MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
OCTOBER 8, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Key Issues Work Session........................................................................................................ 1
Johnson County Soil and Water Issues: New Hire, Flood Mitigation Proposal and Funding Option 1
Report on Progress of Arranging Meetings with Local Congressional Staff People......... 2
Calendar for FY 2009................................................................................................. 3
Employee Recognition Date – (December 18th)........................................................... 4
Department Head Liaison Assignments........................................................................ 4
Internal Processes, Expectations, and Other Operational Issues of the Board of Supervisors Office 5
Jump Start and Other Flood Recovery Funding............................................................. 7
County as Host of Floodplain Management Workshop................................................... 8
Project Updates.......................................................................................................... 9
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:00 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Johnson County Soil and Water Chair Dave Parsons said he has a copy of the email he sent to the Board. He said three months ago their secretary came to them and said she had turned up the informal payroll audit and what appeared to be an overpayment in what the Board has been sending his department on a quarterly basis to fund the Soil Conservationist position that the Board is so kind about keeping funded every year. Parsons said it has taken the department a while to decide it appears to be an overpayment, and that rather than just writing a check and sending the money back, which they hate to do, they thought they could offer an option. He said if they were allowed to keep the money, they would use it towards benefiting the County watershed. Parsons said he believes most people understand that, especially with 2008 being a flood year. He said the Soil and Water department came up with a proposal of wetlands restoration. Parsons said anything they can do that will mitigate future flooding will be well worth the money. He said that is one of the reasons they brought Wetland Specialist Leroy Haeffner, to explain what he does and why they feel that funding will be a great benefit to the citizens of the County. Parsons said they will present anyway, regardless of if there is funding for the position. He said the third item is to present Soil Conservationist Kate Giannini who will replace Adam Galluzo. Parsons said Giannini is just getting her feet wet, starting late September 2008. He said she won’t be able to answer many hard questions yet, but at least there will be a face with a name. R. Sullivan said they should do Giannini’s information first.
Giannini introduced herself, saying she has worked for the Soil and Water Conservation Service for about six months so the Board may have seen her before, as she has also worked with Harney. She said she grew up on the east side of Iowa City, went to City High, went to Kirkwood and studies Parks and National Resources, obtained an Associate’s Degree, went to Upper Iowa University and got a Bachelor’s Degree in Conservation Management. Giannini said when she graduated she got on with the Iowa DNR Private Lands program with Lee County, IA, and she worked out of NRCS for about a year and three months down in Lee County. She said when the job in the County came up she applied to transfer to be closer to home. Giannini closed by saying that when Galluzo left she fell into her current position.
Parsons said as far as finances go, he wondered if anyone has had a chance to look back to verify what they think is happening or happened. Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne said what is mentioned is the first he has heard about it. Harney said he was going to check with Claiborne, as he has been thinking that they have decided that when they include baggage for health insurance and so forth, that the check would go once a year to Conservation for that purpose. Stutsman said it did, but then they started doing payments quarterly as well. Parsons said his department has received the full payment in advance, and in addition to such, they have received a fourth of that amount every quarter, which is redundant as far as they can tell. He said they should have received $12,000 once a year or quarterly payments, which they are receiving now. Harney said his understanding is that there should be one lump sum that will then be distributed. Claiborne said plus there is a lapse in the fiscal year, as they are starting with the fiscal year, so it could be a timing issue. Stutsman asked when the fiscal year started. Harney replied in July of 2008. Stutsman pointed out it is September 2007. Parsons said they don’t pay much attention to their payroll account because it is without control and not discretionary at all. Stutsman said she thinks at this point it is not important to dwell on what has happened. She said they, or Parsons, needs to reallocate the money and she appreciated Parsons bringing it to the Board’s attention, and having a proposal for the changes. Parsons said the finances they are sure about, but they still want to look at some other issues.
R. Sullivan said he would like to take on the task himself, unless anyone has any objections to that. Stutsman said if that is how it is going to get done then she approves. R. Sullivan said there isn’t much to update currently, but by next time they do so they will have something. Harney said he has asked Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan about the project and where the Board is at with it, and that M. Sullivan has replied they have gotten calls and hasn’t gotten anything back.
