Gwen Jones - This meeting is to go forward regarding official Council action on the Federal Building.
John Engen - Think this is a remarkable and unique opportunity to meet City and County needs and the residents we serve collectively, in addition to money savings and saving a remarkable building. It would house most government in one place.
John Adams - With Community Planning, Development and Innovation presented the information regarding the Federal Building. See attached presentation.
Dale Bickell - Discussed the potential financing. This is also detailed in the attached presentation.
Gwen Jones - Thank you for the presentation. This is such a great topic. I have been excited to have this come to this committee. I would like to have a good robust discussion about this. This is a win-win-win on all levels; the opportunity to have a half a city block with this potential effectively gifted to us is.
Sandra Vasecka - What will the total rehab cost be and what would the yearly maintenance cost to the City be?
John Adams - Over 12 years we estimate $40 million split with the County, so $20 million each. We don't have good data for maintenance yet. We do feel it will be less than City Hall and lease spaces now, due to their inferior construction.
Sandra Vasecka - How are we going to decide how this is funded?
Dale Bickell - It will be part of the budget process throughout the program. During this year's budget process, we will have the first capital improvement program related to this...continued design, etc., getting us to a building permit. The cost includes significant contingencies. We need to really get to a conceptual design and look at what we need to do. As John mentioned, the building is in good shape, but it is "tired" and those are the things we are looking to do.
Bryan von Lossberg - What is the energy performance contracting? How could that potentially turn into a revenue stream?
Dale Bickell - We engaged McKinstry. We are undergoing an investment grade audit to understand all of our energy systems. They will propose changes to the system that will give a return on investment. ie: If the City makes improvements, the returns will be guaranteed; lighting in partaking structures, aquatics, fire stations, etc. We have not reviewed City Hall to this point, due to the possibility of moving to the Federal Building. McKinstry has done work at the Federal Building and understands the systems, so we have the ability to get baseline data they could use for a contract.
Jordan Hess - This is very exciting. I want to thank John for all of your work and due diligence to date. I am very excited about how this is proceeding. Has the National park service provided any comment about the MOU and the City's application and creating a jointly held entity down the road and if acceptable to them?
John Adams - Yes, GSA and NPS both have buy in on this. We need to make sure it meets everyone's needs, but it is doable.
Jordan Hess - Will there be opportunities for public involvement during or before the acquisition?
Dale Bickell - Through this process, the Engage Missoula page will be the main instrument for the public to comment and stay informed, along with public meetings. We want to go through a procurement process and get a general contractor on board and utilize a value-engineering approach.
Amber Sherrill - Thank you for the very thorough presentation. This is a great opportunity to preserve a very beautiful building downtown. Can you speak to the energy cost savings and how that works with the numbers?
Dale Bickell - We don't' have specific numbers as of yet. It really depends on the level of investment with what we would do with energy systems at the Federal Building. Once the audits are done would indicate what money we would put into it.
Gwen Jones - It sounds like one of the challenges will be the space for large public meetings. I think this building is on the historic registry. Would there have to be an expansion for chambers? What would the process be if there had to be some footprint expansion?
John Adams - We included this in the preservation plan presented to NPS and GSA. All indications show NPS knows this needs to be done and we put suggestions in place and presented that to them
Paul Filicetti - That concept and design was presented to particularly NPS and they had no objections to that.
Jordan Hess - The City is full owner of the Mountain Line Transfer Center. I would request that we work with Mountain Line to not only figure out the disposition of the transfer center, but also and public transportation to the new building.
Bryan von Lossberg - It would be an honor to make the recommended motions; the resolution and the proposed MOU. I would also be interested in public comment.
Public comment called for.
Linda McCarthy& John Corwin from Missoula Downtown Association - We are very supportive of this initiative. This is an opportunity to preserve a very valuable and beautiful building in the heart of Missoula. It is very good for downtown to keep government services in the core. What an opportunity to acquire a building like this without having to buy it. It is a very good investment. It would be important to keep he post office downtown. Thank you for the hard work and you have our wholehearted support.
No other public comment seen.
Gwen Jones - Can you address what possibilities there are with the post office staying at this building if the City and County move forward with this process?
John Adams - It is just up in the air. The post office needs to figure out what their best option is and the City and County need to navigate a little bit more in the design process. There needs to be a meeting of the minds in lease costs.
Dale Bickell - Our conceptual design does include having the post office in the building today.
Bryan von Lossberg - First off, I want to thank all involved in this process. A lot of work has gone into this. It is important to be clear about what we are doing. This is not about every step in the process. This is regarding the opportunity with the building and the MOU with the County. I have a passion around renewable energy and sustainability. This is a prudent financial move. Doing nothing is not an option and there are costs associated with any path we take moving forward.
Mirtha Becerra - I am very supportive of this endeavor and I want to thank all the staff who have dedicated so much time to getting us the information and anticipating questions. I want to reiterate what many have stated. This is an incredible historic asset in the community and being able to maintain it is very valuable. The vibrancy in downtown that this can bring is something that should be brought to the table, as well. I think having both City staff and those who seek City services downtown, add to that special character of Missoula. I see this a s a continued public investment in downtown. Having City and County staff under the same roof allows for better ways to collaborate and interact. Also, the NPS staff who have moved away from the facility miss being downtown and I feel the City employees would feel the same way if not downtown.
Sandra Vasecka - I really appreciate the thorough presentation. I support this. We are growing tremendously. I would, though, prefer us to sell off current assets that are no longer needed to fund this mechanism in order to not take on more debt.
Stacie Anderson - Mr. Bickell, you mentioned there are ARPA funding dollars available. That would lend to doing something now, rather than in the future, as something has to be done.
Dale Bickell - ARPA dollars are one-time dollars. It would be a good use of these. We wouldn't have a substantial portion that ARPA would cover, but some, particularly with HVAC and ventilation systems. We have through 2026 to spend ARPA dollars.
Stacie Anderson - We are spending money already to house City staff to provide necessary services, so this not all a new expenditure. Doing nothing is not an option, as our community is growing. This way, we would not lose a very important historical asset. I will be supporting the motion.
Gwen Jones - This has been a proposal that has been evaluated for several years now. I have seen our need for space has grown and trying to make things work. We clearly have a need and this solution is great. To have it be offered to us for free, is a win-win-win on so many levels. Whatever we do, it will cost money and in reviewing everything, this is the most cost effective route. Thank you to everyone who has put a lot of time and energy into this.
This will be put onto the consent agenda.