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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPBMinutes_2012_09_13BROOKINGS CITY/COUNTY JOINT POWERS BOARD MEETING Thursday, September 13, 2012 The Joint Powers Board met on Thursday, September 12, 2012 with the following members present: John Kubal, Tim Reed, Dennis Falken and Deanna Santema, as an alternate for Alan Gregg. REGULAR BUSINESS Chairperson John Kubal called the meeting to order and a quorum was established. Motion by Falken, seconded by Reed to approve the minutes from the August 9, 2012 Joint Powers Board Meeting. All members voted “aye.” Motion carried. The board discussed the status of the remaining punch-list items. City Manager Jeff Weldon said several contractors have been in and out of the building recently and the list is getting shorter. He said there are still flooring issues. Commission Assistant Stephanie Ellwein said there is a leak in the roof in the Planning & Zoning Director’s office as well. Weldon said the final payments will not be made until they are satisfied that everything is finished. The board reviewed one change order. Weldon said this was a modification that Site Superintendent Dan Volbert had the contractors to do keep the work on schedule. Motion by Reed, seconded by Falken to approve change order COR#062 to the contracts with Clark Drew Construction, Inc. for a credit of $1,000, to Kenneth Janning & Sons, Inc. for a credit of $2,130 and to Midwest Glass for $5,130 for a total of $2,000 to replace a section of the center stair railings. Reed said that it happens a lot that they pay a little more to keep a project on time. Weldon said this was a delay with the terrazzo and that affected so many other things. Ellwein said they had to work around things to keep the project on schedule so they adjusted how they did the stairs so the terrazzo could come in later. All members vote “aye.” Motion carried. Ellwein noted that the additional lighting was installed in the County Finance Office and has made a big difference. Weldon reviewed the project status report and the outstanding contract amounts. He said with the board’s approval of this last change order, the remaining contingency is approximately $380,000. Weldon explained what was still left to pay on the project. Falken noted they still owed approximately $280,000. Reed asked about the remaining cash left in contingency and what would happen with that. Weldon said it is in a city-held account and they do continue to spend some of it on FFE items. He said it will be up to the board on what to do with what’s left over. Weldon reviewed the finance report. The board reviewed the list of additional construction-related expenditures that are being charged to the project. Weldon said they’ve spent approximately $210,000, so the actual remaining contingency is about $173,000. Ellwein noted that there is $90,000 in security grant revenue that will still come in too. The board discussed the revised meeting room usage draft policy. Weldon said he took the board’s feedback and made some modifications, including limiting the public’s access to the community room. Santema asked about having a technician available to run the electronic equipment if needed. Weldon said they will need to figure out an hourly rate for that. City Attorney Steve Britzman asked about limiting meeting times. Ellwein said if the room is available for a full day and no one else has it booked, she doesn’t think they should limit it. Kubal asked about scheduling. Ellwein said the county and city share a scheduling software program that is working well. Falken said he liked the policy and if they need to make changes, they can always do that. Reed asked if the full city council and county commission would have to approve this policy. Britzman said that this would fall under the duties of the Joint Powers Board to approve. Kubal said the room will be available between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Weldon said they must be out by 5:00, or it would require staff overtime. Kubal also asked if there would be an instance where someone would get taken off the schedule. Weldon said no one will get bumped; it will be first come, first served. Motion by Reed, seconded by Falken to approve the Meeting Room Usage Policy for the City & County Government Center as presented. All members voted “aye.” Motion carried. Falken said they should present the policy to the full boards in case they are questioned by members of the public. Weldon updated the board on a back-up generator for the building. Weldon said he did some research and looked at options with representatives from Brookings Municipal Utilities. He said the most modest approach is to have a back-up for the sump pumps. Weldon said the other possibilities would be to have a back-up for some of the building or a full generator for the entire building. Weldon said a battery back-up for the sump pumps won’t work. He said they will need either a diesel or natural gas generator and he is looking at the specs so they can tell possible vendors what they have and what may work. Santema asked if a gas generator could be stored in the basement or if it would have to be outside. Weldon said he’s not sure, but one vendor he spoke with recommended diesel. Kubal said a full generator is probably over-kill and suggested they take a middle of the road approach. Weldon said they could pick out certain building systems. He said the building’s security is already on a UPS, but a generator could give extended life to that. He said it could be used to run certain lights and heat. Weldon said they could pick out which building services they would want to still be able to run. Santema said heat would be important so pipes don’t freeze. Weldon said the building will retain heat for quite