HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-07-010 - Centre Block Public ConsultationsKrTCx~~JR - • -
Economic Development
Report To: Finance and Corporate Services Committee
Date of Meeting: February 19, 2007
Submitted By: Rod Regier, Executive Director
Michael May, Director of Corporate Communications and
Marketing
Prepared By: Michael May, Director of Corporate Communications and
Marketing, Hans Gross, Director of Project Administration,
Rod Regier, Executive Director
Ward(s~ Involved: All
Date of Report: February 15, 2007
Report No.: CAO-07-010
Subject: CENTRE BLOCK PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That Council directs staff to proceed with the Centre Block public consultation process as
outlined in report CAO-07-010.
2. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute remuneration agreements with the two
final proponents who are selected to submit detailed proposals for the redevelopment of
Centre Block and to participate in the Centre Block public consultation process outlined in
report CAO-07-010; said agreements are to be satisfactory to the City Solicitor.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Since November 2005, Kitchener residents and taxpayers have played a vital role in the
redevelopment of Centre Block.
Through public consultations such as the 2005 Centre Block Design Charette, the 2006 Centre
Block Citizens' Forum and the 2006 Downtown Design Guidelines process, citizens played an
important role in clearly defining our communities shared vision for what we want to see on a
redeveloped Centre Block.
As the process for selecting a successful redevelopment proposal nears a conclusion, it is more
important than ever to fully engage the public in a consultation process that gives every
Kitchener resident or taxpayer who chooses to, multiple opportunities and tools they can use to
provide their direct feedback on the final two proposals.
Based on the input of the City's Fairness Advisory, Dr. James McKellar, and supported by the
advice of the citizen advisors on the recently created Centre Block Evaluation Committee - all of
whom bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this project -staff has developed a public
consultation process that will provide citizens with several opportunities to get involved while
also recognizing the need to fairly compensate the unsuccessful proponent for their efforts and
expenditures.
BACKGROUND:
On October 16, 2006, City Council considered and approved staff report CAO-06-060 which
outlined a four step process for selecting a proposal for the redevelopment of Centre Block.
That report, and the Request for Expressions of Interest ~EO1} as considered and approved by
Council in October 2006 anticipated that the four phased evaluation process would take
approximately 60 weeks to complete. After holding its initial meetings, the Centre Block
Evaluation Committee now believes that it can accelerate those timelines substantially.
CAO-06-060, and the subsequent EOI that was approved by City Council in October 2006 prior
to being circulated to the private sector for their consideration, included provisions for:
^ a public consultation process to obtain feedback on the final two proposals, and;
^ the establishment of a predetermined fee that would compensate the unsuccessful
proponent.
All proponents who submitted their EO1's for this project would have been fully aware of these
two provisions before making their decision to enter into the competition.
Since October 2006, City staff has worked with the City's Fairness Advisor and members of the
Centre Block Evaluation Committee to further develop the details of those two provisions which
are outlined in the report below.
REPORT:
Public Consultation Process:
City staff is proposing a public consultation process that provides Kitchener residents and
taxpayers with several different opportunities to learn about the two final proposals and to
provide their input into the evaluation process. The proposed consultation process incorporates
a number of specific suggestions and ideas put forward by the citizen members of the Centre
Block Evaluation Committee die. the requirement to produce a conceptual model}.
The proposed Centre Block public consultation process would begin on Monday, April 30 and
end on May 17 at 5:00 pm. The proposed consultations would provide people with 7 different
ways to share their feedback with us on the final two proposals:
1. A dedicated website ~www.kitchener.calcentreblock) will be established to inform the public
on the two proposals and to allow them to provide direct feedback.
2. An informational brochure and feedback form will be delivered to every house in the City
on May 3 and 4. Citizens will have approximately 10 days to review, complete and mail back
their feedback form. Copies will also be available at all City facilities across the City (ie.
Community centres, libraries).
3. Three public meetings Monday, April 30 -televised Council meeting; Tuesday, May 8;
Wednesday, May 16} will be scheduled and advertised where each proponent will make a
20 minute presentation on their proposal before opening up the floor to the public for
questions and comments.
4. The two proponents' concept models will visit various locations throughout the City die. City
Hall, Your Kitchener Market, Fairview Park Mall} during the consultation process to allow us
to reach as many residents as possible without requiring them to make a specific trip to City
Hall. *Based on their experience, several members of the Centre Block Evaluation
Committee felt strongly that these types of conceptual models are the best way to inform
and engage the public on the proposals.
5. A dedicated email address (centreblock@kitchener.ca) will be set up for residents to send
their comments directly.
6. A dedicated phone line will be established for residents to leave voicemail (519-741-2602)
comments.
7. A dedicated mailing address will allow residents who feel more comfortable using this
method of communications to mail their comments in Centre Block Feedback, C/0 Michael
May, City Hall, 200 King Street West, 2nd Floor, PO Box 1118, Kitchener, ON, N2G 4G7}.
Information Required from Proponents for Public Consultation Process:
To ensure that the public has enough information on each of the proposals to provide informed
feedback, each of the final two proponents will be asked to provide the City with the following:
1. A conceptual model of their proposal.
2. 3 illustrations of their design concept.