R. Sullivan said changing meeting times is the big issue. He said they have the January 2, 2009 organizational meeting, and Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) is of concern. Neuzil said it will affect their Thursday meeting. Harney said they have already scheduled the meeting for a Tuesday. Stutsman said it is going clear into March 2009. She said she has been confused about the date as well, as the calendar wasn’t jiving, and then she realized the Board has been talking about 2009. Neuzil said they will skip the March 5, 2009 meeting and move to Tuesday, March 3, 2009. M. Sullivan said to remember that Monday, March 2, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. they are doing the budget. Neuzil said March 3, 2008 is a problem because he knows he normally, and possibly Stutsman, go to ISAC. Stutsman said she doesn’t leave until noon. She asked Neuzil if he is talking about the Board meeting in the morning. Neuzil replied he is talking about the public hearing. R. Sullivan said Neuzil is talking about the meeting that starts at 5:30 p.m. Stutsman asked if that meeting falls on Monday, March 2, 2009. Neuzil said the Board had originally set the meeting for March 5, 2009 but that it is now moved to the March 2, 2009. Claiborne said he hasn’t had a firm time back and asked what the Board wants for a time. R. Sullivan said 5:30 p.m. is when public hearings are typically held, and if they do it at a different time then it is more confusing. R. Sullivan said the third issue is Spring Break, which is the week of March 16, 2009. Neuzil said he will be gone that week, but that is okay in that he may be the only one gone. He said they should just plan to have a regular meeting.
R. Sullivan said the next issue involves the County Fair, which starts July 27, 2009. Neuzil said normally they have the meetings on Thursday and keep it light. R. Sullivan said he thinks NACo starts that Friday and ends the next Tuesday. He said whomever goes to NACo will miss the first few days of the fair. R. Sullivan asked if the Board is okay with that setup. Neuzil said as long the meeting is light it will be fine.
R. Sullivan said the next item is the ISAC fall school, which is November 18, 19, and 20, 2009. He asked if the Board wants to make the meeting a Tuesday meeting, moving it to November 17, 2009. Meyers asked if the meeting will be in Coralville. R. Sullivan replied yes. He said the next three will be. R. Sullivan said the meeting will move from November 26, 2009 to November 24, 2009. He said the Board should go ahead and look at the Christmas holiday. Neuzil said it is going to be perfectly hit on Thursday, December 24, 2008. He said Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Saturday will all be part of the holiday. R. Sullivan said there are two things to consider: one being designating the holiday and then two, moving the Board meeting to December 22, 2009. Neuzil said December 24, 2009 will be Christmas Eve.
Neuzil said he knows he will be attending the legislative NACo conference, but he doesn’t think that falls on the Board’s meeting, because it is on a Wednesday. R. Sullivan said obviously people are going to have individual things come up, and they are trying to get an idea of where to be at. Harney said he assumes December 31, 2009 will be the day of the Board meeting. Neuzil said the Board doesn’t take meetings on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. He asked if the Board has to officially move the Christmas schedule. R. Sullivan said they do so officially at the organizational meeting, and that it is good to have discussed the schedule.
R. Sullivan said they are talking about the employee recognition date for 2008. He said the suggestion M. Sullivan has is Thursday, December 18, 2008. R. Sullivan said it will be the same kind of thing at the end of the Board meeting, and that the Board is not talking about the details of what they do that day. He said if people want to do something differently the Board can put it on their next agenda.
R. Sullivan said last time they did pre-evaluations the Board got way out of whack in terms of who has how many assignments, and that the schedule isn’t working at the current time. He said the question is if they want to monkey with the schedule to fix it temporarily or if they want to have a different method. R. Sullivan said everything is on the table. Neuzil said part of the problem, he believes, is leaving and holding on to some that can be too many too quick. He said he has held on to a bunch of liaison assignments and he has also gotten off a bunch, and now he has about three or so, so it is really low. Meyers said he has had the same three. Neuzil said he doesn’t know if he should stay on. R. Sullivan said, on one hand, the Board does need to do something to even out the liaison assignments, but he hesitates to throw the whole system out. He said he has had the opportunity to do liaisons with most of the people, but not quite everyone. R. Sullivan said it seems nice that over about a five year period they get everyone together. He said he hates to lose that congregation.
Stutsman said it seems to her that when the Board starts tinkering with the assignments it seems to just get worse rather than better. Neuzil said what the Board needs to do is provide a picture of where the Board needs to be. He said there needs to be more evening of assignments. Neuzil wanted to know what the goal is. R. Sullivan said there are twenty-two assignments. He said no one should have less than four or more than five, technically, but it doesn’t always work that way. Harney said it should catch up within a year. Stutsman said she remembers having an easy year in 2008 with not having as many liaisons. She said she believes the system will eventually work its way up. Stutsman said, what could happen, is have someone give up their liaison and give it to Neuzil at the current point. She thinks that is the only way to resolve the issue currently. R. Sullivan said he wants to do a liaison at some point, he just can’t do so now as he has about six liaison assignments currently. Neuzil said they could trade assignments. R. Sullivan explained he is in the second year for four of his assignments. Neuzil said what he thinks is that there will be a few Board members that are low in assignments holding on for another year. Stutsman asked if there is anyone interested in a regular, updated list on the evaluations and the totals. She said she would like to see the big picture.
