Statewide Lease Procedures for Field Offices Located Outside Polk County

Leasing generally occurs in the following contexts:

1. An agency located on the Capitol Complex expands a program or establishes a new program, which necessitates additional space.
2. The Department of Administrative Services plans renovation or restoration of a building and must relocate agencies temporarily off the Capitol Complex.
3. An agency opens a "field" office at a location other than in the City of Des Moines.

In the first two cases, the Department of Administrative Services takes a leadership role and plays an active part in the location of leased space, negotiation of a lease, and coordination of the physical move.

In the third case, the Department of Administrative Services assists the agency with regard to leasing and offers collocation opportunities, if such exist in the city or county where the agency wishes to locate. (See, Iowa Code section 8A.321 (6c).)

This document outlines, defines and delineates the roles and responsibilities of the leasing agency and the Department of Administrative Services for field offices identified in the third scenario.

The Department of Administrative Services' role in leasing properties in the third scenario consists of the following elements:

The agencies' role in leasing properties in the third scenario consists of the following steps:

Step 1: Decision Factors

Decision to lease property has been determined by the state agency.

The agency's decision to lease property or to expand/reduce square footage is determined by a multitude of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: legislative mandate, customer base, federal, state, and county program driven requirements, and an agency's respective mission.

Step 2: Guidelines and Standards

An agency representative completes a space analysis form (see attachment A) to determine appropriate square footage requirements and any special needs requirements.

The Department of Administrative Services has developed space allocation standards and guidelines (see attachment B). These standards assist the department in determining the amount of square footage required for personnel space, as well as, special facilities within the space. Office standards may vary due to space availability, growth potential, acoustics, and specific needs of personnel, program requirements, equipment used, and the type of office furniture used.

Step 3: Locating Space

An agency representative locates potential sites for acceptable office space that best meets their programmatic objectives and time frames.

The method for locating available lease space varies according to facility requirements, agency program needs, time frames, and deadlines. The following methods are generally used to obtain lease space: Request for Proposal, referrals by peers or community partners, downtown redevelopment corporations, realtors, or commercial advertising.Note: State agencies may not pay any finder fees to realtors

Step 4: Selection Criteria

An agency representative selects specific office site to be leased, based on a multitude of factors and criteria.

Selecting the geographical location of the leased facility is based on the varied program requirements of each individual department. Agencies should consider the following criteria when selecting a location:

Collocation Opportunities - Agencies, when possible, should attempt to collocate in an effort to reduce costs. Costs can be reduced by sharing reception areas, conference rooms, receiving areas, restroom facilities, break rooms, communication systems, computer systems, fax/copier/mail centers, common janitorial services, and support personnel. Collocating facilities also promotes economy and efficiency by better coordinating the delivery of services to the general public throughout the state and allowing easier centralized public access to the various services offered by state government. These locations are generally in downtown areas and close to mass transit and major highways.

During collocation projects, the Department of Administrative Services acts as the coordinator in developing request for proposals of rental space, selection of space, negotiations, and move of agencies.

Urban Redevelopment Areas or Revitalization Areas - When possible, agencies should consider locating in economically depressed neighborhoods in order to stimulate revitalization of the area.

Federal Program Requirements - Agencies administering federally funded programs may be required to observe specific guidelines and parameters. For example, an agency may be required to collocate in an existing federal facility or locate within a program specified geographical boundary.

County Program Requirements - Agencies administering county funded programs may be required to observe specific guidelines and parameters. Again, an agency may be required to collocate in an existing county facility or locate within a program specified geographical boundary.

State Program Requirements - Authorities established under the Code of Iowa, or issued Executive Orders, may play a role in establishing certain criteria for geographical locations. For example, some agencies may be required to locate in large geographical areas.

Proximity to Critical Facilities - Agencies' program requirements may mandate locating within a specified boundary to critical facilities, such as, courthouses and other municipal buildings.

Convenient Location to Customer Base - Certain agencies are often located in specific targeted areas and neighborhoods to better serve their clientele.

Mass Transit - Due to the nature of certain agencies' services, those agencies are often required to locate on a public transportation route for convenience and accessibility of their clientele.

Facility Requirements - All potential leased facilities must meet federal, state and local building codes, the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Act, Life Safety Codes, and accessibility under the ADAAG.

Facility Limitations - Some major factors in determining a potential lease location are fair market value, overall move costs, equitable lease terms and targeted occupancy dates. An equally important factor is the availability and cost consideration of communications to the facility, including both telephone and data.

Additionally, leased properties must have adequate security and enough parking to accommodate the general public, as well as, agency staff. Landlords must also be responsive to the agencies needs.

Step 5: Lease Negotiations & Lease Contract

An agency representative negotiates for the required space and general lease terms with the prospective Landlord. Agencies should refer to the lease data information provided annually by the Department of Administrative Services for comparable lease costs of the selected area.

