Excelsior Fire District Board
339 3rd Street, Excelsior, MN
EFD Governing Board Meeting South
Shore Community Center
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 5:30
P.M.
MINUTES
Joint Meeting Minutes
Chair Love called the EFD Governing Board meeting to order at 5:45 P.M., noting members of the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department Coordinating Committee were also present this evening for a Joint Meeting Agenda. A Regular EFD Governing Board Meeting would convene upon completion of the Joint Meeting.
Chair Johnson called the SLMPD Coordinating Committee Meeting to order at 5:46 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Boardmembers: Chair Love; Boardmembers Bolles, Hill (arrived 5:53 P.M.), Keller, and Skrede
Also: Excelsior Fire District Chief DuCharme, Assistant Deputy Fire Chief George, and Firefighter Hoo
South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) Governing Boardmembers: Chair Johnson, Boardmembers Keller, Love and Nagel
Also present: Deephaven Administrator Young; Excelsior Administrator McGrath, Shorewood Administrator Dawson; and Tonka Bay Administrator Irvine; and John Boerboon, of Kraus-Anderson, Nick Ruehl and Tom Schuelke, of TSP, One, Inc.
Absent: None
The Chairs of both Boards reviewed the Agenda and without objection from the Boardmembers present, proceeded with the Agenda for the evening.
Judd Mowry, of Tonka Bay, questioned the plans for an emergency signaling system at the Country Club Road/County Road 19/Smithtown Road intersection, given that the County Road 19 Intersection project was not slated for construction until after the West Side Public Safety Facility had opened. He expressed concerns for narrow lanes and insufficient sight lines along the roadway in that area. He stated he was also concerned that sufficient notice be given to motorist and pedestrians to yield for emergency vehicles.
Chief DuCharme stated the emergency vehicle caution signage would be placed along the roadway in appropriate places to help provide adequate notice to motorists and pedestrians in the area.
Chief DuCharme stated this discussion was a continuation of a previous discussion begun at last month’s Governing Board meeting to determine allocation of approximately $76,000 as part of the General Conditions budget for construction of the East and West Side Public Safety Facilities.
Chair Love questioned whether the opinion of bond counsel had been secured. Chief DuCharme stated an opinion had been prepared, but he had not yet had the opportunity to review it in writing.
SLMPD Boardmember Nagel and Shorewood EDA Executive Director/City Administrator Dawson arrived at 5:50 P.M. Administrator Dawson submitted the written opinion from bond counsel for all Boardmembers to review.
Chairs Love and Johnson paused the meeting to allow time to read the opinion.
Boardmember Hill arrived at 5:53 P.M.
Chief DuCharme, in response to Chair Love’s question, explained the EFD Attorney had not yet had an opportunity to review the written opinion shared this evening.
Boardmember Skrede stated he was not prepared to make a decision on the allocation at this meeting, without further review, and he questioned the process for making this allocation decision.
Boardmember Keller stated he thought the opinion should be reviewed by the EDA attorney, the EFD attorney, and the SLMPD attorney, and the Board should go with the determination of these professionals in this case.
Boardmember Nagel stated he had hoped to have consensus by the end of this evening’s meeting.
Chair Love stated all parties present needed to agree on a decision making process for this issue.
Chair Johnson stated Staff had been directed to secure the opinion of all legal counsel and she also thought the EFD and SLMPD Governing Boards should weigh in on the issues, as well as City Councils associated with each Governing Boards.
Chair Love stated, in response to Boardmember Nagel’s question, there appeared to be three issues to discuss. The first issue was obtaining the legal opinion of appropriate parties as they related to the issue at hand. The second issue was a policy decision to determine the allocation, and the third issue the amount of money to be allocated. He believed this meeting was a first step in separating the issues for discussion.
Boardmember Nagel stated he attended three meetings on this subject, and he questioned where the process had failed in allowing the issues to come to this point. He stated he had tried to understand the issues at hand, as well as dealing with change order concerns that added to the discussion.
Boardmember Skrede stated he thought the first step in determination of payment of the bills should be if the bill was justifiable. He stated he thought the construction agreement had alluded to cost savings on two buildings that had not yet been enumerated, and he thought the conditions budget seemed like a bill for savings that was not there.
Chair Love stated he thought it was a policy decision as it had always been two projects.
Boardmember Skrede stated his question was about the amount of additional cost and savings associated with constructing two buildings concurrently that had never been enumerated.
Boardmember Nagel stated he was having trouble with the logic being shared, but the spirit of the agreement clearly showed construction occurring concurrently. He stated it was his humble opinion the delay in the construction was due to decisions made by the City of Deephaven.