Stutsman said she wants to make sure she is comfortable herself in saying that there are top department heads and make sure they are so. She said currently she doesn’t have that to refer back to. R. Sullivan said he did that at one point, and that at soon as one does so, it goes out of date. Neuzil said if the liaisons are done every month, then it won’t be a problem. He said it should just be a part of when M. Sullivan gives the Board information. Stutsman said when they redo one part then they will have to redo the other. Neuzil said M. Sullivan can put that information in the folder each month. Stutsman said Board members can talk to M. Sullivan if they are interested in that idea. She said it helps her feel she is being consistent or that the evaluation she is doing is reflective of their work. Neuzil said there should be no reason why, when M. Sullivan has the tickler sent to the Board members that he needs their numbers, to say what the latest information is. He said they still need to get on track with some other offices and processes. Neuzil said the chart is laid out and the Board still doesn’t have departments the month before. Stutsman said the ideas are still half-hearted. R. Sullivan said they will still try to fix things as they go on a case by case basis each month. Neuzil said the Board needs to try to at least get a goal where they all have four assignments. Harney said they will both be coming off, and that is what happens. Neuzil said perhaps once in a while both of them will work on the same assignments. He said he thinks that option is okay, too. R. Sullivan said he is in his third year for Mental Health/Disability Services and he did three years with Information Services Director Jean Schultz. Stutsman said what also happens is getting a new department head so the liaisons stay on. R. Sullivan said they will deal with such on an individual basis.
Stutsman said one thing she would like to put on the issue regularly from the current meeting is the Budget update. Neuzil said he thinks that would be helpful, and he thinks that sometime, before the Board has their meetings it could just fall under the topic they list a few big ticket items that will be out there. R. Sullivan said the Board has discussed that for Wednesday, October 22, 2008, Key Issues will have some sort of general overview type budget items. Stutsman said the Finance Committee meeting is on Thursday, October 9, 2008, and she wants the Finance Committee to be there, as the Assessors, Auditor, and Treasurer will all be there. She said she wants them to organize a report so the committee can give them a report on economic trends. R. Sullivan said he thinks it will be a separate agenda item on October 22, 2008. Neuzil said he is thinking how much money they should use. Neuzil said he is thinking of the bigger things, especially strategic planning. He said the Board needs to think of the influx of dollars that is going to come in from the transfer of dispatch services from one side of the budget to the other, and where it should go.
Neuzil said the City has already earmarked their dollars for the fire station. He said this is the big ticket type of thing, and the funding of the new Communications Center raises the question of giving a blank check again, or will they actually set an amount. Stutsman said she doesn’t think there is a choice. Neuzil said there is a choice, but that it is a matter of how far out the Board wants to go. Harney said the choice is pretty slim. Neuzil said he understands but that the Board can still say no. R. Sullivan said it is all good things to discuss. Neuzil said his point is if there is something over five or ten years, they get to choose. He said it will still be paid.
Stutsman said she thinks they need to have all the information available to them before they start the budget so they know where the Board is at and where they want to go. Neuzil said some of the employee things are coming out, and he pointed out that it isn’t known how the County will pay for a Jail coordinator, the Jail alternatives, trails, etc. Stutsman said she thought the coordinator was taken fairly. Neuzil said the other thing is matching up Strategic Planning with the budget and putting money towards rural economic development and towards green initiatives. R. Sullivan said the Board also needs to consider the fact that, just besides discussing Fiscal Year 10, they are also halfway into a budget, and what it looks like. He asked if they are finding things to be way more money in some departments, and if there will or won’t be reserves.
Stutsman asked Claiborne when he is scheduled to go the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) conference. Claiborne responded he is leaving Sunday, October 19, 2008, and will be back on Thursday, October 23, 2008. Neuzil said there is an extra Wednesday on October 29, 2008 to possibly schedule a meeting. Neuzil said they could schedule an 8:30 meeting on that Wednesday instead of Key Issues, so that way Claiborne will be present. Stutsman said she thinks that is what they need to do. R. Sullivan said the other thing they can do is see how many items there are, and instead of a two-hour meeting, have two separate one-hour meetings. Neuzil agreed, saying that if the Board puts the meeting on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, at 8:30 they can just get the issues done. R. Sullivan said that is a decent discussion. Neuzil asked if all Board members are okay. He said there will still be a meeting on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, and that it is just an extra budget meeting on Wednesday, October 29, 2008.
R. Sullivan asked when the first budget meeting will be. Stutsman said she thinks they need to have it soon. Claiborne said the first budget meeting will be Tuesday, October 21, 2008. Neuzil said there will be some time to think about another meeting. R. Sullivan asked if there will be a meeting Monday, November 17, 2008. Stutsman said, in actuality, she envisions the Board giving some direction to department heads. She said if the Board decides the information they get determines what kind of year it will be, the Board needs to tell department heads. Stutsman said Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak told her that in Cedar County, when the farm economy tanked in the 1980s, they had zero budgets for three years during that time. She said it is a rural agricultural economy.
