Department of Fleet and Facility Management

2019 Budget Statement to the City Council

Committee on Budget and Government Operations
Commissioner David J. Reynolds

INTRODUCTION

Good morning Chairman Austin, Vice Chairman Ervin, and members of the City Council. Thank
you for allowing me to join you today to present and discuss the 2019 budget request for the
Department of Fleet and Facility Management, also known as 2FM.

2FM’s mission is to support the operations of other City departments and sister agencies by
providing high-quality and cost-effective asset management and operational support services.
We ensure the safe and efficient use of the City of Chicago’s assets by effectively managing the
maintenance and repair of vehicles, equipment, and properties used or occupied by the City. In
addition, we provide a range of support services including environmental health and safety
programs, energy procurement, graphics and reproduction, records management, and mail
delivery.

EQUIPMENT

Our portfolio of equipment includes 1,706 pieces of leased or rented equipment and 9,110
pieces of owned equipment for a total count of 10,816. We also provide equipment
maintenance services and fuel through intergovernmental agreements with the Chicago Park
District, Chicago Transit Authority, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and other
sister agencies. The total sister agency fleet size we service, and fuel is 1,849 and includes
leased, owned, and rented equipment.

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Public Safety Purchases

We continue to analyze the state of our fleet and make strategic purchases as funding becomes
available. As in 2017, our 2018 purchases included a substantial investment in public safety
equipment.

In 2018 we received 20 new Advanced Life Support ambulances in addition to the 28 units
received last year. Also, in 2018 we received seven fire engine pumpers and a mobile command
van for the Chicago Fire Department (CFD).

We continue to purchase all-wheel drive SUV police vehicles built at Chicago’s Ford Assembly
Plant on South Torrence Avenue. Since the contract award in 2012, we have purchased and
received 1,931 of these vehicles. Purchasing these Chicago-made vehicles at a total cost of
more than $74 million strengthens our local economy and provides another component to
protecting our communities. The average age of a front-line SUV used by the Chicago Police
Department (CPD) is now less than four years.

FACILITIES

Our facility portfolio currently includes 457 owned and 53 leased facilities for a total count of
510. The owned properties include 16 parking lots and 28 vacant or abandoned buildings
managed on behalf of DPD. Twelve of the vacant buildings 2FM manages for DPD are in the
process of being sold or otherwise disposed of.

Repairs and Maintenance

2FM’s Facility team continues to prioritize repairs and maintenance in our facilities to ensure
“safe, dry, and warm” locations to the various user departments.

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In 2018, 2FM has been heavily involved in improvements at CFD and CPD facilities. In 2017 and
2018 2FM continued with extensive renovations of building envelopes, heating and cooling
systems, and improvements to provide equal access at CFD facilities.

Concerning CPD, in 2017 and 2018 2FM completed strategic support center construction in
seven districts and radio and body camera build-outs in eight districts.

2FM continues to make substantial progress in improving the conditions of libraries across the
City. Recent work at libraries has included both regional libraries (Woodson and Sulzer), Kelly,
Chicago Bee, Austin, North Austin, and Jefferson Park. 2FM is beginning significant renovation
projects at Douglass Library and South Shore Library. 2FM implemented “CARE” programs
(Clean and Repair Everything) at Richard J Daley, Mable Manning, West Belmont, and West
Town libraries. 2FM will add to its inventory of libraries with four new facilities opening in Q4
2018.

Work on City Hall continues under 2FM’s direction. Façade repairs on Washington, Randolph
and LaSalle streets are complete and improvements to the elevator shafts in the central light
courts are underway. 2FM is also in the process of modernizing the elevators.

In 2018 2FM made significant structural repairs to the North Park Village Senior Apartment
building and completed interior renovations at the King Center and the Englewood Health
Center. Work is underway on renovations at the Levy Senior Center and renovation is expected
to begin on the Garfield Center later this year.

Last year I reported the City was on track to complete the sale of 2FM’s 18-acre headquarters
facility at 1685 N. Throop Street in the North Branch Industrial Corridor. This transaction did
indeed close. Working with the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, 2FM has completed and opened
the new fuel site at 1150 N North Branch. The satellite shop at 4243 N Neenah will be complete
in November 2018 and the main shop at 210 W 69th will be complete in January 2019.