Boardmember Skrede then reviewed the history of decisions made by the City of Deephaven as well as a chronology of events impacting the construction schedule, such as the well design, sprinkler system issues, and construction delays due to incorrect legal descriptions, that he noted could not be attributed to the City of Deephaven in any way.
After further discussion, Chair Love stated it would make sense to bring this item back to the Board for further discussion as part of the January 20, 2004, Agenda, when additional legal opinions could be secured. Boardmember Hill stated it was important not to spend the allocation in legal fees to make a determination on this issue. Boardmember Skrede agreed, stating the Governing Boards would ultimately have final decision-making authority on this issue. Boardmember Bolles agreed as well.
Chief Litsey noted the accidental death of a resident of the community that had been involved in a well drilling operation at the Cub Foods site earlier in the week. He stated the death was a tragedy, and the resident would be missed in the South Lake Minnetonka community.
Chief DuCharme stated the Fire Department would be moving into the West Side Public Safety Facility during the next two weeks time. The fire trucks would be moved to that facility on December 29, 2003. He also noted the Excelsior fire station would now act as a warehouse for a local food shelf.
Chief Litsey explained the Police Department would move to the West Side Facility during the month of January of 2004. He noted the cable system that would support data networks was quite complex, and would take time to install. He also noted it was great to see the project come to this point, and he anticipated an Open House in the future.
Love moved, Nagel seconded, Adjourning the
South Lake Minnetonka Police Department Coordinating Committee Meeting at 6:35
P.M. Motion passed 4/0.
EFD Board Meeting Minutes
Bolles moved, Keller seconded, Approving the
Agenda for the EFD Governing Board Meeting as presented. Motion passed 5/0.
A motion on minutes was not given.
3. REPORT AGENDA
Skrede moved, Hill seconded, Approving the
Monthly District Review for November, 2003, and the Operating Committee Report
for December 10, 2003, as presented. Motion passed 5/0.
There were no matters from the floor presented this evening.
Chief DuCharme explained District Chief and Captain positions were being posted and applications accepted with a decision anticipated for these positions at the end of December of this year.
Chief DuCharme noted the firefighter recruits completed the Firefighter 1 class, with 100% of the recruits passing the State Certification Written and Practical Exams. He stated this was a remarkable achievement and all parties involved should be very proud of these efforts. He also noted a new firefighter recruitment class would begin in mid January of 2004.
Chief DuCharme stated the transition from the current facility to the new building was slated for December 15, 2003, with occupancy being complete on January 1, 2004. He also stated the EFD would be trained by representatives of Hennepin County for the transition to the 800 MHZ radio system. The conversion to the new system would be complete by December 19, 2003.
Firefighter Murphy had resigned from the Fire District. Chief DuCharme noted she had dedicated 11 years to the EFD as well as countless hours to Fire Prevention and Education for the community.
Chief DuCharme summarized the minutes from the Senior Officers Meeting, noting projects and goals were being discussed for the Year 2004.
With regard to services provided to the Navarre station in Orono beginning in January of 2004, Chief DuCharme explained there would not be as many medical calls as anticipated in earlier discussions as the Orono Police Department would be providing service as needed. The "autostart" option would not be implemented by the EFD.
Chair Love thanked Chief DuCharme for his efforts in working with the firefighters occupying the Navarre station and stated he had received a letter from City of Orono Mayor Barb Peterson complimenting Chief DuCharme on his efforts in helping to bring the Navarre station to fruition.
Chief DuCharme reported the East Side construction had begun with the footings and masonry walls being constructed thus far. Mr. Boerboon, of Kraus-Anderson, stated the parking lot foundation would be constructed later in the week.
Discussion ensued regarding the electrical needs for the well pump to be housed at the East Side facility. Further discussion ensued regarding the process to be followed by the architectural firm, TSP One, Inc., and the differing opinions related to the appropriate water pressure needed for the pumping system for the facility. Mr. Schuelke and Mr. Ruehl of TSP One, Inc, reviewed the services provided and process to be followed as part of the contractual design obligations for the well pump generator connection at this facility.
Keller moved, Bolles seconded, Approving a
Proposal from TSP, not to exceed $1000.00, for the Well Pump Generator
Connection for the East Side Facility. Motion passed 5/0.
Chief DuCharme stated the transition to the West Side Facility from the Excelsior location had been planned to occur in the next two weeks. He invited all Boardmembers to visit the new facility early in the next year, as members of the EFD were very excited to be moving into the new location.
Chief DuCharme reviewed the construction invoices that had been submitted for review and consideration from Kraus-Anderson, and TSP One, Inc.
Boardmember Bolles stated questions remained unanswered regarding resolution of the change order situation that had been occurring over the past few months. He stated since this resolution had not taken place, he thought payment of services should be held for an additional month.
