COM 0279.000 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Limited Scope Performance Audit of the Department of Parks and Recreation's Facilities Asset Management [Conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS)] This limited scope performance audit examines the Department of Parks and Recreation's asset management of recreational facilities, including maintenance and repair, and its progress in meeting the goals for facilities, fiscal responsibility, and safety set forth in its 2004-2009 Strategic Plan. The County's recreational facilities are public assets acquired through the investment of public tax dollars. County officials are stewards of these public assets, and their decisions about how public facilities are used, operated, maintained, retired, or replaced can have far-reaching financial and social consequences. Currently, certain recreational facilities cannot be fully utilized by the public in their existing condition; games have had to be stopped due to leaking roofs; other major events have been impacted by facility conditions; and facilities or parts of facilities have been closed due to hazardous materials safety issues. Nationwide, many government jurisdictions and their constituents are experiencing the consequences of deferring maintenance and repair of public assets and infrastructure. In Hawaii County, the current Parks and Recreation Administration and Parks Maintenance Division have inherited the responsibility for managing deteriorated facilities with a backlog of critical maintenance and repairs. Many of the County's older recreational facilities require rehabilitation due to the long history of deferred maintenance, prior construction with materials now determined to be hazardous, and new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access requirements. Although we observed Parks Maintenance Division staff diligently performing custodial activities and completing routine work orders, the Department's reactive processes and procedures for critical maintenance and insufficient proactive processes and procedures for periodic critical maintenance have contributed to deteriorating facilities. Critical periodic maintenance — including roof painting and repair and termite treatment— has been inadequate as evidenced by leaking roofs at 11 of the 16 recreational sites visited by the auditors, and termite infestation reported by facility staff at 6 of the 16 sites. Critical maintenance and repair deficiencies were observed by the auditors or reported by facility staff at 15 of the16 sites visited, with certain deficiencies being reported but left uncorrected for several years. The interrelated processes of planning, budgeting, operations, and monitoring necessary for the upkeep of public facilities and effective asset management need to be integrated by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The Department's current system of asset management is ineffective, with the Department lacking a detailed facility inventory, condition assessment, and repair cost estimates to provide the information necessary to develop adequate plans and budgets. The Department does not have an asset management plan for recreational facilities, a plan to reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs, a written plan to remediate hazardous materials with interim safety measures, and an annual work plan scheduling proactive preventative maintenance of critical facility components. While the Department of Parks and Recreation roughly estimated costs to remediate its deferred maintenance backlog at approximately $80 million, $1.3 million of appropriated and allocated CIP funding for Repairs/Improvements is scheduled to lapse unused on June 30, 2011. The Department's Operating Budget is not based on actual maintenance and repair needs, with the Parks Maintenance Division's Miscellaneous Contract Services account for roof