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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPBMinutes_2010_11_24BROOKINGS CITY/COUNTY JOINT POWERS BOARD MEETING Wednesday, November 24, 2010 The Joint Powers Board met on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 with the following members present: Mike Bartley, Dennis Falken, Alan Gregg and John Kubal. Also in attendance were Jeff Weldon, Stephanie Ellwein, Steve Britzman and Mark Kratochvil. REGULAR BUSINESS Chairperson Bartley called the meeting to order and a quorum was established. Bartley reported on the previous night’s city council meeting. He said the council tried to establish a budget and wasn’t able to do so, but they were also unable to decide where to make cuts. He said that he feels as if they’re at an impasse and issues have become personal. Bartley then resigned from the Joint Powers Board. He said that he doesn’t want to see the project go down, but feels the council is trying to force cuts to get down to a particular price. He added that the council has now delayed action for three weeks, which could mean losing the bid window, and that could be costly. Bartley said that he thinks they’ll get through this, but for the good of the project he feels he needs to step away at this time. He concluded by saying that he supports everything the Joint Powers Board does and wished them the best of luck. Bartley left the meeting. The board discussed the chairmanship of the board. Commission Dennis Falken, as Vice- Chair, said that he would act as the Chair until the board makes a decision since the position was supposed to be city-held through the end of 2010. Motion by Kubal, seconded by Gregg to approve the minutes from the November 10, 2010 Joint Powers Board Meeting. All members voted aye. Motion carried. City Manager Jeff Weldon reviewed what he presented as staff recommendations to the council at their meeting for cuts to the city’s portion of the joint facility including a sculpture, asphalting parking lots on the south side of the building, and changes with structural steel and mechanical items leaving the city’s amount for the project at $5.9 million. He said that amount was rejected on a 4-3 vote. He also said that a series of motions to take out the Park and Rec Suite, the basement, and future growth all failed. Kubal said that he made the motion, which he felt was a compromise of some sort, to eliminate the Park and Rec office suite and ten work stations for future growth, but the motion failed. He said that he feels stymied because the majority of the council wants the project cut down, but everything brought forward to make that happen isn’t acceptable. Weldon said that he has no direction from the council on what is an acceptable budget amount on the city side. Falken said that the council doesn’t want to cut things out, but they don’t like the amount it’s at. He said that the number is based on nothing more than a preliminary estimate. He asked why the assumption couldn’t be made that the project will come in under cost and the worst case scenario would be to have to come up with extra money. Falken said that the county was going to build a building, then the city came to the county and said let’s build a building together. He said that it’s a timing thing for the county and we need a building and have to move forward. Weldon said that the city wants this building too, but they just don’t want to pay for it. He said that they can’t make cuts to it and have it not be compromised. Falken said that they don’t know what the bids will come in at and if you cut corners now, it will cost more to add things back in later. Gregg said that the savings for this project will be in the bids, as the bidding environment is very competitive right now. Falken also noted that contractors aren’t going to bid a project that may not be approved. Commission Assistant Stephanie Ellwein noted that the city keeps asking for changes, but every decision the city makes will impact the county. Kubal asked how much money the county has reserved for this project. Ellwein said that the total is at about $7.0 million before you take out the cost of purchasing the land, leaving the county with approximately $6.0 million dedicated for the building. Falken again questioned whether you start scaling down this project before the true costs are even known. He said that he’s willing to defend the decisions once the numbers come in and make decisions once they know what the true bids are. Falken also noted that the county obligated money based on these same estimates and increased those obligations due to the purchase of the land. Falken also said that the he doesn’t believe it’s the Joint Powers Board’s responsibility to deal with how the city’s going to find their money and it’s not their duty to convince the city to come up with the money, especially when he’s on the county side and the county has the money. He said that any cuts are being made because the city wants them, not because the county wants them. Falken said the board did their due diligence and looked at cuts and have come up with an estimate. The board discussed having a meeting with Mayor Tim Reed. Falken suggested the Reed appoint himself as the interim member on the Joint Powers Board. He said that just when they think the project is moving forward, the council votes and they’re back at a stand-still. Commissioner Deanna Santema said that as an observer at the city council meeting, there were members whose understanding was that the $5.5 million was for the whole project, including the cost of the land purchase. Falken said that the $5.5 million figure could have come from the county because that is what they initially had reserved. But because the county had to spend $1.0 million on the land, they obligated more funds toward the building. Weldon said that he tried to explain to the council that they would not be able to build a building for $4.5, but he was ignored. Kubal asked if the council was now of the understanding that the land purchase is separate from the $5.5 figure the council is aiming for. Weldon said that he believes that is acceptable with the majority of the council. Kubal asked if he and Weldon could meet with the Mayor today, talk about appointing a new board member and try to keep moving forward. Falken said that the full Joint Powers Board could then meet at 8:30 Monday morning to visit with the Mayor and discuss the appointment. Weldon said that what bothers him is that there are some thoughts that this project is out of control and he resents those implications. He said that they have saved money by using the city landfill, having Park and Rec do the landscaping, taking trees from the city nursery. He said that he very much resents Councilman McCleman’s comment that this is out of control. City Attorney Steve Britzman said that no one can be blamed on what the estimates are at this point and that the estimates are probably disappointing to both sides. Falken said that if the city truly can’t come together, the county needs to look at its options too. Weldon said that he believes they will come together. Ellwein said that the state offices in the courthouse have been patient up to this point, but space needs is an immediate issue. Falken set a tentative meeting time for 8:30 Monday morning, November 29th and said that he would like the Mayor to sit as an interim Joint Powers Board member until he can appoint someone. Falken added that they now have bare land that we have to build on and it’s either going to be a county office building or a county/city office building. Weldon and Ellwein discussed the Technology Consultant Contract. They met with two consultants that had two different approaches. Weldon noted that people are going to expect state-of-the-art technology in this facility. He said that this would mean another consulting contract that both the council and commission would have to approve. By consensus, the board asked to have a contract brought to the full council and commission for approval. Weldon discussed the historic preservation case review. He said that there were minor changes to the building that were handled. They’ve now asked to look at sidewalks and how the building sits on the parcel of land, so they’ll have to go back again before it’s approved. Weldon also noted that he purchased a sign to have up on the site as the construction process moves forward. The board will set the next meeting date for 8:30 a.m. on Monday, November 29, 2010. They also noted that there will be a special meeting with the architects for interior design on Tuesday, December 7th at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall. The next regular meeting is Wednesday, December 8th at 7:35 a.m. at City Hall. ADJOURNMENT Acting Chairperson Falken declared the meeting adjourned. It is the policy of Brookings County, South Dakota, not to discriminate against the Handicapped in Employment or the Provision of Service. The County of Brookings is responsive to requests for communication aids and the need to provide appropriate access, and will provide alternative formats and accessible locations consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act. ____________________________________ Stacy Steffensen Deputy Finance Officer Brookings County Finance Office Published once at the total approximate cost of _______________.