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Riverwalk

2FM manages and oversees the Chicago Riverwalk operations and solicits businesses to provide
food, drink, and services on the Riverwalk. As the Riverwalk continues to grow in popularity
and use, revenues to support Riverwalk debt service repayments increased from $1.2 million in
2014 to $11.6 million in 2017. Based on the revenue thus far in 2018 the City expects to exceed
the 2017 total; as of August 31, 2018, gross revenues were already at $10.6 million.

2018 saw the completion and debut of Art on the Mart, the largest video installation in the
world at over two and one-half acres. The project was completely funded by the Mart’s owner,
Vornado Real Estate, and will feature video installations free of branding and advertisement
five nights a week, ten months of the year.

Lastly, 2FM has worked closely with BACP, the Black Caucus, and the Latino Caucus to
formulate a plan for the City Marketplace on the Riverwalk, a series of concession spaces
intended to feature food and retail from minority-owned neighborhood businesses. 2FM has
received qualification statements from 39 vendors and evaluation of these statements is
underway. 2FM intends to have the Marketplace in operation for the 2019 season.

SERVICES

Environmental Health & Safety

In 2018, 2FM’s EH&S staff assisted with the proper disposal of nearly 1,000 tons of waste from
an improper building demolition. 2FM staff also expanded its review of DPD property
dispositions to include the Large Lots and Adjacent Land programs to help control the City’s
environmental liability and protect the health of residents.

Also, in 2018, to improve environmental awareness and environmental compliance, 2FM

provided training to all relevant employees on proper stormwater management and green
infrastructure, including spill prevention and bioswale maintenance. Similar to our consolidate

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inventory efforts, 2FM established a dedicated universal waste collection area for spent light
bulbs and batteries generated during facility maintenance.

Concerning the Citywide EHS program, in 2018 2FM worked with infrastructure departments to
initiate the uniform collection of incident data to ensure accurate OSHA reporting and to allow
for more rigorous accident data analysis.

Energy Procurement

In recent years, 2FM has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce energy use across the
City’s fleet and facilities. The Energy Procurement and Management Bureau has also been able
to leverage favorable market timing to reduce energy costs despite overall increases in energy
commodity prices. 2FM has minimized the impact of a 22 percent year-over-year increase in
average fuel prices while capitalizing on lower electricity and natural gas prices. Through these
hedging actions, the City has been able to reduce energy spend by $2.2 million, year over
year. This marks the third straight fiscal year of reducing energy spend.

Technology

2FM continues to utilize and leverage technology in order to accelerate growth, bring
innovation, and more effectively serve our customers. 2FM is currently implementing an
inventory management system to better control the use and procurement of materials by our
building trades. The inventory system will allow us to set minimum and maximum quantities of
materials being held in stock virtually eliminating excessive spending on unneeded materials.
In addition, the ability to see what parts and materials are on hand will help in planning and
coordinating jobs to reduce the amount of time between work order creation to job
completion.

By the end of 2018 2FM’s Fleet Operations will complete the implementation of M5, a state-of-
the-art equipment maintenance and management system, and Fuel Focus, a state-of-the-art
fuel management system. These systems will increase 2FM’s ability to make data-driven
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decisions about the City’s fleet. This technology will help drive cost-savings through
preventative vehicle maintenance and efficient fuel purchasing.

CONCLUSION

2FM accomplished much in 2018 and we look forward to continuing to work with the City
Council to provide city departments the services and infrastructure they need to fulfill their
important missions. We appreciate your ideas, your input, and your continued partnership to
address the needs in your communities.

Managing and caring for the City’s public infrastructure is an important responsibility, and it is
one that every employee at 2FM takes very seriously. We are committed to delivering the
highest quality of services to the city departments in the most efficient and cost-effective
manner possible. I would like to personally thank our employees for their tireless effort to
continuously improve on the services we provide.

Madam Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. My staff and I are pleased to answer
any questions you or the members of the City Council may have on our presented budget.