MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
MARCH 4, 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:10 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.
ENGINEER MIKE GARDNER: SETTING BID LETTING DATE FOR 2004 SAFETY PROGRAM (CALCIUM CHLORIDE APPLICATION TO PORTIONS OF JOHNSON COUNTY GRANULAR SURFACED ROADS)
County Engineer Mike Gardner said the Board adopted a safety program in 2000 to apply calcium chloride to any of Johnson County’s granular surfaced roads carrying at least 150 vehicles a day based on the DOT’s traffic count maps. Gardner said that roads carrying over 300 vehicles a day are treated solid, and lesser traffic count roads are treated at residential driveways, bridge approaches, intersections, and crest vertical curves and horizontal curves where sight distance is a problem. Gardner said that he wants to reaffirm that the Board desires to continue with the Safety Program as it currently stands and set a bid letting date in order to hire a contractor to complete the work this summer. Gardner said that 3 exceptions were made to the Safety Program in the past and his assumption is that they will continue to follow those. Gardner said that one exception is treatment of the entire stretch of Amana Road even though portions of Amana Road are under the threshold of 150 vehicles per day. Gardner said the entire stretch of Amana Road is treated because it serves a recreational area, which is covered in the Safety Program policy. Gardner said that the second exception is 140th Street between Ely Road and Sandy Beach Road. He said that this road does not meet the 150 vehicles a day, but it is in a recreational area. Gardner said that the third exception is Sioux Avenue and Napoleon between Highway 6 and the oil portion going into the Iowa City Wastewater Plant. He said that this portion of road has been treated solid even though it does not meet the 300 vehicles per day threshold. Gardner said that in the past, the Board felt the treatment of this road was appropriate due to the traffic generated by the use of the soccer fields in the area. Gardner asked if the Board wants to continue with the 3 exceptions. Stutsman asked if there are any changes with the 3 exceptions. Gardner said no. Neuzil said that the road between Sioux Avenue and Napoleon is going to be a detour route and asked if detour routes are included in the Safety Program. Gardner said that detour routes are not included in the Safety Program but are treated. Stutsman said that she does not have a problem including the 3 exceptions unless there is a difficult budget situation with high treatment pricing. Gardner said that issue can be addressed once bids come in.
Gardner said the other issue he wants to discuss is the new 2002 DOT traffic counts. He said this information was not available last year for the Safety Program. He said that with the new data from the DOT, there are 3 roads that will be included in the Safety Program that were not in the past, and 6 roads that fall below the 150 vehicle a day threshold. Gardner said he is going traffic counts on the 3 roads that would be new to the program. He said one count performed did not meet the threshold requirements according to the Johnson County Safety Program, and will not be included in the program. Gardner said that the 6 roads that fell below the threshold can be approached in 3 different ways: traffic counters can verify the information from the DOT; the 6 roads can be left on the program and continue to be treated; or the roads can be removed from the program based on the information from the DOT, which could generate phone calls. Lehman asked if the Board would like to see the miles and the financial impact before dropping the roads from the program. Stutsman said she would support recounting the traffic. She said that she never assumed that once a road was in the Safety Program that it would always be in the Safety Program.
Neuzil asked Gardner to review the guidelines for the Safety Program including the term granular surfaced road and the process that occurs after 150 vehicles are counted on a road. Gardner said the term granular surfaced road means gravel or crushed limestone rock road. He said that after a count of 150 vehicles per day is established on a road, Johnson County will pay for dust control at intersection approaches, bridge approaches at 100 to 150 feet, residential driveways centered at 500 feet, tops of hills with visibility problems, and curves with sight distance problems. Gardner said at 300 vehicles per day, the entire stretch from intersection to intersection is treated solid. Neuzil said that Johnson County should complete the counts as justification for removing roads from the program. Stutsman said that residents should be notified when roads are removed from the program. Gardner said that residents will be notified. Lehman said that he would like to see the financial impact per road, and this information will be available when the bids come in. He also said there will be some roads continued to be treated after they are taken off the program due to carry over from the previous year. Lehman said that residents should be notified as soon as possible so they can opt to pay to have Secondary Roads continue to treat in front of their residences after they have been dropped from the program. Gardner explained that the treatment is calcium chloride which is sprayed on the road twice a year around Memorial Day and Labor Day to reduce dust. He said the maintainer grades the roads in October to get ready for winter.
