City garage upgrades could reach $15 million

Port Washington’s municipal garage is in need of significant repairs, and a facilities assessment shows they could cost more than $15 million.

A needs assessment presented to the Board of Public Works this month recommends the city add onto the existing building, demolish the salt sand structure and cold storage pole barn and cordon off the drop-off site used by the public to separate it from the building.

The building, which is home to the Street Department and Forestry Department, is poorly laid out and inefficient, the study notes.

While the building is structurally in good condition, there isn’t enough room to function properly, it states.  

The ceilings and garage openings are inadequate for today’s equipment, the report states, and it is difficult to accommodate the newer trucks used by the department, which are longer and wider than past models.  

The report recommends a 22-foot-high ceiling in the building so maintenance work can be done, while the existing ceilings are 16 to 20 feet, Jon Wallenkamp of Kueny Architects, which conducted the study, noted.

There’s not enough room to park equipment and vehicles indoors, and there’s limited space in the wood shop, sign shop and mechanic’s space to serve the city, the study adds.

“In winter when all the vehicles have plows and wings on, that area gets really tight,” Street Supt. J.D. Hoile said. “You have to move things around to get out.”

In addition, exterior improvements are needed to address stormwater quality issues and the grounds on the west side of the building need to be paved.

“The garage is not meeting our needs,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said. “The functionality is lacking.”

The municipal garage sits on roughly seven acres, which the report says is adequate to meet the city’s needs, but it recommends that the existing 34,515-square-foot facility almost double in size to 69,334 square feet.

That includes a garage addition of 24,500 square feet, a covered storage area of about 5,000 square feet at the back of the structure, a parks and recreation garage addition of 3,000 square feet and 1,500 square feet for a carpentry shop.

This would provide 10 more large truck parking stalls, 20 small parking stalls, four large bays for the Parks and Recreation Department and a repair garage with two large service bays, a large fabrication bay and large storage bay.

The report also recommends repairs to the fabrication and repair garages.

To accommodate this, the city would need to demolish the existing cold storage building and salt and sand storage buildings west of the garage, the report states.

The cold storage building “probably has some years left but it’s in probably the worst place on the site,” Wallenkamp told the board.

The building is directly behind the garage and needs to be removed so the addition can be built, he said.

The salt and sand storage building is in poor shape, Wallenkamp said. 

“It’s probably being held up by the materials inside,” he said.

The report recommends building a new salt storage structure and brine tanks on the west side of the property. 

It also calls for paving the area behind the building, something Hoile said is needed.

“It’s a battle to keep everything clean,” he said.

The study also recommended that the city fence off the drop-off site used by residents, who currently have access to the entire site when they drop off yard waste, and it notes that exterior site improvements are needed to address stormwater quality.

Board member Nick Suddendorf asked if the additions are adequate for the foreseeable future.

“Is that enough for the next 25 years?” he asked.

“This plan easily fits you for 25 years,” Wallenkamp said, adding he does not believe the fleet of equipment will grow much.

Ald. Pat Tearney, a member of the board, asked if the work could be phased.

Wallenkamp said it would be less expensive in the long run to do all the work at once.

“Everything’s going to go up as you go through the years,” he said. “If you take out 20,000 square feet, the unit price goes up.”

Ald. Mary Lou Mueller, a member of the board, asked if grants or external funding could be tapped to offset the cost. Wallenkamp said a list will be provided in the final report.

Vanden Noven told the board that the report was intended for discussion only, adding that he will take it into the city’s budget discussions.

“While we’re anxious for improvements, we realize it’s a lengthy process,” he said.

The city is already planning to replace the rubber roof over the garage in 2028 at an estimated cost of $850,000 and replace the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system. 

Ald. Mike Gasper, the board chairman, said the work is being eyed for the 2031 budget, but he noted that’s “not set in stone.”

“It depends on how it fits into our capital improvement plan and our budget,” he said.