Housing Office remodelingCITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
15 December 02
To: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
From: David Harris, Housing and Community Development Department
Re: Space, remodeling and expansion issues at 18th Street Office Facility
Introduction
The purpose of this memorandum is to review issues concerning the Housing
and Community Development Department building at 18th Street, including
concerns with space, maintenance, access, appearance and expansion. The
memorandum concludes with a request for a capital outlay of $500 000, in Fiscal
Year 2005, for a complete building remodeling and construction of an addition.
Background
First, as you know, our building has experienced a history of deferred
maintenance during recent years, which is reflected in its general appearance. It
was converted to an office facility in 1981 and has essentially been subjected to
a Iow-maintenance program since that time.
Maintenance and repair issues
1. Roof and drainage. Some major items have received attention since 1981;
The building was reroofed about ten years ago, with a rubber membrane system
installed. This system began to fail within the first few years and, as a result, we
now have annual repairs - patching - on the roof, with periodic failures and
damage to intedor ceilings, necessitating additional repairs.
An additional problem with this roof is that the configuration of the roof drainage
system allows for considerable pooling of water. It is our assessment that an
additional roof drain needs to be installed at one comer of the building; it appears
that this would have been the original approach that at some point was
eliminated through the efforts of a non-knowledgeable contractor. This drain
would necessitate installation of an interior pipe, with additional costs for routing
of the rooftop water flow away from the building.
2. Parking lots. This brings us to a second issue, that being the rear parking lot.
This lot is sloped away from the building; the existing roof drain spills water
across this area. Unfortunately, this is the area traversed by staff as they walk
to the rear entry door; in winter months, it is often covered with ice and can be
difficult to negotiate. Staff have taken falls as a result.
What is needed is to route the existing drain under the pavement, to the street
drain. If we were to install the additional roof drain, this could be tied in to this
system at the same time. And the existing parking lot asphalt surface is badly
cracked and in need of resurfacing. It needs to be replaced in whole or in part.
The front parking area asphalt surface is also badly cracked and presents a very
shabby appearance to the public. It needs to be replaced.
3. HYAC system. The heating and air conditioning system was replaced, for
both floors, only a few years ago and is in excellent operating condition. No
additional improvements are needed for this system at this time.
4. Building exterior: The building's painted brick surface continues to peel and
flake. We continue to periodically spot repaint- and also spot tuckpoint- as this
is also an on-going maintenance issue: What is needed at this time is a thorough
tuckpointing and complete repainting with replacement of the deteriorated bricks.
5. Electrical system. The electrical system is antiquated. Over the years, we
have had continuous maintenance issues with this, as circuits often blow due to
the increasing loads placed upon the system by more electrical equipment. We
have had on several occasions additional circuits and breakers installed; parts
are increasingly difficult to obtain, given the age of the panels. And frankly, I
think we're at the point where a complete overhaul of this system is in order; I
believe it is a problem waiting to occur.
Appearance
As mentioned, the building generally presents a shabby appearance to the
public. The parking areas are badly deteriorated. The building continuously is in
need of some repainting. In addition, the side yard is a "weed bed" and, with the
exception of a single evergreen, devoid of any landscaping.
We have proposed in the past the installation of a landscaped berm in this area,
to be planted with perennials and evergreens; and the area dug up with new
black dirt installed with new grass seeding.
In addition, we have proposed installation of flagpoles, with directed lighting, to
up-grade this area and better identify this building as a public facility. As well, we
have proposed installation of some type of planters in the front of the building, to
give it a more inviting appearance to the public. Presently, the front entry is
entirely concrete and asphalt and does not present itself well.
Interior
In the interior, both the first and second floors have a mixture of collected office
furnishings, many of which have been reclaimed from the discards of other city
departments over the years. The partitions on first floor date from 1981; they
have been reecovered once in an attempt to up-date them but they do not match
other partitions installed as part of an office reconfiguration done about ten years
ago. Genereally, the interior of the building presents a rather eclectic appearance,
to speak of it as positively as possible. It does not reflect the city's standards for
professional service, in my opinion.
Access
The buitding's second floor is not accessible to the disabled. Second floor staff
meet clients with mobility difficulties in the first floor conferrence arerea; this space
allows no privacy and is often not a suitable place to conduct personal interviews.
In addition, we have experienced accessibility issues with our staff in recent
years. On two occasions, staff with temporary mobility problems of some
duration have experienced real difficulty in negotiating the stairs. On the second
floor are located the fax machine, mailing center and employee break room.
There is no space on first floor available to which these could be relocated.
While we arere meeting the letter of accessibility laws with our preesent situation, I
believe we are badly in need of an elevator to the second floor, both for the use
of the public and our staff. I believe we are well past due in providing accessible
facilities for the public and employees, in order to meet the "spirit" of equal
accessibility legislation.
Space needs
Like many city facilities, we are out of space. This is reeadily appareent even to the
casual visitor; to staff, it is a chronic preoblem which has an effect on employee
morale and performance. Examples of this issue include the necessity of storing
case boxes of toilet paper in the first floor bathrooms, conflicting with disabled
access space requireements; the first floor coffee area directly situated in a public
walkway, preesenting a very unpreofessional appearance to the public; and a
"waiting room" arerea at the front entry that is badly inadequate for the needs of our
clientele.