Harney asked if alternative treatments are available, or if calcium chloride is still the best treatment. Gardner said that for Secondary Roads purposes calcium chloride works the best because the road maintainers can maintain through the treatment. He said that other treatments such as lignin sulfonate and soy oil form a crust but do not recombine after the road is graded. He said the calcium chloride alleviates the dust by absorbing the moisture in the air, and binds back together after the road has been graded. Lehman said that residents who choose an alternative treatment should be aware that they will lose their effectiveness if the road needs to be graded. Harney said that there are complaints when the calcium chloride is graded, and asked if there is a possibility of trying other treatments. Gardner said he receives complaints regardless of which treatments are used. He said that all treatments do a good job and there are advantages and disadvantages to each product. Gardner said the calcium chloride is used because they are able to grade through it and still maintain dust control. Thompson asked if Gardner’s professional research shows that calcium chloride is the best treatment option. Gardner said that calcium chloride is the best product for this purpose. The Board agreed to put this item on the March 11, 2004 agenda to set the bid letting date.
GIS COORDINATOR RICK HAVEL: ADDENDUM TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN JOHNSON COUNTY AND HORIZONS, INC. OF RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA REGARDING THE PRODUCTION OF DIGITAL ORTHOPHOTOGRAPHY AND PLAINIMETRIC MAPPING
GIS Coordinator Rick Havel said he is seeking the Board’s approval of an addendum to the contract between Johnson County and Horizons, Inc. to allow Horizons, Inc. to subcontract the remaining amount of work that needs to be completed on the production of digital orthophotography and plainimetric mapping project. He said the original contract specifically stated that no subcontractors were allowed and Horizons, Inc. has stuck to that so far. He said that Horizons, Inc began work on the project in November 2003 and is 40% completed. Havel said Horizons, Inc is requesting to subcontract the project in order to continue to meet delivery. Havel said based on the relationship and the experience with Horizons, Inc up to this point, he recommends that the subcontracting be approved. He said that the experience working with Horizons, Inc. and the products that they have received have been exceptional. He said that they’ve met the standards outlined within the contract and the accuracy is within requirements.
Harney asked if using a subcontractor will change timeline dates. Havel said Horizons, Inc wants to use a subcontractor to ensure that timelines are met and there will be no increase in fees. Stutsman asked if there is a penalty clause in the contract if Horizons, Inc. does not meet the deadline. Havel said that the County has been withholding a retaining fee with each payment, which will not be paid until the final product is delivered. Havel said there was no upfront penalty for not delivering the product on time. Stutsman said she does not see how Johnson County will benefit from the use of a subcontractor. She said that the Board doesn’t know much about the subcontractor. She said that the original contract was written with no outsourcing and now Horizons, Inc. is asking for outsourcing halfway through the project. Stutsman said she has a problem with the fact that the outsourcing will be done in Mexico. She said that companies outsource to save money but Johnson County will not see any of the savings. Stutsman said that the only benefit of the outsourcing is that they will finish it on time, but that is already in the contract. Stutsman said she does not see any advantage to Johnson County to approve the addendum and she will not support it, especially when the outsourcing will be done in Mexico.
Lehman said that companies who originally bid the project are now at a disadvantage because their prices might have been different if they knew that they could subcontract to save costs. Lehman said that does not know if Horizons, Inc wants to subcontract because of a cost issue or because they have taken on other projects and are afraid that they won’t meet the deadline. Lehman said that he worries about a fairness issue to the other companies who bid on the project. Thompson asked if the Board could specify that workers under the subcontract receive the same wage as workers under the original contract. Stutsman asked who would monitor that. She said that the contract should remain as is. Neuzil asked if there are 3 Board members who would not approve the addendum. Harney said that other companies who have contracted with Johnson County have been held to their contracts. He said that he also understands that if the company is providing a good product and the County wants to continue with a good product, subcontracting might have to take place. He said that many companies subcontract their work, and a lot of the subcontracting is done out of the country, which he has problems with. Harney said that if it is going to effect the outcome and quality of work the County receives by not allowing the subcontracting to occur they need to look at the best interests of Johnson County.
