10/28/2013 - City Council Finance CommitteeFINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013
12:40 P.M.
EAGAN ROOM
AGENDA
I. AGENDA ADOPTION
II. REVIEW POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR FIRE - DAMAGED OLD TOWN
HALL
III. OTHER BUSINESS
IV. ADJOURNMENT
Agenda Memo
October 28, 2013 Finance Committee Meeting
II. REVIEW POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR FIRE- DAMAGED OLD TOWN
HALL
DIRECTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To review potential options for the fire- damaged Old
Town Hall building and provide a recommendation to Council as to which options staff should
research further.
FACTS:
➢ Old Town Hall was constructed in 1914. It served as Eagan's meeting space until 1965.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the structure was refurbished. Since that time, it has
served as a museum and storage facility maintained by the City and run primarily by the
Eagan Historical Society.
➢ On September 8, 2013, an arsonist set fire to the Old Town Hall building, causing
substantial damage to the structure and contents. The roof trusses, south and west walls,
flooring and contents were heavily damaged. The entire interior of the building suffered
smoke and water damage.
➢ Tarps have been placed over the structure to avoid further water damage and the building
has been stabilized to prevent collapse. The tarps and structure stabilization are not
enough to allow the building to withstand significant snowfalls. The roof of the building
can be winterized to prevent the structure from collapsing during the winter. Staff expects
to have an estimate for the winterization work by the time of the Finance Committee
meeting.
➢ The building and contents are insured by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust
(LMCIT) for $85,915. This is the total coverage available to restore the building and its
contents. To date, approximately $7,500 of that coverage has been spent to restore the
building contents and place tarps on the roof. Thus, approximately $78,400 remains in
unspent coverage for the building and contents.
➢ Additional coverage through the LMCIT, separate from the building and contents
coverage, have the following limits and have been utilized as follows:
• Valuable Papers: $500,000 limit
■ $1,347 spent on building board -up and stabilization
■ $2,775 spent on contents restoration
• Debris Removal: $14,319 limit
■ Nothing spent to -date
■ $12,700 estimate for removing the entire structure
• Asbestos and Pollutant Clean -Up: $250,000 limit
■ $2,000 estimate for remediating pollutants (The LMCIT found lead in
some of the paint and asbestos in the original panes of glass.)
➢ Costs to repair the approximately 1,000 - square -foot structure are estimated to be higher
than the LMCIT coverage limit. Additionally, many of the historical aspects of the
structure were destroyed in the fire, including all but one of the original glass windows,
the built -in voting booths and the flooring.
➢ The City has a $25,000 per occurrence deductible. If the Council chooses to rebuild the
structure in some fashion, the City must first incur $25,000 in costs before the LMCIT
pays up to $85,915 for the remainder of the rebuilding costs. If the City decides not to
rebuild the structure, the LMCIT would pay the City $85,915 for its loss.
➢ While the fire damage is unfortunate, it allows the City the opportunity to think
strategically about the best way to tell its story, in keeping with the Council's goal to
establish a message that clearly defines and identifies Eagan. Additionally, the Council
can turn this unpleasant circumstance into an opportunity to connect with and engage the
community. Community members, including the Historical Society, have voiced a desire
to raise funds to assist with the restoration /reconstruction /repurposing effort.
➢ Staff members have developed several scenarios for reconstruction, replacement or
repurposing the Old Town Hall structure and contents. All rebuilding scenarios would
need to meet current building code regulations, including the installation of a fire
suppression system. When available, rough cost estimates are provided (most contractors
are reluctant to estimate cost without design specifications). The options are outlined
below in no particular order. This is not an exhaustive list of scenarios and staff is
prepared to research additional options per the request of the Finance Committee and
City Council.
1. Reconstructing Old Town Hall, reusing parts of the existing structure
• While much of the building is beyond repair, the City could salvage approximately
two and a half walls and rebuild the rest of the structure with new materials. The City
has received a rough estimate of $130,000 for the construction work.
• If there is a desire to rebuild using materials of the same vintage as the Old Town
Hall, the cost will be two to three times higher than the $130,000 estimate.
Community volunteers could potentially be enlisted to raise funds for the purchase of
vintage materials.
2. Building a new, similarly sized structure
• The salvageable portions of 1914 Old Town Hall that are historic include one original
window and the original potbellied stove. Those elements could be part of a display
in a new structure of similar size.
• Because a new structure can be designed to use standard sized windows, doors and
other materials, the cost to rebuild a new, 1,000 - square -foot structure is expected to
be less than the cost to reconstruct with parts of the existing structure (approximately
2
$100,000 to $125,000). However, if bathrooms were added to the new structure, the
estimated cost is $150,000.
