Staff Report

MINUTES
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2009

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

            The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, June 15, 2009, in the Council Chambers at City Hall.  Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

QUORUM:

            In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Councilmembers Brady, Marcos, Polangin,  Trouth, Turner and Valentino-Smith; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Robert Levan, City Clerk Fleming, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.  

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

            The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

            A.  Ms. Pat Sgumbati, 12517 Rockledge Drive, spoke about BGE's tree removal and said she felt that the trees were not entirely the problem; there were just as many outages in the 1960's as there have been recently.    She also said she was concerned that stumps are being left and the homeowner has to pay to have them removed as well as to replace the tree.

            B.  Mr. Gary Allen, 13003 Beechtree Lane, spoke in support of the two resolutions on tonight's agenda regarding the new city hall project.

PRESENTATIONS:

            A.  Teacher of the Month Recognition - Ms. Dawn Brodus-Yougha, member of the Education Committee, announced the Teacher of the Month for April is Lori Stevens, a teacher at Grace Christian School.  Councilmember Marcos presented a Certificate of Recognition and a $100 United States Savings Bond to Ms. Stevens and congratulated her on behalf of the entire Council.

            Ms. Brodus-Yougha then announced the Teacher of the Month for May is Renee Roth, a 3rd Grade teacher at Tulip Grove Elementary School.  Councilmember Polangin presented a Certificate of Recognition and a $100 United States Savings Bond to Ms. Roth and congratulated her on behalf of the entire Council.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

            City Manager Deutsch reported that the Race Track Road traffic signal project is planned for a July 6 start; staff expects the project to be completed before the start of the next school year.   He has spoken with Pastor Lehman at Cornerstone Church and recommended that he contact the County Department of Public Works and Transportation to get their clearance to open the Race Track Road driveway once the traffic signal project is completed.

CONSENT AGENDA:

            A. Councilmember Marcos moved approval of the following items: A. Approval of Minutes of May 4, 2009 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Proclamation P-10-09, Recognizing Eleanor T. Minor for Her Service to the Prince George's County School System; C. Approval of Resolution R-32-09, Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Amounts in the 2008-2009 Budget; D. Approval of Resolution R-37-09, Adopting An Art in Public Places Policy, Defining Public Art, A Mission Statement, Programmatic Goals and Administrative Responsibilities; and E. Approval of Resolution R-38-09, By Two Thirds Vote Waiving Bidding Requirements for the Hauling/Disposal of Biosolids From the Bowie Wastewater Treatment Plant and Authorizing a Contract Pursuant to the Terms and Conditions of An Agreement Between the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and Recyc Systems, Inc.   Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. 

OLD BUSINESS:

            A.  Emergency Ordinance O-6-09 - Amending Chapter 2, "Administration", Article II, "Personnel System", Division 7, "Benefits - Leave, Insurance, Retirement Etc."; Section 2-55, "Holidays" In Order to Provide for the Substitution of a Floating Holiday - City Attorney Robert Levan summarized the ordinance and said that under the existing Code when the issue arises to compensate employees for holidays, there have been cases when employees who work an irregular work week are compensated for a holiday even though they are not scheduled to work; because of this they are also compensated at a premium rate; the ordinance is designed to correct this situation so that when a holiday falls during an employee's regular work week and on days when they don't work the employee would forgo that holiday and take it within 60 days of the holiday.  

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            In response to a question posed by Mayor Pro Tem Turner, City Manager Deutsch said that the day after Thanksgiving was also being codified as a holiday.

            Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved the adoption of Ordinance O-6-09.  Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

