City of Auburn Facility Assessment Finds Inadequacies

At Monday evening’s council meeting, Senior Project Engineer Matt Larson and representatives of the consulting firm Makers Architecture and Urban Design presented findings from a recent facility needs study that is part of a larger facility master plan project currently underway.

The study is an assessment of existing City facilities to determine if current buildings are meeting the needs of the City and if they will continue to do so as Auburn’s population, and associated City resources, increase.

“This assessment is intended to identify proactive steps to address growth and support Auburn’s future generations,” Director of Public Works Ingrid Gaub said. “We know that our service needs for residents will increase in the coming decades. Completing a plan of this nature allows the City to be judicious with its investments in order to meet those needs in the most economical way by both increasing efficiency and reducing overall maintenance burdens and costs.”

The master plan process began in July of 2019 with a focus on maintenance and operations facilities for Public Works and Parks, as well the Justice Center, which currently houses the Auburn Police Department and King County District Court—areas where an existing need can already be seen. The needs assessment included interviews with staff regarding facility issues and challenges, industry best practices, and the anticipated impacts of the city’s projected growth. Site tours were also conducted to assess the condition and function of the facilities.

The study found that while yard and storage functions at Public Works and Parks maintenance and operations centers could be reviewed for some operational efficiencies, both facilities are already far under the needed square footage for current service needs and that the deficiency would only continue to grow as services expanded to meet the city’s growing needs. Using a projected 20 percent growth rate based on similar growth estimates from the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the study found that some facilities would be operating with as much as a 67 percent deficiency of space by 2023 and that the Public Works facility, in particular, was already facing a 60 percent shortfall in needed square footage.

The study also found that inadequacies in space and layout at the Justice Center left the facility unable to support current staff, an issue that will only become more critical as the city’s population continues to grow. In addition to desk and office space for patrol officers, command staff, investigators and the records team, the building is also home to an armory, evidence storage, locker rooms, and courtrooms that process more than 100,000 cases annually.

“This assessment provides an important opportunity for us to make informed decisions about what resources we are putting toward these facilities now and how we can plan accordingly to ensure that we fully anticipate how growth needs will impact funding priorities,” said Gaub.

The next phase of the plan will include a look at possible alternatives for development at existing sites as well as cost estimations for potential facility moves.

A follow-up presentation with findings from an alternative site assessment is scheduled for the council in May.

The above is a press release from the City of Auburn.  The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable.