cost savings in construction. With Results being: • Greatly improved Police Services facility and improved performance and productivity. • Reduced liability in holding facility operations. • Greatly improved Emergency Communications Center. • Effective Emergency Operations Center. • Improved Training of Personnel. Boardmember Sturtevant suggested that a persuasive tool would be for each member of the Council to tour the DPS East facility at 667 N. Carroll Ave. to view the piecemealed building and see first hand its inadequacies and inefficiencies. Boardmember Pittman said staff's presentation was compelling and clearly conveyed a potentially unsafe fire/police working environment due to the cramped space. He said there is a duty to ensure the safety of all groups and classes of people who are in these facilities, including those who might be brought there due to alleged violations of the law. While it is understandable that the City has budgetary constraints, he indicated that this is one of those projects that the City can't afford not to do. He said the citizens of Southlake must be properly protected and the sooner that the facility is built the sooner that will become a reality. Boardmember Spencer congratulated staff on a superb job of making do with what they have had to work with. He suggested that new visuals be taken for the Council presentation showing personnel at work in their respective areas, giving Council a better indication of just how small these areas actually are, thus accentuating the negative. Mr. Spencer also suggested that the Chief of Fire Services address the Fire presentation and Chief Price address the Police presentation to the Council. He suggested using the same rule of thumb to figure and compare the $3 sq. ft. annual maintenance cost for the North site and put together present day annual maintenance cost figures for the East DPS facility, as well as conveying information to the Council on the significant increase in residential and commercial burglaries, vehicle, and property crime in not only Southlake, but all of Northeast Tarrant and Dallas Counties in the recent months. Boardmember Heath said the City has done so much with so little and she expressed accolades for all of the accomplishments of Police, Fire, and Support, as well as Building Services. She too emphasized that we must find a way to convince the Council to move forward. Boardmember McCain said the money is available because of the voters and the 15 year continuation of the Crime Control and Prevention District. She said Council must be motivated to go forward and we need to stress that personnel funding is not an issue. She said the seriousness of safety problems need to be stated seriously and we should show what could occur if the North facility is not built by 2006. She also stressed that the City can't continue to function in a building that was built in the 1950's and we must meet all kinds of needs resulting from the City's growth and typical overcrowding. SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 4 of 6 Director Black stated the Council has not been presented the formal presentation, however, he feels confident that once they have, they will approve and move forward. President Schelling stated there have been no formal objections from the Council, only informal comments/concerns/conversations. Director Black said the obstacle stems from last year's economic issues which resulted in tax increases and the cutting of positions, and any reluctantcy to proceed by the Council is purely related to economic concerns. Boardmember Sturtevant said the City is essentially receiving a free building, yet there will be moving costs incurred. He suggested breaking those costs out with upkeep figures as well, and take into account the driving and shooting range cost issues that have not been addressed in the presentation. All Boardmembers volunteered to lend any appropriate support needed to convince the Council to move forward and they all look forward to helping present this. Agenda Item No. 7B. Status of North DPS Residual Property: President Schelling provided a copy of a map showing the North DPS residual property and the development which has submitted plans to stub sewer to the excess property. He said this, in turn, could be stubbed to the North property. He said the Market is firming up and the residual property could be sold for $900,000, which would be returned to the Crime Control and Prevention District account. He asked if the Board would like to start putting together a process for the sale of the excess property, now that the sewer issue has been resolved. Boardmembers expressed concerns and the need for exploring all North DPS options that have not yet been clearly specified. Examples include whether the shooting and driving ranges will spill over onto the residual property or be located underground, and the possibility of residential homes backing up against the facility creating the need for buffers. The Board agreed to hold off on the sale until all issues are looked at. Documents and graphics will be assembled and the Board will wait for a visual conceptual plan from the architect before proceeding with the sale. Agenda Item No. 7C. Discussion of Sales Tax Report: Finance Director Sharen Elam stated the Crime Control and Prevention District is $120,000 above budget and taxes will continue to be collected from Wal-Mart until their move to Grapevine in January 2004. The Board agreed to place the Sales Tax Report at the beginning of the agenda at the next CCPD meeting. Boardmember Heath stated the Historical Society will be presenting a program on the topic of "Public Safety, Then and Now" and she will provide Boardmembers with more information when the date and time of the event are firmed up. SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 5 of 6 r ~ Agenda Item No. 9. Adjournment. There being no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m. President Martin Schelling ATTEST: Bobbye Shire, Secretary SCCPD Meeting June 4, 2003 - Page 6 of 6