Lehman asked about the legal obligations to the other bidders on the contract. Neuzil said the County Attorney’s office reviewed the contract. Havel said the legal input from Assistant County Attorneys Andy Chappell and Janet Lyness said that there were no legal ramifications. Thompson asked how much longer the project will take if the Board doesn’t approve the addendum. Stutsman said there is a contract with a deadline. She said that she doesn’t understand why they are even discussing it. She said that if Horizons, Inc does not meet the deadline, the County can sue. Harney said that there is a deadline, but there is not a penalty except for holding the final payment until the project is done. Havel said that it looks better for Horizons, Inc. to gain a reputable client by finishing the product on schedule. He said that the Board can request additional information from Horizons, Inc. and a representative from Horizons, Inc. could make a presentation to the Board. Havel said that he would like to get the full picture. He said he discussed this issue with Johnson County Contracted Consultant Dan Corbin, who said that this could be a sticky issue with keeping Horizons, Inc in the contract. Corbin said that he would basically support the addendum. Thompson said that Horizons, Inc. made the agreement and should have to stick to it. Neuzil said that a majority of the Board is not interested in approving the addendum.
REPORTS AND INQUIRIES FROM THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Stutsman attended the League of Women Voters Legislative Forum, the EMS Conference, the Armory pancake breakfast, City and County Conference Board meetings, and a Finance Committee meeting. She met with Harney and Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan about the proposal for studying the North Corridor Project presented by H.R. Green. She also met with Facilities Director David Kempf and Ambulance Director Steve Spenler for liaison meetings.
Harney attended the following meetings and events: ECICOG Board of Directors meeting, Chamber Ag Breakfast, retirement ceremony for Sheriff’s Sergeant Richard Svatos, Chamber of Commerce Legislative session, National Guard Readiness Center fundraiser, presentation at the Senior Center regarding Medicare changes, Annual Cattlemen’s Banquet, and a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting. He also met with Johnson County Council of Governments Executive Director Jeff Davidson and Iowa City Transit Manager Joe Fowler to discuss the SEATS facility, and with Sullivan about the proposal for studying the North Corridor Project presented by H.R. Green.
Thompson attended the MECCA Board meeting, a liaison meeting with Spenler, and a meeting with Coralville officials on 12th Avenue.
Lehman attended the HACAP Board of Directors meeting, Chamber Ag Breakfast, a meeting with Davidson and Fowler to discuss the SEATS facility, the Finance Committee meeting, and a meeting with Secondary Roads to discuss road embargoes.
Neuzil attended the following meetings and events: meeting for the SEATS Project, Government and You Listening Post at the Senior Center, retirement reception for Svatos, Chamber Legislative Breakfast, EMS Conference, National Guard Readiness Center fundraiser, Eagles Breakfast, Wild Game Luncheon, meeting with Professor Basil Talbott and students discussing responsibilities of being a member of the Board of Supervisors, and the Annual Cattlemens’ Banquet. He also went on site reviews for the upcoming Planning and Zoning public hearing. Neuzil said that the Johnson County Board of Supervisors Budget Hearing will be held on March 8, 2004 at 5:30 p.m.
REPORTS AND INQUIRIES FROM THE PUBLIC
Reverend Bob Welsh stated that Senator Harkin’s office initiated the meeting at the Senior Center regarding Medicare, which was an important meeting. He said that Johnson County Task Force on Aging Program Chair Eve Casserly has organized a Senior Law Day on March 8, 2004 at the Senior Center at 2:00 p.m.
Adjourned at 10:01 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Kate Darnold, Recording Secretary