3. A 20 minute PowerPoint presentation - to be made at the three public meetings.
4. A 300 word overview of their proposal and their vision for Centre Block.
5. A 100 word overview of their development team.
6. A 100 word overview of previous experience their team has had with similar developments.
7. Written answers to the following questions of no more than 75 words each:
^ How does your proposal meet the community's vision for Centre Block?
^ What is your proposal for the two existing buildings on the property X156-158 king Street
West and 11 Young Street}?
^ Describe the parking component of your proposal and how it meets the City's
requirement for structured parking in the downtown.
^ When would construction begin on your proposal, and when would it end?
^ How does your proposal contribute the City's green agenda?
All of this information will be posted on the dedicated website and contained in the information
brochure distributed to Kitchener households. If the public has questions for the proponents
which are not covered within this set of standard information, they will be encouraged to attend
one of the public meetings to ask the proponents their questions directly.
Anyone providing feedback through any of the methods listed above will be expected to provide
their full name and mailing address for tracking purposes. Following the consultation process,
the committee will complete the evaluation of the proposals and make a recommendation to
Council.
Comoensation of Unsuccessful Prooonentls):
On the advice of the City's Fairness Advisor, a provision was built into the Centre Block Request
for Expressions of Interest that was approved by Council in October 2006, to compensate the
final unsuccessful proponent.
Members of the Centre Block Evaluation Committee (many of whom have years of experience
in similar developments projects) agreed with this provision for compensation.
The predetermined level of compensation is meant to achieve the following objectives:
1. Encourage a more competitive process by covering the proponents' cost of developing
their detailed proposals. The reality of the private sector is that if proponents know they will
be reimbursed, they are more likely to put more effort into the development of their proposal
in the early stages. In the end, the more effort they put into their proposal and the more
details that can be made available during the public consultations, the better chance the City
has at choosing a redevelopment project that will be successful in the long run.
2. Reimburse the proponent for the City's detailed public consultation requirements - In
order to ensure that the public consultation process is balanced and presents residents with
the same information for each of the two final proposals, proponents will be asked to meet
very specific requirements including the creation of a concept model, the production of
several design concept illustrations, attendance at public meetings, and written answers to
several specific questions that will help describe their specific proposal. All of these
requirements will cost the proponents money and time to develop.
While the Centre Block Evaluation Committee is cautiously optimistic that the current RFP
process will result in the selection of a successful redevelopment project, the City has been
clear from the beginning that we reserve the right to say no to all of the proposals we have
received if we find that none of them meet the community's vision for the block. Should a
decision be made by City Council not to accept either of the two final proposals, the same
amount of compensation would be paid to each of the two unsuccessful proponents.
As the Financial Implications section of this report details, a maximum value of the
compensation for the unsuccessful proponent of $75,000 is fair, and would help the City achieve
the objectives outlined above.
Staff believe this level of compensation is sufficient to compensate the proponent for their staff
time, the construction of a conceptual model of the proposed development, and costs
associated with participation in the public consultation process.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Public Consultation Process:
Printing of direct mailer (70,000 copies) $ 8,000
Delivery of direct mailer to Kitchener householders $ 2,000
2 Scale models of area surrounding Centre Block $10,000*
Promotional signage for tour of proposal models $ 2,000
Advertisements 3 000
Total $25,000
* To help ensure that the public has a clear understanding of how each of the two final proposal
would fit within the wider context of Kitchener's downtown, the City will engage the services of
the University of Waterloo School of Architecture to produce two conceptual models of the area
surrounding the Centre Block. Each of the proponents will be able to place their own conceptual
models inside one of the models of the Centre Block area to give residents a clearer picture of
how the Centre Block might look redeveloped using each concept. The production of these two
context models will cost the City a maximum of $10,000.
Compensation to the Unsuccessful Proponent
Personnel cost related to the preparation and presentation of the proposal $50,000
Development of a conceptual scale model of the proposed development $20,000
Expenses associated with the public consultation process (ie. Travel) 5 000
Total $75,000
Summary of Financial Implications:
Costs of the public consultation process $25,000
Compensation to the unsuccessful proponent funded from EDIF 75 000
Total Costs associated with the Centre Block Competition $100,000
Staff is recommending that all of these costs be funded through the Economic Development
Investment Fund.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Working cooperatively with the Centre Block Evaluation Committee, City staff will develop and
implement a full communications plan to help make residents aware of the details of the two
final proposals as well as the all of the opportunities for them to provide feedback each of the
proposals.
CONCLUSION:
The public consultation process outlined in this report will ensure that every single Kitchener
resident or taxpayer has multiple opportunities and tools they can use to provide their direct
feedback on the final two proposals for the redevelopment of Centre Block.
At the same time, given the City's detailed requirements for each proponent to participate in the
public consultation process, and the expenditures each proponent will have to make throughout
this process, staff believe that the compensation amount recommended is fair to the proponents
and will encourage a more healthy competitive process.
Rod Regier
Executive Director
Economic Development
Michael May
Director
Corporate Communications and Marketing