            A.  Resolution R-39-09 - Accepting a Proposal From Manekin Construction LLC for General Contracting Services for the New City Hall - Assistant City Manager Fitzwater summarized the staff report dated June 9, 2009, a copy of which is on file at City Hall.  He reported that legal notices were placed and Statements of Qualifications were sent to various firms for General Contracting Services for the new City Hall project; a total of 27 proposals were received; the City went through a process with the City's Project Manager, Project Architect and City Project Management Team consisting of City staff members representing each department of the City; the proposals were evaluated in order to pre-qualify the top firms based on the quality of their submittals; the criteria used were project performance, personnel qualifications/experience, references, financial data, safety performance, claims/final resolution/judgments, failure to complete - applicant, and other relevant criteria.  Mr. Fitzwater said that based on this review, six firms were prequalified and asked to submit a cost proposal for construction of the new City Hall; after careful review of the proposals, Manekin Construction LLC had submitted the lowest qualified bid in the amount of $15,924,760 including add alternates.  He said that the good news is that the FY 2010 budget had this project budgeted at $26,000,000 so the proposal by Manekin is $10,075,240 below the budgeted amount.  Mr. Fitzwater then reviewed Manekin's experience and qualifications.  He concluded his report by saying that there have been 18 public hearings, stakeholder meetings and budget adoptions pertaining to the City Hall project from November 2006 to the present; once a general contractor is selected and under contract, a meeting will be scheduled to inform the community how the construction process will occur and to address any issues that may arise.  Mr. Fitzwater said staff recommends City Council approve Resolution R-39-09 approving Manekin Construction LLC as the general contracting firm for the City Hall Project for the contract cost of $15,924,760 which includes add alternates; the resolution indicates that the City Manager would not be authorized to sign this contract until bond prices are obtained on or about July 7, 2009 and the closing for the bond issue occurs on or about July 21, 2009.

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            In response to a question posed by Councilmember Valentino-Smith, City Manager Deutsch said there are forms that are part of the bid package that contractors have to attest to and they been properly submitted; staff is confident that the process to date is yielding appropriate response from contractors, the City Attorney will be working on the contract which incorporates potential situations; a contract form is being used that is typically used in the contracting industry and modified to suit the City's needs.  Mr. Deutsch then described the process of how the six bidders were selected and felt Council need not be concerned.  He also noted the construction management firm will be on site at all times and will be arguing the City position when change orders are requested; one of the values of having pre-qualified contractors is it is not expected that many change orders will occur.  He followed up to further questions by saying there are multiple advantages for Council and the community of the bids that have come in; if Council endorses the resolution on the bonds, the City will borrow $15,500,000 and will also need less cash from reserves; the reason for borrowing this amount is it preserves cash and financial flexibility, and based on advice from the City's financial advisor, if the borrowing level is pulled back further fewer bond buyers would be attracted.

            In response to a question posed by Councilmember Marcos with regard to being able to do better on the construction time line, City Manager Deutsch said with a project of this magnitude, there are a number elements with the schedule as it draws down to completion; the project may look finished by the end of 2010 but there is a lot of work needed to get it ready for human occupancy that may take as long as 60 days; staff will share the schedule with Council as the construction occurs.  In response to another question from Mr. Marcos, Mr. Deutsch said more soil tests were done than an architect would typically require.

            Councilmember Trouth commended staff for bringing in the project $10,000,000 under the budget.  He asked if the City had contacted the County regarding permits to help with making it a smooth transition.  City Manager Deutsch replied staff has had significant an on-going conversations with the relevant parties at the County level; the civil engineer is a key component and has a good working relationship with the County; have had positive response with each step with the Council; time frames suggested have been held; the County Council representatives has been apprised of the need for some potential involvement and also talked with the County Executive's office and received their support on waiving building permit fees.

            Councilmember Brady also commended staff, the project manager and the architect on an excellent product; felt they were looking after the best interests of the City.  He added that the schedule is driven by what is being built as well as the weather.  He encouraged his colleagues to support the resolution.

            Mayor Pro Tem Turner said he felt the City is a benefactor of circumstances and that because of the economy, the City is getting a good value.  In response to questions from Mr. Turner, Mr. Deutsch said bids were opened in the presence of Grimm & Parker and Arcadis; discussions were held and both were saying the bids were good; both firms have independently recommended the lower bidder that is being recommended to Council.  With regard to the construction contingency, Mr. Deutsch said it was about $1.497 million.  With regard to MBE commitments, Mr. Deutsch said the goal is 25% and at this stage there is 12% commitment; felt it needs to be kept in proper prospective; it is to the contractor's advantage to use local labor and materials as much as possible because of transportation costs; felt it would alter the balance of the funding and cost of this project to attempt to have an apprentice program; would be concerned about having too many inexperienced people on site that would be at times a dangerous place to work; 350 to 500 jobs will be created which is a significant number for the construction of this project; the contractor will be urged to hire local people as much as possible.

