City of Alexandria, Virginia
________________
MEMORANDUM
DATE: DECEMBER 5, 2018
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of Receipt and Approval of the Proposed Strategic Facilities Plan as Amended in this Memo.
BODY
_________________________________________________________________
ISSUE: Planning for the future of City facilities.
RECOMMENDATION: That Council receive and approve the proposed Strategic Facilities Plan (“Plan”) with the added recommendation #12 related to service delivery.
BACKGROUND: The City of Alexandria’s Department of General Services initiated a strategic facilities plan at the request of City Council in 2017. The process included the interview of departments and agencies to gather both current conditions of facility and projected future needs.
The City’s Strategic Plan for FY 2017 to FY 2022 adopted and updated by City Council in November 2017, includes an action item for the creation of a strategic facilities plan. A work group was formed with the Department of General Services and Department of Planning and Zoning in 2017 to complete this task. Additionally, Savills Studley, a real estate consulting firm, as well as, HG Architects were enlisted to assist with the documentation and survey of facilities to create the plan. The proposed Strategic Facilities Plan was presented as an information report to Alexandria’s Planning Commission on November 1, 2018 where it was well received. It was then presented and discussed at Council’s November 27, 2018 Legislative meeting.
The proposed Strategic Facilities Plan includes eight key elements:
1. Identifies gaps in needs across departments.
2. Documents existing conditions
3. Identifies potential synergies
4. Documents department expressed needs and priorities
5. Identifies sites considered for follow-up
6. Identifies best practices for colocation of services
7. Creates a process for prioritization and criteria worksheet for project consideration
8. Provides recommendations for follow-up actions
The draft plan contained eleven recommendations with a twelfth recommendation (in italics below) deriving from Council’s November 27 discussion added. They are:
1. Collocate DCHS/Health Department/Neighborhood Health Locations
2. Develop Witter/Wheeler campus plan
3. Identify & evaluate optimal Fire Station sites
4. Evaluate public serving facilities to better align with population growth
5. Explore partnerships with private sector and regional partners
6. Engage with neighboring jurisdictions
7. Increase City/ACPS dialog regarding facility needs
8. Develop off-site city-wide storage plan
9. Continue to evaluate and fund CFMP programs
10. Continue evaluation of utilization of City-owned sites
11. Develop short-term and long-term parking solutions
12. Identify additional facilities and alternative delivery methods to offer City services to
the public, such as transactions currently provided only at City Hall.
In response to the feedback received from City Council at its November 27, 2018 meeting discussion of the Strategic Facilities plan, the Plan is proposed to be amended so that special attention will be paid to the utilization and user experience during the program and design of the City Hall renovation project. This effort will also be utilized to identify transactions and services that can be more readily deployed (partially or fully) to other sites in the City, in addition to City Hall, to increase access to City services. In addition, City Staff will continue its efforts to expand online transactional capability so that more current City Hall customer transactions can be handled online and not inline at City Hall. New language has been added as recommendation #12. As has been Council’s prior intent and direction to staff, City Hall will continue to serve as the seat of government although the mix of governmental functions and services in City Hall may be proposed to change.
The Strategic Facilities Plan is intended as a living document requiring periodic update as requirements, opportunities and needs change over time. The plan will serve as a guiding document to inform the development of projects for consideration and implementation within the context of the City’s Capital Improvement Program. Alexandria City Public Schools are working on a similar strategic facility plan that will be incorporated in more detail into this plan in 2019.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. City of Alexandria 2018 Strategic Facilities Plan
2. City of Alexandria 2018 Strategic Facilities Plan Presentation
STAFF:
Laura Triggs, Deputy City Manager
Karl Moritz, Director, Planning and Zoning
Jeremy McPike, Director, General Services
Donna Poillucci, Deputy Director, General Services