HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-18-089 - Facility Partnership with the Waterloo Region District School Board in the Huron-Brigadoon Area - UpdateREPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: June 18, 2018
SUBMITTED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director Neighbourhood Programs and
Services,519-741-2200 ext. 7687
PREPARED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director Neighbourhood Programs and
Services,519-741-2200 ext. 7687
Ryan Hagey, Director Financial Planning,519-741-2200 ext. 7353
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Wards 4 and 5
DATE OF REPORT: June 4, 2018
REPORT NO.: CSD-18-089
SUBJECT: Facility Partnership with the Waterloo Region District School
Board in the Huron - Brigadoon area - Update
___________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute agreements with the Waterloo
Region District School Board for the construction and ownership arrangements
of a joint facility to include at least a school and a community centre on their
Tartan Avenue property; said agreements to be satisfactory to the City Solicitor;
and further
That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute any agreements necessary to
operate the joint facility including common facilities and operating agreements;
said agreements to be satisfactory to the City Solicitor; and further
Development Charges Background Study and the 2019 Capital Budget &
Forecast.
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Council approved business plan (2016), staff was directed to investigate
and report back on a potential partnership opportunity for a joint school and community
centre in the Huron- Brigadoon community. Opportunity existed with theWaterloo
Region District School Board (WRDSB) to investigate a joint facility that would provide
the City with approximately 8,000 square feet of community centre space, attached to a
school, child care, and EarlyON family and child centre.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
9 - 1
On March 5, 2018, the Community and Infrastructure Services Committee considered
report CSD-18-047, which outlined the benefits and challenges of partnering with the
Waterloo Region District School Board (School Board) to build a joint school,
community centre, child care, and EarlyOn family and child centre in the Huron
Brigadoon area. Benefits included: i) possible savings on construction costs; ii) the
ability to leverage additional space (double gymnasium) for community use after school
hours, and iii) having community space available in the Huron - Brigadoon area (which
will grow significantly in the coming years) as early as 2020. The partnership also
satisfies the current Provincial Places to Grow legislation that expects public
services/facilities to be planned and co-located as community hubs, and integrated to
promote cost-effectiveness.
As outlined in report CSD-18-047, entering into a partnership with the school board to
build a joint facility on this property would save the City significant dollars. Although
final cost per square foot has yet to be confirmed by the Ministry of Education, the
estimated cost for 8,000 square feet of space designated to the City of Kitchener would
be approximately $2,900,000. For the same amount of floor space, if the City were to
build a stand-alone facility without the school board, it is estimated that it would cost
approximately $4,125,000. Economies of scale associated with building a school, using
cloned footprints in school design, using different finishes and fixtures, and not having
the additional requirements that the City puts on their own projects (e.g. adding a
percent for art or building to LEED standard) all contributes to the schools ability to build
at a lower cost.
At that time, Council directed staff to participate with the school board in a site fit study,
to validate the ability to construct a building that would fit all of those elements onto the
.Staff were also asked to report back with the
results of the site fit study, as well as options for funding a community centre in this
location, if the results of the site fit study confirmedall partners could fit on the property.
REPORT:
Results of the Site Fit study
BluePlan Engineering was engaged by the Waterloo Region District School Board to
complete the site fit study for the proposed Tartan Avenue site (see appendix A showing
site location). Specifically, the following elements were analysed to see if they could fit
on the site:
A 65,000 square foot (S.F.) 2 story elementary school
An 8,000 S.F. Community Centre (City of Kitchener)
An 8,000 S.F. Childcare Centre, and
An 8,000 S.F. EarlyON Centre.
In addition to the facility space, the following additional areas were also considered for
the site, including:
A 39,100 S.F. on site parking area,
A 38,750 S.F. student/bus drop off area along the Tartan Avenue frontage,
9 - 2
A 58,000 S.F. soccer pitch,
A 51,600 S.F. softscape playground area for the school, and
A 32,500 S.F. hardscape (i.e. asphalt) playground area for the school.
Review and analysis of the site and the above requirements show that there is sufficient
space at the Tartan Avenue site to satisfy all the program requirements for each of the
partners. Appendix B (attached) includes a confirmation letter from BluePlan
Engineering.
Possible funding options for Community Centre Portion
Staff has investigated several options for funding this facility (e.g. issue debt, fund from
non-growth project close outs, fund from reserves with positive balances) but are only
recommending options which meet the principle of growth paying for growth. This
refers to the premise that any facilities that are built due to needs of a growing
community should be paid for by growth related funds, not the tax base.It is important
to uphold this principle , many years and
because deviating from it means that existing taxpayers are funding a new facility that
will primarily service new taxpayers.