Stutsman said, last year, if they had recognized that the year was a reassessment year, that the Communications Center was a big part of that, she would have done some things differently with the budget. R. Sullivan said, in terms of preparing for things like what Stutsman mentioned, he thinks one important item he wants to know is where the County is at for the current fiscal year. He said the second thing he wants to know is how much payment is left for the Joint Communications Center and how much interest is paid in a year. Neuzil said they need to forward to Claiborne everything so he will have the information ready. He said Stutsman should point out after the Finance meeting to have the group come into the meeting room. Neuzil said he thinks the County will see farmland values skyrocketing three fold.
Recessed at 10:27 a.m.; reconvened at 10:32 a.m.
R. Sullivan said he doesn't know where to go with the topic other than the fact the Board thought it might be worth having on the agenda because R. Sullivan has received one call from one person who was adamant in getting removed from the buyout list. He said it is the biggest way in which it affects the Board, in terms of figuring out the jumpstart program. R. Sullivan said that if an individual is on the list for a buyout, then they can't access the funding. He said, as the Board recalls, when they listened to Dvorak with the maps, that the Board said that they should just add people because there is no penalty. R. Sullivan said people from FEMA said there are no penalties with error on the side of having more properties. He said jumpstart then comes up with rules in not being able to access the funding. R. Sullivan said there has only been one person who has called and said get them off the list. He said ECICOG Planner Hillary Copeland did so and so they took care of it, but that it is a frustrating development. R. Sullivan asked if other individuals have had calls of that nature. Harney said he hasn't and that it surprises him because State and Federal changed their guidelines as they go along, as they've changed so many times. He said if they are able to change within a day three or four times it surprises him. Harney said the idea is that the land owners can be on the land and then if they decide to stay they can be eligible for it, and he didn't know they need to be removed.
Stutsman said she thought if owners got jumpstart funding, then they aren't able to be eligible for the buyout. She said she didn't originally think it made a difference. Stutsman said she thought there couldn't be jumpstart funding if a name was on the buyout list. Stutsman said no decisions have been made, and that is how she reads it. R. Sullivan said the best explanation he has found is an article the Gazette wrote. He explained the article focuses on Cedar Rapids, IA, and it is a little different because Cedar Rapids, IA manages its own money, whereas the City is part of the ECICOG group. R. Sullivan said the rules are the same. Stutsman said the Board will be meeting with Josh Cox, so it is something that needs to be clarified with him before they spend a lot of time with enough information to be dangerous.
Dvorak said, as a follow-up, he has received an email from Copeland, who is sending out another letter to the 58 families that are on the list, asking them if they are still interested. He said that is how she is removing one family off the list, using that concept. Dvorak said if the families say they aren't interested, now the Board has an actual figure they can look at for dollars and cents it will cost the County and how they come up with grant money. He said that is to happen next week. Harney pointed out that the question most commonly asked revolves around houses being purchased by the City under their property acquisition program, and homeowners want to know if they are still eligible for down payment assistance. He pointed out the answer is yes, however if the sale price is any excessive money on the house, they will be required to use those funds to repay the down payment assistance provided by Jumpstart.
Stutsman said she saw on the news this morning an advertisement for a company that will help go through mazes of paperwork. She said she feels bad for people that have to go through this conflicting information. Stutsman said it must be awful. R. Sullivan said the Board is told over and over by the Federal government that there is no penalty for including a property, no penalty for the government, and either party can decide at the last minute. R. Sullivan said when the State comes out with a program that monkeys with that, it is frustrating and gives them a very small window. Stutsman said it sounds like Copeland is on top of things. She said she is going to give Dvorak credit as well.
Harney said the other side is jumpstart funds for repairs. Harney said if they will use jumpstart funds for repairs, and are going to be in an acquisition area and purchased, then the government will not give that money towards that. He said, in other words, if the government doesn't buy out, then the County won't get money for repair. Harney said that is why they want it all. R. Sullivan said they didn't get into a lot of details, and that he was adamant he didn't want to discuss the situation. R. Sullivan said he just wanted off the list. R. Sullivan said the Board will make sure that happens. He said, frankly, he is glad the individual didn't want to talk about the pros and cons, because R. Sullivan said he probably couldn't have done it. Dvorak said he has talked with people that were confused when they saw the issue in the paper with them being on the buyout list. He said he explained it to them, similar to R. Sullivan. Dvorak said none complained, as he knows three families that aren't sure. Dvorak said when they do the next letter, hopefully they will get a better idea for figuring out their budget problems. Neuzil said they are strategies.
R. Sullivan said if people get those calls, let Dvorak know so they can get in touch with Copeland. He asked Dvorak if there is anything under the topic R. Sullivan hasn't talked about. Dvorak said he sent out letters for a meeting with Cox Monday, October 13, 2008, his two liaisons, and some other staff. He said there is a meeting on Monday, October 20, 2008 as a review of the mitigation process, how they handle it, and how they report it as well. Dvorak said he has been working with FEMA frequently, and they got a call yesterday to see how their employees worked with his staff and the public. He said there were four different inspectors.
