Town of Carver

1. Town of Carver Review of Proposed Plan for Fire and Police Facilities November 12, 2013 EDWARD J.COLLINS CENTER FOR PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

2. Methodology • Conducted interviews: • Building Studies Committee • Fire Chief • Police Chief • Treasurer • Financial Advisor • Review documentation: • Building and site plans • Presentations on existing conditions • Cost estimates • Debt service schedules • Tours of Fire Station, Police Station, potential sites

3. Study Components • Siting of facilities • Funding plan • Recommendations

4. Siting Plan • Build new Fire Station and Fire Training Center at 99 Main Street. • Demolish existing Fire Station and build new front section for use by police at 112 Main Street. • Renovate rear part of building to complete the Police Station.

5. Siting Findings • Current facilities do not meet needs of modern fire or police departments. Findings include: • Apparatus bays and storage areas at the Central Fire Station were not built for the fire trucks and firefighting equipment commonly in use today. • The Central Fire Station does not meet the current operating needs of the Department. • The existing firefighter Training Center is an important element to the Department’s operation and helps ensure that Carver firefighters are highly trained.

6. Siting Findings (continued) • The layout of the existing Police Station is substandard and the building is poorly maintained. • Neither Police Station nor Fire Station provide climate-controlled storage for servers and other electronic equipment, likely reducing usable lifetime and potentially resulting in loss of important data. • Spaces that could be reasonably accessed by members of the public and non-sworn staff are not ADA compliant.

7. Siting Findings (continued) • 99 Main Street offers best available location for new Fire Station / Training Facility and existing site at 112 Main Street for Police Station. Findings include: • Existing site very small for Fire Department and would require interim location for police and fire departments; will continue to conflict with adjacent uses; • Center Street property constrained by Town wells; visibility issues at likely ingress and egress point; • Other Town-owned properties are either too small, too wet, located off of the Main Street N-S spine, or used for public park

8. Siting Recommendations • During design, consider the need for proposed community room / training room on first floor of new Fire Station. • Consider location of spaces for bedrooms and bathrooms for firefighters to ensure reasonable privacy. • Consider long term staffing needs of Police Department. • Make some modest, short term improvements in Police Station.

9. Funding Background • Cost Estimates: • Fire Station - $8,169,700 • Fire Training Center - $578,000 • Police Station - $7,510,000 (FY2017 start) • Existing debt for Town Hall and Library will be paid in FY2017 • Since 2011, Town has increasingly added funds from the tax levy to the Capital Building Stabilization Fund (CBSF)

10. Funding Plan • Continue appropriations to the Capital Buildings Stabilization Fund to pay for future debt service: • $400,000 plus 2 ½% annually • Additional allocation from new growth taxes added to base • Appropriate drop off in town hall/library debt payment

11. Funding Findings • Capital Building Stabilization Fund balance as of July 1, 2013 is $580,001, with $400,000 appropriated at past town meeting • Beginning allocation of $55,688 of new growth taxes based on 13 year average is conservative • Town Hall/Library debt drops from $278,561 in FY2014 to $0 in FY2018 • Annual debt service for Fire/Police facilities peaks at between $1.1 to $1.3 million in FY2019 with 25 year example • Utilization of CBSF appropriations covers debt while building balance for future use • Z

12. Funding Recommendations • FY2015 annual town meeting appropriate approximately $476,800 to CBSF for future debt service payments • Future town meetings increase appropriations to CBSF based on funding model- requires 2/3 vote • Future town meetings appropriate funds from the CBSF to debt service account equal to debt service costs for Fire and Police facilities– requires 2/3 vote

13. Conclusions • The Collins Center finds that: • Proposed siting plan for the fire and police facilities represents best option available to meet department needs. • Debt service could be covered via proposed funding strategy while maintaining conservative capacity for other operating budget needs.