CITY OF ORILLIA

TO: Council Committee

FROM: Bob Ripley, Interim City Manager/City Treasurer
DATE: June 14, 2011
SUBJECT: Space Enquiry For The New Library
Recommendation
THAT Committee receive this report for information.
Background
Council, at its meeting of June 6, 2011, requested a report regarding the possibility of
moving staff from the second and third floors of City Hall to the second floor of the new
Library.
The building being constructed is approximately 47,000 gross square feet. In this
space, however, is area currently allocated to community meeting rooms (1 ,488 sq.ft.),
the Farmers' Market (830 sq.ft.), Information Orillia (775 sq.ft.), the Cafe (613 sq.ft.),
and the large hallway adjoining these rooms. Netting these items leaves library space
of approximately 42,000 square feet.
Dividing the 1986 Ontario Public Library guideline of 0.6 gross square foot (gsf) of
library size per person of population served into the 42,000 square feet produces the
result that the building should be capable of serving a population of 70,000 people.
Using the DmA Planners suggested factor of 0.7 gsf/person results in a population of
60,000.
The City of Orillia's population is expected to grow to 41,000 by 2031. If the City
experienced growth at a rate of 2%/year in ensuing years, the City's population would
hit 70,000 in 2059, a full 48 years from today. Major components of the building would
need to be replaced long before the building was fully utilized.
Conversely, using the same factors, the City's current population of approximately
32,000 should be accommodated by a building of between 19,000 and 22,000 gsf.
Review of Space Requirements for the City
There are currently 88 City staff located on the second and third floors at 50 Andrew St.
South. Staff asked Lake Country Office Solutions to determine if the space available on
the second floor of the new Library building was sufficiently large enough to
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accommodate those people, and to provide a CAD sketch of the potential office layout.
Lake Country confirmed that there was enough space and provided the attached layout
labeled as Schedule 1.
Although all current staff from the second and third floors of City Hall can be
accommodated, there is limited space for files and large equipment such as plotters.
This same situation applies to 50 Andrew Street where floor loading is a constraint. The
library second floor space does not allow for future growth in staffing numbers.
Review of Space Available to the Public Library
If the City were to move to the second floor of the new building the space available to
the library would be the 3,000 square foot stack area in the basement, and the available
room on the first floor. It is anticipated that the space currently assigned for community
groups, the Farmers' Market and the cafe may have to be repurposed for library use. In
addition, portions of the City owned Central School, located one block north-east of the
new library building could be utilized for library programming.
Although no building layout has yet been designed, staff are confident that with the
basement space of 3,000 gsf, the first floor space of 22,870 gsf, and further space at
Central School, the current needs of the library can be met.
Townships of Oro-Medonte and Severn
Currently the Library Board provides contract library services to both Oro-Medonte and
Severn Townships. In the 2010 Orillia Public Library Annual Report, the Board claims
that 12,030 residents in Severn, and 20,031 residents of Oro-Medonte were served by
the library. Taking these residents into account means that the library is currently
serving a population of more than 62,000. If the Townships were helping to fund the
new building on a pro-rata basis it would appear that the new library is sized correctly.
However, the Townships provide only minimal funding towards operating costs, and
nothing to capital. If there is no contribution to capital from the Townships then the
library's current needs should only be for the City and is the stated 19,000 to 22,000 gsf.
In 2011 the Library Board net budget is $1,749,906 before amortization. The Board has
budgeted $97,390 in contract revenue from each Township for a total of $194,780 or
11% of the net operating costs before amortization. In 2012, the amortization cost on
the new building will be approximately $480,000.
Public Library Board. Union Public Library
The City of Orillia unilaterally established the Public Library by by-law. In recent years
the Library Board has provided contracted library services on short-term agreements to
the two adjoining Townships, Severn and Oro-Medonte.
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The Public Libraries Act has a provision to allow the establishment of a Union Public
Library. Basically this is accomplished by having two or more municipalities make an
agreement for the establishment of a Union Public Library. When an agreement has
been made, the Public Library Boards established in the individual municipalities are
dissolved and the assets and liabilities of those Boards are vested in and assumed by
the Union Board unless the agreement provides otherwise.
If a Union Board is created with all three municipalities participating, then the new
building is near the correct size today, with some potential for expansion into the future.
However, if this is to happen it is expected that the partners would fund the Union Board
in some equitable fashion. Using current library users as a guide, the estimated 2012
operating costs including amortization would be distributed 49% to the City of Orillia,
19% to the Township of Severn, and 32% to the Township of Oro-Medonte. In dollar
terms the distribution of the estimated net operating cost of $1,914,000 and amortization
of $480,000 would be:
City of Orillia
Severn Township
Oro-Medonte Township
$1,173,000
$ 455,000
$ 766,000
Library Operating Costs in the New Building
The City Treasurer reported in February the increase in operating costs at the new
library would be approximately $205,000. This increase can be further divided into
$44,000 staffing costs, and $161,000 for utilities and building maintenance. In addition,
the City will be reporting into the provincial Municipal Performance Management
Program (MPMP) $480,000 in amortization costs. If the City were to occupy the second
floor, half of the building related increase ($80,500), and half of the amortization
($240,000) would be charged to the City.
On the City side, operating cost savings or revenue generation would be achieved by
either divesting 50 Andrew St. South and leasing back space on the first floor, or by
leasing the space created by the movement of City staff. A sale to a private
person/company will not only produce a capital return, but will also generate ongoing
property taxes to the municipality.
The City currently leases space on the first and second floor of the building to third
parties, and after operating expenses is budgeted to earn approximately $30,000 in
2011. Capital upgrades for the building budgeted for 2011 total $230,000.
On a per capita basis the library increases would be:
Operating Costs
Amortization Costs (net)
Library only
$6.52
$10.23
Library & City
$3.96
$2.59
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Further Review and Costing Required
During this high-level review staff developed a list of questions which should be
resolved before Council makes a final decision on the direction to be taken with the new
building space.
These questions are:
HVAC - does the current design allow for the extra load from City staff and
equipment?
Washrooms - a space allocation has been provided by Lake Country, but will
have to be confirmed by an architect.
There are no direct stairs to the second floor without traversing the mezzanine.
Power requirements- will the space have adequate power for increased lighting,
copiers, computers?
There has been no .estimation of cost to convert the open-concept library space
to offices.
How will the Library reorganize in the first floor space?
Where does expansion occur in the future if required?
Summarv
The new library building is larger than the City of Orillia Public Library will require for
many years, unless a Union Public Library is formed with Severn and Oro-Medonte
Townships. The Public Library as the sole occupant of the building will underutilize the
available space, while paying the full operating costs of the building.
Staff has confirmed that at the present time, most of both the library and City needs can
be accommodated in the new building, with accompanying savings to the City.
Prepared by:
Bob Ripley,
Interim City Manager/City Treasurer
Attach.
Schedule 1 -Second Floor Layout at the Library
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TITLE
Schedule 1
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
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Lake Country Office Solutions
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Orillla, Ontario
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1705) 326-0907 Tel.
1705) 326-2567 Fax
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SHEET: PLAN No:
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SKBRLIB1.DWG
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H:\CONTRACTS\Drawlngs - projects by street 1-p\markeLst\Library City Centre Layout Proposai\SKBRLIB1.dwg
Jun 16, 2011 - 2:35pm
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