awhile, but in the case of an ice storm, power could be out for several days. Falken said this discussion stemmed from some of the issue they had when the power went out, but he said they will still have those issues even with a generator. He said having a full generator for the whole building is over-kill and the board needs to think about what type of disaster would leave the building without power 24-plus hours. Falken said the intent of the building was not to be an emergency shelter when they planned it. Reed asked if they would ever not be able to get into the building. Weldon said they still have keys. Santema said they need to make sure the sump pumps work and investigate the middle of the road option so they have the answers when they’re asked. Kubal said they seem to all be in agreement about the sump pumps. He questioned if they did just that now, would they be in retrofit mode if they discover they need something more. Weldon said that would be the case. He said the generator they get will be based on what the building needs and it won’t be big enough if they initially go with just the sump pumps. By consensus, the board agreed that a full generator for the entire building was off the table. Santema said they do need to investigate the intermediate level. Ellwein said they should because they don’t want to be told later that for an additional $5,000 they could have done more and they didn’t even explore that possibility. Kubal said they should look at the two options with the understanding they want the sump pumps covered. Weldon said Johnson Controls gave him information where they could add the sump pumps to the current alarm system for about $4,300. However, he said if they have a generator, they would count on that to work and wouldn’t need to be notified. Weldon said that having the sump pumps on the alarm system wouldn’t keep them from over-flowing. Santema asked if it is necessary to add them. Ellwein said with a generator, theoretically it would not be necessary. Falken suggested they wait to get more information on the generator first. Weldon said he can also ask if they have the alarms hooked up with sumps on generators. The board discussed a request from the Historical Society to place a brochure rack in the building. Weldon said they are asking for permission to install a display sign in the lobby, and they would purchase the item. Kubal questioned how much they should start putting in before it gets a cluttered look. Weldon said the current display case is not the Historical Society’s. He said they were told they can use it until the Joint Powers board tells them differently. Ellwein said there used to be two racks in the courthouse that were always littered with things. She said they will have to be monitored. Santema asked if giving permission to one group opens them up to having to give permission to others. Weldon said it is up to the Joint Powers Board on what they have in the building. Motion by Reed, seconded by Falken to approve the Historical Society’s request to place a brochure rack in the lobby of the building and to use Option A as presented to the Joint Powers Board. All members vote “aye.” Motion carried. The board discussed having a display rack for the Collegian newspaper. Weldon said the Collegian is getting dropped off and stacked inside the west vestibule. He asked if they should get a rack or ask the Collegian to provide one. By consensus, the board will ask the Collegian to place the newspapers under the staircase by the planter box. The board asked about the planter box. Reed suggested leaving it up to Weldon and Ellwein on what should go in there. Weldon said he could ask McCrory Gardens to supply planters for inside the building, including the planter box, and take care of them. The board reviewed the safety and security plan. Weldon said the SWAT team was recently doing drills in the building and the fire department has also been in the building. Ellwein said Emergency Management Director Todd Struwe has started an emergency response plan for the building. Weldon said when they had issues with the fire alarms last month only 1/3 of the building took them seriously. He said they need to get something in writing and bring it to the board for approval. Reed discussed the white rubber roof and being able to see it from a distance. Weldon said they could look into placing roof rock on the building. He said the white may also fade over time. Falken said they should look into the roof rock. Santema asked about additional signage marking the stairwells once people get to 2nd floor. Reed said he wants to make sure the chambers are accessible. Kubal said he hates adding more signs though. Santema said that Commissioner Gregg asked about adding drawers in the boardroom dais. Santema said they have the anteroom. Ellwein said other boards use the dais too and wondered if the drawers would need to be locked. Falken said they shouldn’t have separate drawers; if they have them, have a few things in them that everyone could use if they’re using the room. Weldon said BMU told them that water consumption is through the roof at the building. Weldon said they only have the bathrooms and the sprinklers, but they used 630,000 gallons last month. He said they need to start tracking this down. Weldon said the sump pumps run every three minutes and he’s wondering if it is circulating the same water or if there is a possible drainage line perforated. Ellwein said it may have been a mistake with the reading of the water meter as well. Weldon and Ellwein were going to look into it further. The next meeting was scheduled for October 11th, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Reed, seconded by Kubal to adjourn. All members vote “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 _______________.