Strategies to Optimize the Planning, Design, Construction, Repair, and Maintenance of School and County Facilities
Dec. 2001
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is the result of actions by the Wake County Board of Education (Board) and the Wake County Board of Commissioners (Commissioners) directing their respective administrative staffs to explore strategies to optimize the planning, design, construction, repair, and maintenance of all Wake County facilities. Based upon the directives of the two Boards, a study committee of staff members from Wake County and the Wake County Public School System was formed. This study committee is referred to herein as The Study Team.
Following is a summary of the recommendations from The Study Team. A number of these recommendations are suggested for immediate implementation. Other recommendations will require more study and deliberation by the two Boards or their staff prior to final approval and implementation. A recommended implementation schedule follows.
Summary of Recommendations
1. It is recommended that both boards acknowledge their commitment
to fund the full cost of ownership of existing and proposed
public facilities in Wake County which are under the stewardship
of their respective governmental bodies. Continue to make
decisions on building systems, materials and products for
capital improvements projects based upon life cycle cost and
durability, rather than simply the initial cost.
2. Continue and expand upon opportunities to seek community involvement in the development, community use, and maintenance of school and county facilities.
3. Continue to collaboratively plan and develop public facilities for joint community use throughout Wake County.
4. Review selected fiscal and administrative policies and internal procedures of the school system and county government that relate to capital building projects and facility maintenance in an effort to streamline procedures and improve staff efficiency. Complete the analysis and offer written recommendations.
5. Continue to use prototype and modular designs for future county and school capital projects.
6. Facility Design Guidelines
a. Develop comprehensive joint energy design guidelines for
school and county government facilities. Joint guidelines
should be endorsed by the Wake County Citizen's Energy Advisory
Commission prior to adoption.
b. Relative to the recently published High Performance Design
Guidelines: Triangle Regional Public Facilities - Version
1, it is recommended that both county government and the school
system select at least two projects each as a pilot test program
to determine the benefits of applying these guidelines to
all future projects.
c. A consolidated general guideline of basic materials standards
which meet life cycle cost objectives should be prepared for
use by both school and county government staff in the planning,
designing, constructing of their respective facilities.
7. Due to the inherent variables involved in building cost comparisons, the best measurement of the reasonableness of construction cost is to continue to use life cycle costs analyses and competitively bid every project to qualified contractors as required by NC General Statutes.
8. Floor plans, space standards and circulation/efficiency factors should be continually reviewed to assure programmatic and functional requirements of each facility are being met with the most compact and efficient space plan practical.
9. Additional resources should be provided to support the real estate, facility leasing, and landrights management functions of county government.
10. Develop and maintain a central database which includes all real estate data (owned and leased) for the county government and the school system.
11. Jointly evaluate all county government and school system real estate holdings on a periodic basis (every two years) to identify surplus properties that could be made available for sale.
12. Conduct a detailed review of the current design consultant selection procedures that the school system and county government use to determine if revisions to the current procedures are needed. Include a review of applicable statutory requirements.
13. Revise the school system guidelines for community input
in facility planning to expand opportunities for public use,
including the following procedures:
a. Provide an annual update on proposed school capital projects
to each municipality in the county and solicit pertinent information
from each municipality and county government concerning their
long term capital improvement plans.
b. Compile a list of county government and school system public
spaces and facilities that should be considered available
and appropriate for community uses. Incorporate this facility
information into the proposed central real estate database.
c. Publish information that presents expanded opportunities
for public use of community facilities.
14. Conduct a comprehensive review and develop recommendations to improve and, to the extent practical, standardize the "front end bidding documents" used by county government and the school system for competitively bidding capital projects.
15. Conduct a review of the general terms and conditions of agreements for professional services that the county and school system use to determine whether more consistent language can be developed in these agreements.
16. Conduct a study of the feasibility of creating a single county-wide building inspection agency for county government and school system projects.
17. Reduce the scope of construction program management services provided by consultants to the school system and contract with qualified firms for only limited, specialized services for which the school system does not have on-staff expertise to perform.
18. The Study Team could not reach agreement on how to address the role and responsibilities of the school system's facility planners.
19. Determine the number of project management staff members for county government and school system projects using the criteria provided by the National Project Management Institute and allocate resources accordingly.
20. Develop a written agreement for approval by the Board and Commissioners to establish: 1) service delivery standards for facility maintenance, 2) a method or formula to determine annual funding levels for facility management and maintenance, 3) assurance that funds appropriated for facility management and maintenance are used for that purpose, 4) a process for expanding collaboration and partnerships among governmental units to improve the efficiency of facility management and maintenance, 5) a monitoring and reporting procedure to assure compliance with the standards agreed upon.
21. Corporate Facilities Management and Maintenance Plan
a. County government should continue to refine and improve
its Corporate Facilities Management and Maintenance Plan and
allocate sufficient funds to properly maintain county government
facilities.
b. The school system should develop, publish, and implement
a Corporate Facilities Management and Maintenance Plan. Use
the plan to determine facility management and maintenance
levels consistent with the agreement approved by the Board
and Commissioners. Sufficient funds should be allocated to
properly maintain school facilities.
22. Consider the establishment of an escrow account, consisting of end-of-year balances of facility management and maintenance funds to be used for future preventive maintenance, major repairs, and replacements. Also explore multi-year budgeting options for facility management and maintenance functions.
23. Allow flexibility in hiring employees, similar to county government, within salary ranges for maintenance positions for the school system.
24. Consolidate the grounds maintenance functions at schools and assign to a single group (county government, school system, municipal partner, or contractor).
25. Utility Accounting and Energy Saving Educational Programs
a. Consolidate county government and school system utility
accounting into the county's Utility Accounting and Management
System.
b. Initiate and implement an energy awareness and education
program for county government patterned after the school system's
Energy Savers Program.
26. Transfer school site recycling operations and maintenance to the single entity that is assigned the grounds maintenance responsibilities for the school campus. To avoid duplication with igloo recycling, negotiations with municipalities who offer such recycling services should be initiated.
27. Transfer maintenance and scheduled exercise of power generation equipment, at the five designated school site emergency shelters, from county government to the school system.
28. Continue to expand the regional service model for school system facility maintenance. In an effort to reduce cost and improve service, initiate a study of joint regional maintenance services for county government and school facilities.
29. Consolidate the fleet operations and vehicle maintenance functions of the school system with county government assuming ownership and full responsibility.
30. Upgrade the fleet information management system used by county government to accommodate the expanded fleet.
31. Integrate the county government and school system vehicle procurement plans as a part of the consolidation of these functions. Identify and allocate funds needed to consolidate the county and school fleet programs.
Recommendation regarding County Building Authority
The concept of a county building authority to oversee the
design, construction, and maintenance of all county and school
facilities was one of many strategies that the committee explored.
This concept was included among the 28 recommendations in
the April 12, 2000 report of the Citizens Advisory Committee
for School Facilities and Funding (CAC). The CAC recommendations
were presented prior to the development and approval of PLAN
2000, the school system's capital building program for the
period 2000 - 2004.
The Study Team concluded that the establishment of a county building authority would not be an effective method of constructing and maintaining school and county facilities. The creation of an authority with appointed members would remove the direct lines of accountability to citizens that are now available through the Board and Commissioners. In addition, the work of a "third party" authority would be so highly dependent upon the actions of the two elected boards that project schedules and funding decisions would be more complex and more time consuming. Consequently, the Study Team recommends that the two Boards not establish a public building authority.