Chief DuCharme explained a memorandum submitted to the Board by the Shorewood EDA legal counsel explained payment of invoices for services rendered needed to be made once the services had been completed as per the contractual obligations set forth for the project with the EDA and contractors.
In response to Chair Love’s question, Chief DuCharme stated the amount disputed, approximately $33,000, had been discussed at a meeting between representatives of TSP One, Inc. and EFD Boardmembers to begin to attain resolution of these issues. TSP One had requested any issues related to change orders be addressed in writing, in preparation for any necessary arbitration proceedings.
Keller moved, Approving Payment of all
Invoices. Motion failed for a second.
Bolles moved, Hill seconded, Accepting Invoices
and Recommending Payment of Bills to Kraus-Anderson in the amount of $641,806
for the West Side Facility, and in the amount of $217,795.00 for the East Side
Facility, and to TSP One, Inc., in the amount of $3,488.17 for the East Side
Facility, but to hold payment of the Construction Administration costs for the
West Side Facility for the months of October through December for TSP One, Inc.
Boardmember Hill commented he thought there could be a great deal of discretion regarding the appropriateness of services rendered any time a bill was presented.
Administrator Dawson stated he understood Boardmember Hill’s position; however, the EDA Attorney had reviewed the contract for services with TSP One, Inc. in this case. Upon review of the agreement, the attorney had noted the services provided stayed within the AIA guidelines, and the question was not whether the services had been provided, but rather a determination of performance. He also briefly reviewed a memorandum submitted to Boardmembers explaining the Attorney’s position, that stated each City’s governing bodies needed to identify specific instances of nonperformance, and the compensation calculated for those instances in order not to pay in full the invoices submitted.
Discussion ensued regarding the process to be followed in working with the EDA to resolve this issue. Chair Love requested a formal motion be made directing the EDA to take action in this case.
Hill withdrew his second.
Motion failed for a second.
Hill moved, Skrede seconded, Instructing the
Shorewood EDA to issue payment for bills specifically contesting monetary
values and move forward with a mediation, arbitration, or mutual discussion
process, and that process be followed in the future to maintain good relations
with contractors.
Boardmember Bolles stated the EFD Board had not yet approved change orders numbered four and five.
Motion passed 5/0.
Boardmember Hill stated he thought the EDA needed to discuss issues related to resolution of the payment of the invoices. Also, the Boardmembers that had been meeting with TSP to bring resolution to these issues should report findings back to this Board after further discussions.
Mr. Ruehl, of TSP, stated he applauded the one-month deadline discussed for resolution and payment. He stated he was willing to work through items of concern, as two of the sixty three items had been accepted as change orders, however, no liability would be assumed on others as of yet.
Chief DuCharme stated the list of concerns had been generated due to the architect’s request for objections.
Bolles moved to overthrow the Chair. Motion
failed for a second.
Keller moved, Hill seconded, Approving Change
Orders Numbered Four and Five.
Boardmember Hill stated if change orders were not controversial then those services should be paid. If a Boardmember had concerns he thought there was a fiduciary responsibility with each City to discuss the issue. If it could be resolved, then the Board should vote to move forward, and if not, the issues of concern should go the EDA for a vote. That recommendation should then go to the EFD Board, and on to arbitration if need be.
Mr. Ruehl stated early on in the project a protocol had been established to facilitate construction and to avoid delays. This protocol had a limit of $15,000, with items exceeding that limit needing Board approval. He stated he would be happy to discuss reasons for change orders, but noted care should be taken not to micromanage the construction issues to avoid delay and thus, additional costs.
Chair Love stated the issues before the Board included a policy issue on change orders and a separate issue regarding whether certain specific bills should be paid. He also stated in this case, protocol determined no motion was needed on the change orders.
Chief DuCharme briefly shared the budget status for the East and West Side Public Safety Facilities.
Mr. Ruehl stated he wanted to thank the Committeemembers and EFD Board for asking questions related to the construction process to attempt to bring resolution to issues of concern regarding invoices associated with facility construction and design. Boardmember Keller stated he appreciated Mr. Ruehl taking his time to attend this meeting in addition to the meeting with the Committee earlier in the day to work on the issues of concern.
The next EFD Governing Board Meeting was scheduled to take place on January 20, 2004, beginning at 5:30 P.M. in the lower training room of the West Side Public Safety Facility.
Chair Love noted there would be a five minute recess immediately following the adjournment of this EFD Board meeting prior to convening the Executive Session Meeting for tonight.
Bolles moved, Keller seconded, Adjourning the
EFD Governing Board Meeting of December 16, 2003, at 7:55 P.M. Motion passed
5/0.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Sally Keefe,
Recording Secretary