Report to/Rapport au :
Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
14 January 2004 / le 14 janvier 2004
Submitted by/Soumis par : Steve Kanellakos, Acting
City Manager/Intérimaire directeur général des services municipaux
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Réjean
Chartrand, Director, Strategic Delivery Unit/ Directeur, Unité d'exécution
stratégique
(613)
580-2424 x21696, Rejean.Chartrand@ottawa.ca
|
SUBJECT: |
PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIP (P3) PROJECT - OTTAWA PARAMEDIC SERVICE HEADQUARTERS |
|
|
|
|
OBJET
: |
PROJET DE PARTENARIAT PUBLIC-PRIVÉ (3 p) – QUARTIER
GÉNÉRAL DU SERVICE PARAMÉDIC D’OTTAWA |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee recommend Council authorize staff to enter into negotiations with
Forum Leasehold Partners Inc. for the design, construction, financing and
operation of an Ottawa Paramedic Service[1]
Headquarters facility located at 2465 and 2495 Don Reid Drive.
RECOMMENDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande
au Conseil municipal d’autoriser les employés à entreprendre des
négociations avec Forum Leasehold Partners Inc. pour la conception, la
construction, le financement et l’exploitation d’un quartier général du Service
paramédic d’Ottawa situé aux 2465 et 2495, promenade Don Reid.
BACKGROUND
The Ottawa Paramedic Service currently operates out of leased premises located at 530 Tremblay Road. The existing lease is being renegotiated to expire on December 31, 2005 but can be terminated within a 90-day notice period by the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), the owner of the property. Even though the City would have considered a longer-term commitment on that site, it is ORC's expressed intent to dispose of this property and accordingly there is a large for sale sign on it. The property occupies an area of just under 30 acres and is a prime location for a major land development project, including the likely rezoning of the property to a higher and best use.
Short of purchasing the entire property, 530 Tremblay Rd. does not represent an option for the permanent location of the paramedic headquarters.
Staff also examined the market for an existing facility to accommodate the Ottawa Paramedic Service but found that because of the required size, specialized needs, and high probability of extensively retrofitting any existing facility, the best option would be to locate a suitable parcel of city owned land and develop it as part of a public-private partnership (P3) initiative.
As a result in October 2002, Council approved the
design, construction, financing and operation of a Paramedic Headquarters
facility as one of a number of projects to be delivered under a public-private
partnership,
The new facility is intended to provide long term,
secure, efficient and effective support for the Ottawa Paramedic Service’s
centralized processing of emergency response vehicles, administration, as well
as interaction of paramedics, supplies and supervisory staff. The new facility will support public safety,
health, and well being of residents and visitors alike, through the provision
of efficient and effective emergency response, emergency preparedness,
proactive education/ prevention services, and attentive care.
The proposed facility will accommodate three of the
four divisions that comprise the Paramedic Service and will operate 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. The
Communications Division (Central Ambulance Communications Centre) will remain
separate from the Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters facility[2]. The three divisions (Logistics, Operations
and Program Development) of the Paramedic Service will be provided with the
space and equipment to maximize their operational efficiency.
The facility will be approximately 120,000 sq. ft.
in size and located on city-owned sites at 2465 and 2495 Don Reid Drive in the
Ottawa Business Park. As stated
previously, the strategy approved by Council is to seek a private sector
partner to design, build, finance, and operate the facility. The City will then become the tenant and
repay the capital cost over the term of the agreement, to be between 20 and 30
years. At that point, the facility will revert back to the City for one dollar.
This public-private partnership approach should
provide the City with excellent value as it builds on the strength of both
partners, will deliver a new facility on a timely basis, and will remove the
operational risks associated with our current leasing situation at 530 Tremblay
Road.
The process to secure the private sector partner
followed the process utilized for the other four public-private partnerships
currently being implemented at the City.
PROCESS
In spring of 2003 the services of an external
consulting firm, Delcan Corporation, were secured through a competitive Request
for Proposal (RFP) process to develop the program of requirements and initial
design brief for the facility.
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued on 5 June 2003 by Supply Management and advertised on MERX. The RFQ closed on 7 July 2003 and qualification submissions were received from eight firms. In August of 2003, City Council approved a short-list of four firms to receive the Request for Proposal (RFP) in the next stage of the partnering process:
·
Doran Contractors Limited (in association with Taggart Realty Management,
Edmundson Matthews Architects, DuBois Plumb Partnership, Halsall Associates and
R.J. McKee Engineering Ltd.)
