Admin Committee Minutes 2002 02-06-02 Special Meeting UNITED CITY OF YORKVII.LE
SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING
ARCHITECT INTERVIEWS
WEDNESDAY, February 6, 2002
6 :00 P.M.
In attendance:
Alderwoman Rose Spears Alderwoman Valerie Bard (o l3- a
Mayor Art Prochaska Administrator Tony Graff
Guests:
See attached sign in sheet.
KLUBER, SKAHAN & ASSOCIATES
Tom Lindblom, Construction Administrator for Kluber, Skahan & Associates (KS +A)
and Chairman of the Yorkville Plan Commission introduced the architect firm. He
explained that two and a half years ago he retired from Waubonsee Community College
where he was responsible for new construction and remodeling. While at Waubonsee, he
worked with engineers John and Mike Kluber who started the company in 1988. In 1995
they expanded the business by bringing in architects. Upon his retirement they asked him
to work for them and because he was comfortable with their work he did. He stated that
he worked with many engineers and that the founders of the firm, were two of the best he
worked with.
He turned the floor over to Edward Skahan, Vice President of KS +A. Mr. Skahan stated
that he and Christopher Hansen, Project Architect, would be doing the work for the City.
He stated that there are five things they look at:
1. Goals and objectives
2. Form - interior and exterior character of building
3. Function -space requirements, equipment use, etc.
4. Cost - determine estimate from pre - design services
5. Time - present project schedule
During the process of the steps, the firm will analyze the existing facility. They will look
at the architectural, structural and mechanical systems. They will overlay this
information with what the City's needs are. This allows them to determine practical
design systems. They try to get the project from point A to point B as fast, efficiently and
accurately as possible.
Mr. Skahan showed an example of the type of booklet they compile for clients after they
obtain all the information needed. The booklet he presented was the preliminary report
for the Kendall County Building.
He turned the floor over to Christopher Hansen, Project Architect, who explained the
report. He stated that the booklet is laid out into the five sections as indicated by Mr.
Skahan:
• Objectives - what is trying to be achieved with the structure
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• Form - interior and exterior design objectives; application of codes; expansion
possibilities
• Function - interview staff, determine space needs, develop plan based on needs,
equipment, etc.
• Cost - develop preliminary statement of cost needed to complete work; as project
goes forward beyond programming stage, further cost are developed.
• Time frame - set up construction time frame;
Mr. Hansen & Mr. Skahan presented examples of KS +A projects such as the Aurora City
Hall renovation and expansion of the City Council Chambers; their bid for the Oswego
Public Works building; the Aurora Library addition on Eola Road which is currently
under construction; and an elementary school in Oswego.
They discussed the lump sum fee they quoted the city and showed examples of the type
of products that are provided for the fee. This fee is rebated to the city if it chooses to go
ahead with the project using KS +A.
They explained that everyone in their firm is licensed in their area of expertise. They do
not use draftsmen; all the professionals draft themselves. Mr. Lindblom indicated that
from a user's standpoint the firms computer system streamlines things. Everyone in the
building uses the same database so an architect makes a change, everyone is aware of it
immediately. When other firms make a change, the usually mail it to the engineer across
town who makes a change his change and mails it back. This wastes time and increases
costs.
In closing, Mr. Skahan stated that his firm wants this job. He assured the Committee that
they want to establish a relationship with the City of Yorkville so they will do what ever
it takes to make the City happy. He urged the Committee to call their client references to
see what their values and capabilities are.
They opened the floor for questions.
Alderwoman Spears stated that she read a letter which stated hat the City would receive a
floor and site plan. She asked if this was included in the fee that they quoted. They stated
that this was included.
Mayor Prochaska stated that the staff is looking at both the current and future needs and
at using as much of the existing square footage as possible.
Alderwoman Spears asked if as municipal architects working with a city hall, how does
this differ from working with a school. Mr. Skahan indicated that there were more
similarities than differences. He explained that the process is all about asking questions,
extracting information and understanding values and needs. Alderwoman Burd asked
what they see as the most important thing in a City Hall. Mr. Skahan stated that it would
be the public spaces such as the boardroom or council chamber.
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Alderwoman Spears asked if they found it difficult to determine the staffs needs versus
their wants. Mr. Skahan stated that he learned early on in his career to be sensitive to
people and to determine the difference between needs and wants. Mr. Lindblom
indicated that the he would not be involved in the project because he was too close to the
situation to be objective. The gentlemen doing the project won't know the personalities
or history so they can be more objective in the design.
There were no further questions and the presentation ended at 6:25 P.M.
CONCEPT 3 ARCHITECTS, P.C.
Mark Miller, President of Concept 3, presented the Committee with a company brochure,
renderings of City Hall and a proposal for design services. He reintroduced himself as
the architect of the current building and gave some background on himself. He explained
he had twenty -three years of experience as an architect and has worked with the
Yorkville School District for fifteen years. He was chosen to do the Life Safety Survey
for the State Capital Building in Springfield. He stated that public service is very
important to him and because of this he ran a successful referendum campaign for his
school district. He is also the involved in the Rotary Club.
Mr. Miller gave background information on his business, explaining that Concept 3
opened in 1997 and shortly after that they became involved with Yorkville. The firm is
actually two firms; Concept 3 Architects, which provides architectural engineering and
Concept 3 Environmental which provides complete environmental consulting services
such as dealing with asbestos in buildings. He stated that his firm has grown from three
employees to nine since they started. They remain careful of their growth and are careful
which projects they take on. As principal owner of the firm, Mr. Miller will be the
architect for the project and has a vested interest in keeping the customer satisfied.
