Item 10AA City of Southlake
Project Briefing
1400 Main St
Southlake, TX 76092
www.cityofsouthlake.com
Safety Town Park
By Kyle Taylor,
Assistant to the Director/
Emergency Management Coordinator
Qhk-
t
Contents
Project Briefing Purpose 3
History 3
Current Considerations 5
Next Steps 7
Summary 7
Project Briefing Purpose
The Southlake DPS Citizen's
Association (SDCA) first brought the
Safety Town Park project to the
City's attention in 2003, and many
steps have been taken since then to
bring the project to where it is today.
The purpose of this briefing is to
outline these steps by examining the
history behind the Safety Town
project, detailing the actions taken by
the City Council on the project, and
discussing the funding and next steps
associated with the project.
History
The SDCA's objective for
Safety Town Park is to create a
Town Square like environment that
will serve as a teaching aid for young
children, allowing them to learn
about pedestrian safety, bicycle and
helmet safety, and traffic safety.
Additional programs involving fire
safety, severe weather safety, and
computer safety will also be part of
the curriculum. These educational
programs, proposed to be offered
with instruction from the Southlake
Department of Public Safety
Community Initiatives Unit, are
intended to afford students the
opportunity to learn about safety in
an engaging, real life environment.
Due to its curriculum, it is expected
that Safety Town will serve local
schools, daycares and residents'
needs, as well as being a field trip
destination in the Northeast Tarrant
County area.
Formal action began on the
project in 2005. At the time, the
Safety Town Project was originally
included in the plans for the redesign
of Bicentennial Park. This plan called
for the inclusion of a "DPS Safety
Town" as a new addition to the site to
teach children about pedestrian and
bike safety as a Phase II addition to
the park. This concept first went
before Council as Resolution 05 -032,
which adopted the Parks, Recreation
and Open Space Master Plan (which
included the redesign plans for
Bicentennial Park), and passed
unanimously on September 20, 2005.
Safety Town — Bicentennial Park
Concept Plan* Southlake Parks,
Recreation, and Open Space
Master Plan 2005
14 IT.
19 FT.
SAFETY TOWN
� I
47 SPACES
This approval made it possible
to proceed with developing the park,
and on September 5, 2006, Council
unanimously approved an SPDC
matching funds request for $9,000 for
the architectural design of Safety
Town. Actions on the development of
the Bicentennial Park site continued
into 2007, with City Council
unanimously adopting the Schematic
Design of Bicentennial Park on
February 6, 2007, which included
3
Safety Town and gave a general
overview of the components that
would be included in the
Bicentennial Park project.
Following the approval of the
schematic design, the site plan for
Bicentennial Park was revised to
include Safety Town, and was
unanimously approved by Council
on June 19, 2007. The approval of
the site plan and schematic design
shifted the project's focus forward
towards construction, and on April
15, 2008, Council approved an
SPDC matching funds request in the
amount of $40,000 for construction
at the Bicentennial Park site.
City Council Actions —
Bicentennial Park Location
09/20/2005 Parks and Recreation
and Open Space Master
Plan approved 7 -0,
which included Safety
Town in Bicentennial
Park
09/05/2006 Matching funds for
$9,000 approved 6 -0 for
architectural design at
the Bicentennial Park
location
02/06/2007 Bicentennial Park
Schematic Design
adopted 6 -0, including
Safety Town
06/19/2007 Revised Bicentennial
Park site plan to include
Safety Town approved
6 -0.
04/15/2008 Matching funds request
approved 6 -0 for
$50,000 for construction
at the Bicentennial Park
location
On August 6, 2008, staff and
Council members toured Frisco
Safety Town, a project similar in
scope to the planned Southlake Safety
Town. The consensus of those who
toured was that Safety Town needed
to be located on a larger piece of land
to allow for the building of a
classroom space. SDCA took action
by re- evaluating the scope of Safety
Town, which resulted in the
movement of the project to the DPS
West facility, where an acre of land
was available to house the project.
The process of publicly formalizing
this new site began with a SPIN
meeting held on January 26, 2009.
Case number ZA08 -112 then went
before the Planning and Zoning
Commission and the City Council for
approval. During this process, both
the Commission and Council
unanimously approved a plat revision
that designated Safety Town as a
public park, and also approved the
applicable zoning change and site
plan for Safety Town Park. After the
approval of the new location, another
$50,000 in SPDC matching funds was
granted on February 16, 2010 for
construction at the new DPS West
location. Further funding was also
appropriated during this time, which
is noted both in the current
considerations section and on the
funding details chart.