R. Sullivan said they are looking to put two workshops together in eastern Iowa, with one in Waterloo/Cedar Falls area, while the other is in either Linn or Johnson County. Neuzil said Camear asked them first, and that Dvorak has met him as well. He said Camear has also contacted Les Beck from Linn County. Neuzil said all Camear wanted from the County is a place to host. He said Camear has also been in communication with Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey. Neuzil said the workshop will need a location in which to hold over 75-100 people for flood management. He said Camear also tried to work with Bailey, who brushed it over to the Board. Neuzil said Camear has asked if the County wants to be a host of the event, which is where the situation is currently. Neuzil said Black Hawk County's Supervisors are on the list. He asked if the Board wants to be on the Supervisors' list. R. Sullivan asked if there will be a cost. Neuzil replied there will not. Neuzil said it will be November 13, 2008, but is the evening meeting. He said all the costs associated will be assisted by FEMA financially.
Neuzil said he called over to the County Fairgrounds, and it is available in Montgomery Hall, and Camear is now in contact with that them. He said that is far as it has gone. Stutsman said she has been contacted by the Supervisor of Black Hawk County about the issue. She said she doesn't have a problem with the County being the host. Stutsman said she thinks they have a place by now, as the County has given some ideas. Neuzil said the Fairgrounds is what his last lead is, so that is where they are at, and the question is if the Board wants their name on it. Stutsman said if they do host, she wants to know if Dvorak is their contact person if there needs to be setup time. She said she thinks they have had it pretty well set up and that there isn't much to it. Meyers said one Board member would introduce them and that would be it. Neuzil said he doesn't know if it was even that. He said it would be great if that is the case. R. Sullivan asked if Dvorak can be expected to attend. He said Dvorak is their floodplain person, and it seems to make more sense that Dvorak be there rather than himself, given Dvorak's knowledge of everything. Dvorak said he will get in touch with Camear and find out if they have found a place or not, and suggest the fairgrounds. Neuzil said that at least it is in pencil that is available. Stutsman asked if the Board is okay with putting the County on as the host. Harney said it will be fine as long as there are no strings attached the Board doesn't know about. Neuzil said it doesn't sound like that at all, and that the group just wants a place to hold in a central location. Harney said the Floodplain Management group wants someone to provide the space whether it is free or paid. Neuzil said it isn't an issue either way. He said Montgomery Hall is associated with FEMA stuff anyway. Harney said if they are looking for better services, one of the hotels could be an option. Neuzil said they can do some emailing. R. Sullivan thanked Dvorak.
Facilities Manager Dave Kempf said SEATS and Secondary Roads building is currently being worked on in terms of painting, etc. Kempf said there is gain slowly but surely. He said there are still some issues being worked through with duct work and getting heat pump units being set in the rooms. Kempf said he thinks they have found a revised set of plans everyone is agreeable to in terms of placement of heat pumps in the area. He said the issue they have ran into involves the units coming and being larger than they are supposed to be essentially. Kempf said each cabinet has its own blower motor in it, a heat exchanger in it, and the cabinet size is a little larger. He said those changes and modifications will be no expense to the County, being between the supplier and LaRue, who has the heating contract. Kempf said they have met with an individual from the manufacturer, who will assume responsibility for the contract. He said it is one of the challenges they have had to work through. Kempf said their hope is to start installing some of the furniture into the office areas on Monday, October 20, 2008. He said they are cracking the whip quite hard. Kempf said there is preparation for the curb and gutter, which will enable them to put the parking lots in. He said they have been working through some issues with the dam on the pond for water runoff when the project was started. Kempf said the guard at that point had not started their project, and that his department contacted them, giving them the plans that his department wants to do. He said if there hadn't been the flood and the guard hadn't fast tracked the project they would have been done long before the group ever started, with everything fine, but now the department has changed their mind on a lot of issues. Kempf said they are working closely to make sure everyone is happy and everything is taken care of. He said he has no doubt that they will soon be finished, adding there are just a few small details such as what type of vegetation cover and what type of erosion matting. Kempf said there will also be a change where his department has the discharge coming out. He said he thinks everything will be fine, and they are working diligently to have suitable completion so his department can get an occupancy permit the end of October 2008. Kempf said there is a liquidated damages clause in their contract, that if the contractor is not done by a certain time then a penalty can be imposed of $500/day. He said they know the contract was due to be done the first part of September 2008, but that due to the weather his department has not enforced that requirement. Kempf said his department did send a letter telling them they tend to start enforcing the requirement the end of the month if they are not complete. He said they are stoking the fire with them, although the individuals have been very good to work with, being on site every day so they are working very hard to get there.