He explained the benefits of continuing with his firm. He stated that he knows the
history behind every design decision that was made initially and this should aid in
communication. He knows the building intimately because he took part in the
construction phase. The same engineers who worked on the original construction will
work on this project so they are also familiar with the building. He also indicated that it
would be a cost savings to use his services because he could coordinate his school district
work with that of the city and split travel time cost between the two. He felt he worked
well with the City staff and Police Department. He also indicated that his firm has a
contract in place with the city, which the city attorney approved of and this could be
extended to include any new services.
He opened the floor for questions.
Mayor Prochaska asked when the building was originally done was any forethought
given to the lower level? Mr. Miller indicated that the lower level was thought to be used
as a community room with a kitchenette off to one side. He felt that now that the city
staff has been in the building, issues of space and use should be discussed in an effort to
utilize the space in the best way.
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Alderwoman Burd discussed comments made in Mr. Miller's letter dated November 5, j
2001 to Administrator Graff regarding moving the City Council Chambers to the lower
level. Mr. Miller explained that he had met with Mr. Graff and they discussed different
options. His letter was to sum up what they discussed but nothing was definite.
Alderwoman Burd expressed her concern over this suggestion because she felt that the
Council Chamber should be a focal point of City Hall.
Alderwoman Spears asked if he would prepare a preliminary project schedule and he said
he would.
Alderwoman Burd asked how he would handle staff ideas that that really don't go along
with what is usually done. Mr. Miller stated that he would discuss the idea and explain
why it might not work. Mayor Prochaska stated that he saw the architectural firm having
discussion with staff for ideas and recommendations but the final approval would be from
the City Council.
Alderwoman Spears asked if the original building was designed with future expansion in
mind and Mr. Miller answered yes.
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Administrator Graff stated that his meeting with Mr. Miller was an exploratory meeting
to discuss how the reorganization could be achieved at the lowest cost. He stated that
without knowing the goals and objectives of the Council, he erred in judgement by
discussing ideas with Mr. Miller. He realized afterwards that he should have brought this
to committee first.
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There was no further discussion and the presentation ended at 7:00 P.M.
WILLIAMS ARCHITECTS
Mark Bushhouse, Senior Associate, gave a brief overview of the firm, which specializes,
in municipal and recreational architecture. He went over the information in the booklet
that he presented to the Committee and the process that they use to determine the City's
needs which included data collection and analysis. He indicated that they develop several
design concepts, evaluate cost, needs and possible phasing of the project, as funds
become available. All the gathered information is then used to refine the recommended
design. He explained that their goal is to give their clients realistic and complete project
budgets.
He turned the floor over to David McEachern, architect for the firm. Mr. McEa.chern
stated that he graduated from Yorkville High School and grew up in the area. He
presented examples of Williams Architects abilities to analyze the project, assess the
City's needs and deliver a master plan for the future. He showed the Committee
drawings of a park plan for Yorkville, including ideas for bike paths which could link
both sides of the city; a site analysis of City Hall's present location and a "city campus"
indicating an addition to City Hall and a new location for the Police department. He also
included a 3 -D concept of an expanded City Hall.
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Mr. Bushhouse spoke about the planning aspects of Yorkville as it grows and the
Council's foresight in planning for expansion with the comprehensive plan. He indicated
that there are people in his firm who have made their careers out of knowing recreational
and municipal architecture. He stated that they are excited to bring their experience to
the city.
He went over some things that they have learned about Yorkville such as community
issues (increase in population, the small town atmosphere); existing site issues (parking,
traffic flow); building issues (materials, security, long/short term goals) and construction
issues (maintain operations, phase construction).
He opened the floor for questions.
Alderwoman Burd commented that she liked the idea of connecting the older part of the
city to the new with paths. Mr. McEachern stated that he thought of the paths in Geneva
& Batavia, which wind along and over the river. He wanted to bring the river and creeks
back into the community. The group discussed land along the river, parks and path ideas.
Mr. Bushhouse discussed opportunities to keep the downtown areas thriving. Mayor
Prochaska noted the revitalization of the downtown area since 1970. They discussed the
type of businesses drawn to the downtown area and the downtown study being done by
Northern Illinois University.
Alderwoman Spears asked if the firm had a price range and Mr. Bushhouse explained
that they estimate about 165 hours to do the scope of the study and the average hourly
charge is $110/hour. He indicated that the firm has done these types of studies for a
variety of cost ranges depending on the scope needed and fee should not be an issue.
Mayor Prochaska explained that the City was currently looking at short-term goals versus
a large master plan. He emphasized that currently the need was to find the best use of
City Hall without expanding the building.
The consensus of the Committee was that they liked Mr. McEa.chern's large -scale plans
for a city campus and trail system and appreciated his enthusiasm.
Alderwoman Spears asked if they would be able to work with the City on the utilization
of City Hall and Mr. Bushhouse said absolutely.
Mr. Graff asked if they broke out the man -hours needed to only analyze City Hall. Mr.
Bushhouse stated that he did not do this but based the cost on the whole project. He felt
they could probably cut the fees by at least one quarter.
Alderwoman Spears asked that if they do the study of the building, do they meet with
staff. Mr. Bushhouse stated that he would recommend the needs analysis, which they
would break down into phases.
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There were no further questions and Mr. Bushhouse stated that if they were the firm
chosen, they would discuss the scope of the study and firm up the cost involved. The
presentation ended at 7:50.
The Committee discussed the concept of a master plan for the future of Yorkville and the
firms presentation. It was decided that the Administration Committee would take a look
at the information presented by each firm and further discuss the information at the
February 17, 2002 meeting. They could narrow the choice down and have two firms give
a presentation at a Committee of the Whole meeting.
Meeting was adjourned at 8 :15 P.M.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jackie Milschewski, City Clerk
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SPECIAL
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
MEETING
February 6, 2442
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