The Connection

City Hall’s iconic tower leans 7 degrees eastward.

Concrete deterioration exemplifies numerous problems, not least structural, with City Hall’s underground parking garage. Expansive drainage, waterproofing and other repairs will cost an estimated $6.5 million over FY19-27.

A cramped utility room underneath Gadsby’s Tavern. A dual equipment failure caused the room to flood the day prior to the task force’s tour. Gadsby's Tavern renovations will cost an estimated $6.8 million over FY19-27.

A truck backing off a Duke Street intersection into Fire Station 207 exemplifies difficulties the fire department faces in several of its facilities. The city wants to relocate station 207, the city’s busiest, farther west. The city says the station also needs additional vehicles and parking bays, as well as space for additional personnel. The project will cost an estimated $18.2 million over FY19-27 — the third most expensive city facility project under the Task Force’s consideration. Including three others, new fire department facilities will cost an estimated $43.1 million over FY19-27.

The city’s current vehicle wash site is insufficient to ensure that pollutant-tainted wash water stays out of the storm sewers and waterways. This means that the city is not currently complying with relevant environmental permits. A new indoor wash facility that “captures and cleans, and not just discharge[s]” wash water would enable the city to “catch up to those requirements,” said Jeremy McPike, the city’s director of general services.

A new 50 meter pool at the Chinquapin Aquatics Center would cost an estimated $16.4 million over FY19-27 — the fourth most expensive city facility project under the task force’s consideration. Main project impetuses include increasing program capacity and enabling home high school swim meets. Including Old Town Pool renovations, pools would cost an estimated $21.9 million over FY19-27.

The city wants to replace the current West End firing range, which allow local firearms training for police and sheriff’s deputies, with a new indoor facility. The project will cost an estimated $25 million over FY19-27 — the second most expensive city facility project under the task force’s consideration. Main project impetuses include the safety hazards of lead dust exposure and the risk of escaping bullets or ricochets. As of Aug. 15, the city manager announced that the range’s closure pending a safety review. The cost for officers to train elsewhere will be “substantial,” he said in a memo.

A list of activities at the Lee Center’s city-operated senior day care facility. The Lee Center, also home to a variety of other city programs, is the city’s second busiest recreation complex. It is also a possible site for a temporary school — “swing space” — while permanent schools undergo renovation or construction. The center’s conversion to accommodate students — the school system’s top priority project — would cost an estimated $22 million in FY19. The trade-off would be the reduction or elimination of current city programs and the revenues they produce.