Town of Amherst Public Works Facility

Weston & Sampson

Update Presentation

March 21, 2016

Town of Amherst

Public Works Facility

Weston & Sampson

Agenda |

Project History

Public Works Responsibilities

Why does the Town need a new facility

What is proposed

Summary of Project Costs

Questions / comments

Town of Amherst Public Works Facility

Weston & Sampson

Site History |

• Original facility built in 1916 as a Trolley Barn

• Town acquired the facility in the 1940’s• Miles of road have increased

• Quantity of Water & Sewer mains have increased

• The population has increased from approximately 6,000 to

38,000 since the 1940’s

• Town hired Weston & Sampson to prepare a

comprehensive feasibility study in 2015 -(Weston & Sampson brings experience with

improvements to more than 100 public works facilities

in New England)


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Public Works Responsibilities


• Public roads and sidewalks

• Stormwater drainage system

• Three cemeteries

• Public shade trees

• 88 acres of town parks and recreation

fields

• Street and traffic lights

• Maintenance of DPW fleet of vehicles /

equipment

• Water treatment & distribution

• Sanitary sewer collection and treatment

• Solid waste transfer and recycling

facility

The DPW touches the lives of the residents everyday by maintaining the infrastructure that the community relies on including…


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• Snow and ice removal operations

• Hurricane / windstorm cleanup

• Removal of road hazards

• Flooding

• Building issues & emergencies

• Road repair

• Emergency response / consequence management

• The support of other emergency departments

The DPW is also on call 24 hours a day to handle incidents & emergencies including:


The DPW touches the lives of the residents everyday by maintaining the infrastructure that the community relies on including…

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Public Works agencies are considered First Responder and the facilities must support this important role:


“Since the Fall of 2009 DPW’s have been classified as first responders under U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Emergency Services Sector Coordinating Council’s Sector Specific Plan”

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Why Does the Town Need a New Facility?


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• Public Works Agency responsibilities have increased significantly over the years along with the number of vehicles, pieces of equipment and staff, but the facilities have not kept pace

• The facility no longer meets the needs of the Department/Town and it is not code compliant

• Public works operations, equipment storage, and material storage are scattered throughout the community impacting the efficiency of the operations

Why does the Town need a new Public Works facility?• The existing facility is nearly 100 years old with no significant improvements


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Inadequate Employee Facilities


Employee Support Facilities are Undersized and Inadequate for Today’s Operations

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Storage garage is used for large staff meetings

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View of staff meeting in storage garage

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Vehicle Maintenance Area


Maintenance bays are undersized to safely and efficiently maintain DPW equipment

• Does not meet acceptable industry and safety standards

• Poor ventilation - antiquated mechanical system

• Poor lighting

• Non code compliant shop equipment

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Vehicle Maintenance Area


Sample Photo of a Safe & Efficient Vehicle Maintenance Area

• Does not meet acceptable industry and safety standards

• Poor ventilation - antiquated mechanical system

• Poor lighting

• Non code compliant shop equipment

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Mid 1900’s era DPW vehicles Today’s larger multipurpose DPW vehicles

• Vehicle and equipment types and sizes have changed significantly since the facility was constructed

Why does the Town need a new Public Works facility?


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Existing Vehicle Storage


Vehicle and equipment storage area is too small to safely and efficiently store the DPW equipment

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Existing Vehicle Storage


Sample photograph of a recently constructed safe and efficient vehicle/equipment storage garage for a Massachusetts community

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Unprotected vehicle/equipment storage due to undersized facility


As a result, a portion of the multi-million dollar fleet and equipment are stored outdoors due to limited space

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The existing building has exceeded its useful life

Why does the Town need a new Public Works facility?

• Existing buildings do not comply with today’s Building Code

– No sprinkler system - Inadequate egress– ADA Accessibility - Fire Separation

• Toilet facilities do not meet current Plumbing Code– Number of fixtures– Male/female toilet facilities

• Building does not meet current Mechanical Code – Ventilation /electric– Maintenance air exchanges– Carbon monoxide detection system

• Inadequate site security

• Operational inefficiencies due to space constraints– Inadequate storage areas– Inadequate employee facilities– Inadequate material storage areas– Undersized maintenance area– Inadequate file storage– Safety concerns for staff

Summary of Deficiencies|


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Town's Fleet of Plows Crushed in Collapse (Plymouth CT, NBCConnecticut.com 2011)

Fire destroys town's public works building Officials say fire was major loss for town (WMUR Hopkinton NH 2012)

Potential risks associated with substandard facilities


Blaze destroys Henniker snow-removal equipment, leaving ‘serious problem’(Henniker NH, Concord Monitor 2015)

Lynnfield DPW Storage Garage Fire (2013)

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Programming

• Interviewed DPW staff• Identified DPW responsibilities• Reviewed daily work flow patterns• Observed operations• Explored potential strategic approaches to improve

productivity• Explored the optimum work flow and designed a

facility around the operations

• Compared interview data to Weston & Sampson standards which are based on the more than 100 public works facility projects completed by Weston & Sampson in New England

• Prepared programming sketches for each operating area

Programming Process |


23

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Parking stalls sized to store plows

Drive-thru angled parking…..the new more efficient way

Space Needs Assessment

• Administration / Engineering 8,210 SF

• Staff Support 4,687 SF

• Highway 3,746 SF

• Trees & Grounds 2,178 SF

• Water 3,396 SF

• Maintenance 12,874 SF

• Wash Bay 2,472 SF

• Vehicle & Equipment Storage 48,356 SF

TOTAL: 85,919 SF

Original Space Needs

Reduced Program

8% Reduction

7,819 SF

4,422 SF

3,422 SF

2,004 SF

3,223 SF

12,628 SF

2,414 SF

43,197 SF

79,129 SF

Programming Results|


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Why Store the DPW Equipment Indoors in a Minimally Heated Garage?

