It’s true, as Sedgwick County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer said last week, that citizens are "sick of consultants." She and other dissenting commissioners were right to reject another study of downtown arena parking until they know more about the study’s scope and cost. That’s just good fiscal oversight.
But as our Tuesday editorial argues, hiring consultants likely makes sense in this case. Crafting a final downtown parking plan involves complicated issues that call for expertise and experience, such as how best to manage the parking system, meet the needs of new neighborhood redevelopment and office space, and incorporate mass transit.
Oh, yeah — and do we need a new parking garage or not?
Commissioners need to make sure they get this right. If that means hiring a consultant, then do it.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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24 Comments
Sept 1, 2004.
“Parking Cost: $19,400,000
“On-site parking … a mix of parking garages … 3200 spaces.”
Are these consultants being paid from the Arena budget?
Haven’t we, i.e. the City, studied everything remotely possible at least 8 times?
If the County Commission finds arena parking to difficult to understand then why did the citizens of Sedgwick County elect people who can’t handle the job? We need more qualified individuals willing to run for office. Better yet, why not have one commission and have a pay range that will draw the qualified people in our community. Good leadership cost money not matter what this paper thinks and or the people of Sedgwick County.
Consulting is good. One can make two years salary for one month of work. :)
(Pats Wallet)
So true JM, so true.
Although it sounds as if the county has already studied this issue many times – I don’t know, I haven’t lived here long enough to really know the facts. BUT I do know that planning parking spaces and lots is a lot more complicated than it looks. In college I took a class that involved planning parking lots and all of the issues that come with that (space, minimum of spots, ADA, required landscaping, drainage, etc). We barely scratched the surface and it was a lot of work. What could it hurt to have someone look at all of those issues and try to get the most out of what we have? It could help with parking for the arena…
AFN, good comments; I don’t know, either, but your post raises an issue I hadn’t previously considered, namely, does the use of the private parking lots for Arena event parking somehow transform the lots into public accomodations for ADA purposes? And, if so, who compensates the parking lot owners for the expense of providing a set number of handicap accessible spaces? Of course, this assumes an adequate number of such spaces are not provided on-site.
Top Ten Things You’ll Never Hear from your Consultant
1)You’re right; we’re billing way too much for this.2)Bet you I can go a week without saying “synergy” or “value-added”.3)How about paying us based on the success of the project?4)This whole strategy is based on a Harvard business case I read.5)Actually, the only difference is that we charge more than they do.6)I don’t know enough to speak intelligently about that.7)Implementation? I only care about writing long reports.8)I can’t take the credit. It was Ed in your marketing department.9)The problem is, you have too much work for too few people.10)Everything looks okay to me. You really don’t need me.
Tracy!
I have never said 1,5 or 10 in your list! :D
You’re a consultant?That explains it. HAJust kidden dude.
JM, I think you’ve never said….6)I don’t know enough to speak intelligently about that.
Yeah, there are some crazy formulas for figuring out the number of handicap spaces needed, all of those using number of people in building at any one time, city/county/federal ADA laws, etc. Since it will be a public building, I would assume that they would have to supply ADA compliant parking spaces even if there aren’t any other spaces.
One version I had seen had ADA spaces adjacent to the building and then the ‘general’ parking garage nearby. Parking AT the Arena was budgeted at $5,000,000 with additional parking budgeted at $19,400,000 for parking (Sept 1 2004)
“Downtown Arena opening in the Fall of 2008.
Operation & Maintainence Reserve: $23,611,000″
That is what they told us in 2004.
AFN, try dealing with milspecs at a DoD ammo contractor’s plant.Sheesh, it’s a wonder we ever get anything made.
Actually, Tracy, I kind of have (or at least something similar). Spent one summer during college and a few months into the fall working in the contracting office of the local Air Force base (not McConnell, but where I used to live). So, yeah, I get your point:)
Ah MILSPECs
What’s peculiar about MILSPECs a lot of the time is that some are based on Natick Labs Research, Corp of Engineers and other research facilities including contracted work to universities and corporations.
Back to the point…By the time the MILSPEC gets published it is often several years, sometimes decades out of current standards of Project protocol. One spends half their time getting waivers, so they can get the work done in time to complete the contract without substantial penalty. :)
Ah, JM (and TRACY), bringing back not so fond memories of my USAF days, and working on procurement contracts, dealing with the waivers, etc…
God am I stupid or what?