The Department of Administrative Services is responsible for maintaining and providing agencies with lease data information by city, in order to facilitate those negotiations. Lease data information shall be provided to the department's leasing liaison on a yearly basis, to encourage collocation opportunities and to assist the agencies in determining the fair market cost for that area.

The lease agreement, lease renewal, or lease amendment shall be prepared using the standard lease agreement format which was developed in cooperation with the Attorney General's Office and Department of Administrative Services' Legal Counsel (see attachment F).

The Department of Administrative Services is responsible for maintaining the lease agreement and providing the agencies with any updated formats.

Step 6: ADA Accessibility

When negotiating a lease, lease renewal or lease amendment, a State Leased/Owned Building Access Survey form must be completed by the prospective Landlord and sent to the Department of Human Rights, Division of Person with Disabilities (see attachment C). After the Department of Human Rights has reviewed the form, they will prepare a letter identifying any structural barriers and indicating any structural alterations that may be required along with restrictive time frames of when those alterations are to be completed. Written approval from the Division of Persons with Disabilities must be submitted with the lease, lease renewal, or lease amendment indicating that the proposed facility has been inspected and complies with ADA requirements of the State of Iowa.

There must be an updated letter attached to any lease, lease renewal, or lease addendum (see example attachment D). A current ADA letter will ensure all State agencies' offices meet the Governor's Executive Order number 46 and the Governor's directive that the leased facility be inspected and comply with current State Building code, Division 7 (see attachment E).

Step 7: Lease submittal

The agency representative obtains Landlord's signature on lease agreement and submits lease with attached ADA compliance letter, along with a cover letter to the Department of Administrative Services. The cover letter shall summarize the transaction (lease, lease renewal, or amendment), square footage, square footage cost, length of lease, and any increase or decrease in square footage, as well as, the cost associated with such increase or decrease in square footage.

Leases submitted by the agency through the Department of Administrative Services must be submitted to the Executive Council a minimum of thirty days prior to execution of the lease. This applies to all new leases, lease renewals, and lease amendments.

To insure a lease submittal thirty days prior to proposed execution of the lease, the Department of Administrative Services should receive the lease sixty days prior to contract execution. This time frame will allow the Department of Administrative Services to review the agreement for comparable cost, general code compliance (i.e., legal sufficiency, ADAAG compliance, etc.,) and general technical requirements before submittal to the Executive Council.

The Department of Administrative Services prepares a transmittal letter summarizing lease commencement and expiration dates, square footage, cost per square foot, per year, annual cost of lease, and total lease costs. If lease is a renewal, transmittal letter shall also note prior cost per square foot rates. The transmittal letter, the Department of Human Rights letter and the lease agreement are forwarded to the Executive Council for placement on the agenda.

Step 8: Executive Council Approval

A representative from the Department of Administrative Services shall appear at the Executive Council meeting to answer any questions. However, the Department of Administrative Services does not advocate on behalf of the agency before the Executive Council.

Any leases with complicated issues or excessive costs shall also require a representative from the respective leasing agency to attend the Executive Council meeting. Additionally, if the lease has expired, a representative of the agency must be in attendance at the Executive Council meeting to explain the delay in processing the lease. After Executive Council approval; the Department of Administrative Services shall forward a copy of the Executive Council's approval letter to the respective Department's leasing liaison.

Step 9: Execution of Lease

Upon receipt of the Executive Council approval letter, the Department's designated representative shall sign the lease agreement, keep one signed original and send the other original to the Landlord. Additionally, one copy of the executed agreement must be sent to the Department of Administrative Services for the centralized lease file.

If during any of the above steps, the departments need assistance or consultation regarding square footage concerns, code requirements, similar rental costs, etc., they are encouraged to contact the Department of Administrative Services' Lease Manager at 281-8887.

These leasing procedures were developed in a collaborative effort with the following departments and apply only to those departments:
ü   Department of Human Services           
ü   Department of Revenue
ü   Department of Public Safety
ü   Department of Inspection & Appeals
ü   State Public Defender's Office
ü   Department of Education - Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
ü   Department for the Blind
ü   Department of Pubic Health
ü   Department of Public Defense - National Guard Unit

Other departments not listed, such as, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Iowa Workforce Development, Public Defense, and Board of Regents have separate leasing authority under the Code of Iowa.  The attached procedures are not intended to apply to these agencies. 

For an illustrated Agency Field Offices flowchart of the statewide lease process.

For an illustrated Collocated Field Offices flowchart of the statewide lease process.

NOTE: Additional agencies' responsibilities include:

ATTACHMENTS:
Space Allocation Form - Attachment A
Space Standards/Guidelines - Attachment B
State Leased/Owned Building Access Survey Form - Attachment C
Example of Division of Human Rights Letter - Attachment D
Executive Order 46 and Governor's Directive - Attachment E
Standard Lease Agreement Format - Attachment F