Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 09/01/2016

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V. Facility Comparisons A. INTRODUCTION population differentiation is an important designation, as it This section of the report provides a comparative analysis between often correlates with the facility size, number of employees it is the characteristics of the Ramsey Public Works facilities and the supporting, and square footage per capita of residents served. characteristics of the same departments in other comparable However, the size of a municipal public works facility can vary Minnesota municipalities. A comparative analysis of other greatly from one to another depending on the types of services municipalities, if used as a checks-and-balances comparison to the provided and the geographic size of the area serviced. developed space program, can provide a quick snap-shot of the C. ANALYSIS / SUMMARY OF FINDINGS overall range of facilities that meet relatively similar requirements. The selection of comparable cities is primarily established based Comparison of Existing Facility: on population. Therefore it should be noted that variables in staffing, area of the city and age of existing facilities can create a The comparative analysis for the public works facility indicates range in the facilities.We do not utilize a facility comparison as the that the City of Ramsey's Public Work's facility is similar to the only means of projected space needs and a direct comparison is comparable municipalities' facilities.A major factor in considering never truly possible, as no two cities are identical,the process can the usefulness of a public works facility is the efficiency of the identify irregularities and areas to consider or reconsider or can layout and movement of vehicles and materials.The layout of the confirm the projected program numbers, providing validity to the existing facility creates inefficiency in operation flow, segregating developed program. personnel and provides marginal fleet maintenance and storage. Overall,the facility is greatly undersized when compared to similar One item to be particularly aware of when comparing similar municipalities. city's facilities is to recognize that these figures may not represent current planning that is underway to expand those facilities.The Projections: asterisks and key notes, noted at the bottom of each analysis, When comparing Ramsey's projections for the 2030 timeframe, provide further information to qualify the information provided in the projected facility size is within the range of other municipalities the spreadsheet.Projected or in-process expansion is an indicator in the area. The projected requirements for the Ramsey Public of current space deficiencies, particularly important in weighing Works facility is primarily based on providing adequate vehicle the relevance of their current facilities sizes to those projected storage, service bays and proper staff support space. for the City of Ramsey. The total of the comparative studies are averaged for ease of quick review, however each municipality's In the comparison below 15 Minnesota cities are listed ranging in characteristics should be reviewed individually to best understand population from 16,500 to 39,000.With public works facilities that how their facility size (with projected expansion, if indicated) range in size from 44,900 square feet to 1 11,679 square feet,with supports the population, and then compared with the projected the average facility being more in the 66,000 square feet range. numbers for the Ramsey's facilities. As a snap shot Ramsey's existing public works facilities totals at approximately 32,000 square feet which is well below the current B. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY public works standards.The programmed area based on the size The methodology for identifyingthe municipal itiesto be considered and operations of the City of Ramsey is 66,205 square feet,which is for the analysis consists of collecting a variety of information.BKV in line with current area requirements for public works operations. Group researched and identified a few municipalities, or"sister- cities", that seem to be similar in nature, size or community demographics from which to base the comparisons. In our analysis, a range of near-metro and out-state municipalities was used to provide a broad cross-section of comparative information. Other criteria used to select comparison information included geographic location along a major highway system or major transportation corridor. The cities in this comparison were identified and ranked by municipality with a population range of 16,000 to 40,000.The V I I Ramsey Public Works Study-Comm. No. 1937.02 B K V DRAFTGNOU `