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A Presentation on the Outcomes of the Design Charrette Process for Schematic Design of the Oak Park Municipal Campus Project.
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Introduction
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As part of the Oak Park Municipal Campus schematic design process, the design team worked with Village staff to solicit feedback from community members and Village Hall users to inform Open House (1/22/2025) and Charrette Day (1/31/2025) activities. The schematic design team will summarize the feedback received, the outcomes of the Open House and Charrette Day activities, and solicit additional feedback from the Village Board based on the information presented.
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Recommended Action
Village staff are not seeking Village Board action as part of this presentation.
Prior Board Action
• On December 3, 2024, the Village Board approved a resolution for a Professional Services Agreement with Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. for Schematic Design Architectural Services for the Oak Park Municipal Campus (RES 24-358).
• On November 21, 2024, the Village Board approved the Motion to direct staff to negotiate a professional services agreement with Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. for schematic design architectural services for the Oak Park Municipal Campus (MOT 24-269).
• On July 30, 2024, Village staff brought forth a resolution for an amendment to the professional services agreement with Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. for additional conceptual solutions for village facilities. The Village Board denied this resolution and instead came to a consensus to move forward with the original Option 3, to build a new police station on the existing site and make renovations to the existing Village Hall. The Village Board directed staff to work through the process of choosing an architect to set the project’s budget and prioritize the Village’s needs (RES 24-261).
• On May 28, 2024, Ludwig Speaks facilitated a discussion with the Village Board to affirm their priorities as they relate to the Police Station Improvement Project in an effort to ensure that future Village Board actions align with their values (ID 24-287).
• On April 9, 2024, the Facility Review Committee with the support of Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. provided a presentation to the Board on the feasibility of renovating Village Hall to meet the needs of modern governance for the Village while maintaining its historic integrity (ID 24-200).
• On October 30, 2023, the Village Board approved a Professional Services Agreement with Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. for historic preservation architectural services (RES 23-298). The Village Board also approved a resolution creating a Facility Review Committee for the Oak Park Village Hall Facility Renovation Evaluation Project and appointed its members (RES 23-309).
• On July 31, 2023, the Village Board approved an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with FGM Architects, Inc. for additional conceptual solutions for Village facilities (RES 23-239). The Village Board also directed staff to engage a separate architectural firm with experience in historic preservation to evaluate the viability and cost of renovating the Village Hall facility to meet the goals of the Village.
• On July 5, 2023, the Village Board approved a motion to advance the Police Station Improvement Project Option 4 (Rebuild the current Village Hall Campus with a new Village Civic Center that meets the current and potential future service needs of the Village including, but potentially not limited to, current Village Hall services and Public Safety and facility parking needs) to schematic design (MOT 23-67).
• On April 24, 2023, the Village Board approved an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with FGM Architects, Inc. for additional conceptual design options for the Police Station Improvement Project (RES 23-138). At this meeting, the Village Board also approved a task order for Professional Engineering Services with Cordogan Clark & Associates, Inc. to conduct condition assessments and complete energy audits for Village Hall (RES 23-132).
• On February 18, 2020, the Village Board approved an Agreement with FGM Architects, Inc. for Architectural and Engineering Schematic Design Services for the Oak Park Police Department in an Amount Not to Exceed $322,600 (RES 20-093).
• On November 19, 2018, the Village Board approved an Agreement with FGM Architects, Inc. for a Space Needs Assessment for the Oak Park Police Department in an Amount Not to Exceed $53,680 (RES 18-1050).
• On January 22, 2013, the Village Board approved the Historic Preservation Commission’s 2013 Work Plan allowing the Historic Preservation Commission to pursue listing the Oak Park Village Hall building on the National Register of Historic Places. The application was accepted and the building listed on August 25, 2014.
Background
As part of the negotiations with the schematic design team following the November 21, 2024 Village Board meeting, the design team proposed a project schedule that planned initial community and stakeholder engagement activities that would elicit feedback from various groups regarding their goals and priorities for the project. In an effort to inform the activities associated with the design charrette process and ultimately the schematic design, the design team:
• discussed Climate Ready Oak Park goals for this project with the Village’s sustainability stakeholders
• completed program validation interviews with various department stakeholders including the Village Manager and Village President.
• hosted an Open House for community members to meet the schematic design team and voice their concerns or provide feedback on their preferred approach and priorities for the project.
• provided questions for both an external, community-centered survey, as well as, a Village Hall user survey.
• prepared handouts and exercises to elicit feedback from the Charrette Day participants.
After collecting this valuable information, the schematic design team with assistance from Village staff chose participants for the Charrette Day activities. Three groups representing the Police Department, Village Hall staff, and the Facility Review Committee came together for Charrette Day on Friday, January 31, 2025. Over the course of seven hours, the groups completed seven exercises that had individual, small group, and larger group components for discussion. The exercises were meant to generate feedback on the participants’ project ideas and priorities, visions for success, Village Hall reuse planning, Police Department planning, Campus planning with the ultimate goal of combining those ideas to form a visual representation of the project.
While completing these exercises, schematic design team members led discussions by asking project priority questions and reminding participants of the purpose of the buildings as a place to work, a place of service to all users, and as a symbol to the community. The final exercise for the day required each small group to create two design schemes for the entire campus (Village Hall reuse with a new Police Station facility) while being mindful of the discussions that occurred over the course of the day. Each small group presented their design charrette to the larger group to discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
In the end, all three groups’ designs were very similar in that they found a way to prioritize parking and greenspace (two overarching themes of the feedback received that are often in conflict with each other), meaningfully connect the two buildings, and provide safe, secure, and welcoming entrances/exits for community users and staff.
Timing Considerations
The Oak Park Municipal Campus project has five schedule milestones that need to be met: program validation report, Charrette Day, three preliminary designs submittal, final schematic package submittal, and public report and presentation. Two of these schedule milestones have already been met, and it is imperative that the project remain on schedule in an effort to present the final schematic design in a timely manner. Please see the attached project schedule for further timing details.
Budget Impact
There is no expenditure directly associated with this presentation. The community engagement portion of the schematic design process- including Charrette Day activities- was included in the professional services agreement with Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. approved on December 3, 2024 (RES 24-358).
Staffing Impact
There is no staffing impact associated with this item. The item aligns with the Public Works Department’s core service delivery.
DEI Impact
There is no DEI impact associated with this item.
Community Input
As part of the community engagement process, the Village hosted two surveys. The first survey was posted on Engage Oak Park and was meant to elicit feedback from community members. The second survey was posted to Open Forms and the link was shared with Village Hall users. The community input received is included as attachments as part of this Village Board item.
Staff Recommendation
While there is no formal Village Board action expected at this meeting, Village staff would like the Village Board to provide any and all feedback on the program validation report, the community engagement portion of the design process and the outcomes of the Charrette Day activities.
Alternatives
At this time, Village staff nor the schematic design team are requesting formal direction from the Village Board.
Anticipated Future Actions
The schematic design team will report back to the Village Board on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 with three preliminary schematic design options. At that time, the design team and Village staff will request formal Village Board direction on a preferred design option.
Prepared By: Rob Sproule, Public Works Director
Reviewed By: Ahmad M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Presentation
2. Oak Park Municipal Campus Program Validation Report
3. Engage Oak Park Survey Results
4. Village Hall User Survey Results
5. Oak Park Municipal Campus Project Schedule