0
City Council Actions — DPS West
Location
02/17/2009 Site plan for DPS West
Current Considerations
Many of the current
considerations surrounding the
Safety Town Park project deal with
funding. SDCA's promotion and
fundraising efforts have generated
over $100,000 of funding from
sponsors such as Central Market,
Cook's Childrens Hospital, Sabre
Holdings, Preferred Imaging, James
Landscaping, Inc., All Star
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, and
others. The funding generated from
these sponsorships has been used to
apply for and receive SPDC matching
funds.
SPDC Matching Funds Requests
$9,000 09/05/2006 Architectural
location approved 6 -0 on
1 st reading (Case Number
ZA08 -112/ Ordinance No.
$50,000 04/15/2008
480 -343a)
03/03/2009
Zoning change and site
plan for DPS West location
$50,000 02/16/2010
approved 7 -0 on 2nd
reading (Case Number
ZA08 -112/ Ordinance No.
$125,000 10/05/2010
480 -343a)
03/03/2009
Plat revision approved 7 -0,
designating the land as a
Southlake Park
08/03/2009
Safety Town ranked 4 in
CIP project priority list
during j oint
CC /SPDC/Parks and
Recreation Board meeting
02/16/2010
Matching funds request for
$50,000 approved 7 -0 for
construction at DPS West
location
08/02/2010
Safety Town ranked 7 in
CIP project priority list
during j oint
CC /SPDC/Parks and
Recreation Board meeting
10/05/2010
Matching funds request for
$125,000 approved 7 -0.
($100,000 contingent upon
Hudson Foundation grant.
$25,000 donation from
SDCA received
12/1
Current Considerations
Many of the current
considerations surrounding the
Safety Town Park project deal with
funding. SDCA's promotion and
fundraising efforts have generated
over $100,000 of funding from
sponsors such as Central Market,
Cook's Childrens Hospital, Sabre
Holdings, Preferred Imaging, James
Landscaping, Inc., All Star
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, and
others. The funding generated from
these sponsorships has been used to
apply for and receive SPDC matching
funds.
SPDC Matching Funds Requests
$9,000 09/05/2006 Architectural
The City has designated funding for
Safety Town Park via the Capital
Improvements Program (CIP). The
CIP for FY2008 first authorized
$150,000 for the project then located
at Bicentennial Park. In total, Safety
Town Park has received $300,000 in
SPDC CIP funding since the project
was first included in FY2008. Other
sources of funds for the project
include $150,000 from the Park
Dedication Fund allocated in FY2009
and $75,000 from the Red Light
Camera Fund allocated in FY2011.
This amounts to $659,000 in City
funding for the project, and brings
5
design,
Bicentennial
park location
$50,000 04/15/2008
Construction,
Bicentennial
Park location
$50,000 02/16/2010
Construction,
DPS West
location
$125,000 10/05/2010
Construction,
DPS West
location
The City has designated funding for
Safety Town Park via the Capital
Improvements Program (CIP). The
CIP for FY2008 first authorized
$150,000 for the project then located
at Bicentennial Park. In total, Safety
Town Park has received $300,000 in
SPDC CIP funding since the project
was first included in FY2008. Other
sources of funds for the project
include $150,000 from the Park
Dedication Fund allocated in FY2009
and $75,000 from the Red Light
Camera Fund allocated in FY2011.
This amounts to $659,000 in City
funding for the project, and brings
5
total funding to $784,000 with the
inclusion of the SDCA dollars. For a
breakdown of City Funding vs.
SDCA Funding, please refer to
Exhibit A on page 8. For a
breakdown of Public Funding vs.
Private Funding, please refer to
Exhibit B on page 8.
Safety Town Funding Details
Funding
Dates
Amount
Source
$134,000
FY 06,
SPDC
FY 08,
Matching
FY 10
Funds
$300,000
FY 08,
SPDC CIP
FY 10
Funding
$150,000
FY 09
PDF
$75,000
FY 11
Red Light
Camera
Fund
$125,000
FY 09
SDCA
FY 10
Cash
FY 11
$784,000
Total
Proj ect
Funding
$659,000
Total City
Funding
The Safety Town Park
project has a projected cost of $1.54
million dollars, which is broken
down into two phases. Phase I,
which includes the Southlake Town
Square mockup, has an estimated
cost of $827,304. Phase 11 includes
the education building portion at a
cost of $710,585. These figures are
based on current prices quoted to our
construction manager. Once final
bids are received by the construction
manager, we will sign an "at -risk"
contract with the construction
manager. This means that the City
would pay a maximum guaranteed
price, and any additional costs beyond
that amount would be absorbed by the
contractor; reducing the financial risk
to the City. The $775,000 (net of
previous expenditures) in total
available funding for the project is
94% of the funding needed to
complete Phase I at the estimated cost
of $827,304 and represents 50% of
the total funding necessary to
complete the entire project.