The two options staff considered to finance this new community centre that meet the
principle of are:
Pre-committing future development charge (DC) funds,
2) Reallocating DC funds from other growth-related projects.
Staff are recommending Option #1, pre-committing future DC funds because this option
would not have an impact on the timing of other recreation priorities
10-year capital forecast.
OPTION #1 (RECOMMENDED): Pre-commit future development charge (DC)
funds:
The City determines DC funding by preparing a DC background study and passing the
necessary bylaw. By legislation, DC bylaws can last a maximum of five years. The
most recent DC study and bylaw were completed in 2014, which means a new bylaw
will be required in 2019. In advance of preparing the full background study, staff
contacted the consultant used to prepare the 2014 DC study (Hemson), to estimate the
2019 DC calculation for indoor recreation (the section of DCs that are used to fund
growth-suggests that $5M of additional
funding will be available for indoor recreation facilities as part of the 2019 DC
study.
This means that the City would be able to fully fund the new community centre utilizing
these additional DC funds, without negatively affecting other growth-related indoor
recreation projects that are currently in the 2018 Capital Budget & Forecast.
9 - 3
OPTION #2: Reallocate DC funds from other growth-related projects (2017-2022):
The 2014 DC study and bylaw included the creation / expansion of three growth-related
community centre projects between 2017 and 2022. These community centres are
shown in priority order in the table below with their associated budget amounts and
timing based on the results of the 2013 Leisure Facilities Master Plan Update.
Priority List of Growth Related Community Centre Projects
Growth related projectTimingFunding
Doon Pioneer Park Community
2017$ 3.974 million
Centre Expansion (Priority 1)
South End Community Centre
2018 -2021$ 5.056 million
New (Priority 2)
Mill Courtland Community
2019 -2022$3.293 million
Centre Expansion (Priority 3)
Staff reviewed projects between 2017 and 2022, analysing the possibility of reallocating
funding from these three projects in order to construct the new community centre on the
Tartan Avenue property. The Doon Pioneer Park expansion has been designed and
construction is planned to begin in 2018. Given the progress of this project, staff do not
recommend reallocating any funding from this project.
For the other two projects, business cases are scheduled for completion in 2019/2020
with detailed design likely scheduled around 2020/2021 and construction to follow in
2021/2022.Since these projects have not yet started, reallocating funding to the new
community centre project would be a possibility, but it is not recommend by staff.
Staff has reviewed the budgets for the proposed new South End Community Centre
(SECC) and the Mill Courtland Community Centre expansion, and believe that $2.9M
can be found taking from these existing projects. If this was done, the expected funding
increase for indoor recreation through the 2019 Development Charges study could then
beused to replace the amounts reallocated from the SECC and Mill Courtland
Community centre projects. Reallocating funding from these two projects will likely
delay the opening of each community centre by one year (SECC from 2021 to 2022 and
Mill Courtland from 2022 to 2023). For this reason, staff do not recommend this funding
approach.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Priority: Safe and Thriving Neighbourhoods
Strategy: 3.6 Provide opportunities and support for citizens to lead the way
health, happiness and well-being by capitalizing on local community
assets such as community centres, pools, arenas, libraries, parks,
trails and other public spaces.
9 - 4
Strategic Action: # NB14 Huron Woods Community Centre Partnership
Explore the potential for a partnership with the school board for the
development of a community centre in the Huron Woods
Neighbourhood.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The total estimated cost of co-locating a community centre with a school on the Tartan
Avenue property is $2.9M.
development charge consultant, the next DC study should show adequate room to fund
the co-located community centre without affecting any other indoor recreation project.
Based on this information, staff recommend including the costs of this new community
centre in the 2019 Development Charges Background Study and the 2019 Capital
Budget & Forecast.
The annual operating budget for a facility this size is estimated to be approximately
$305,000 (2018 dollars); $210,000 associated with operating the facility (including
staffing costs, administration/materials/supplies, and chargebacks); and $95,000 for
maintenance of the facility (including staffing, supplies/equipment/contracts, utilities and
fleet/security). The facility would open September 2020, therefore the operating budget
can be introduced over two budget cycles, approximately one third of the budget being
implemented in 2020 and the remainder of the budget taking affect in 2021.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM
advance of the council / committee meeting.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO Community Services
9 - 5
Appendix A
9 - 6
9 - 7
Appendix B
9 - 8
9 - 9