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Why put the vehicles and equipment indoors…..

1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety

3. Protection of Equipment

4. Stormwater Pollution Control

5. Cost Effective Operations

6. Efficient OperationsEmployee safety is compromised when trying to clear off large equipment in inclement weather

conditions as shown above


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Vehicles which are covered by snow or ice may take longer to respond

to the needs of the community which could result in unsafe

conditions for the public

1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety




6. Efficient Operations


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Outdoor storage contributes to accelerated equipment deterioration

1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety






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1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety




6. Efficient OperationsVehicles stored outdoors on the existing

site have inadequate environmental control measures


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1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety




6. Efficient OperationsAny drips or spills from vehicles stored inside will be collected in a closed floor

drain system preventing them from reaching the environment


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1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety





Cost to Construct Storage Garage• Construction• Maintenance• Operation

Cost Associated with Exterior Storage• Increased Vehicle Maintenance• Decrease in Vehicle Life Expectancy• Non-Productive Labor• Operational impacts• Employee Safety & Environmental

VERSUS


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1. Employee Safety

2. Public Safety






Problems starting vehicles in cold weather resulting in excessive exhaust fumes and

non-productive labor waiting for vehicles to warm-up to a safe operating temperature

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Case Study for increased vehicle life expectancy associated with storage of equipment indoors

• A Massachusetts community purchased three large dump trucks

• Town only had room to store one indoors

• Remaining two vehicles were stored outdoors

• Two vehicles stored outdoors were removed from service early due to equipment deterioration. Equipment conditions were so poor that they were sold as scrap.

• The vehicles which was stored indoors remained in service for three more years and was in suitable condition when it reached its service life that it was able to be sold at auction

Only room to store one (1) new dump truck indoors

Two (2) vehicles stored outdoors due to limited availability of covered storage


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Site Selection


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Site Selection Process|

Worked with the Town to identify a list of potential sites for a new DPW Facility Site 1 – Old Belchertown Road

Site 2 – Northampton Road

Site 3 – 586 South Pleasant Street

Site 4 – Old Farm Road

Site 5 – Henry Street

Site 6 – Henry Street

Site 7 – Ball Lane

Site 8 – Strong Street

Site 9 – Fort River School

Conducted a “fatal flaws” analysis of all potential public and privately owned parcels

Minimum site size

Zoning

Wetlands

Floodplain

Distance to sensitive receptors


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Site Evaluation|

Site Selection


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Site Evaluation|

Conduct a detailed site selection analysis using the established criteria to identify the top ranked sites

• Property Ownership• Location (to arterials / response times)• Physical site features• Site history• Environmental/abutter impacts• Access to utilities• Permitting• Traffic impacts• Operational impacts• Cost of site development• Cost of construction • Historical / archeological• Potential for contamination

Identified top three ranked sites

Develop conceptual “Test-Fit” site alternatives


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Site Evaluation|

Test-fit each site using a generic DPW building and site plan concept

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Site Evaluation|Town of Amherst

Public Works Facility

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Costs


Project Cost Summary


Site 9 Site 4 Site 7 Partial Renovate / UnconsolidatedDescription (Fort River School) (Old Farm Road) (Ball Lane) New Construction (3 Sites)

Building Costs 19,688,628$ 19,688,628$ 19,688,628$ 18,930,920$ 20,889,487$

Site Costs 4,271,820$ 5,048,652$ 4,764,060$ 4,834,200$ 6,281,520$

Pricing Contingency 2,396,045$ 2,473,728$ 2,445,269$ 2,376,512$ 2,717,100$

Escalation 3,290,977$ 3,397,675$ 3,358,587$ 3,264,149$ 3,731,948$

Subtotal Construction Costs 29,647,470$ 30,608,684$ 30,256,544$ 29,405,782$ 33,620,056$ Cost/SF 375$ 387$ 382$ 375$ 406$

Soft Costs & Contingencies 7,411,868$ 7,652,171$ 7,564,136$ 7,351,445$ 8,405,015$

TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 37,059,338$ 38,260,855$ 37,820,680$ 36,757,227$ 42,025,071$

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Construction Cost Comparison (Does not include soft costs)


Avg Cost/SFDescription Bid Date (escalated to 2019)

• Amherst Public Works Facility Est. 2019 $375

• Norwood Public Works Facility 2014 $361

• Medford Public Works Facility 2014 $335

• Bourne Public Works Facility 2014 $346

(Note – cost per SF is higher due to higher contingencies at this level of design)

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Benefits of an Improved / Code Compliant Facility?


• Code compliant and safe work environment for Town employees

• Protect the Town’s multi-million dollar investment in

vehicles and equipment by protecting the equipment from

corrosive conditions and vandalism which will extend the

useful life of the vehicles

• More efficient work space and response times - vehicles,

equipment, and workspace are easily accessible

• Creates a consolidated public works operations improving

overall efficiencies for the department

• Eliminates the need to invest money (band-aids) in the

existing substandard facility

What are the benefits |

What will an improved / code compliant facility do for the DPW & community……..


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Questions?


Documents

Town of Amherst Public Works Facility