The city of Ashland hired a contractor to assess the condition of all city-owned buildings, who found that many mechanical and electrical systems are past their end of life and that some old buildings are essentially crumbling.
"Roofs across nearly all facilities are aging or at the end of life, with leaks and deteriorated flashing reported," reads the staff report.
The city also has too many buildings in general. City staff are dispersed across multiple office buildings, making collaboration more difficult. The maintenance costs of maintaining so many separate buildings add up.
The Ashland City Council is working to address the problem, including the possibility of consolidating facilities into a single “civic campus.” There are two proposed sites: renovating the city council chambers and police headquarters, or a complete rebuild at the site of the former Briscoe Elementary School, which the city bought in 2018.
During a City Council study session on Wednesday, City Manager Sabrina Cotta said the city will need to take action.
“Maintaining the status quo or consolidated campus, more than likely, both of those things are a bond," she said. "We have no money for facilities. We've let them go significantly."
In 2008, the city created a master plan that included recommendations such as establishing a civic campus and repurposing existing buildings. However, staff said the recommendations were not generally followed, resulting in the current situation in which the city government is less efficient and has too many facilities.
Council Member Derek Sherrell said getting residents to pay for any city renovations will be hard.
"Most people don't give a damn," said Sherrell. "They just want the water to come on when they turn their tap, they want power when they turn the switch, and they don't want to pay for anything.”
Other council members stressed that doing nothing isn’t free and will likely cost more money than investing in new buildings. The city would likely sell or lease some of its current facilities to raise revenue.
City staff are considering establishing a dedicated facilities fund for this project. They also intend to gather information about the city’s master plan to answer frequently asked questions on the website.
As budget season approaches this summer, the City Council is expected to consider assigning funds to design whatever's next.
