1 Proposal to Undertake Urgent Structural Repairs at OAS Main and General Secretariat Buildings Office of General Services / Secretariat for Administration

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Proposal to Undertake Urgent Structural Repairs at OAS Main and General Secretariat Buildings

Office of General Services / Secretariat for Administration and Finance

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Proposal to Undertake Urgent Structural Repairsat OAS Main and General Secretariat Buildings

I. Background

• Within the past two years the General Secretariat has commissioned four studies on the state of repair of our buildings:

1. An Existing Conditions and Assessment Report (ECR), completed in 2007, that identified structural, mechanical, and grounds deficiencies and deterioration in the historic properties of the OAS along Constitution Avenue (CAC) in Washington, DC.

2. Two Structural Condition Surveys, completed in December 2007, that identified structural deficiencies and deterioration of the 16th Street Building (“Casa del Soldado”) and of the garage at the General Secretariat Building (GSB). This GSB Survey recommended urgent improvements in the GSB garage to eliminate damage to seriously delaminated areas of concrete and to replace corroded reinforcement bars.

• The ECR and Surveys were presented to the CAAP on February 11, 2008.

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I. Background (continued)

3. Blake Real Estate Report, completed on March 19, 2009, which re-examined the deteriorating assets in the CAC deemed most serious in the 2007 ECR.

• None of the repairs, urgent or otherwise, has been undertaken due to the lack of financial resources. In the meantime, the CAC buildings and adjacent facilities, as well as the GSB garage, have suffered further deterioration.

• The latest Blake Report concludes that immediate repair initiatives are required now because the most vulnerable problems constitute a serious threat to the health and safety of GS/OAS visitors, delegates and employees, and to the viability of OAS infrastructure.


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II. Immediate Threats to People and Infrastructure

• These reports have identified six areas in the Main and GSB buildings that represent an imminent threat to health and safety and require immediate repair:

1. The Aztec patio fountain and service driveway structures: The corrosion of the fountain and service driveway steel supports continues and it is imperative that both of these areas be repaired as soon as possible to prevent the possible failure of the structures.

2. The main electrical/mechanical room: The electrical equipment does not comply with the today’s standards for safe operation and maintenance. The mechanical room houses equipment such as the chillers, pumps, hot water heaters, compressors, and air handling units, and because of its location underground, the room is susceptible to flooding, which we have experienced in at least two instances since 2006.

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II. Immediate Threats to People and Infrastructure (continued)

3. Fire/life safety system upgrades throughout the building: The MNB lacks important sprinkler, smoke detectors, and fire alarm systems. These systems are required to comply with current regulations and to protect its occupants.

4. Masonry and thermal moisture and protection: The Main Building’s skylight requires major repairs and upgrades to function properly and to stop water, cooling and heating leakages.

5. The C Street Parking Lot requires improvements to eliminate the water run-off that floods the mechanical room, as indicated in item 2, above.

6. The garage at the GSB requires the installation of an elastomeric traffic bearing membrane over the G-1 and G-2 decks, repair of over 9,000 square feet (836 square meters) of surface, and replacement of over 400 linear feet of reinforcing bars, as indicated in item 2, “Background”.

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II. Immediate Threats to People and Infrastructure (continued)

• The implementation of these repairs and upgrades that represent imminent threat to health and safety is estimated at over $6 million, as shown below:

Incurred Estimate1 MNB patio fountain and service driveway $0 $514,000 $514,0002 Electrical service equipment $0 $1,728,000 $1,728,0003 Fire/life safety system upgrades $0 $2,128,000 $2,128,0004 Masonry and thermal moisture protection $0 $1,074,000 $1,074,0005 MNB C Street Parking lot $36,000 $200,000 $236,0006 GSB garage $0 $420,000 $420,000

Total $36,000 $6,064,000 $6,100,000

InfrastructureImprovement Costs

Totals

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III. Medium and Longer-Term Repairs and Improvements

• The ECR also recommended medium and longer-term actions to repair and improve the OAS buildings and facilities, organized according to how critical they are for the operation of the buildings.