• There may be concerns with security at the current Old Town Hall location. There is
space on the Municipal Center campus to build a replacement facility. Additional
costs associated with moving the location of the structure include grading and running
utilities to the site and installing sidewalks and landscaping.
3. Preserving parts of Old Town Hall, taking down existing structure and creating a
historical display in another City location
• The insurance settlement could be used to construct an historical display within
another City facility. For example, the City Hall lobby, which no longer houses a
receptionist, could be renovated to hold professionally made historical displays.
• The cost to renovate an existing space will vary depending on the scope of the
renovation. The cost of a historical display will also vary depending on its content.
• Because Old Town Hall also functioned as a storage space, this option would
necessitate carving out a storage area for the Historical Society in a City facility.
Costs would be incurred to retrofit an area with storage and workspace equipment.
• As a point of comparison, the history wall and mounted photographs installed at the
Fire Safety Center cost approximately $25,000. The historical display area was
created in -house with materials already owned by the City.
4. Maintain the front faVade of the Old Town Hall and create a purpose -built facility
behind it
The front entrance wall of Old Town Hall could be saved. A new structure could be
built behind it with display space, archival space and workspace.
To accommodate three separate activities — a museum area, storage space and
workspace — the new structure would likely be larger than the current structure.
Further assessment would be needed to determine the optimal amount of space. If the
new structure were 1,500 square feet (one and a half times larger than the existing
structure), the estimated construction cost for the new building would be $150,000 to
$225,000. This estimate does not include costs for saving the old front fagade and
integrating it into the new structure.
5. Move Historical Society operations into the Fire Administration building
The Fire Administration building could be used for Historical Society display space,
storage space and workspace. The building would adequately contain Historical
Society activities and the remaining space could be reserved for current and future
storage or office space needs.
When the Fire Safety Center was constructed in 2010 -2011, the financing package
included funding from the Community Investment Fund. The Fire Administration
building was to be sold and proceeds from the sale were to be returned to the
Community Investment Fund.
• Fire Administration is currently on the market for $1,575,000. The City's listing
agreement with Cassidy Turley is effective until July 31, 2014. If the City chooses to
keep the property and terminate the listing agreement, the agreement requires a
$9,450 payment to Cassidy Turley.
• If the Council chooses to retain Fire Administration, the insurance settlement could
be used to outfit the building with displays /shelving /workspace for the Historical
Society. The settlement could also be deposited into the Community Investment
Fund.
ATTACHMENTS (0):
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FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013
12:40 P.M.
EAGAN ROOM
Committee Members Present: Mayor Maguire and Councilmember Bakken
Staff Present: City Administrator Osberg, Assistant City Administrator Miller, Communications
Director Garrison, Finance Director Pepper, City Clerk/Admin Services Coordinator Scipioni,
and Communications Coordinator Foote.
REVIEW POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR FIRE -DAMAGED OLD TOWN HALL
In addition to recommending that Old Town Hall be winterized (shrink wrapped), the committee
recommended staff further explorc flic folfovying options,
1. Add an addition to City Hall or the Eagan Community Center to create new historical
display and storage space.
a. Consider a compartmentalized addition/renovation to serve as a history museum
(space to have historic feel, but take advantage of modern amenities such as
parking, bathrooms, HVAC, etc.).
b. Consider using the existing front fagade of Old Town Hall in the new space.
2. Build a new, similarly sized structure somewhere on the municipal campus.
a. The consensus was new materials would be used, perhaps incorporating some
salvaged materials from Old Town Hall into the new structure.
3. Move history display/storage to space within an existing City building (City Hall or
ECC), without any modifications to the building footprint.
4. Explore broader partnerships for creation of new historical display space.
a. Communicate with Dakota County about the use of the library for such space.
b. Inquire with Dakota County Historical Society about their current space needs
analysis and whether they have interest in historical display space in Eagan that
could incorporate the history of Eagan and the County as a whole.
c. Consider partnerships with local businesses to focus new space not only on City
history, but the history of local businesses as well (e.g. Thomson Reuters, Delta,
Lockheed Martin, BCBS, etc.)
The Committee agreed that an update would be provided to the Council to ensure they agree with
the committee's recommended next steps. Pending Council concurrence, staff is to further
research the options recommended by the committee and bring a summary of the options to a
future Council workshop. The Committee requested Communications Coordinator Foote seek
input from the Historical Society on their priorities, goals, etc. for the new space being
envisioned. The committee asked staff to report back on the discussion of the Historical Society
at the future workshop. It was also requested that a historian (e.g. MN Historical Society staff)
attend the Council workshop. Lastly, it was suggested that one or two local architects be
contacted to seek their feedback and suggestions on options the City may wish to consider when
rebuilding a new historical display space.