Kempf said if anyone on the Board is interested in doing a site tour, he is more than happy to go out there. He asked Harney and Meyers if they have gone out there. Meyers replied he and R. Sullivan went out yesterday with SEATS Director Tom Brase. Kempf said that is good, as they now know how everything comes together and they are starting to see things gel. Meyers asked if there will be an open house. Kempf replied there will be, and that he has talked with Brase about such. He said he is steering Brase towards December 1, 2008. M. Sullivan get a list of who the Board thinks should be invited who use the facility.
Neuzil asked about the garage part. Kempf said the garage part is nearing completion, doors are ordered, and he hopes they will be delivered in the next week. He said there was an issue with suppliers and contractors not ordering materials on time, and price increases. Kempf said they basically tried to come back on them, and his department basically said they have a contract price, they aren't interested, and that they would be going to a different door. He said if they would have had a different door there would be a price increase, but that they just wanted what they expected. Kempf said the price of things have been changing almost daily if not weekly. He said both projects people have everything locked in across the street. Kempf said that hasn't been of issue as much.
Neuzil said he has two other questions. He asked about geothermal and storage capacity of the garage. Kempf said geothermal is installed, which is what he is talking about. He said the heat pump portion is the portion of the geothermal that is inside the building, and then the well field that is outside the building that has been installed, pressurized, and tested. Kempf said the pump room is all in place. He said that portion has all been installed, and he is talking about the units that actually take that and convert it to heat or air conditioning as it comes out of the ground and is supplied to the different areas of the building. Kempf said he thinks they have 12 heat pump units in the building. He explained the building is broken up into different zones, so they can have control over it. Kempf said that is moving forward. Neuzil asked about storage capacity process. Kempf said that is all built and is waiting for the door as well. He said they still have a few things left to do out there, such as office spaces, running the sprinkler systems in the building, and running electrical over to a couple places. Kempf said one change Brase has requested is some proposed electrical changes to the washbay area for a piece of equipment that he wants to acquire. He said he has talked to them about it, he just hasn't given them the paperwork yet, but they know what to expect and are working towards that. Kempf said that is moving forward. He said there is also a plan for storage, working on with Clerk of Court Lodema Berkley and Attorney’s Office Office Manager Danelle Essing. Kempf said their hopes are to use a warehouse storage approach, which takes long term documents that are in long term storage and have to access almost never. He gave the examples of old juvenile records. Kempf said they will be cataloged and put on pallets. He said there will be warehouse shelving where they can use a lift to set things up and down. Kempf said Berkeley is coming up with a plan with what she can move out there. He said their hope is to get enough out of Capitol Street and out of the garage and Fisher Building in order to have Berkley empty out the Clerk of Court's office more and free things up. Kempf said if they need to access files, they will let his department know they need, as an example, pallet A-3, which will be set on the floor so they will have access to it the following day. He explained the records that are put out there generally aren't things they need to access at a moment's notice. Stutsman said Kempf is doing a great job.
Kempf said the Health and Human Services building construction is moving faster and faster all the time. He said he was just over there and walked through the bottom third of the first floor that has been painted and with sheet rock taped and painted. Kempf said he also went through and pointed out areas that did not meet expectations of a grade four finish. He said they don't want a grade five which is pristine, but at least grade four. Kempf said the center section is prepped and ready for them to start painting, which is what they are working on currently. He said they are moving towards the interior finishes on the building, and sheet rocking and taping is occurring on the second floor. Kempf said they are about halfway through the floor of sheet rock, the taping crews are fairly close behind them, with about a third of second floor taped. He said they are moving on, with 90% of the electrical is all stubbed in and in place. Kempf said they are now starting to actually pull the low voltage wiring, which is all the phone and data cable lines, and all the HVAC data lines as well as control points for low voltage data. He said each one of the HV units have to have a data line pulled. Kempf said all the cable trays are there. He said the crew is supposed to be present on October 8, 2008 to start installing the ceiling tile grid on the first floor. Kempf said as soon as the grid is in they will go back in and start dropping in light fixtures and wiring in the switches, etc. Kempf said things are starting to snowball and start happening faster and faster. He said the northeast corner of the building done. Kempf said the center section of the north side completed, and they are finishing off the last six feet of brick, and then October 8, 2008 they will relocate the scaffolding and start on the northwest corner hopefully October 9, 2008 or later in the week. He said the masons are behind schedule so their plan is to bring another crew on site to help get caught up with that. Kempf said they have delivered the first curtain wall this morning, which is the framing for the big openings, so they will start to see those getting closed up. He said the first one they are putting in is the northeast, focusing on the north side of the building so they can start the site work between the ramp and the building, as well as the drive. Kempf said the majority of the work will take place there.
