Leonia Borough Facility Construction Overview

June 2018 summary of the new construction for Police/Court/Borough Hall facility.

1. Borough Hall / Police / Court
Construction Overview
Prepared June 2018
1. Needs Identification

2. Process for Finding
Options
3. Recommendation

4. Benefits/Details

5. Next Steps
Presentation Agenda

2. 1
Identifying Needs

3. 1a. Leonia Police Headquarters
1) The storage of evidence is out of
compliance with the NJ Attorney General’s
Guidelines & NJ State fire codes.

2) Size is inadequate. Previously used as a
DPW garage, at least 4,000 additional
square feet are needed for satisfactory
functioning and safety.

3) Leonia PD cannot be accredited with
the Headquarters in this condition.

4) Building lacks security features that
would protect the public and officers by
ensuring prisoner security.

5) Inadequate facilities for officers,
including no privacy for changing rooms,
women’s changing room inside the men’s
and no dedicated break room.

6. Location is problematic. Bringing
prisoners in near park isn’t ideal, and
officers compete with parking lot traffic
when using the one exit for emergencies.
Unacceptable evidence
storage facilities
Leonia Police
Department Kitchen

4. 1b. Leonia Court Annex
1) Leonia has been cited by the NJ
Administrative Office of Courts for
being out of compliance and lacking basic
security features for two years

2) Small interior space costs taxpayers
more money by requiring additional
court sessions to meet demand

3) Does not adequately provide space
for public meetings, such as Mayor and
Council and other boards and committees
which use the space regularly

4) No way to expand. The building’s
footprint and design make it expensive to
expand, bring up to compliance, or use
for anything else in the future

5) Senior space is in disrepair, and
suffers from water damage and other
issues that impact its usability
Lines forming outside a Court
session due to lack of space inside

5. 1c. Borough Hall
1) Environmentally problematic
storage in a basement with mold,
asbestos and other potential health and
safety hazards that make long-term use or
renovation cost-prohibitive for the Borough.

2) Poorly laid out public
interaction space, where people visit
six separate service windows, with tiny
lobby/waiting area for each.

3) No security features to protect
files, sensitive documents or allow
controlled public after-hours access.

4) Inadequate meeting space
Hampering borough operations, limiting
privacy during meetings, and limiting use
by public committee meetings.

5) High HVAC inefficiency
Due to old and costly energy-inefficient
building, costs and energy loss are high.
Borough Hall has inadequate
space for the public with even
just a few people at a window
Borough Hall’s deteriorating building conditions
will become increasingly expensive to repair

6. 2
Process for evaluating options

7. 2. Process for evaluating options
2017
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2018
January
February
March
April
May

●‘Facilities Committee’ meetings were held (nine in total),
discussing the finances, potential site locations, and
preliminary building plan footprints

●Preliminary sites were identified - 245 and 247 Ft Lee Rd.
and a bond was authorized for the assistance in buying
those properties
●Appraisals were conducted on properties


●Committee agrees to work with new Administrator and
hire Architect to perform needs assessment on existing
spaces, review site options, preliminary building footprints
and more
●Committee meets on three different occasions, reviewing
and evaluating options presented and worked on by
Admin and Architect over a six-week period of time
●Final options presented to committee, committee
evaluates and recommends to Mayor and Council the
option and ideas being discussed today

8. 2. Some questions in evaluating options
What facilities do we imagine
needing to upgrade in the future?
Does this plan help or hurt that?

What are the highest priority needs
right now?

What would get this project started,
and finished the quickest? What
could get in the way of that?

What’s the total taxpayer impact?
How can we minimize it?

How much does it cost to do
nothing? How much do other
alternate plans cost?

Can we use this as an opportunity to
improve public and other spaces or
functions (Such as for Seniors?)

What are the specific and quantifiable
needs for each department and use of
each building we are looking at
(Including floor plans, meeting rooms,
parking, storage, and more)

Can we ensure that these plans
integrate with the Master Plan?

How can we improve our
environmental impact with a new
construction?

9. 3
Recommended Option

10. 3. Recommended Option
Police, Court, and Borough
Hall on site of current Annex

1) Two stories (+ small basement)
2) Existing parking lot on Beechwood to
remain
3) “Squaring off” Magnolia place/Broad
intersection to add parking and/or green
space in existing “triangle.”
4) Potential of increased parking via sharing
with American Legion in the future
5) Allows sale (and preservation) of
Borough Hall, and puts it back on tax rolls
6) Provides for upgraded space for Seniors
by moving to renovated Ambulance space
7) Provides significant efficiency gain in
new building for work operations
8) Keeps police/municipal offices in
downtown

11. 4
Anticipated Benefits

12. Fastest timeline
No private property purchase
means major deficiencies can start
to get fixed without delay,
providing much needed relief for
Police and Court.
Saves over $2 million
Without purchasing private
property, over one million dollars is
saved, plus the savings from not
losing tax revenue, and potentially
selling public property which would
go back on tax rolls, netting
millions more savings over time.
Better use of space
Brings three building functions into
one, saving on future costs, reducing
HVAC inefficiency, and improving
flexibility of municipal owned space.

Improves public
access
This plan will allow for a more
streamlined experience for
residents when visiting Borough
Hall, decreasing the number of
service windows and increasing the
availability of public meeting
rooms and private meeting space.
Decreases energy
costs
Old buildings have high HVAC
costs, and this new building, aside
from being sustainability built, will
decrease energy costs over time
and could be LEED certified and
include green features.
Fixes significant
(safety/security) issues
Both the Police and Court have been
cited by the County and State as out of
compliance - this plan will fix all open
security and legal compliance issues.

Improves traffic,
pedestrian, & parking
This plan calls for improvement of
traffic and pedestrian access on
Broad Ave, and may result in more
parking spaces downtown with
several potential arrangements.
Improves Borough
operations
Borough Hall was not built for
municipal functions, and is
inadequate for today’s operations
with narrow hallways, fragmented
spaces, and no privacy for
employees to discuss or work on
sensitive issues
Many more
Plans are in their early stage, and
many details will get discussed,
decided, and implemented as
discussions continue!

4. Anticipated Benefits - Overview

13. 5
Timeline and Next Steps

14. 5. Next Steps
Committee discussion
and recommendation
Initial Guidance
Authorized
Planning/Evaluation
Approve and Develop
design & building specs
Public Discussion
Start project/Site-work
Put out to public bid
Select construction
company and team
June - Dec
Dec/Feb
Feb
March

15. Please visit leonianj.gov/NewMunicipalFacility to find
out more information and explore more resources!