| Chief of Police Armand P. La Barge |
| York Regional Police |
| 17250 Yonge Street, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada L3Y 4W5 1866-8POLICE TTY 1-800-668-0398 Fax 905-853-5810 www.yrp.ca |
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THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF YORK POLICE SERVICES BOARD REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE 29 AUGUST 2007 __________________________________________ Re: Lease of Additional Office Space __________________________________________ RECOMMENDATIONS:
The new Investigative Services and Support Services facility was originally anticipated to be completed by December 2008. With the delay in the construction of this facility to March 2010 and with staff occupancy planned for between April and June 2010, staff that was anticipated to move out of the Mulock, Bales and Headquarters location into the new building will require additional short term accommodation to support the growth of these units from 2007 to the end of 2009. It is anticipated that the staffing complement at Mulock will grow from 95 to 120 staff by the end of 2009, an increase in 25 staff. It is anticipated that the staffing complement at Headquarters will grow from 247 to 292 by the end of 2009, an increase of 45 staff. The acquisition of 15,000 gross square feet (approximately 12,000 useable square feet) to accommodate space for the additional seventy staff provides the relief required for units located at Mulock, Bales Drive and Headquarters until the new Investigative Services and Support Services facility is completed. Only 1247 gross square feet of space is currently available at 16775 Yonge Street for immediate occupancy. An additional 5828 gross square feet will be available July 1, 2008. The Newmarket Property Corporation will advise should additional space become available or should the tenants in the 5828 square feet of space move out earlier. In total this will provide us with 7075 gross square feet of space approximately 50 percent of the space we require. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The lease cost for Unit 301 for the term of 2 years and 10 months effective September 1, 2007, is made up of a Base Rent, maintenance and insurance (TMI). Lease costs are also subject to GST. 
Sufficient funds exist in the 2007 Operating Budget to cover the September 1 to December 31, 2007, lease payments. BACKGROUND: Since August 2002 and more recently to March 2006, the Board entered into lease agreements at the Yonge Mulock Centre to provide off-site facilities for several York Regional Police units. Lease space at the Yonge Mulock Centre is utilized for numerous units including Community Services, Professional Standards, Professional Development, Recruiting, Crime Stoppers, Staff Development, Legal Services, Alarms, Paid Duty and units from Investigative Services. Currently 95 staff work out of this location and it is anticipated that by 2009, it will grow to 125 staff members. The space they are currently working in will not accommodate the expected growth. They require approximately 6000 gross square feet of additional space. As a result of the continued growth within our Service, the existing bureaus within the Headquarters location also require additional office space of 6500 square feet between 2007 to mid 2010 to accommodate 45 staff. Staff at our Bales location, specifically our Quality Assurance and Audit Bureaus has been asked to vacate the 815 square feet they are currently occupying in part of the Region's Transportation and Works area by December 31, 2007. At the same location, our Property Management staff must also vacate the space they are currently in to accommodate growth in our Fleet, Purchasing and Facilities area. These two units require 2100 square feet of space. In the past three months, we have been working with commercial real estate leasing professionals to look for professional office space in the Newmarket and Aurora area. There is no single location in the area that will provide us with the total space or the parking we require. The Yonge Mulock Centre situated at 16775 Yonge Street, Newmarket, is ideal for expansion as York Regional Police already occupies 18,442 gross square feet of space there and more importantly, the technical infrastructure for voice, data and security is already in place at this location. There is also ample parking for the additional staff who would be working out of this location. There are buildings within the Newmarket area that offer space ranging from 2500 to 4000 gross square feet, however, two to three different locations would be required to accommodate staff. To create this infrastructure again at two to three new locations would cost approximately $100,000. The most financially viable solution is to acquire enough space in one location to allow for growth as well as one point of installation for IT infrastructure costs. Although only 1247 square feet is available at 16775 Yonge Street, Newmarket at this time, it will assist in creating capacity for some of our units that currently have a critical shortage in space. Newmarket Property Corporation has already advised us that an additional 5820 gross square feet of space is going to be available at the same location effective July 1, 2008. |
Respectfully submitted, Armand P. La Barge, Chief of Police. |