2002-11-27 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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emo e or newr . UI Making the Right Decision By Fred Moyer, President, Moyer Associates Incorporatedl N orthbroo k, Illinoisl and Planning . Consultant, IACP Police Facility Planning Guidelines Police facilities everywhere continue to playa fundamental role in pro- viding support to law enforcement - _' operations. And, with remarkably few exceptions, they have remained UTI- 91anged. even as operational needs have exploded. Population increases, new and expanded demands for service, increased numbers of police -personnel, and expo- nential changes in technology continue to affect the ability of existing facilities to support the delivery of needed services to the public. ' , Existin?; facilities that were built as re- '!=ently as 15 or 20 years ag-o may now bt; ~xpenenang senous space shorta~eRand other deticiendes. Older facilities present even more dramatic conditions. They may provide only 25 to 30 percent of the space that is needed today. bach jurisdiction, and each set of indi- vidual circumstances, will clearly require its own individual assessment in terms of the extent and type of facility shortcom- . ings that exist. The options avallable for remedy will also depend on the <;ITcUm- ~ces. However... one of the most COID- nly Tecurring questions, and usually e first question, is "C:m we remodel, or is new construction required?" Before asking an architect or anyone else to answer this q'Jestiort, the very first . step shoilldbe to develop acomprehen_ sive analysis of current and projected . __,,'1M. TIlEI'O_LICE.CHlEFIOCTOBER2002 space needs. This should be done inde- pendently of, and before any, solution- finding activity. Specifically, the determi- nation of needed staff and staff support spaces, as well as necessary functional relationships and adjacencies between operational units, will be the baseline re- quirements against which different solu- tion strategies will be measured. This analysis forms a solid foundation and benchmark for- the identification of New construction is seldom even considered until officials have conclusively demonstrated that remodeling, renovating, or expanding the existing facility offers a lower return on investment than new construction. avallable facility options and the eval'Jation . of the extent to which each option can be successful in meeting the identified needs. For this, the "blinders" need to be removed: existing facility features should not estab- lish the limits for the definition of need. With a function and space program in hand, detailing the individual space re- qUirements ,of eyery operational area, at- tention can next be turned to the evalua- tion of solution options, lnvariably, the existing police facility will usually be the starting point. In fact, new construction is seldom even considered until officials have conclusi~ely demonstrated that re- modeling, renovating, or expanding the existing facility off~rs a lower return on investment than new -construction. If nothing else, the comparison of these two options and their related expenses will be uSeful to the decision-making process. Remodeling or Expansion Options There are several considerations that are going to help provide the answer to the question of whether remodeling 'or ex- pansion is the best cholce, Examples of evaluation criteria that could be expected to be important include the following: . Abilitv to deliver the required c;pa~ (space program) . Ability to group com~onents for effi- cient o~erabons (needed a jac;encies)' . A ility to provide needed:'seC\l1:ity zoning :' ,.,.. .: .. Ability to separate public, staff, and pnsoner movements .~~. . Abillfy to convey a civic/police facil- ity image . Ability for future expansion, . Adequacy ot parking for department and public. I . Adeq'Jacv of mechanical, electrical. and teclmolog-y support svstems...... ' . Total capital budget required for ren~ ovation or new construction . . . Long-term operational costs, such as staffin~ energ;Tr maintenance . . Tune required for implementation . Interim relocation needs and related costs . Facility visibility and accessibility to the public . Jj. C} --'r ~ eo Pc sl 0' iT d P t! o t! IT p to t, OJ t( t, t! q IT " Y p n o S1 c,