Despite concerns about the cost, the Fernley City Council on April 1 approved an $876,036 contract to develop a facilities master plan for the planning, programming and financing improvements to all of the city’s public facilities for the next 20 years.
Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects, LTD (TSK) will lead the effort, serving as the main consultant leading overall project management, and Kimley-Horn (KH) will assist TSK with all non-architectural services, according to a staff report on the item.
The scope of work in the contract is to prepare a comprehensive evaluation and long-range planning effort covering all major city-owned facilities, including city hall, the chamber of commerce, the Community Response and Resource Center, the historic Fernley-Lassen Train Depot, the shop and fleet yard on Cottonwood Lane and other public works and utility department buildings, the staff report said.
Cody Wagner, chairman of the Fernley Community Foundation, first raised the cost issue during public comment, saying though he understands the need to plan, with this amount of money he would prefer that the city would actually do some things rather than plan for things.
Councilwoman Felicity Zoberski said she had some of the same concerns about the cost when the item came up for consideration.
Bill Denis of TSK responded by saying such a plan is “a really important tool” for a city experiencing the kind of growth that Fernley is experiencing. It shows “how the city can meet the demands of its growth over five, 10 or 20 years without overextending yourselves economically,” he said.
Public Works Director Barry Williams said the city is in the position it is in today because of a lack of planning, with the city having outgrown its maintenance facilities 10 years ago and now outgrowing city hall as well.
He said having a plan means not having to defer maintenance or come up with large sums of money because the city did not plan for certain maintenance or expansion activities.
Councilman Joe Mendoza asked that if the city has to expand city hall, why not spend the $800,000 on expanding city hall rather than planning to do it.
Williams said that to expand city hall, the city needs to know what to expand, whether the public works department, the planning department, or maybe even a new department that might be considered.
“This gives us a high level view of what to look for and what to expect in the future,” Williams said.
TSK Architects will assess existing facility conditions, space adequacy and operational efficiency, identify deficiencies and project future needs based on population and staffing growth over 5-, 10- and 20-year horizons, according to the staff report.
The work includes developing conceptual improvement options, cost estimates, phased implementation strategies and evaluation of potential funding sources. The facilities master plan is expected to be completed and adopted by this December, the staff report said.
The council approved the facilities master plan contract with TSK in a 3-1 vote, with Mendoza opposed.
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