Evanston’s Finance and Budget Committee Tuesday night will again wrestle with the challenge of how to find roughly $200 million to rehab or replace four aging city buildings.
The projected cost of the four projects has actually declined modestly since a staff report presented last June.
At that time the estimated projected cost for solving issues at the Civic Center, the Police Fire Headquarters, the Service Center and the Noyes Cultural Arts Center ranged from $145 million to $275 million — which would average out to a cost of $210 million.
Now, after a more detailed analysis of needs and options for the civic center and public safety buildings from the AECOM consulting firm and revised staff estimates for the service center, the latest cost estimates range from $173 million to $213 million — averaging out to a cost of $193 million.
In a memo to the committee, City Engineer Lara Biggs says the city might be able to use grants and tax credits to cover 15% to 25% of the total project cost — but the rest likely would have to be funded through issuing new bond debt and that the size of the projects is large enough that the city would need to consider increasing its overall debt limit to fund them.
However, Biggs added, if the council decided to permanently relocate city hall offices to rented downtown office space it would avoid the need to issue debt for that project.
Rent — although it might be similar in amount to debt payment for a new or renovated civic center — would be treated as an operating expense, reducing the total borrowing needs.
Biggs says the rental option isn’t feasible for the police and fire headquarters building because of the specialized facilities needed there.
The likely difficulties of coming up with a solution to the funding issue were illustrated Monday night when Ald. Bobby Burns (5th) tried to overturn the City Council’s vote three weeks ago to sign a 15-year lease for city office space at 909 Davis St. downtown.
Burns, who said he would have preferred a 10-year lease term, had voted for the lease last month.
After being told that a motion to reconsider the vote was out of order, he sought to place a special order of business on the Feb. 26 agenda to consider the shorter lease term.
That motion failed on a 4-3 vote with Alds. Clare Kelly and Tom Suffredin voting to support the Burns motion.
At the previous meeting Ald. Devon Reid (8th) had voted against the 15-year lease term. Reid was absent from Monday night’s meeting.
That suggests there are likely to be sharp — and perhaps shifting — divisions among council members on any planned course forward.
Flexibility rather than Spendability: Location! Services offered at Levy S Center are largely duplicates offered throughout EV City at non profit and business venues whether physical activities, meetings, learning or City services–the YMCA, Crown Ctr, Library, Park District, etc. Current Levy Center building space can be diminished to become a property build out or up for the Evanston Police Department –a better independent servicing location near major artery of Main Street access off of Dodge. Existing easy access to public transportation, large parking lot, extra land for an EVPD build Up or Out. Also consider what EV area statistics show highest rate Police calls? Sell, or demolish current building for City. Respectful second communique on this singular thrifty attempt at creative thinking from senior resident.