It is not unusual for clients to have to remain standing and even to have to stand
in the walkways and at the entrances to staff cubicles, as few seats exist. For
the many childreen who come to our office - many of whom are left unattended -
there is no segrregated arerea for play; they are literally in the path of the front
entry. This area can often be characterized as chaotic at times during the work
day.
The attendant noise level associated with this crowding is chronic. And given the
situations of many of our clients - in which many come to our office in an agitated
or even sometimes hostile state of mind - tensions can quickly escalate
throughout the first floor as they vent their frustrations. No private office
consulting facilities exist on the first floor. Anyone's business is everyone's
business; during the course of a long working day, these conditions exact a toll
on staffs' composure and ability to keep up with the demands of their workloads.
Staffing needs
As you know, we continue to enjoy success in obtaining additional state and
federal funds for our many housing programs. We have also added staff over the
years, as the grants we receive cover those costs. In particular, the Section 8
rental assistance programs provide full costs of administration, provided
utilizatiOn levels are maintained as budgeted.
Our Section 8 voucher caseload now numbers 1083, meaning our three housing
assistants now have caseloads exceeding 360 clients each. This is an almost
unmanageable number, and requires a lot of overtime work and also that the
program supervisor handle a lot of casework functions that detract from her
ability to perform supervisory duties. We are at the point of requesting another
housing assistant position to handle this load. This means we need room to
grow, with additional workstations for more staff. We are at the point where we
must look at space needs, both now and for the future.
Discussion
Building expansion
This discussion then leads to the question of expanding the 18th Street facility.
As we have configured and reconfigured the interior spaces of this building over
the years, we are now at the point where we really can't find any more space. If
we are to add programs and funding and more staff, we must consider how we
can house them.
In 1990, the Council authorized funds for a building use and expansion study,
performed by Design Center Associates. Jerry Anderson devised several
schematic plans for expansions, all incorporating an elevator and improved
internal traffic and waiting areas. Ultimately, no action was taken on this work;
no costs estimates were generated. A few years later, as Information Services
moved to the 13th Street Annex, we expanded to the second floor of the building
and our space needs were addressed at that time.
Last summer, we again contacted Anderson and contracted with him to provide a
study to determine the following: 1) how the interior of the building could be
reconfigured to address these concerns; 2) if an addition to the existing building
could be constructed on-site, in a cost-justifiable manner; 3) what improvements
to the exterior could be made to approximate its historic character (as the former
Engine House No. 1); 4) how to address building security issues identified in a
recent building audit by Fire Department personnel; and 5) the costs for same.
Anderson Design completed this study in December.
Study recommendations
Anderson has designed a 30-foot x 40-foot, two-story addition at the rear (north)
of the building. Its features include the following:
1. This becomes the main entrance to the 18th Street building, eliminating
the .current hazard presented by vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the
south end of the building. This situation is hazardous as vehicles must
back out into fast-moving Central Avenue traffic at the "curve" in the
street. Public and disabled parking will now be located at the north-
east comer of the building, in the parking lot.
2. At the entry, an adequately sized waiting room is provided, with a play
area for children.
3. Clerical stations are placed at the entry, providing control of client
traffic into the building. These stations are also placed at the second
floor elevator lobby.
4. The existing exterior HVAC units, located on ground level at the rear
of the building, are relocated to the roof, enabling security from
vandalism.
5. An elevator is installed in the waiting area lobby, providing access for
disabled persons to the second floor.
6. Modern disabled-access restrooms are constructed on each floor.
7. An adequately sized conference room is provided on the second floor.
Currently, the conference area is cramped, both for staff meetings
and for meetings held in the building for the Housing Commission and
Housing Code Appeals Board.
8. Due to this reconfiguration, additional room is made available in the
existing building, to provide for additional workstations, as wel as for
a first floor workroom, staff break room and needed storage.
Improvements to the existing building include a new roofing system and a new
electrical system. Modern modular workstations are installed throughout the
building
Regarding historic restoration of the firehouse facade, the original window and
door openings are opened up to full size., on the front side of the building.
(These were bricked-in as part of the 1981 remodeling).
The costs for the building expansion, existing building remodeling, mechanical
system replacements, historic restoration and other exterior improvements have
been estimated at $500 000 for the FY2005 Capital Improvements Program
budget. Proposed funding includes $171 500 from Section 8 Program reserves
and $328 500 from DRA distributions.
Conclusion
As you know, we have attempted to maintain this building over the years with
minimal costs. Although we have to some extent been successful with this
approach, I believe that we have come to the point where comprehensive
attention to the building's maintenance, access and appearance issues is in
order.
As well, the issue of our space needs should be addressed at this time. If we are
to continue to grow our programs and services, in response to the needs of the
public and in response to the availability of federal funds, we need to address the
issue of building expansion at this time.
We have observed the steady progress the city has made in recent years in up-
dating the appearance and function of its public facilities. Many buildings have
been improved. I think for all of us who work for the city, this is a source of pride.
Our goal is to provide professional-quality services m an environment which
conveys a sense of stewardship of our public resources. Our goal is to make
the 18th Street a facility of which we all can be equally proud