Neuzil said it is good to know about the progress. Stutsman asked about the car situation. Kempf said the first curtain wall is going up. He said he is sure everyone knows the window frames are in the skywalk and are starting to install glass, which is exciting. Neuzil asked if the walk will be painted, and if the orange will be painted. Kempf said the orange will all be covered on either end where the steel columns will be. He said that will actually be brick when it is done to match the two buildings. Kempf said the construction isn't scheduled to be doing that yet, but they have been waiting for the frames for the curtain walls, so instead of having them doing nothing, construction will be refocusing their efforts on the curtain walls. He said elevator parts showed up on Monday, with two semi-loads of all the components to install the elevator. Kempf said the transformer set from MidAmerican Energy is getting ready to bring the building on to the permanent power online. He said all the lines are pulled and just need some meter boxes set, but the brick must be laid before they can set the meter boxes. Kempf said they are getting very close. He said grating has been started on the north, east, and west sides of the parking ramp. Kempf said they are hoping to get the sodding done on the east and west sides, and then the seeding done on the north side as soon as possible in order to get some of it growing yet in 2008. He said All-American Concrete, which is a local company, got the bid for pouring the decks and doing the concrete work on the ramp. Kempf said all the precast is set and has been welded and is in place. He said they are starting this week to pour the concrete for the ramp, so it is moving ahead and they will start to see everything pull together.
Kempf said there have been some problems lately. He said TriCon Four Eight, for a cornucopia of reasons, had a changing of the guards over at the site, letting several people go due to after hours activity. He said it is never a good time to take personal time on job sites, especially during the phase they are currently in for the project. Kempf said that Tricon did, as a company, what they felt they needed to do. He said they assured him it would not affect the completion date the County has been working towards, that they would be restaffed. Kempf said there have been several people that he felt are excellent workers, that he is very happy they sent back to the work site, taking his advice towards the workers. He said there is a little shakeup every time something like that happens, and the rumors start flying and the subcontractors start the rumor mill going. Kempf explained he had one subcontractor stop him to say he couldn’t believe Kempf had fired the general contractor off the project. Kempf replied to the subcontractor that is not remotely close to the situation, that they had to let some people go and that it is a changing of the guards, so to speak. He said if anyone has been in construction, the rumor mills spreads fast. Kempf explained much of the information gets muddied passed on from person to person.
Kempf said they hashed all things out at yesterday’s Construction Meeting. He said all the important information was given to the necessary parties that need it, and they have moved on from the project, which brings him to his favorite topic of the day: paint on cars. He said there is paint on cars. Kempf said the contractors are well aware of it, and he should have the contact information and insurance information for everyone soon, hopefully that October 8, 2008, even though he needed it by October 7, 2008. Stutsman asked what he ordered is. She asked if they can get paint off anyway, when talking about insurance, and if Kempf is talking about getting the cars repainted. Kempf said they will buff it off, and gave the example of Deputy Treasurer Betty Sass from the Treasurer’s Office who had to get her car taken in to have it serviced, etc. He said Sass told him the shop looked at her car and removed paint with clay bar, which is what body shops use as a cleaning compound to take paint off. Kempf said that is one process, and then buffing it off is another process. He said there shouldn’t be any cars that need to be repainted or anything. Kempf said the cars will be able to be cleaned off, but it is not a County liability as it is a Contractor liability.
Kempf said it drifted into the current lot as far as he knows, and he thinks that a lot of different people got it. He said he has gone over on three separate times to yell about painting and not taking necessary precautions. Stutsman said she remembers him talking about the situation. Kempf said his feelings are that they have coming what they deserve. Stutsman asked what will happen when workers paint on the other side of the building. Kempf said they are all done. Stutsman said she thought it was the items from the brick. Kempf explained that it is when they painted the silver part on the skywalk. Stutsman asked if it shouldn’t happen again. Kempf said there shouldn’t be any more painting that takes place that would happen again. He said he has painting on his pickup truck. Harney asked about what they would do when they clean the brick near the Administrative Building, and if there will be material flying. Kempf his staff has had that discussion about the issue, cleaning and etc. He said the cleaning crews will just have to take proper precautions. Stutsman said even if they told them not to park in the lot. Kempf said, quite frankly, they needed not to be painting when the surfaces are like that. He said he went over and told the individuals, who then did some unacceptable things, in Kempf’s opinion, such as holding sheets of plywood while someone painted, which, as Meyers knows, just doesn’t work.
Kempf said, as far as cleaning brick on the Administration side goes, the material they have shouldn’t have any effect. He said however, they have already had the discussion, so they will be careful with what they are doing and have to take the precautions. County Reporter Kim Painter asked Kempf if he will send a global email. Kempf said once he gets the information, he will send it out to Painter and others. He said he has talked with Information Services Director Jean Schultz about getting the information out to everyone. Kempf said when he has the information, within moments of him receiving it, he will make sure everyone gets it. Neuzil asked what day it is on. Kempf replied he thinks it can be any one of about three days, as he had to go over at least three separate times. He said the thing is, it is just very fine in some cases, and unless the individuals go to wash their car, depending on the color of the car, they may not know it is there. Neuzil asked what color is his car. Kempf replied it is gray, while another vehicle which is a tan color and is actually the primer. Kempf said the good news is that it has come off, and the other good news is that someone else will be paying for it.
