Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPBMinutes_2010_11_29BROOKINGS CITY/COUNTY JOINT POWERS BOARD MEETING Monday, November 29, 2010 The Joint Powers Board met on Monday, November 29, 2010 with the following members present: Dennis Falken, Alan Gregg and John Kubal. Also in attendance were Tim Reed, Jeff Weldon, Stephanie Ellwein, Steve Britzman and Mark Kratochvil. REGULAR BUSINESS Acting Chairperson Falken called the meeting to order and a quorum was established. Mayor Tim Reed told the board that it was his intent to appoint himself as a member to the Joint Powers Board, but was unsure if the appointment required council action. Until that could be determined, Reed would not be a voting member. Motion by Gregg, seconded by Kubal to approve the minutes from the November 24, 2010 Joint Powers Board Meeting. All members voted “aye”. Motion carried. The board discussed the construction budget. Falken said there has been discussion on where the county is at and where the city is at. He said that the county initially budgeted $5.5 million, but that it was obvious from the beginning that with the purchase of the land, that amount would not be enough. Falken said at budget time the commission decided it was going to be between $6.5 and $7.0 million and set aside additional funds. Reed said that Tuesday’s council meeting was the first time the council publicly discussed the extra million it was going to take to finish this project. He said that the majority on the council thought they were at a $6.0 million max for the project, and he noted that this council is pretty conservative when it comes to money matters. Reed also said that the county is in a totally different position than the city, as the county needs the new building, the city does not. He said that if they had the ability to do some of the alternates, he believes that the other council members would be a little more comfortable. Then if the bids come in and are affordable, then they could be put in. Falken said that the specific cuts and alternates that City Manager Jeff Weldon presented to the council haven’t been before the full county commission, only the Joint Powers Board. He added that when the estimate came in from the architect, he considered in a worst-case scenario. Falken said that he doesn’t want to be making cuts and alternates before the bids even go out. Weldon said that the construction manager could suggest alternates once the bids come in. Kubal asked what they were saying when they say alternates. He asked if it meant cutting a portion of the building out, or totally eliminating pieces of the project. He said that no one knows what the implications may be if they do that. Reed gave examples like using asphalt in parking lots versus concrete, the quality of finishing substitutions, site contingency and eliminating an elevator. Reed also said that within the city side, they may need to think of some alternates. Falken said the problem with that is with the building being split 52% county and 48% city, the county is going to save more money than the city will. He said that they don’t break out the expenses when paying bills if it’s more of a city cost or more of a county cost. Reed said that he was under the assumption that in the common space area there would be the 52/48 split, but individually within their own spaces the price would be separate. Weldon said that there will only be one bid for both the city and the county sides. Falken said that the city’s action is really earmarking money for a worst-case scenario and that the expenses won’t be approved until the bids are in. He said if the bids come in and we’re over budget, then we go back to our construction manager and tell him that he has to find cuts. Falken said that the county doesn’t want to spend as much as has been set aside, but they’re planning on the worst-case scenario. Reed said that he has always seen alternates before the project is bid, alternates that could be added in, instead of bidding it and then cutting if bids come in too high. Kubal said that by a 4-3 vote, a $5.9 million budget is not acceptable to the city council. He said to bring the $5.9 to $5.5 would take real reductions in which the county would have to get on board with. Reed said that he believes the bids are going to come in under budget. Kubal then asked why they weren’t comfortable with the $5.9 if they believe the bids will come in under budget. Falken said that the city isn’t making a commitment until the bids come in, and once you start cutting back, you’re cutting back on the county side too. Reed said that as long as the bids come in under, then things should just fly through, but it’s if the bids come in over then they need to know what they’re going to do. Falken said that they need to build this so it lasts. He said it’s a value to the citizens to spend the money now so we don’t have to come back in later and fix things and change things because we cut corners. Falken also noted that the city came to the county to build this joint facility and now it’s the city holding up the project. He said they have a meeting with the architect next week to discuss the interior design and members from the commission will probably be at that meeting and regularly come to the Joint Powers Board meetings. Falken said that council members are not regularly at these meetings to get their questions answered. Weldon said that a standard council agenda item is a report from the Joint Powers Board members at every meeting and there have been no questions asked. Kubal said that for the first time the dollar figure was discussed publicly, but he has a hard time believing that the council members didn’t know the amount prior to their last meeting. He said they’ve been throwing the term ‘budget’ around loosely. He said that it’s a moving target and can only be set in concrete to a degree. Kubal said that if they’re confident that the bids are going to come in low, he doesn’t understand why the council is choking on the $5.9 million. Falken said that he’s not happy with what this building estimate has come in at, but it’s just a figure until the bids come in. He said if the bids come in high, then they have to go to the construction manager and make some decisions. Falken said that the Joint Powers Board feels that this estimate is a figure that is high. City Attorney Steve Britzman reminded the board that the Joint Powers Agreement states that the estimated cost of the building is not to exceed $12 million. Reed said that the city has the money; it’s just a conservative council. He said the $5.5 is a number that is palatable with the majority on the council. He said that if you add the basement in, which the majority of the council does not want to eliminate, that brings the amount up to $5.7. Reed said that he believes the council has a fear that there will be no negotiating room once the bids come in. Weldon said that they can look at the project more strategically when the bids come in and see where they may have to rebid to save on costs. Falken said that he feels they’re setting budgets and scaling back before the project even starts. Kubal noted that it was known very early on that a construction manager method was going to be used and disagrees that anyone