City staff present facilities condition assessment; estimated multi-year capital needs total millions

Mountlake Terrace staff presented a facilities condition assessment that catalogs assets across city buildings and estimates replacement and repair needs across a multi-year horizon. Recreation and parks director Jeff Betts and facilities supervisor Floyd Gergas reviewed the consultant McKinstry's findings and recommended adopting an asset-management platform to track maintenance, work orders and parts inventories.

The assessment matters because it identifies deferred maintenance and near-term capital needs that affect the city's operating costs and long-term budget planning.

McKinstry inspected six facilities: City Hall, the Recreation Pavilion, the Operations Facility, the Sno-Isle Library (Mountlake Terrace branch), the Mickey Corso Community Clubhouse and the Police Station. Each facility was broken into tagged assets and given a condition rating of 1 (good) to 5 (poor). Betts said City Hall had about 80 tagged assets in good condition while the Pavilion, clubhouse and operations facility showed higher average condition ratings.

Key figures and examples from the presentation: - Pavilion: 71 assets cataloged; average asset condition 3.55; years 1'5 replacement estimate cited in the presentation was about $2.4 million with additional midterm needs reported. - Operations facility: 52 assets; average condition 3.69; roof condition and parking-lot deterioration were highlighted. - Library: 33 assets; average condition 3.64; early replacement needs estimated in staff material. - Clubhouse: 36 assets; average condition 3.67; two HVAC units were scheduled for replacement using a Snohomish County grant. - Police station: 50 assets; average condition 2.56; staff reported recent investments including a new roof, rooftop unit replacements and a backup generator installation in progress.

Betts emphasized the difference between equipment replacement cost estimates (the consultant's equipment-only figures) and full project costs that include design, permitting and contractor work. He also outlined how the city distinguishes capital purchases (threshold: $10,000) from operating purchases and how replacement scope can push items into the capital budget.

Gergas noted staff's operational approach: fixing and extending the life of systems where feasible; he added that a digital asset-management system would improve preventive maintenance, spare-parts management and response tracking. "With a platform like this, this would work perfect for them," Gergas said of younger staff who use mobile tools to access parts and equipment data.

Council members discussed scale and funding. Several members described the report as sobering and asked how the city could realistically address $7 million-plus of mid-term needs. Betts said operating budgets cover small replacements but not large capital needs; he identified the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) and competitive state and federal grants as the primary funding sources, and noted many grant programs require matching funds. He said the recently funded police station and a county grant for clubhouse HVAC replacement reduce immediate needs.

Betts outlined next steps: staff are researching an asset-management software product (planned purchase is budgeted) and will onboard and train staff so the tagged asset IDs from McKinstry become a usable maintenance and work-order system. He said the software will enable a preventative maintenance schedule, track work history and support long-term capital planning.

Ending: The assessment provides a baseline for multi-year capital planning; staff plan to pursue grants, use REET and phase projects, and return to council with prioritized capital strategies as funding opportunities and city priorities are clarified.