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Item 5.
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| City Council Work Session | |
| Date: | 09/20/2021 |
| Title: | City of Billings American Rescue Plan Funds |
| Presented by: | Andy Zoeller, Finance Director |
| Department: | Finance |
| Presentation: | Yes |
RECOMMENDATION
No council action is needed at this time. Staff will provide an update and introduction to Council on three projects staff is considering recommending, to be funded with ARPA funds. Future Council action related to ARPA funds will occur with the adoption of the Capital Improvement Plan, future Budgets, and Contract Awards.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
On July 6, 2021, Staff provided City Council with information relating to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars that have been awarded to the City. At that time Staff informed Council of 3 buckets of ARPA funds one was direct federal grant made to the City and the other two were State of Montana Grants for Water and Wastewater projects. The main focus of the presentation in July was on the State programs, specifically those that were time sensitive. The main focus of the presentation on September 20, will be to provide Council with information related to three projects that the staff are recommending be considered for funding with ARPA dollars. These projects are:
Radio Communication System
The system currently employed by the City of Billings is utilized to facilitate emergency response and operational traffic to the cities existing emergency services, some of their partner agencies, and several city departments to facilitate their respective business, such as public works, transit, and other services. It is the cities only source of reliable 2-way communication to facilitate emergency radio communications. There is no back-up system present.
This system will experience an “end-of-life” sequence beginning in the Spring of 2023 during which time our existing maintenance and service agreement will expire, and manufacturers will no longer be producing both hardware nor software for this system. This system, when purchased, relied heavily on a patchwork framing to facilitate its function and consequently, possesses numerous “fail-points” which currently exhibit age and maintenance needs routinely, often time to the point of failure. As we approach the spring of 2023, and the termination of the service and maintenance agreement of our existing system, the city will be left with much aged communications system of which its users and operators have little confidence in operating without sustain manufacturer support. The absence of a guaranteed method of communication link between the citizens and their responders, operated by an emergency communications center, represents a critical project in order to sustain emergency response service from our fire, medical, and law enforcement department respectively.
The request present represents entering a partnership with the State of Montana, Department of Justice, which is administered by the Montana Highway Patrol. This system is funded by the State and is intended to provide statewide interoperable communications to all manners of emergency service. While we often think of boundaries, it is becoming more common that the cities emergencies begin elsewhere and come here, while our emergencies may begin here but often end up in other jurisdictions. This system is present already inside of the City's communications center, housed by partnership and termed by MOU allowing the City to “hook” to this system and utilize it.
In order to utilize this system, the City must purchase both hardware and software and the corresponding elements of a dynamic communications system which would allow the cities departments with radio communications needs, to “hook” into the existing system and utilize it similar in nature as to if the City were to purchase and utilize its own, but at a much greater costs. For example, the state-owned “core”, which is the computer operated brain of the radio system, would represent at least a cost of an additional $5-$7 Million to replicate something that is present now, for free.
A radio system suitable for a growing city such as Billings is dynamic and serves as the keystone system for numerous other compatible functionalities. The cost of the project includes all materials and equipment necessary to migrate the City from its current communications platform to that which would serve the city for the next 15-20 years.
An additional bonus of establishing this system inside of the City of Billings is the added interoperability and shared resource use established as a result of the technical capacity of the system. The City would experience an increase in the amount of radio communication coverage using other agencies physical sites, and the cities fire and law enforcement responders would, with prior planning, experience immediate and uninhibited radio communications with all existing other local, county, state, and federal responders both inside and outside of the city. This is a feature that is as of now, not possible with our current system.
Pursuing this purchase and forming the partnership with the State of Montana presents the City with a “force multiplier” option in which the City would establish elements of emergency response necessary for its proper function without experiencing the total cost of a complete system overhaul, and the added annual operations and maintenance costs.
Westend Water Treatment Plant Park Amenities
The Billings Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is the only source of potable drinking water for over 110,000 residents. If the WTP goes down in the summer, in approximately 4-5 hours pressure issues will begin in the distribution system. In approximately 8-10 hours, parts of the City will be without water. The addition of a water treatment plant and raw water storage reservoir will increase the amount of allowable downtime from hours to approximately 4 months. The West End Reservoir will be constructed after the water treatment plant. Failure to complete the raw water storage reservoir could result in the inability for the City of Billings to grow.
The project also includes approx. $7.5M of park land use items (trails, docks, picnic areas, beach, etc.) to create a premier recreational amenity that are not eligible expenses for the City's water fund.
Law and Justice Center Build-out Costs
The facility needs of the criminal justice system have been one of the critical components of our discussions to improve the safety of Billings. Prior to receiving CARES and ARPA dollars, the City planned to include a bond sale, along with the public safety levy, to resolve space deficiencies. The 2020 Center for Public Safety Police Department report emphasizes the effeciancy problems the city has with disjointed inadequate facilities. Each discussion the city has had regarding the purchase of the Stillwater building has included using ARPA dollars to complete the build out of the building. Based on the best information we have today, staff estimates we will need to use approximately $6.0M of ARPA funds to complete buildout of the Stillwater building as the City's law and justice center/city hall.
