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Capital Project Development & Implementation |
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Capital Projects are typically large construction efforts that affect communities in many ways, such as the construction of a school or park.
The Community Board's role with Capital Projects formally begins when a request is submitted as part of the Capital Budget Priorities Plan it makes each October. When one of these requested Capital Projects is approved, it proceeds through a progression of stages from scope through construction. At every stage the Community Board is kept informed and has an opportunity to review and comment on the project's development. The steps in the Capital Project Process are as follows.
Capital Budget Priorities Plan
Through community outreach and public hearings Community Boards identify capital projects needed in their districts and annually submit a statement of its needs as a Capital Budget Priorities Plan. Although a Board may include a project in the Plan for many years, it cannot be initiated until it is included and funded in the city's capital budget.
Commitment Plan
Beginning with inclusion in the capital budget and continuing to project completion, agencies are required to make periodic progress reports to the Mayor on each project's schedule and a clear explanation of any delays. The Mayor is required to publish these reports three times each year and provide them to the affected Community and Borough Boards, the Borough Presidents, the Council and the City Planning Commission.
The reports, called the Capital Commitment Plan, are distributed to the Community Boards with the Preliminary and Executive Budgets and after the Adopted Budget by the Office of Community Board Relations at Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The information contained in the Commitment Plan includes: project description, substantial changes or revisions to the project, schedule of activities (e.g., scope, design, and construction) along with estimated completion dates and any changes in those dates, estimated costs, expenditures, and other relevant information required as part of the scope.
Since one of the duties of Community Boards is to "...review scopes of projects and designs for each capital project; and evaluate the progress of capital projects..." (Sec. 2800.d.14 and 15) the Board monitors each project throughout the process, either by staff or a committee.
Scope
By the date set in the Adopted Capital Budget, a general description and plan for the project, including its estimated cost and completion dates, and called a "scope of project" or "proposed scope of project," are prepared by the relevant agency.
The scope will include a general description of the project, its purposes, the public to be served, programs to be conducted in the facility, amounts of space and bulk for buildings, areas for different functions, estimates of completion dates for activities, project costs, projected expenditures, and operating costs.
Although the scope is only the general plan for the project, the final design will be reviewed to determine its conformance to the approved scope. It is therefore very important for the Community Board to carefully consider what is included in the scope e.g., the streets included in a proposed scope of a reconstruction project; whether park rehabilitation will or won't include a park house.
In preparing the proposed scope, the responsible agency is required to consult with the affected Community Board(s). The proposed scopes is to be reviewed by the appropriate Board committee and reported on for action to the full Board. The Board may direct the committee to hold a public hearing or to meet with the affected residents at this stage. Depending on the project, the committee may want to meet with appropriate agency representatives or obtain input from the relevant local agency service chiefs.
When the scope is completed it is submitted to the Mayor, relevant Council Committee, Borough President, and Community Board. Any delays must also be reported, along with an explanation and a revised schedule. The Mayor has 60 days to approve, modify, or disapprove the scope, notifying the agency, relevant Council Committee, Borough President and Community Board.
Site Selection
In most cases when the scope is initiated, a site is already available. However, if the project site needs to be determined, the City Charter provides that it be approved by the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
Design
Approval of the scope of a project gives direction to the responsible agency to have designs prepared.
Preliminary and final designs of each project must be submitted by the agency to the relevant Council committee, Borough President, and Community Board for review. The Mayor or a designated representative reviews the final design to determine its conformance with the approved scope.
The Board's review can follow a similar procedure as suggested earlier for the scope. At the preliminary design stage the Board may want an appropriate committee to arrange with the responsible agency for a public presentation or information meeting to familiarize the community with the design plans and projected scheduling.
The Community Board will again do a careful review at the preliminary design stage.
When the final design review is done, it should primarily be used only to ensure that the Board's earlier input has been incorporated or considered. Significant design changes should not be made at final design. In most instances such changes will be resisted by the agency as expensive and as delaying project implementation.
Once the design is approved, and sufficient funds appropriated, the agency proceeds to prepare bids and make awards for construction.
Pre-Construction
During the late stages of final design, the Mayor's Traffic and Construction Coordinating Committee will meet to address traffic concerns, bus rerouting, parking, etc., and establish stipulations to minimize disruption during construction. The Community Board is invited to send a representative to these meetings.
Construction
Finally, when a capital project is under construction the Board often assigns the District Manager to coordinate regular meetings with the contractor. The Board may also want to establish a mechanism to monitor construction activity. On larger projects it may wish to meet at regular intervals with representatives of the agency, contractor, local officials, community organizations, and the Board. On smaller projects monitoring may be handled directly by the relevant Board committee or assigned to the District Manager.
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