“The first phase of this was to look at those buildings and assess where they are in their lifespan and their quality and their serviceability to both citizens and staff," he said.
The assessment includes the City Hall, police and municipal court building; public works administrative office building; public works service center; and Tomball Fire Stations Nos. 1 and 2. Each building was given a score out of 10, Scott said. The service center received a 2, the lowest score of the assessed buildings, and Station No. 2 received an 8, the highest score of the assessed buildings. According to Scott's presentation, City Hall and the service center are the oldest municipal buildings, having been constructed in 1974 and 1984, respectively.
Functionality issues with the buildings studied include inadequate space or amenities, municipal buildings located in residential areas, antiquated facilities, a lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act—due to the buildings' ages—and unwelcoming environments to citizens, Scott said.
"The next step for us is to prepare what we call program requirements, which is a list of spaces that each of these departments needs to provide adequate space for the next 15-20 years," he said. "We'll also give you an idea of what the cost of those types of facilities would be, and we could look at retrofitting or renovating what you have, or we could look at a new construction."
City Council meets again Monday, Sept. 30, for a special meeting to cast the first of two votes on the city's proposed tax rate of $0.341455 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2019-20.
View the full presentation about the assessed facilities below.
