Commissioner Skipper urges $2M master-planning hire; council asks for lists of buildings and life-safety assurances

Commissioner Nolan Skipper told the finance committee that the $2,000,000 request would fund a citywide architectural and engineering master plan to assess building conditions, digitize records, and help prioritize repairs and potential divestments.

Skipper said prior ARPA work spent about $559,000 to assess eight buildings and some community centers, and that the new contract would expand assessments and move building data to a digital platform. "We were able to complete some building assessments... on 8 buildings," he said, and offered to follow up with details on those earlier assessments.

Council members pressed for clarity on scope and cost-effectiveness. One member said the city owns roughly 200–300 buildings and asked whether consultants would assess properties the city ultimately plans to sell; others warned master plans can become obsolete as material and labor costs rise. Members also emphasized life-and-safety spending must continue during the study, citing repeated roof leaks and mold in certain facilities. Skipper assured the committee that life-and-safety funding in operations and maintenance budgets would continue and the master plan would not defer urgent repairs.

The committee closed debate and sent the item to the full council without recommendation so members could see specific lists of buildings, ARPA spending results, and cost/benefit details before a contract award.