Radio Communication System
The system currently employed by the City of Billings is utilized to facilitate emergency response and operational traffic to the cities existing emergency services, some of their partner agencies, and several city departments to facilitate their respective business, such as public works, transit, and other services. It is the cities only source of reliable 2-way communication to facilitate emergency radio communications. There is no back-up system present.
This system will experience an “end-of-life” sequence beginning in the Spring of 2023 during which time our existing maintenance and service agreement will expire, and manufacturers will no longer be producing both hardware nor software for this system. This system, when purchased, relied heavily on a patchwork framing to facilitate its function and consequently, possesses numerous “fail-points” which currently exhibit age and maintenance needs routinely, often time to the point of failure. As we approach the spring of 2023, and the termination of the service and maintenance agreement of our existing system, the city will be left with much aged communications system of which its users and operators have little confidence in operating without sustain manufacturer support. The absence of a guaranteed method of communication link between the citizens and their responders, operated by an emergency communications center, represents a critical project in order to sustain emergency response service from our fire, medical, and law enforcement department respectively.
The request present represents entering a partnership with the State of Montana, Department of Justice, which is administered by the Montana Highway Patrol. This system is funded by the State and is intended to provide statewide interoperable communications to all manners of emergency service. While we often think of boundaries, it is becoming more common that the cities emergencies begin elsewhere and come here, while our emergencies may begin here but often end up in other jurisdictions. This system is present already inside of the City's communications center, housed by partnership and termed by MOU allowing the City to “hook” to this system and utilize it.
In order to utilize this system, the City must purchase both hardware and software and the corresponding elements of a dynamic communications system which would allow the cities departments with radio communications needs, to “hook” into the existing system and utilize it similar in nature as to if the City were to purchase and utilize its own, but at a much greater costs. For example, the state-owned “core”, which is the computer operated brain of the radio system, would represent at least a cost of an additional $5-$7 Million to replicate something that is present now, for free.
A radio system suitable for a growing city such as Billings is dynamic and serves as the keystone system for numerous other compatible functionalities. The cost of the project includes all materials and equipment necessary to migrate the City from its current communications platform to that which would serve the city for the next 15-20 years.
An additional bonus of establishing this system inside of the City of Billings is the added interoperability and shared resource use established as a result of the technical capacity of the system. The City would experience an increase in the amount of radio communication coverage using other agencies physical sites, and the cities fire and law enforcement responders would, with prior planning, experience immediate and uninhibited radio communications with all existing other local, county, state, and federal responders both inside and outside of the city. This is a feature that is as of now, not possible with our current system.
Pursuing this purchase and forming the partnership with the State of Montana presents the City with a “force multiplier” option in which the City would establish elements of emergency response necessary for its proper function without experiencing the total cost of a complete system overhaul, and the added annual operations and maintenance costs.
Westend Water Treatment Plant Park Amenities
The Billings Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is the only source of potable drinking water for over 110,000 residents. If the WTP goes down in the summer, in approximately 4-5 hours pressure issues will begin in the distribution system. In approximately 8-10 hours, parts of the City will be without water. The addition of a water treatment plant and raw water storage reservoir will increase the amount of allowable downtime from hours to approximately 4 months. The West End Reservoir will be constructed after the water treatment plant. Failure to complete the raw water storage reservoir could result in the inability for the City of Billings to grow.
The project also includes approx. $7.5M of park land use items (trails, docks, picnic areas, beach, etc.) to create a premier recreational amenity that are not eligible expenses for the City's water fund.
Law and Justice Center Build-out Costs
The facility needs of the criminal justice system have been one of the critical components of our discussions to improve the safety of Billings. Prior to receiving CARES and ARPA dollars, the City planned to include a bond sale, along with the public safety levy, to resolve space deficiencies. The 2020 Center for Public Safety Police Department report emphasizes the effeciancy problems the city has with disjointed inadequate facilities. Each discussion the city has had regarding the purchase of the Stillwater building has included using ARPA dollars to complete the build out of the building. Based on the best information we have today, staff estimates we will need to use approximately $6.0M of ARPA funds to complete buildout of the Stillwater building as the City's law and justice center/city hall.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may provide feedback to staff on the proposed projects, and may recommend that staff considers other projects for use with ARPA funds. No decision will be made at the City Council Work Session.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The Federal Government has awarded the City $15,940,314 in ARPA funds. The City of Billings has received 1/2 of the award, $7,970,157, and will receive the second half in May of 2022. The City Council will be asked to make decisions in the future (CIP & Budgets) about allocating and spending these funds on eligible projects.
SUMMARY
This discussion will not result in any final decisions. In fact, we are not looking to limit potential uses of the ARPA dollars at this time. Rather, the discussion is meant to introduce three critical projects that currently do not have adequate funds. Staff is working through the process of updating the City's Capital Improvement, Technology Replacement and Equipment Replacement plans. Each of these plans will be presented to the Council in November and December for the Council's consideration and will include recommended uses of ARPA funds.