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Adams 12 Five Star Schools and the City of Thornton's Consolidated Service Center

PROJECT Project Title: Adams 12 Five Star Schools and the City of Thornton's Consolidated Service Center
NominationDate: 12/21/2011 11:20 AM
Local Government: City of Thornton
Cooperating Government: 
Summary:
The City of Thornton (City) and Adams 12 Five Star Schools (Adams 12) have jointly evaluated a number of facility sharing concepts over the years in recognition of the operational efficiencies and synergy that strategic consolidation of some operations could yield. After extensive meetings and negotiations sessions, the City and Adams 12 successfully implemented a project to combine fueling, vehicle wash, ice control material storage, and commercial driver’s license (CDL) training and testing course facilities. This combined facility, known as the Consolidated Service Center (CSC), is located on a 5.8 acre tract of land located between the City’s Infrastructure Maintenance Center (IMC) and Adams’s 12 Support Services Center (SSC), which is also near the future Eastlake Station of FasTracks’ North Metro Corridor. The CSC is jointly owned and operated by the two entities. The construction phase of the project achieved substantial completion on March 31, 2011, and it has resulted in a number of benefits for both parties. The economies of scale and efficiencies of having one facility serve both entities results in tax dollars savings for both Thornton citizens and the Adams 12 community. Adams 12 also has the benefit of having their transportation administration and fleet maintenance operations adjacent to their Educational Support Center (ESC) and closer to the geographical center of the district. The project also resulted in optimal land use at both the new CSC site and at the old site vacated by Adams 12 at the intersection of 144th Avenue and I-25.
Problem:
Both entities were faced with replacing aging facilities and siting them in appropriate locations. Both entities also recognized the potential savings each could generate by co-locating certain facilities that could be jointly built and used, rather than built and used individually. In addition, the City recognized the value of redeveloping the property owned by Adams 12 located at the southeast corner of 144th Avenue and I-25, which housed their aging transportation operations and fleet maintenance operations. The City was interested in consolidating the Adams 12 property with property it already owned at the 144th Avenue and I-25 interchange in order to enhance the development potential of this prime interchange property to a higher and better use. Adams 12 recognized the future redevelopment value of the property at 144th and I-25, but the timing of the need to replace their existing transportation operations and fleet maintenance facilities didn’t coincide with favorable private sector development market conditions. The City already owned property for future expansion of its existing Infrastructure Maintenance Center (IMC), which was adjacent to the Adams 12 ESC. By utilizing this property for Adams 12’s new transportation operations and fleet maintenance facilities, they were also able to take advantage of the adjacency to their existing ESC, which is located at 128th Avenue and Claude Court. The parties entered into an initial Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the purchase by the City of Adams 12’s existing property at 144th and I-25 and the sale to Adams 12 of the City’s property adjacent to the Adams 12 ESC. The IGA also provided for the joint ownership of the consolidated facility site on a 5.8 acre tract of land and set out obligations of both parties related to the new CSC. A subsequent IGA was executed that further detailed the parties’ roles and responsibilities related to design, construction, and operation of the to-be-constructed CSC.
Description:
The initial project consisted of the design and construction of the CSC, which included a fueling facility, an automated vehicle wash facility, a manual equipment wash out pad, and a CDL training course, with a follow-on project focusing on the operation, maintenance, and future expansion of the CSC. The fueling facility consists of 14 fuel dispensers located on 3 islands covered by an illuminated canopy to allow for nighttime operations. It accommodates storage for 64,000 gallons of fuel, including unleaded, diesel, and E-85. The fuel dispensed is tracked with an electronic fuel management system which provides for accounting to each of the parties. The fully automated vehicle wash facility is sized to handle vehicles including passenger autos, school buses, fire trucks, and refuse trucks. The exterior manual equipment wash out facility was constructed for heavy duty cleaning of construction equipment. A 1.08-acre asphalt-paved CDL course was constructed to provide training and testing for both entities’ commercial drivers’ use. Additional land within the CSC has been set aside for future construction of an ice control material storage facility. In the interim, the parties have agreed to share the City’s existing ice control material storage facility at the IMC. The parties formed a committee to oversee the operation, maintenance, and future expansion of the CSC. In addition, the parties plan to offer the services to other third parties, such as other governmental entities and school districts, who are in need of fueling and vehicle wash facilities. The benefits of the project include the ability to construct a single facility instead of two separate facilities, which has obvious fiscal benefits to each party. The overall cost for the design and construction of the CSC was shared approximately 50% to each party. Similar cost sharing savings will accrue over time for the operation and maintenance of the CSC. The facilities vacated by Adams 12 at the 144th Avenue and I-25 interchange have been demolished and the property is currently being marketed for redevelopment. The relocation of the Adams 12 facilities, the property redevelopment, and the construction of the joint use facilities are consistent with the Metro Vision concept of encouraging local governments to establish intergovernmental agreements to address planning and service delivery issues in areas of mutual interest. It also is consistent with the Metro Vision concept to locate facilities to maximize their benefit and minimize their impact on existing and future development. Also, it is anticipated that the parcel of land located at 144th Avenue and I-25, particularly since is well located with favorable access, will be redeveloped with a higher intensity land use which is consistent with the densification goals of Metro Vision. The relocation of Adams 12 transportation facilities to a more central geographic location within the district will result in reduced greenhouse gas and other emissions through bus trip mileage reductions, which is another Metro Vision goal. The co-location of the new facilities with the existing facilities, which employs several hundred people, within walking distance of the future Eastlake Station of FasTrack’s North Metro Corridor, along with the realignment and extension of 126th Avenue and Lafayette Street along the north and east side of the project site, addresses Metro Vision’s transportation goal. The street reconfiguration provides better traffic flow, which will be especially important once the RTD North Metro rail line is operational to the station nearby in Eastlake. It should also be noted that the Eastlake area falls within an urban center, as designated by Metro Vision, and the new relocated facilities and the shared facility complements this urban center designation with the location of a job generating land use alongside the urban center.
Modification Details:
Not applicable. Original idea.

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