            Mayor Robinson congratulated staff and said he was in support of the project and the resolution; it is clearly time to move this project forward and encouraged the Council to vote in favor of the resolution.

            Councilmember Brady moved approval of Resolution R-39-09.  Councilman Trouth seconded the motion and it carried 6-1 (Valentino-Smith).

            B.  Resolution R-40-09 - Adopted Pursuant to the Authority of Ordinance O-4-09 Providing for the Issuance and Sale of a Series of General Obligation Bonds Authorized by Such Ordinance for the New City Hall Project in the Aggregate Principal Amount of Fifteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($15,500,000); Prescribing the Amounts of Each Maturity or Mandatory Sinking Fund Payment, As Applicable, for the Bonds and the Optional Redemption Terms of the Bonds; Prescribing the Terms and Conditions for the Issuance and Sale of the Bonds at Public Sale; Authorizing the Preparation and Distribution of Preliminary and Final Official Statements for the Bonds; Designating the Bonds as "Qualified Tax-Exempt Obligations" Pursuant to Section 265(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, As Amended; and Generally Relating to the Sale, Issuance, Delivery and Payment of and for the Bonds - City Manager Deutsch said this is the next step in the General Obligation Bond process; benefits of the change of going to $15,500,000 and based on the overall financial situation, staff is suggesting a level payment structure which means the total debt service would be less with less interest costs.   He said he is hopeful that the level principle structure will result in the City obtaining a lower interest rate; staff has been closely working with bond counsel.   Mr. Deutsch recommended that Council support the resolution authorizing the $15,500,000 of bonds which will be 20 year bonds; bids will come in on July 7, 2009.

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            Following some further questions and discussion with bond counsel, Councilmember Marcos moved approval of Resolution R-40-09.  Councilmember Polangin seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 6-1 (Valentino-Smith).   Councilmember Valentino-Smith explained that while she has been on record as opposing the project as it was proceeding as well as the bond ordinances, she fully appreciates the need the City has to finance the project through a bonding process; her objection to the process is that in the bonding process and the historic nature of the project and the amount of the project, she felt it should proceed through public referendum.  

            C.  Energy-Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Projects - City Manager Deutsch summarized the staff report dated June 10, 2009, a copy of which is on file at City Hall.  He reported the program appropriated $3.2 Billion to the Department of Energy to fund the Energy-Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant; Bowie has been allocated $464,000 under this program; the staff report lists the distribution and $1.8 billion goes to grant eligible cities and counties; the rest goes to states and Indian Tribes.  He said there is a list of cities in Maryland that are eligible for funds; staff has assembled a list of projects; each of the recommended items meets the requirements and fits into one or more of the elements as outlined by the Department of Energy.  Mr. Deutsch then summarized the recommended uses as outlined in the staff report; staff recommends that Council endorse the list of proposed projects outlined in the staff report for use of the Energy-Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant funds.

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            Following questions and discussion, Councilmember Brady moved to approve the staff recommendation.  Councilmember Trouth seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

            D.  Legislative Priorities - City Manager Deutsch explained that this item is on the agenda at this time because it ties into Maryland Municipal League's Legislative Committee's schedule, which go through the review process during summer months.  He said he didn't think any of the items listed in the staff report rise to the level of a MML Legislative Action Request because one of the major criteria relates to state-wide applicability and the list is mainly Bowie focused. 

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            Mr. Leonard Lucchi, City Lobbyist, summarized the items listed in the June 11, 2009 staff report, a copy of which is on file at City Hall.

            Discussion was held on the issues in the staff report which are of interest to the City of Bowie.  It was the consensus of the Council to make Item #6, State Franchising Authority for Cable Firms an MML legislative priority; all other items will be deferred until Council meets later in the summer. 

ADJOURNMENT:

            Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved to adjourn the meeting.  Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.   The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Pamela A. Fleming, MMC
City Clerk