MINUTES
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS
PRESENT: Chairman John VanderLeest,
Ald. Tony Theisen, Ald. Steven Deneys, and Ald. Tom Weber
MEMBERS EXCUSED: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Dawn Foeller, Chief Stauber, Carl Weber,
Linda Dupuis, Bill Landvatter, and Others
1. Roll Call.
Chairman
John VanderLeest called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.; all members were
present.
2. Approval of the Agenda.
A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to
approve the Agenda.
3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting of October 30, 2007.
A motion was made by Ald. Weber,
seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to amend the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting of October 30, 2007 to show that Ald. Theisen was present
instead of excused.
4. Request by Halron Lubricants, Inc. to waive
false alarm fees.
Brad
Johnson of Halron Lubricants explained that the building’s entire security
system has been replaced because of problems with the old system and that the
company had tried to cancel the calls in question. Fire Chief Stauber said a new policy in effect does allow a call
to be cancelled if Dispatch receives a confirmation code from the company. These calls would probably have been
cancelled had that policy been in effect at that time.
A motion
was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by
Ald. Deneys and carried to waive the Halron false alarm fees in the amount of
$125.
5. Request by Honeywell International to submit
their third phase energy efficiency proposal.
Ald.
VanderLeest said he asked that lighting in the parking garages be checked some
time ago to see if a potential for energy savings existed, and if so, to have
an RFP issued. He did not know if this
was the response to that request.
Public
Works Director Carl Weber said the proposal before us tonight was not the
response to that specific request but one that incorporates a host of projects
under various departments. He also
stated that the City has been looking at energy saving options for several
years. He is involved because of ramp
lighting. Other departments such as IT
and Police have seen failures in their A/C units with the departments operating
on backups since the failures. The cost
of all improvements in this proposal is estimated at about $1.45 Million. The use of a performance contract allows for
quicker payback and includes a financing package that combines incentive grants
and energy savings for a gamut of projects vs just one or two.
Mr. Weber
said the responsibility of a contractor under a performance contract is to
evaluate areas to determine what type of improvements can be made as well as
the amount of energy savings. They then
put together a group of designers and contractors to carry out the plan and
provide a financing mechanism to do the initial improvements, as well as
guarantee that the energy savings will be as projected. The contractor is obligated to pay the
difference if the savings are not met.
To ensure that competitive proposals were obtained, the City supplied a
list of electricians and lighting suppliers, and Honeywell will get competitive
proposals from the list of local electrical contractors who have asked to be
involved in this type contract. The
contract for this proposal was publicly noticed and no other contractors have
come forward. Ald. VanderLeest stated
he knew of other interested parties who may not have seen the public
notice. Mr. Weber said that was the
purpose of putting the ad in the paper.
One response was received, from a vendor who was interested in only one
part of it.
Ald.
VanderLeest wanted a full RFP sent out to ensure that savings are
maximized. Mr. Weber explained that
Honeywell did the City’s legwork on the grant and determined what else was
necessary to be done. Honeywell is the
overall performance contractor, but they use suppliers and maintenance
contractors to do the actual work. The
company Ald. VanderLeest referred to can notify the City of its interest in
doing the performance contract, or they can notify DPW if they are an
interested party in one of the products, and DPW would pass them on to
Honeywell. Lighting retrofits are
proposed at three fire stations, two garages, and the parking facilities. A company could submit on the specs for
whichever part of the job it may be interested in, or submit a proposal, if
able to cover all aspects.
A motion
was made by Ald. Deneys to open the floor to let interested persons speak. It was seconded by Ald. Weber and
carried.
Mr. Jim
Krol of Honeywell said he is part of the team involved with the performance
contract and stated they had worked with phase one in 2001 and phase two in 2003,
both of them very successful.
Performance contracting is covered under Wis. Act 33, and all State
buildings use that form of contracting.
This method is very efficient and transfers the risk from the City to
the vendor if problems, such as missed equipment, arise, in which case the
vendor is responsible. The project must
be bonded by the performance contractor for the entire term, in this case 10
years.
