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Planning and Development Survey <br />Nearly all planning and construction design is done in- house; <br />Less than 5% of actual construction is done using in -house operations staff and equipment <br />b. What percent is contracted? <br />Perhaps only 5% of planning and design is contracted at this time; <br />More than 95% of actual construction is done by contractors <br />3. How many acres of new park land have been developed in the past three years? <br />Approximately 26 acres of new development has been completed during the past 3 years <br />(05,06,07), including passive recreation and some natural areas (does not include park renovation <br />or acquisition) <br />C. Decision - Making <br />1. a. What systems (database, staff teams, etc) do you use to manage development projects? <br />For park development, we use a cooperative staff team of landscape architects split between <br />planning and implementation. The planning section is responsible for long -range planning, <br />vision, prioritization, budget and resource development, budget allocation, public involvement, <br />and concept design. In addition, planning staff provide some support of ongoing management of <br />built projects in cooperation with the park operations (maintenance) work group. After a final <br />concept design is completed by planning staff, a partner team of landscape architects located in <br />the City's engineering division takes the project through design development, construction <br />drawings, bid, and construction administration. The engineering team acts in a sort of consulting <br />role, and is responsible for managing schedule, contract and budget within the allocation <br />developed through planning. After construction, the project is turned over to park operations for <br />ongoing management. Many smaller projects and post - construction issues are cooperatively <br />resolved between the work groups. A variety of meeting formats, budget tracking tools, and <br />approval processes are used to facilitate working relationships and effective project management. <br />b. In your experience, which of these systems has proven successful? <br />The split work group offers some advantages, including close working relationships between the <br />staff implementing park projects and the other services located in the engineering division, <br />including surveying, civil engineering, and a support system for purchasing and bid processes. <br />We are also developing a "process model" that spells out a system of checks and balances aimed <br />at insuring good plan review, mutual understanding of needs, open communication and problem <br />solving between planning, engineering and operations staff. A key component of the process <br />model is a clear statement of which work group takes the lead for certain steps, as well as the <br />role each work group should play at each step. <br />2. How do you calculate your on -going operations and maintenance for capital development <br />projects? <br />This is one of the greatest challenges facing our organization. We have a comprehensive <br />database, however it needs work before it can be utilized as a tool for generating resource <br />management projections. Operations staff are also working on resource management plans for <br />individual parks, and developing a system for quantifying costs. One of the Parks and Open <br />Space Division's top goals is to develop a system for clearly identifying operational costs for new <br />parks, and getting a handle on the maintenance backlog, replacement cycles, etc. to accurately <br />-14- <br />