WAUKESHA 鈥 The Water Commission unanimously approved the $750,000 purchase of just over 11 acres of land along Chapman Drive for the future Waukesha Water Utility headquarters on Thursday evening.
At the meeting, Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak brought the item before the commission, outlining the reasons why a new facility is necessary and the timeline of events leading up to last week鈥檚 approval.
Duchniak noted that discussions regarding the future of the utility鈥檚 current headquarters, 115 Delafield St., began years ago. In 2021, the commission began budgeting for upgrades to the facility as it continued to show its age.
The building, located next to City Hall, was built in 1886 鈥 the year area villagers voted to approve the creation of a municipal water system 鈥 and has undergone renovations on a handful of occasions. The general manager previously told The Freeman that the last update was made in the late 1970s. Among other projects, the next round of renovations would have needed to include:
鈻 Tuckpointing (replacing damaged mortar) the aging Lannon Stone building
鈻 Upgrading the HVAC system
鈻 Creating a drive-through garage
鈻 Making the building ADA compliant
鈻 Replacing the roof Duchniak noted that due to roofing problems, when Waukesha receives heavy precipitation, "it rains 鈥 in the copier room" and some of the offices in the building.
Rather than throw money at Band-Aid solutions for the current headquarters鈥 numerous issues, the commission opted to hire Kueny Architects in 2022 to conduct a facility space study. Ultimately, Kueny determined that the Victorian-era building was no longer suitable for the utility as it would cost more money to update the facility than to construct a new one.
Duchniak said razing the current headquarters and rebuilding in the same location would also pose a problem as staff and crews would need to be relocated during the project. After looking at a variety of locations, the Chapman Drive property proved to be ideal as it would situate the utility near the Public Works yard and Clean Water Plant, helping to improve flow and collaboration between departments.
The general manager also explained that a new headquarters would solve the utility鈥檚 current inefficient system for responding to calls. Because supplies are scattered amongst various locations, crews have to make several stops before arriving on scene.
鈥淲e have yards all over the city, buildings all over the city that store all of our equipment and supplies,鈥 Duchniak explained at the meeting. 鈥...When the public calls in and there鈥檚 a main break or a service or an emergency, sometimes our guys have to go to multiple sites to get the supplies they need to respond to those emergencies.鈥
With a new headquarters, everything would be stored in one place, subsequently decreasing crews鈥 response times.
Moreover, the current building poses safety concerns. Duchniak told the commission that over the years, the utility鈥檚 vehicles鈥 size has increased to the point where they 鈥渂arely fit鈥 in the garage. Since vehicles cannot be driven through the garage, the utility has to halt the flow of traffic along North Street in order to retrieve and replace equipment.
鈥淲e actually take two trucks and stop traffic both ways when we鈥檙e bringing the Mud Dog in and out, dump trucks in and out, or trailers. 鈥t鈥檚 just not a safe site here,鈥 Duchniak said.
Following Duchniak鈥檚 presentation, the commission offered audience members an opportunity to provide comment. One person stepped forward: Jim Held, former engineering technician for Waukesha Water Utility.
Held inquired as to the price tag for the proposed headquarters ($15-$20 million) and which renovation projects would exceed the cost of a new building (essentially demolishing the current headquarters and needing to rebuild in the same spot).
He also asked why the utility hadn鈥檛 considered integrating a new headquarters in with the construction of the new City Hall (a new garage was still needed, and crews and office staff need to be in the same location as they communicate and collaborate often) or at the Nike Missile site with the new booster pump station (per the terms of the agreement, the rest of the property had to be developed as a park).
Held also probed the project鈥檚 finances. At the meeting Duchniak explained that the city plans to sell off storage sites and sites with wells that are being decommissioned to help fund the headquarters. The general manager says that the city expects to cover at least half of the cost of the new building with those sales.
Held wanted to know why money from site sales wouldn鈥檛 be used to defray the customers鈥 higher rates for Lake Michigan water. Duchniak explained that interest rates need to be considered.
鈥淭he rates that we were able to borrow for the (Lake Michigan water) project are a lot lower, so to use that money to defray the cost for that and to borrow for (a new headquarters) would be a lot more expensive鈥 since the interest rates would be higher, the general manager said.
During an interview with The Freeman on Monday, Duchniak noted that over half of the low-interest loans taken out for the new Lake Michigan water supply are at a rate of 1.1% over 38 years. The other loans vary from 1.31.7% over 30 years.
Paying down those long-term lowinterest loans 鈥減rematurely鈥 and borrowing more money at a higher interest rate for the new headquarters wouldn鈥檛 be 鈥渇inancially prudent,鈥 Duchniak explained.
Duchniak also noted that should the city sell 115 Delafield St., the cost of the land for the new headquarters would be offset by the money earned from that sale. Moreover, construction costs will be cheaper as utility crews and staff won鈥檛 need to relocate while the new headquarters on Chapman Drive are being built.
The general manager also emphasized that although the utility鈥檚 customers have seen a rate hike as a result of the transition to the Lake Michigan water supply, the new headquarters will not impact rates any further. The project was figured in years ago.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been planning for (a new headquarters) with our financial plan for a number of years,鈥 he said. 鈥...So, there鈥檚 no rate projections that differ from what the public has seen with regards to paying for the infrastructure.鈥
Duchniak also noted that any financial planning the utility does 鈥渋sn鈥檛 just about the new water supply.鈥 Rather, it focuses on a variety of projects and developing plans for other pieces of infrastructure. A new headquarters has been part of those plans for years, before the city officially made the switch to Lake Michigan water.
Moving forward, the Common Council will have to approve the $750,000 purchase of the Chapman Drive property. Duchniak said he is currently drafting a memo for the council to present them with the details of the purchase and the plans for the new headquarters. He expects the item to be on the council鈥檚 agenda in late May or early June.
Should the council OK the purchase, $50,000 of earnest money will need to be put forth, and there will be a six-month due diligence period. During this time, environmental research will take place and the utility will work to gain construction authorization from the Public Service Commission.
Duchniak previously told The Freeman that he hopes to get the new headquarters鈥 designs in place and see construction underway by late 2024 or early 2025.
