AGENDA DATE: 12/20/2017
TITLE:
Title
Government Operations/Courts Relocation Opportunities Analysis - Board Direction
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Board Action Item meeting to discuss the Stantec report and public hearing feedback and then direct staff on next steps of the process regarding the Courts and/or County Administrative functions.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Letteri, Henry
PRESENTER (S): Trevor Henry
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Albemarle County has been engaged for some time in a thorough analysis and assessment of the County’s future court needs and the best way to meet those needs. The Board of Supervisors discussed five potential options last October 24, 2016 and took public comment. The court expansion project reflects a major investment of County funds and is the most expensive project in the County’s current Capital Improvement Program plan; therefore, the Board is particularly interested in ensuring all options have been properly vetted and giving County taxpayers an opportunity to review the identified options and provide comment.
There are two Courts options primarily remaining in consideration.
• Option 1: Renovation of the existing downtown courts complex for the Circuit Court and expansion of the General District Court on the Levy Opera House parcel, which is co-owned by the County and City of Charlottesville.
• Option 5: Build a new General District Court, Circuit Court and associated functions on a parcel in Albemarle County’s designated development area, presumptive location identified as the Rio Road/Route 29 area.
The Board established in its November 2, 2016 resolution that the Courts project, in any scenario, must ensure the fair and equitable administration of justice. The Board also directed staff to investigate the potential to which this project could promote its highest strategic priorities of urban development, redevelopment and revitalization. The Board additionally directed staff to further analyze the extent to which Option 5 would be sufficient to encourage a developer to enter a public/private partnership (P3) integrating the Courthouse and/or County Office Building as part of or adjacent to a larger mixed-use development.
At the December 14, 2016 Board meeting, staff presented a proposed process for moving forward with the exploration of a P3 to relocate the courts and/or County administration to a site in Albemarle County. At the conclusion of the presentation, the Board directed staff to proceed as proposed. Staff then developed a Request for Proposal (RFP) and proceeded with the solicitation process to contract with a Development Services Advisor during the spring; an RFP review committee selected and contracted with Stantec Consulting Services in June 2017.
The consulting team has worked with the Board to develop decision-making criteria, presented Program Analysis information on the County Office Building and Courts options that will feed into the Fiscal Impact Model and the National Center of State Courts consultant reviewed the findings of the Adjacency Impact study of impacts associated with potentially separating County Courts from City Courts at the downtown location. At the Board Dec 13th work session, Stantec consultants presented an initial report on the costs, fiscal impacts, cost benefit analysis and any updates to the previously submitted Program Analysis Documents and Adjacency Study report along with overall recommendations and next steps proposal. The Board received Public comment and feedback on the analysis at a Public Hearing held on December 18th.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize, plan, and invest in critical infrastructure that responds to past and future changes and improves the capacity to serve community needs. Thriving Development Areas: Attract quality employment, commercial, and high density residential uses into development areas by providing services and infrastructure that encourage redevelopment and private investment while protecting the quality of neighborhoods. This work directly supports two strategic plan initiatives: Redevelop Rio/Route 29 Intersection Area; and By June 2019, establish direction, complete design, and be under construction for the project to expand the General District Court.
DISCUSSION:
The deliverables of the Developer Advisory work are:
1) Review data related to Option 1 with a specific focus on understanding the adjacencies of the County Courts to the City Courts and impacts of separating.
2) Analyze the feasibility, cost, benefits and other impacts of Option 5, with the following sub-options:
• Court House Complex Only
• County Office Administrative Building Only
• Combined facility
The purpose of today’s action meeting is for the Board to discuss the consultant’s report and feedback from the public and then provide next steps direction to staff as it relates to the Courts and/or County Office Building.
BUDGET IMPACT: If the board directs staff to proceed with a pre-market study as recommended by Stantec, staff will negotiate an extension to the existing contract with Stantec to include this additional scope. Based on preliminary estimates, staff expects there are sufficient funds appropriated to the project to support the additional scope.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Board receive the consultant’s report and provide direction on the desired next steps on the project.
.