·
Emergency Medical Headquarters Group: PCL Constructors Canada Inc., ABN AMRO
Bank, Lowry Otto Erskine Architects Inc., Oxford Properties Group
·
Forum Leasehold Partners Inc., (in association with Aecon Buildings, Trammell
Crow Corporate Services Canada Ltd.)
·
Ottawa EMS Consortium: Giffels P3 Inc., NORR Limited, CB Richard Ellis
Limited, O&Y Enterprise, National Bank Financial
The RFP was issued by the Supply Management Division
and distributed to these firms on 26 September 2003. The RFP closed on 4 December 2003 and the City received proposals
from each of the four short-listed respondents.
The
Supply Management Division, in conjunction with representatives from Ottawa
Paramedic Service, RPAM, the Strategic Delivery Unit and an external
representative, established a set of predetermined evaluation criteria in order
to assess the respondent proposals to the RFP.
These evaluation criteria were published in the RFP and available to
each of the four short-listed firms.
An
evaluation team was established which included representatives from the Ottawa
Paramedic Service, RPAM, the Strategic Delivery Unit, and an external
representative. The evaluation process
was lead by the Supply Management Division.
In addition, a Fairness Commissioner was retained to oversee the process
to ensure that the evaluation was conducted in a fair and consistent manner.
The evaluation team reviewed all four proposals
received. The respondents were required to
meet the mandatory requirements and were then evaluated on the Design and
Construction, the Operations and Management, and the Business Plan components
of their submissions. According to the
predetermined evaluation criteria, respondents’ proposals were rated and the
successful candidate chosen from the submission that obtained the highest total
out of 100 points allotted in the evaluation process.
The evaluation team determined that the proposal
received by Forum Leasehold Partners Inc., was deemed to be the best value for
the City, having met all the mandatory criteria and achieved the highest point
total.
Following Council approval of Forum Leasehold
Partners Inc. as the preferred respondent, the Strategic Delivery Unit staff
will form a negotiation team to develop a partnership agreement related to the
construction of the Paramedic Service Headquarters.
Selection of a preferred partner does not
automatically imply that negotiations will be successful. Issues related to the modification of the
proposal and contractual agreements require review and negotiation. The City will need to conduct a due
diligence process and verify the information and assumptions made by the
respondent. Negotiations will focus on
achieving the best value for the City within an acceptable risk structure and a
win-win partnership.
The use of the Public Sector Comparator developed
for this project will be instrumental in determining the best value for the
City and in defining the framework of the agreement.
While the City is committed to the process and has
full expectations to enter into a successful partnership, it will only proceed
if there is a strong sense that a successful and positive partnership can be
formed between the City and Forum Leasehold Partners Inc. Failing this, the City will have the option
to enter into negotiations with the respondent who achieved the next highest
points.
Timelines and
Next Steps
It is anticipated the negotiation stage will be conducted
between February and April 2004. Once
the negotiation team has established a framework for the public-private
partnership agreement, staff will report to Committee and Council in order to
seek approval to enter into the final negotiations stage with Forum Leasehold
Partners Inc. and to execute the necessary legal agreements.
As per Council’s direction, a public meeting will be
held in the community where this facility is proposed for development. This meeting will be organized with Forum
Leasehold Partners Inc., prior to the completion of the final negotiations
stage. Staff will report the outcome
of the public consultation as part of its next report to Committee and Council.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The Ottawa Paramedic Headquarters facility will serve all residents in the City of Ottawa, including those in rural areas.
CONSULTATION
As per Council’s direction, a public meeting will be held in the community where this facility is proposed. The consultation will occur during the negotiations stage of the P3 process, prior to execution of the partnership agreement(s).
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
Based on the RFP the capital project cost estimate is in the range of $18 – $23M (excluding land costs). The intention of this proposed public-private partnership is that the City will repay the capital investment to the private sector partner on an annual basis over the term of the partnership. This will result in an additional pressure on the City’s operating budget over the term of the agreement. As the new facility is expected to be delivered in mid-2005, the financial impact will be reflected partly in 2005 and then fully from 2006 and in subsequent years.
DISPOSITION
The
Strategic Delivery Unit will implement the recommendation as directed by
Council.