In Your Corner 9/22/01

The events of September 11th have left us all stunned and saddened. We

feel the sorrow of those whose personal lives were destroyed by this

vicious act and will all see changes in how we work and play in the

future. We owe it to those who lost their lives and loved ones to work

to ensure that this type of tragedy is never repeated, and make the

lessons that we are all learning a part of our daily lives. We need to

be mindful that, in our haste to protect ourselves and punish those

responsible, we do not curtail the personal freedoms which make America

the great place that we love. We also must be watchful in the future

that our government doesn't waste resources during times of plenty - we

may need them for unexpected, and sometimes horrific, events.

***

At our May board meeting, a county representative presented information

on the county's capital improvement projects and the funds needed for

implementation. This prompted a letter from our Board to Russ Blackburn,

County Administrator, outlining specific concerns with the capital

building program. This letter resulted in a meeting August 23rd with Mr.

Blackburn and others involved in this department. The mission of the

Capital Projects Department is to "provide the County facilities that

are well planned, safe, and functional at the lowest possible life cycle

cost".

We feel that the construction of capital projects is occurring more

efficiently under this dept.'s management than at any time in our

collective memories. However, the county is still budgeting and spending

excessive amounts to provide needed capital facilities.

The discussion held August 23 focused on six current building projects

and why they are so expensive to build. A profile of these projects were

that they averaged 15,500 square feet in size, cost $2.5 million on

average, which translates to $172 per square foot. We were told that the

following are the reasons why these buildings will be so costly.

1. They offer storm protection;

2. They have tile or metal roofs;

3. They are of CBS (cement block stucco) construction with a 30 to 50

year design life;

4. All testing, permits, and impact fees are included;

5. They have fire sprinkling systems throughout;

6. Buildings have wall and roof vapor barriers,

7. There is a separate fresh air AC with rigid two-way ductwork;

8. Furniture, fixtures, telecomm wiring, and public arts funding are

included;

9. Special contract features are included such as contractor liability

for delays, etc.

We were told that the reason for many of these building features are to

build high quality durable facilities and to avoid lawsuits. Since these

costs are based on the low bid, the County contends they would have to

change building standards to change prices.

It is our consensus that these features are routinely included in most

high quality buildings in Martin County at a lower cost. The county

needs to modify their process if this is the best price they can come up

with, and, if not, they should consider renting space, which is

available at a more reasonable square foot price. Not discussed at this

meeting was our belief that the space study which determined the need

for many of these future buildings was flawed. We covered this issue in

a past column.

Perhaps most alarming were County staff's closing comments which

indicated that the annual capital cost of replacement of our current

facilities plus the need for new facilities based upon population

growth would amount to an additional $6.3 million annually. These

numbers don't reflect the costs associated with operating the services

provided in these new facilities.

We look forward to working with the county to improve their process for

providing need facilities, so we can get more for our limited money.

God Bless America