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Town Council’s purchase of Methodist Church for Town Hall, August 26,
2008
Facts.
For a number of years, Town Councils have realized the need to increase
Town Hall operating space due largely to the gradual increase in
employees – additional police department staffing, development services
coordinator, and finance/budget manager. As a result, all available
meeting or conference room space has been turned into office space,
further resulting in all meetings being conducted in the open area of
the Council Chambers in clear view and ear shot of the Police Chief,
Finance/Budget Manager and Administrator. Operating
departments/functions (nine employees) are randomly located throughout
the building creating inefficiency and poor communication between staff
and departments and ineffective customer service. The current facility
has one women’s and one men’s restroom that must be shared with the
general public and the nine building employees, not including the police
patrol duty officers and other Town employees frequenting the building.
As technology has expanded the existing closet used for all computer
equipment is at capacity. The Council Chambers is small and without a
Council meeting room, the general public must leave the building should
the Town Council need to meet in closed session. The current Town Hall
consists of approximately 3100 square feet.
In addition, the
current facility is under-parked with many customers currently parking
in TxDOT right-of-way. Fortunately adjacent property owners do not
object to our encroaching onto their properties when meetings occur in
Town Hall; however, problems do exist during regular business hours.
For the next 5 to 10
years probably 8 to 10,000 square feet for Council Chambers, Council
Meeting Room and current administrative departments would be sufficient
for Town Hall excluding community room space. Additional space would be
needed if the Police Department were to be located in Town Hall – 24/7
operations, evidence storage, locker/shower rooms, technology room
space, firearm storage, interrogation space, parking, etc. needs demand
more space.
Challenges.
The lack of available or potential options coupled with the rising cost
of property has hindered Town Councils in the past from making a
decision on a location and/or facility. Since June 2007, the Town
Council has voiced concern with the space limitations and has shown
strong interest in either expanding the current facility or looking for
a new location.
As a result, the Town
Hall staff has discussed, evaluated and planned out space needs to
determine whether or not the current Town Hall could be expanded. It
was determined that expansion would be not be feasible due to the
existing lot size; loss of what parking that is now available (currently
under parked); most likely would result in an ineffective interior
office/customer service space configuration; and not meet ADA
requirements. However, if some renovations were made to the existing
facility, the Police Department could remain, operate efficiently and
remain accessible to the general public.
Options.
The following options were considered and have been discussed
over the past year with the Town Council in Executive Session; however,
the details of those discussions are not available. In almost every
deliberation, one or more of the Town Council members have had a
conflict of interest that required a public disclosure statement (on
file) and were excluded from discussing specific options because of
their respective association as a landowner, board member, adjacent
landowner, realtor with property listing, developer, etc. (Not uncommon
in small and mid-size communities when business leaders serve in elected
and appointed positions, but the State Attorney General has provided a
mechanism for public official disclosure should such conflicts of
interest arise.):
Argyle Commons – second floor lease space in new building
Proposed new building in Commons complex - five-year term
with five-year option. Not acceptable because of inadequate space –
could not accommodate current Town Hall staffing and provide adequate
Council Chambers and related public space.
Argyle Commons – vacant land purchase
Accessible and visible location, but high land costs.
Purchase by Town would (1) remove valuable land for professional office
and retail use and exempt valuable property from the tax rolls. Not
viable alternative.
Argyle Town Village
(OT-1 Mixed Use Center) – DEMA Partners
Developer offered to construct 5,000 s.f. of Town Hall Office
(finished out) space at $100 per s.f. cost and provide shared parking
within mixed use development. Estimated completion within 18 to 24
months; however, no infrastructure construction serving the center has
commenced to date. Use of residential-type construction typically seen
in professional office parks having 3,500 to 5,000 s.f. single story
buildings anticipated.
For new structure, Town should consider at least 8000 s.f.
Since no infrastructure is being developed at this time on the OT-1
site, it’s anticipated that inflation in building and finish out costs
would reduce the value of the $100 s.f. allowance as a result of the
delay, thus increasing the Town’s costs. The OT-1 location is within
the core of the Town Center area of the Town; however, accessibility
from U.S. 377 is limited due to the proximity to the U.S. 377 and
Country Club Road intersection. The ownership of the property by the
Town would remove taxable value from the tax rolls. (2008 DCAD land
value for the tract shown for Town Hall is $331,550; however, without a
survey, it’s unknown exactly what portion of the value would be
attributed to the area being exempted.)
Argyle United Methodist
Church – 308 Denton Street (+/- 2.3 ac. of 6.3 ac. tract)
Town Council voted to purchase approximately 2.3 acres of the
Church’s 6.3-acre tract that is currently under contract for deed by LPS
Partners, Ltd. The purchase price of $930,000 is subject to the seller
surveying and platting the tract and a 60-day due diligence period for
the approximately 2.3 acres, 13,774 s.f. of building space, paved
parking, and amphitheater on a State-designated historic site.
Prior to negotiating the purchase, the Town commissioned an
appraisal of the +/- 2.3 acres and improvements – the appraisal is
consistent with the negotiated purchase price given the additional
expenses borne by the seller. The appraisal report was conducted by MAI
appraisers from TranSystems/James Daniels & Associates, Fort Worth, TX
who valued the property at $925,000 as of May 22, 2008. In addition and
prior to beginning negotiations, an architectural firm experienced in
church design and construction was contacted to review the possibility
of renovating the facility for Town Hall. After meeting with staff and
completing a site visit of the facilities, the architect prepared a
schematic (floor plan) suggesting a potential layout of the Council
Chambers, Council meeting room, administrative office layout, public
restroom, technology space, and accessibility. The scaled layout was
submitted to a general contractor/construction management firm in Fort
Worth for pricing in order to determine an estimate for renovation. It
was critical that the Town Council had a clear picture as to the total
estimated project costs before proceeding with earnest negotiations.
BENEFITS OF ACQUISITION: Available space
for operations, current and future
Available space for
Council Chambers and meeting rooms
Ample parking
Community room space
(potential location for Senior Citizens and other groups)
Fully-equipped kitchen
Public restrooms
Ample storage and
Technology space
15-20 years of life
remaining w/ facilities
Central location – OT-1
District/Town Center
Location in core of Old
Town District should serve as a catalyst for re-development
Preserves Historic Site
4.0 Ac. of Church
property returned to tax rolls
ESTIMATED COSTS:
Acquisition (2.3 A.) $ 930,000
Renovation & Fees 342,530
Technology 40,000
Furniture & Fixtures 30,000
$1,342,530 ($96 s.f.)
Costs would be paid from the issuance of certificates of
obligation (long-term) debt.
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