Mr. Krol
said performance contracting brings financing and the technical solution
together. The financing rate is now
under 4% for a 10-year period. Grants
available through the State and Focus on Energy represent over $540,000
favorable to the City. This is a
comprehensive way of doing a project, with engineering, approvals, permits, and
project management all included. An
agreement with the City states they would utilize the cost proposals of any
contractor wanting to participate in different parts of the project, and if
less than that proposed, the lower cost one would be used. Timing is an issue because financing rates
fluctuate and incentives may not continue.
All engineering and financial information provided is firm; there is no
risk to the City. Based on how the ad
was published, they could use other contractors.
Mr. Krol
said it has taken well over six months to get to this point, costing Honeywell many
thousands of dollars. In September,
2006, they presented the energy audit for Phases 1 and 2 to the Improvement
& Services Committee and asked for approval to begin investigating a third
phase. The I&S Committee authorized
entering into a memorandum of understanding that if energy savings for the
third phase could be found, the Committee would be in favor. Only those improvements that would pay back
would be brought to Council for approval.
Ald. Weber
asked if this was a continuation of phase one or two, and Carl Weber said this
is a stand-alone project, not tied in with phase one or two. Honeywell has a good record with those
phases. If they were to separate, the
City would have to start over getting Focus on Energy approval, contract out
for the design/analysis work, and also seek out financing.
Ald.
VanderLeest asked how the City can be sure this is the best deal available, and
Mr. Krol responded that Honeywell has a solid track record, with a guarantee
involved to protect the City in the event that something goes wrong. There is also positive cash flow and the
project does not involve any tax levy to cover capital improvements.
Carl Weber
asked Mr. Krol to speak to his process for getting competitive quotes from the
sub contractors, and to report out to the Committee before beginning the
project to be certain that local contractors had the opportunity to participate
and also that competitive costs are obtained.
Mr. Krol said they were provided with a listing of electrical contractors
and would contact each for a proposal.
They also have their own proposal and specifications for the project,
and Honeywell would come back with cost information. If less, they would provide an addenda on the project for the City
for the reduced amount of money.
A motion
to return to regular order of business was made by Ald. Theisen and seconded by
Ald. Deneys. The motion carried.
Ald.
Theisen said he appreciates the information and concerns, but felt we have
entered into a process, with intent on both sides. He thought it best to see if anyone else is interested in bidding
with Honeywell. Ald. Weber said he
hated to turn back at this point, and was comfortable with Honeywell. Ald. VanderLeest said he would have
preferred issuing an RFP in the hope of possibly getting a better deal on such
a large project.
Ms. Dupuis
asked if the City will be allowed to purchase the items directly, so that sales
taxes can be avoided.
Ald.
Theisen made a motion to suspend the rules to let interested parties
speak. The motion was seconded by Ald.
Deneys and carried.
Mr. Krol
said Honeywell can have the City purchase directly. The chiller is the largest purchase item, and a considerable
amount could be saved. Ms. Dupuis asked
that the City purchase as many items as we could directly to save the sales tax
on the goods.
Ald.
Theisen made a motion to return to the regular order of business. It was seconded by Ald. Weber and
carried.
Ald.
Theisen made a motion to approve the performance contract not to exceed the $1,447,892
provided in the contract. It was
seconded by Ald. Weber, with the ability by the City to purchase items directly
to save on sales tax. A vote was taken,
and the motion carried with Ald. VanderLeest voting “nay.”
DPW
Director Carl Weber said this was not a defined project until Honeywell started
its work. It is not a DPW project --
several different departments were involved, and it is an opportunity to
leverage the energy savings from one area to take care of replacing a 30 year
chiller using a financing mechanism other than bonding.
6. Request by the Park, Recreation &
Forestry Director to transfer $20,000 from Swimming Pool Seasonal Salaries
(101-60-660-000-50003) to Swimming Pool Contractual Services
(101-60-660-000-53001) for the purpose of recaulking the entire Colburn Pool
basin.
