Minutes 03-22-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 County should hire a third party consultant to prioritize projects. The consultant would review the facility assessments prepared on behalf of each of the school districts and would apply a set of standard criteria to rank and prioritize those projects. The criteria would include life, health, and safety needs, security needs, sequencing based on operational needs, and structural and mechanical needs. This process would establish an empirical element to the consideration of capital projects and may help inform the Board of Commissioners' deliberations on how to apply the proceeds of a bond referendum and other Capital Budget and Capital Investment Plan funds. Commissioner Price asked if the two school systems have hired consultants to do analyses, then why is the County suggesting doing this now. Chair McKee said Commissioner Jacobs asked to put this on the agenda. Commissioner Jacobs said there are certain criteria that cut across both sets of recommendations that may or may not produce the same priority list. He added that since the Board would be approving $120 million, such an analysis would allow the Board more comfort with what was being recommended, and that it met the criteria that the Board deems important: physical safety of the students, the health and safety in the buildings, the capacity of the buildings, and the technological and other deficiencies in the buildings. Commissioner Jacobs said these variables could be compared on a grid and see which items came out the highest. He said if this analysis is not done then the Board of County Commissioners has not vetted anything. Commissioner Price asked if the BOCC could do the vetting or does Commissioner Jacobs feel a third party is necessary. Commissioner Jacobs said he thought it would be helpful to have someone guide the Board through this process and he wanted to take a fresh look. He said it never hurts to challenge one's assumptions. Commissioner Price said no problems have been found with what the schools have presented. Commissioner Rich asked if there is an established vetting process. Chair McKee said currently there is none except to follow what the schools have submitted. PUBLIC COMMENT: CHCCS Board Chair James Barrett said as the Board considers this item he wanted to make sure it has a clear view of what has already been done, and what is currently being worked on. He reviewed a handout that was provided to the Board which gave an overview and justification of the priorities. He said he is always willing to speak to any of the commissioners. James Barrett referred to the centralized Pre-K program at the Lincoln Center, noting it will add capacity at the existing schools. He said it is the cornerstone of addressing capacity issues, as renovation is not possible at the elementary schools. He said this project would provide several other enhancements to the district and the community at large. He said adding a consultant does not enhance this process. He expressed appreciation for the BOCC's commitment to the schools via the bond, and asked that a consultant not muddy the process. OCS Board Chair Donna Coffey said she is here to speak on behalf of their board. She said three years ago, OCS spent over $253,000 of pay-as-you-go capital money in comprehensive, all-inclusive, safety and condition studies for all facilities. She said CHCCS embarked on similar studies. She said the results showed excessive facility needs, at the cost of$160 million. She said their board has spent countless hours reviewing their consultant's