Memorandum
City of Lawrence
City Manager’s Office
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TO: |
Diane Stoddard, Interim City Manager |
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FROM: |
Brandon McGuire, Assistant to the City Manager |
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DATE: |
August 31, 2015 |
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RE: |
Information on Downtown Sprinkler Incentive Program |
Vice-Mayor Soden requested information about the previous downtown fire sprinkler incentive program. This brief memo provides the requested information along with some hard costs for the system installations associated with that program.
The downtown fire sprinkler program was developed in coordination with downtown waterline improvements. The City Commission authorized the downtown sprinkler incentive program on January 16, 2007 and allocated $250,000 to the program in 2007 from non-bonded Water Utilities construction funds. Unencumbered program funds were carried forward to the 2008 fiscal year. By the end of 2008, program funding was depleted and no additional resources were allocated to the program.
The City received applications for 35 properties located in the 700 and 800 blocks of Massachusetts Street. At its April 10, 2007 meeting the Commission authorized the City Manager to enter into contracts with the approved incentive recipients. The staff report and attachments included on that meeting agenda provides details about the incentive program. Of the 35 applicants, eight properties were approved for funding but only six properties received reimbursements before the funds were depleted and the program was discontinued.
Through the sprinkler program, incentives were provided for up to 75 percent of the total cost of the fire sprinkler system installation depending on certain criteria. The following provides table provides the total project costs and the reimbursement amounts for those projects that did receive reimbursement through the program.
|
Property |
Total Sprinkler System Installation Cost |
Total Reimbursement Paid by the City |
|
719-721 Mass |
$50,190 |
$37,642 |
|
746 Mass |
$64,761 |
$41,000 |
|
723-725 Mass |
$104,735 |
$70,000 |
|
803 Mass |
$33,504 |
$25,128 |
|
715 Mass |
$27,395 |
$21,917 |
|
732-734 Mass |
$52,775 |
$39,581 |
During the timeframe that the downtown sprinkler incentive program was offered, the City also offered a separate program that provided incentives for fire taps. As part of this program, the City capped the property owners’ total fire tap costs to $3,000 per installation and the City paid the balance of those costs. Fire taps cost approximately $6,000 total in 2007 and 2008. The City still offers the tap incentive program and the property owners’ costs are still capped at $3,000. The total cost of a fire tap has grown though. Based on 2013-2014 actual costs, the total tap costs average $10,350, including labor, materials and equipment, so the costs incurred by the City averages $7,350.