Medium Range Repairs:

1. Plumbing upgrades

2. Electrical distribution upgrades

3. MNB mechanical upgrades

4. MNB marble repairs

5. Constitution Ave. Complex (CAC) flood control

6. CAC upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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III. Medium and Longer-Term Repairs and Improvements (continued)

Longer-Term Repairs:

1. CAC metal/stone finishes

2. MNB gardens pool renovation

3. CAC security upgrades

IV. Summary

• The implementation costs to accomplish immediate, medium, and long-term repairs stated in the Existing Conditions Report (ECR) and the two structural surveys is estimated at $40.5 million as shown below:

Report Buildings Estimated Total (in millions)

1 Existing Conditions and Assessment Report (ECR) MNB, Casita, Museum, and ADM $38.1

2 Structural Condition Survey Pink Palace (Casa del Soldado) $1.8

3 Structural Condition Survey GSB Garage $0.60*

Total $40.5

Table 2 * After a 2008 Request for Proposal (RFP), the estimated repair cost is $420,000

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V. Options for the Immediate Repairs

• There are two sources of financing currently available to undertake the urgent repairs, including:

1. The Capital Building Fund, CP/RES. 831 (1342/02), created with an initial appropriation of $4.2 million for the restoration and/or improvements of the historic buildings of the OAS, and which has an unused balance of approximately $1.2 million;

2. The Parking Services Account, which had an operating balance as of December 31, 2008, of approximately $255,000, of which an estimated $100,000 could be allotted to partially finance the cost of the proposed GSB garage and MNB parking lot projects.

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VI. Proposal

• The General Secretariat proposes to use $100,000 from the Parking Services Account, and $1,034,000 from the Capital Building Fund to start immediate repairs of the following items:

• MNB patio fountain and service driveway with an estimated cost of $514,000.

• MNB C Street Parking Lot with an estimated cost of $200,000.

• GSB Garage with an estimated cost of $420,000.

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VI. Proposal (continued)

• The remaining $4.9 million required for urgent repairs will be financed either through: a) a special assessment to the Member States (as shown in next table), or b) a commercial loan authorized by CAAP.

• Also, in order to implement medium range and longer-term repairs mentioned above, the General Secretariat is preparing a presentation to the CAAP that includes a comprehensive real property and investment plan, as well as fundraising.

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VI. Proposal (continued)

Percentage* 2010% US $1,000

Dominica 0.022 1.1 Grenada 0.022 1.1 Guyana 0.022 1.1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.022 1.1 St. Vincent and Grenadines 0.022 1.1 Antigua and Barbuda 0.022 1.1 Saint Lucia 0.022 1.1 Belize 0.022 1.1 Haïti 0.045 2.3 Honduras ** 0.045 2.3 Nicaragua 0.045 2.3 Suriname 0.045 2.3 Bolivia 0.046 2.3 Barbados 0.060 3.0 Bahamas 0.077 3.9 El Salvador 0.105 5.3 Jamaica 0.123 6.2 Paraguay 0.124 6.2 Trinidad and Tobago 0.152 7.6 Panamá 0.163 8.2 Uruguay 0.181 9.1 Costa Rica 0.187 9.4 Guatemala 0.187 9.4 Dominican Republic 0.206 10.3 Ecuador 0.207 10.4 Perú 0.553 27.7 Colombia 0.839 42.0 Chile 1.073 53.7 Venezuela 2.060 103.1 Argentina 3.211 160.7 Brasil 7.953 397.9 México 8.141 407.3 Canada 13.761 688.6 United States 59.470 2,975.7 Sum 99.234 4,966.0$ Cuba 0.766 38.3Total 100.000 5,004.3$

* As per AG/RES.1 (XXXIV - E/07)

** On July 5, 2009, the Organization of American States (OAS) invoked Article 21 of the Inter-AmericanDemocratic Charter, suspending Honduras from active participation in the hemispheric body. AmountIs shown to establish the percentage corresponding to each member state.

Recommended Special 2010 Assessement for Building Repairs(Special Assessment = $4.9 million)

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VII. Selection Criteria

• There are two driving forces that determined the selection of the items to be repaired immediately:

1. Structural issues that, if they continue unrepaired, constitute a serious threat to the health and safety of GS/OAS visitors, delegates and employees, and to the viability of OAS infrastructure.

• The General Secretariat proposes to first repair all the areas with structural problems (see items 1, 5, and 6 on the page 6). These include the C Street parking lot that currently dumps rain water toward the MNB that may undermine its foundation and frequently floods the mechanical room. The total cost to repair these three items is estimated at $1,134,000.

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VII. Selection Criteria (continued)

2. Limited financial resources available.

• Considering that, the current balance of the Capital Building Fund is $1.2 million, and that,

• After using $1,034,000 of the Capital Building Fund, the remaining balance of $177,000 would be insufficient to complete either item 2 ($1,728,000), 3 ($2,128,000), or 4 ($1,074,000), as indicated on page 6.

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VIII. Action Request

• That the CAAP authorize the use of $1,034,000 from the Capital Building Fund (Res. 831) for the purposes outlined on page 10 of this presentation.

Documents

1 Proposal to Undertake Urgent Structural Repairs at OAS Main and General Secretariat Buildings Office of General Services / Secretariat for Administration