$1,800,000
$1,600,000
$1,400,000
$1,200,000
$1,000,000
$800.000
$600,000
Phase 1
$400,000 $775,000 $827,30
$200,000
$0
Total Project Cost
Funding
The City Council unanimously
approved an SPDC matching funds
request during their October 5, 2010
meeting in the amount of $125,000,
contingent upon $25,000 cash from
SDCA that was received on
December 17, 2010 and a $100,000
grant from the Hudson Foundation.
The project was approved for the
$100,000 grant from the Hudson
Foundation for the construction of the
I
phase 11 Education Building, as long
as $200,000 is raised to match the
$100,000 grant by the end of 2010.
Since the additional $200,000 was
not raised in 2010, the Foundation
has agreed to review and consider a
request in 2011, when construction
of the Education Building becomes
more clear. Should this funding
come together, it would represent an
additional $250,000 for the project in
the form of $100,000 from the
Hudson Foundation, $100,000 in
SPDC Matching Funds (balance of
the $125,000 contingent matching
funds), and the remaining $50,000
necessary to match the grant. This
would bring the total funding for the
project to $1,025,000, which would
account for 67% of the total funds
necessary to finish the park.
If completed, current plans
show that operational costs for
Safety Town Park will be borne by
the City, with the Department of
Public Safety Community Initiatives
Unit providing educational
programming, and the Community
Services department providing
maintenance. Programming could
include programs that fall in line
with the vision of the park, such as
pedestrian safety, traffic safety,
bicycle safety, severe weather safety,
computer safety, and many other
safety programs.
Next Steps
Safety Town Park will be a
subject of discussion during the City
Council budget retreat on June 27 -28
2011. During that discussion several
alternatives related to location of and
the City's financing of Safety Town
will be presented.* The purpose of
this discussion is to seek Council's
direction regarding future City
involvement in this project and its
future location.
Summary
Development of Safety Town
Park, a project meant to emphasize
safety programs to kids, has been
ongoing since 2003. Safety Town has
evolved during this time from a small
installation included in the redesign of
Bicentennial Park to its current
designation as a City Park on an acre
of land adjacent to the DPS West
facility. The project has a total
projected cost of $1.5 million, with
$775,000 available funds. This
amount represents 50% of the total
funding needed to complete the
proj ect.
If you have further questions,
please contact Fire Chief Mike Starr
or Assistant City Manager Jim Blagg.
Project Updates
2011 -06 -28 Update — Safety
Town was presented to Council at
the 2011 June Retreat. The
following options were given
regarding the future of the project:
*Abandon Safety Town
Project and Return Funds
to SPDC and Donors
*Build Safety Town at West
DPS with Existing Funding
and Work with SDCA to
Find Additional Donors
7
*Build Safety Town at DPS
North with Existing Funds
and /or Work with SDCA to
Find Additional Donors:
• Will require
additional funds
for architectural
adjustments
• Will require
additional funds
for site specific
civil engineering
plans
❑ Will require new
zoning and site
plan request
❑ Will require
designation as
park in order to
use SPDC
funding
❑ Reimburse
CCPD for land
costs
2011 -09 -15 Update — The
funding available for the Safety
Town Project has decreased due
to the withdrawal of a $10,000
sponsor. The result of this is a
$10,000 decrease in the amount
of SDCA cash available, as well
as a $10,000 decrease in the
matching funds available. The
total funding available for the
project is now $755,000, with
$640,000 coming from the City.
The $755,000 now available
represents 91% of the total
funding needed to complete
Phase I, and 49% of the funding
needed to complete the project.
8
Exhibit A: Funding Breakdown for Safety Town
Park
$250,000
16%
$755,000
49%
$532,889
35%
Funds Raised
Unfunded
Contingent Funding
Exhibit B: Safety Town Funding Sources
Red Light Camera Private Funding vs. Public Funding
Fund, $75,000
10%
SDCA Funds,
$115,000
15%
PDF, $150,000,
20%
SPDC Matching
Funds, $115,000
15%
Private Funding
Public Funding
SPDC CIP, $300,000
40%