PLAN A FOR DOWNTOWN ARENA
1) Cancel downtown arena immediately.
2) Put downtown arena site up for sale to a private company that would benefit downtown Wichita such as an “urban,” “green,” Wal-Mart and/or a corporate headquarters for an airplane manufacturing related company.
3) Prioritize the $250,000,000.27 thus saved less of course the amount of tax money already flushed down the toilet (wasted) by architects, planners, real estate appraisers, quasi-governmental organizations, and politicians who have piled on, etc.
4) Continue to use the Kansas Coliseum and adjacent Horse show arena and two pavilion buildings. Renovate the Coliseum buildings and the existing formerly free 5,000 car parking lot. With a little additional striping, the Kansas Coliseum could handle even more traffic much faster.
5) Find a viable, financially stable sports-tenant willing to sign a long-term bonded lease for a sports arena. Then construct a new arena of size needed adjacent to the Kansas Coliseum. Eventually demolish Kansas Coliseum but of course retain the three adjacent horse show buildings. I believe the people who provide shows in the adjacent buildings have already said they will not move downtown. IN FACT, SO FAR, NO VIABLE STABLE LONG TERM USER/LEASEE/TENANT HAS BEEN FOUND FOR THE ARENA.
6) Determine need for an additional CONVENTION CENTER (not sports/ice arena) downtown near Century II and Exploration Place for bona fide regional conventions for education groups, church groups, midwestern business organizations, etc. Include a sparkling world class international bowling center with all the bells and whistles.
THE EMPHASIS HERE IS ON PRIORITIZING REAL DESPERATE NEEDS WITHIN SEDGWICK COUNTY — AND NOT BUILD SOMETHING ACCORDING TO THE WHIMS OF A FEW OUT-OF-TOWNERS.
SO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS — I KNOW THIS WILL BE A TOUGH DECISION FOR YOU — BUT GET THIS IDIOCY STOPPED NOW BEFORE EVEN MORE HUMONGOUS TAX MONIES ARE WASTED.
Here’s a thought. Why not get a consultant to show Rebenstorf and Foulston how to file criminal charges when their pal Tiller is involved?
After all, maybe they’re just incompetent instead of corrupt.
http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/consulting.jpg
Joe – that website has a bunch of great posters! We have then as screen savers…
;^)
Despair.com has great stuff indeed! Brilliant concept really!
I really like Mexicans. I could cite a litany of wonderful experiences with them, both inthe U.S. and in Mexico.
But, based on recently seeing increasing numbers of Latinos doing taxpayer-funded road work, and hanging out at QuikTrip waiting to be day-job hired (and I would surmise very likely for less-than-American wages for cash payments with no employment-tax contributions), I want to suggest a proposal: ALL ARENA CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SHOULD BE AMERICAN CITIZENS. Forget documented aliens, becausea) they may be participants in American-citizen identity theft, b) documented aliens are not supposed to be here, according to federal immigration statute and regulations, unless it can be shown that they will do jobs that cannot be filled by Americans. To wit, under federal law, immigration is allowed to fill labor shortages, but not to displace American workers. For example Americans may not want to spend a day stooped over cutting lettuce, but they are not averse to construction work. We may have a shortage of native-born doctors and computer scientists (due to correctable education-system deficiencies, hmmm), but we have plenty of Americans who can pour concrete, weld girders, install windows, wire and plumb buildings, assemble heating and cooling systems, et al.
I would challenge any City Councilman, County Commissioner, or civil-service staff-person, to show a single city or county arena financial-planning document that includes a labor cost projection that cites the use of undocumented alien labor as a construction cost-reduction measure, and compares this to a projection using only American-citizen labor.
If the labor-cost projection is based on prevailing American construction workers’ wages, then it should be insisted that Americans be hired. Otherwise, it will just be an opportunity for the contractors to surreptitiously inflate their profit margins–at the expense of local American citizens– while denying good jobs to willing American-citizen construction workers.
Granted, one can make the argument that the Arena is sales-tax-funded, and our resident aliens, both legally and not-legally here pay sales taxes.
Therefore, if City Councilmen and County Commissioners want to make this argument to the public, which is a fair argument, to justify the hiring of undocumented workers to build the arena, that’s reasonable. Some might lose votes, some might gain votes in the next elections if they do this. But they need to be forthright with the local CITIZENRY.
LRT! LRT! LRT!
I mean, why put the arena _right_ next to the train tracks, if you’re not going to USE THEM?