Fulton County, Georgia - Real Estate Assessment and Improvement Program
2017 NACo Achievement Award Winner
Fulton County, Ga., GA
Best In Category
About the Program
Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)
Year: 2017
PROGRAM ABSTRACT During the recent recession, Fulton County faced several tight budget years. As an austerity measure, for several years facility maintenance was largely deferred. As a result, problems developed or persisted at County buildings, including leaking roofs, failing HVAC systems, and malfunctioning elevators. In several cases, facilities were forced to close at short notice due to failing building systems. In 2015, a new County Manager joined Fulton County. He quickly assembled a team that recognized that safe and fully-operational facilities are fundamental to good public service delivery. They set about developing a plan to assess and repair facilities. To understand the scope of facility issues, and to develop a strategy to prioritize and address these issues, Fulton County’s internal team developed a comprehensive facilities assessment that would serve as a roadmap for future facilities investments. The team developed a Request for Proposals to formally implement a non-destructive infrastructure assessment for 110 Public Interfacing facilities. The primary focus was to assess infrastructure systems, as well as high level code and ADA compliance and overall physical appearance review. The firm of Faithful + Gould was selected for this assessment project, with oversight and leadership from Fulton County staff in the Department of Real Estate and Asset Management. Working closely with the contractor, Fulton County’s facilities team yielded a comprehensive assessment of 3.8 million square feet, including 110 facilities. The plan was presented to and accepted by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in September 2016. This facility assessment now serves as the basis for a comprehensive strategy to address and finance facility repairs over the course of the next 5 years. It has also served as a guide to determine which facilities have outlived their purpose.