on the council was unaware of that. Commission Assistant Stephanie Ellwein noted that the city council was discussing the county’s floor plan. She said that if they’re going to do that, then they need to have input as to how the county is going to use those rooms. Reed said that the city needs to get comfortable with where the money for the purchase of the land is coming from and they need to be talked through the building layout. Weldon said that he’s fully prepared to address the city’s space needs. Reed said that in his opinion, the council has a feeling that this project is going to keep going over the $5.9 million and that once it goes over, there’s no way to bring it back. Falken asked why the city council continues to vote against a project when the land has been purchased and we’re moving forward. He said that if the city sends the message that they will never put more than the $5.9 in, then they know where they’re coming from. Reed said that with the basement, have the $5.7 as the goal with possible reductions in electrical, mechanical, asphalt, finishing, eliminating an elevator and one conference room on the third floor. But Ellwein argued that those cuts impact the quality of the entire building and need county approval as well. She said it will require full board discussions because those reductions affect the entire project and the Joint Powers Board made the decision that the reductions to get to the $5.9 are the maximum. Britzman said that both sides are dealing with a set of numbers that are higher than what everyone expected. He said that it would be a good exercise to go over the reductions with both boards, which could be done now or if the bids come in high. Reed said they’re looking at cost management from two different ways-wanting to reduce now and add in if the costs come in under budget, or cut if they come in too high. Gregg asked if the city borrowed $6.0 million why not earmark $6.0 million. Reed said that the $1.0 million spent on the land is the issue. He said he thinks the city’s goal is to be at $5.7, but they may have to earmark $5.9 and see what happens when the bids come in. Falken said that the Joint Powers Board has a meeting with the architects on December 7th and he would like council members to be there if they have concerns. He said that no one is committing funds until the bids come in, but there’s no sense moving forward if the council isn’t going to accept the bids when they do come in. Reed said that he would be willing to go with the post-bid methodology if the commission is willing to work with the council on cuts if the bids come in high. Falken said that he doesn’t think it’s the boards’ place to decide what to cut. If the bids come in high, then they’ll go with the construction manager’s and the architect’s recommendations. Reed said that they need to trust the construction manager and architect, but they must also verify those recommendations. Falken said that the construction manager and architect know that there’s contention with this project and will look through everything thoroughly. Reed said that everyone will need to come to the table in good faith to get down to a level that everyone is comfortable with once the bids come in. Falken said that he believes the only way the council will be comfortable is if Reed stays on the Joint Powers Board. Reed said that his plan is to be on the board until the project is complete. Kubal turned the conversation to the chairmanship roll and said that the chairmanship should be with the city until the end of 2010, then turned over to the county. He said that he would be willing to be the chair until the first of the year. Falken said that it is only fair to turn it back to the city. By consensus, the board named Kubal as chairman through the end of 2010. Reed also said that he would like to start discussions in the next six months on the operation of the building post-construction. Weldon asked if he wanted to see an operations budget. Reed said that he would because the 2012 budgeting process starts in June of 2011. Weldon said that he has concerns with putting the number out there of $5.7. He said that if you state that amount, it becomes gospel and there becomes an unalterable perception that that is the city’s upper limit. Weldon said that the staff recommendation is $5.9 and he’s seen nothing that will alter that. He would be more comfortable if they set the amount at $5.9 and then work to find ways to bring that cost down. Weldon said that they are looking for savings at every point of this process. Falken said that the county committed 100% of its estimate and wondered why the city couldn’t do the same so both entities are at the same starting spot. Reed said that if the $5.9 million amount goes to the council and gets shot down, then there’s no project. Falken said that if the city sets a number, then they’re held to that amount. Reed said the council is used to setting a budget. Kubal asked if they could go to the council with a range. Falken said that he thinks they need to take the $5.9 million to the council with the hope that it can be reduced from there. He said that there’s no guarantee that it’s going to come down, but there are items that could be negotiated. Falken said that he doesn’t want this to be a fight between the city and county and that both boards need to rely on the Joint Powers Board to move the project forward. Kubal asked Reed if he was willing to look at all that has transpired and get comfortable with the $5.9. Reed said that he has the feeling that there have been no cuts that are acceptable to this point. Weldon said that, if directed, he could have them design an option with a second elevator as an alternate, but that could be getting into more structural issues that go along with that as well. Reed said that since the council doesn’t meet again until December 14th and in order to keep the project moving forward, he could visit with some council members. Falken said that he feels they need to go to the council with the $5.9 as the max, and they have Reed and Kubal sitting on the Joint Powers Board working to reduce that. He said that the council needs to trust them as liaisons on this board. Reed said that he wants to work on being able to put some of the bond money toward the purchase of the land. And when the bids come in, he wants them to just roll through. Kubal said that he’d like to see the council move forward as a team. He said that may not mean that everyone necessarily agrees, but get on board and move forward. Reed said that he will agree with the post-bid methodology of this project, but wants the county to remain open to possible cost reductions. Falken said that he thinks the county would be willing to try to save costs. The next Joint Powers Board Meeting is a meeting with the architects to discuss the interior design of the building on Tuesday, December 7th at 1:30 p.m. The board changed their regular meeting time to Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. The next regular meeting will be Thursday, December 9th at 8:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Falken, seconded by Gregg to adjourn. All members voted “aye.” Motion carried. 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 _______________.