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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-04 Joint WS CC P & R Minutes Approved Meeting Minutes 02-04-09 JOINT WORK SESSION CITY COUNCIL & PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - 6:30 p.m. A Joint Work Session was held February 4, 2009 commencing at 6:30 p.m. between City Council and the Parks & Recreation Committee. Mayor Capra and all Council Members were present, as well as Mr. Mark Statz, City Engineer, Mr. Paul Palzer, Public Works Director, Mr. Dallas Larson, City Administrator and Ms. Kim Stephan, Staff Liaison to the Parks & Recreation Committee. The Parks & Recreation members present were: Chairperson Suzanne Seeley, Vice-Chairperson Kevin Amundsen, Committee Member Mark Haiden and Committee Member Lori Harris. DISCUSSON ITEMS: Park Projects: System for managing and closing out Park Projects in conformance with expectations of Parks & Recreation and City Council. Chairperson Seeley began by saying the Parks & Recreation Committee has been disappointed and frustrated in the outcome of the recent Park Projects and suggested the largest problem was communication among all parties involved and perhaps lack of clarity as to what the expectations were for each project. Mayor Capra asked for specific examples of how things could be handled differently. Committee Member Harris, as the member most involved with the Tracie McBride Memorial Park renovations, spoke on the problems with this particular park. Committee Member Harris prefaced her comments with she had not been to a few Parks & Recreation Committee meetings at one point as she was frustrated and considered quitting after seeing the outcome of the renovations to Tracie McBride Memorial Park. She was disappointed after the committee had worked so hard on the planning that the outcome was not at all as intended. Committee Member Harris said that the committee had specific goals, in writing, but plans were changed multiple times without ever coming back to the Parks & Recreation Committee. There were problems with the contractor (sod, trails, painting, and the window in the utility building), the vendor for the play ground equipment (installation of the Merry-Go-Round) and the design being altered due to installation of additional drain tile. The contractor did come back and reset the Merry-Go-Round, but neither with the first installation or the second adjustment did they contact Public Works to say they were doing it, they just came and did it and left. Committee Member Harris stated that if a committee member had been the contact person the problems would have been caught right away. Mr. Palzer said that the old existing play structure was actually two (2) feet lower than originally anticipated and there were problems with drain tile. This issue resulted in extra costs which meant the project had to be cut back elsewhere. Everyone agreed that the planning people are being left out of the loop as project changes occur the decisions are being made by Mr. Larson, Mr. Palzer and Mr. Statz and not getting back to the committee until the work is completed. Council Member Broussard asked the committee to consider whether they were willing to have projects stopped and wait until the committee has their meeting once a month to be able to make decisions. She also said she personally counts on Staff to make these decisions. Chairperson Seeley suggested the committee does not necessarily have to have a formal meeting to review a project, if something needs to change the Committee Project Manager can be contacted. If it is a simple decision that the 1 of 3 Meeting Minutes 02-04-09 Committee Project Manager knows was discussed within the committee, the decision can be made. If it is more complicated then it will need to go to the committee. If there is conflict between Staff and the Committee Project Manager then it will have to go to City Council. Council Member Broussard’s concern is delaying projects that need to be completed in a timely manner such as a contractor can’t just be put on hold for a few weeks. Committee Member Haiden stated that if it takes an additional 2 weeks to get it done right it would be better than waiting three months to get it corrected or re-done, such as with the Merry-Go-Round. Mr. Statz, City Engineer commented that Hidden Spring Park had similar issues and we should have established early on in the process that Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, for instance, be the point person as he was the committee member most involved in the park. When dealing with contractors it is often difficult to postpone decisions as they have their schedules and time is money. Council Member Paar said some of the problems with Hidden Spring Park were not foreseeable, like we didn’t know the spring was not going work. Council Member Lee responded, but that is one of the reasons we paid for engineering services, was to make sure the spring worked. Council Member Paar suggested maybe the solution was as simple as a checklist? Vice- Chairperson Amundsen said there was a checklist for Hidden Spring Park and there are still things not completed on that list. Mr. Statz stated there was a Contractor List and a City List, the committee signed off on the Contractor List; it is the City List that still has things not completed. Council Member Lee stated the City paid a premium fee to get the park done by Fete des Lacs 2007 and it is still not technically done. Mr. Statz reminded the Council & Committee that Bonestroo, as of yet, has not submitted a final bill and won’t until the project is completed. We don’t however have a policy or procedure in place specifically geared towards these types of problems with park projects and one should certainly be developed. Committee Member Haiden said a checklist is good for a final, but he would like to suggest a project requirement document like what is used in the private sector with specific project requirements and project descriptions. It would be used as a sort of a contract with all participants having a perfect understanding of what needs to be done. Council Member Paar added that a page for a drawing/design would also be advantageous and to keep the document from being too long it should be more of an outline. The goal would be to communicate the critically important details. Mr. Larson and Mr. Palzer will work on a checklist. The committee will better define the Project Requirement Document. Chairperson Seeley stated she has looked back over projects that have been completed during the time she has been involved on the Parks & Recreation Committee and what were the common denominators in projects that went well. One project that went really well, for instance, was the play structure at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park. Most of the work for this project was completed by Public Works. Mr. Tedd Peterson, Public Works was on the Parks & Recreation Committee at the time and the committee had a more direct line of communication with Public Works. The committee also met directly with the three vendors submitting bids at a committee meeting and also met on site. Some discussion was had as to how contractors were selected to which Mr. Statz replied it was the lowest bidder and everything was bid as one project. What would possibly be beneficial is to have separate contractors for specific areas of expertise and not lump everything together. There would be more options in bids if the project is less than $50,000, but we still have the fiscal responsibility to take lowest bid. If we hire outside contractors delays mean money. Mr. Palzer said that the best projects were done by Public Works, second by volunteers, lastly contractors. Council Member Lee reiterated that doing it wrong means more money also. It was suggested projects be viewed by Public Works for input in the planning phase. Council Member Lee stated this is usually done, but we do not typically talk about drain tile for instance, at the Parks & Recreation 2 of 3 Meeting Minutes 02-04-09 Committee level. The Public Works Staff knows the ground and below and the information would be invaluable as the committee is budgeting for a project. Chairperson Seeley discussed the process the committee uses to come to decisions to make recommendations to City Council, usually involving a subcommittee. Committee Member Haiden said the person spearheading the subcommittee would be the Committee Project Manager for each specific project and would carry out wishes of committee. Mr. Statz asked the committee if they had any Capital Improvement Projects coming up in 2009. Vice- Chairperson Amundsen said the committee was tentatively planning Phase 2 for Tracie McBride Memorial Park, he also asked if the irrigation/pond system being planned for Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park would be something that came out of the Parks & Recreation Committee’s budget, to which Mr. Statz replied, no it would not, it is a grant project. Budget Cuts Mayor Capra informed the committee of some issues that will require restructuring within the City budget as well as cutting non-essentials due to budget cuts from the State and the cost of the State Audit. The City will be close to $100,000 short. Future Budgets – Five Year Capital Plan for Parks Mayor Capra asked the Committee to spend some time thinking about and submitting a plan to City Council regarding Future Budgets – Five Year Capital Plan for Park Projects. The joint meeting was concluded at 7:30. Transcribed by Kim Stephan. 3 of 3