CC MEETING: March 3, 2015
DATE: February 24, 2015
TO: Leonard Martin, City Manager
FROM: John G. Murphy, Fire Chief
Title
Consider Authorizing The City Manager To Approve An Inter-Local Agreement For A Joint Fire Training Center For The Cities Of Carrollton, Coppell, And Farmers Branch.
Body
BACKGROUND:
This agenda item is to enter into an interlocal agreement with the cities of Coppell and Farmers Branch to construct and operate a joint fire training center. The estimated construction cost of the training center is $2,407,050.00, with Carrollton's portion being $1,191,490.00, or 49.5% of the total cost. Carrollton Fire Rescue (CFR) secured an initial $500,000 in the November 2013 bond referendum and has $691,490 allocated in its FY 2015 budget to cover the design and initial construction cost of the training center.
The interlocal agreement will outline each city's financial and operational responsibilities for the project. Items in the interlocal agreement include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) Initial term of the agreement is twenty (20) years with appropriate renewal terms and early termination terms and processes identified.
2) In the event of termination by Farmers Branch, all funds held under the agreement shall be transferred to the remaining cities to be used in carrying out the obligations set forth in the agreement. Further, the remaining parties shall have a continuing easement on the property in the event Farmers Branch is no longer a party to the agreement.
3) Ownership title to the facility, not including property, and shared capital costs for initial design, construction and equipping are allocated as follows:
A. Carrollton: 49.5% undivided interest.
B. Coppell: 26.8% undivided interest.
C. Farmers Branch: 23.7% undivided interest.
4) Carrollton and Coppell are not required to pay their respective shares of the shared capital costs for the initial design, construction and equipping of the facility until Farmers Branch conveys to Carrollton and Coppell a non-exclusive perpetual easement authorizing the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, replacement, remodeling, use and operation of the facility and, to the extent necessary, direct access to Farmers Branch's adjacent property for the purpose of providing ingress and egress to the facility.
5) The Facility Executive Board will be made up of the fire chiefs from each of the three cities. The fire chiefs may each appoint an alternate who has the right to vote when the fire chief is absent. The approval of any matter considered by the Facility Executive Board shall require the affirmative vote of three members of the Facility Executive Board.
6) A Facility Operations Committee will be established to oversee the implementation of the fire fighter training programs provided at the training facility.
7) The Facility Executive Board shall submit an annual budget no later than 180 days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year setting forth the anticipated shared capital cost, shared operational cost, and non-shared operational cost to the city manager of each city for review, approval, and inclusion of the amount of each city's respective share of the Annual Facility Budget into the cities' respective annual general municipal budgets.
8) Farmers Branch is the responsible party for construction of the facility, purchasing facility equipment and providing certain administrative services, including the purchase of insurance coverage for the facility.
9) The Coppell fire chief, or designee, is the responsible party for preparing the master schedule relating to the use of the facility.
10) The Carrollton fire chief, or designee, is the responsible party for coordinating and inspecting the repair and maintenance of the facility.
11) The agreement establishes the priority for the use of the revenues from third party users of the facility.
A. Consumables used by the third party.
B. After deducting the amount required by (A) above, fifty percent (50%) of the net amount shall be placed in a Shared Operational Cost reserve fund.
C. The remaining fifty percent (50%) of the net amount shall be placed in a Shared Capital Cost reserve fund.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Carrollton's proportionate share for the design and initial construction of the joint fire training facility is $1,191,490.00. Available funding includes $500,000 from 2013 bond funds and $691,490 from CFR's FY15 annual budget.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY:
The construction and use of the joint fire training facility will provide enhanced live-fire training opportunities for firefighters from the three cities in a safe and controlled environment. The experiences gained in live-fire training will result in personnel arriving on the scene with improved confidence and abilities to take quick actions to bring the situation under control. Other benefits of the joint training facility include: the ability for all three cities to train more frequently together; no longer will firefighters have to travel several miles to obtain live fire training; and it will keep CFR's resources closer to home for immediate response if required.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION/ACTION DESIRED:
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into a joint fire training center interlocal cooperation agreement among the cities of Carrollton, Coppell and Farmers Branch to construct and operate a joint fire training center.