Parks
Director Bill Landvatter explained there is now significant loss of heated and
treated water, a triple expense, and that the entire surface must be recaulked
if the pool is to remain open.
Comptroller Dawn Foeller recommended that the money be transferred to
the Park Capital Project Fund.
A motion
was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the
request by the Park, Recreation & Forestry Director to transfer $20,000
from Swimming Pool Seasonal Salaries (101-60-660-00-50003) to Park Capital
Project Fund (410-60-600-000-49210) for the purpose of recaulking the entire
Colburn Pool basin.
4. Report of the Purchasing Agent:
a. To approve sewer castings from Neenah Foundry for DPW for $47,221
A motion
was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve sewer
castings from Neenah Foundry for DPW for $47,221.
b. Video detection equipment for DPW Traffic
from low, responsive vendor for an estimated $16,000.
Purchasing
Agent Linda Dupuis explained that these are the four-directional video vehicle
detection systems used in intersections.
They will be installed and programmed by City staff. She asked for approval to go with the low,
responsive vendor in order to purchase in 2007.
A motion
was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to approve video
detection equipment for DPW Traffic from low, responsive vendor for an
estimated $16,000.
c. City-wide contract for prescription safety
glasses from Aero Company/A.O. Safety for an estimated $17,350.
The City
had been purchasing under a much older contract and found there would be cost
savings by going with the State contract.
This would be set up City-wide with the Risk Management Department.
A motion
was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve a
city-wide contract for prescription safety glasses from Aero Company/A.O.
Safety for an estimated $17,350.
d. To approve a Fisk Park Cellular lease
revenue and term revision.
The Committee
may convene in closed session pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(e), Wis. Stats., for
purposes of deliberating or negotiating the sale or lease of public properties,
investing of public funds as necessary for competitive or bargaining reasons. The Committee may thereafter reconvene in
open session pursuant to Section 19.85(2), Wis. Stats., to report the results
of the closed session and consider the balance of the agenda.
A motion
was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to enter into
closed session.
Closed
session followed.
A motion
to return to open session was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen, and
carried.
A motion
to approve the lease and terms contingent upon legal review was made by Ald.
Theisen, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried.
5. Report of Overtime.
Ms.
Foeller had provided the overtime report through the month of November. She said some figures will change with
year-end allocations. Chief Stauber was
asked to return with an update on Fire Dept. overtime. He showed an increase in light duty – mostly
workers compensation cases. Family
Medical Leave is an increasing problem, but sick leave use is down.
Ald.
Theisen asked how much was spent in 2006 for paternity leave and what overtime
costs would be associated with it. He
said most companies don’t allow sick leave to be carried over from year to
year, as the City does. Ms. Foeller
said FMLA is a Federal and State issue and when looked at recently, 250-300
requests were made of the City, or 25% of the work force.
A motion
was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to receive and
place on file the Report of Overtime; also request Human Resources to bring
forward to the next Finance meeting the number of FMLA requests made of the
City for the last 5 years and to draft a resolution to State and Federal
legislators to review and update FMLA language that reduces the scope of when
FMLA can be used.
9. Report of the Finance Director:
a. Banking Services RFP.
Ms.
Foeller said the City went out for a banking services RFP and incorporated the
request with Brown County. Chase and
Associated Bank were brought in for interviews. After review, it was decided to remain with Associated Bank, at a
savings of about $3,000 annually over the current contract with Associated Bank. Another consideration was that Associated
Bank makes local decisions locally, rather than having to go to Milwaukee or
Columbus, OH, for approval, as was possible with Chase.
A motion
was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Deneys and carried to receive and
place on file the Banking Services RFP.
A motion
to adjourn was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen, and carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
2007 CONTINGENCY FUND
$189,700.00
Any person wishing to
attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation should
contact the Mayor’s office at 448-3005 at least 24 hours before the scheduled
meeting time so that arrangements can be made.
Please take notice that it is possible that additional members of the Council may attend this committee meeting, resulting in a majority or quorum of the Common Council. This may constitute a meeting of the Common Council for purposes of discussion and information gathering relative to this agenda.