Harney said it will be nice if there is some procedure in place. He said he is sure everyone will get different answers if everyone calls insurance companies for a procedure to follow. Kempf said absolutely, and they will send their people to verify. He said he told them it would be no problem and they can come down at anytime to look at a couple cars. Kempf said he has been happy in that Sass took it upon herself to clean the paint with clay bar. He said that while clay bar is a little bit labor intensive and is certainly not cheap, that is pretty easy to remove things. Kempf said it has been assured that everything will be taken care of, so as soon as he has the information and who they should contact, he will pass the information on to everyone in the Administration Building. He said that ends his project update. Stutsman said it is not the County’s problem. Kempf agreed. Stutsman said she doesn’t want people calling Kempf and railing on him. Kempf said people have been great about the situation. He said he has told a few department heads that have come to him to share with their employees that it will get taken care of, insurance will cover the problem, and that people have been very good about it.
Stutsman said if there are any issues they should let the Board know. Kempf said he has a couple things for update. He said he has started to meet with some of the department heads that are going into the new building about timing and scheduling. Kempf said he has an appointment set for tomorrow for a moving company to come and logistically give him cost and time estimates for moving people. He said, of course, the firm can move up to 80 people and all their stuff a day, so they have the capacity to move vast volumes of items in a short period of time. Kempf said the University uses them all the time. He said he will get a couple estimates on the costs, but that he is starting to meet with the department heads and letting them know the timelines that they are looking at moving in during December 2008. Kempf said furniture is scheduled to be installed starting the first of December 2008. He said they will start moving in the first entity towards the end of the first week in December 2008, is their hopes. Stutsman confirmed the first week for her records. Kempf said his goal is to have everyone in before Christmas 2008, his hope is it doesn’t snow, but that is what they are shooting for. He said Public Health knows they are going to be near the last entity, because they are in an owned building. Kempf said for two, the WIC portion move will be scheduled around their clinics and things they have, which will take some timing on his department’s part for them, since they need a certain window to hit with them so they don’t disrupt WIC’s clinic times.
Harney asked if the electronics has been decided on for the meeting rooms. Kempf replied they haven’t decided yet. He asked Harney if he meant being able to set up and record mics. Harney said they are all prewired for that. Kempf said they are going to have their own subcontractor take care of that. He said Novak Design will help Kempf design and lay it out, but instead of doing planning through Tricon and having them get their commission and 10% markup on it, they will have a little better control over the service that the County will employ. Kempf said the County employs the subcontractor to make sure it is done the way they want.
Stutsman said Meyers and herself, at their last liaison with Schultz, talked about video camera and how she is going to follow up on that issue with Assistant County Attorney Chappell and Kempf. She said she is thinking how the Board has signed a contract for rent for the Department of Human Services (DHS) building. Stutsman said they said all along that they wanted to be in there by September 1, 2008, and wants to know why they have to absorb the additional cost. Kempf said he has a few things, first being that having construction delays due to weather is not unusual, and it has been an extremely unusual year starting with last winter and moving through the spring and summer with the floods. Kempf said, for whatever reasons, Chappell is not a big believer in liquidated damages, so it is not put in the contract for the Health and Human Services Building. He said he can’t honestly say that addition would get the building done any faster, but his department doesn’t have that “carrot and stick” opportunity with them on that, so they don’t have any liquidated damages in the contract. Stutsman asked Kempf if he thinks if will all be done by December 2008. Kempf said yes. R. Sullivan said he thought they had talked Halloween 2008 in the past. Stutsman said when they first entered the project they made it very clear they wanted everything done by September 1, 2008. R. Sullivan said that he thought after Tricon got on, he thought they had pretty much said Halloween. Kempf said when he came back he told the Board his department is now shooting for Thanksgiving 2008. Stutsman said she doesn’t want to have to pay anymore rent over at 911 N. Governor Street. Kempf said it was an extremely painful thing for him to swallow. He said they have had a lengthy discussion with Tricon and several of the general contractors over that. Kempf said, unfortunately, it is just the nature of the beast. He said he thinks they are very fortunate to be at the stage they are at, given some of the things they have had to overcome the past year. Kempf said there is just no way to have called. Meyers said the size of the project and construction didn’t even start until January 2008, which is an astoundingly optimistic schedule. Kempf said it was, and that is why they have said that they are very optimistic. He said if the Board doesn’t ask for it, they are guaranteed not to get it. Kempf said, given what they have had to overcome, they are not doing too terribly for a project of this scope. Kempf said, basically, developing a whole city block.
Meyers said even though Tricon isn’t subject to any penalties, if their original intent is to be done by October 2008 and they are going six or eight weeks further than that, in a sense that is a penalty in itself because that is time they can’t devote to a new project, still being on the current one. He added they aren’t making any money. Kempf said they will still be paying gas and electricity to the facility during the time it wasn’t planned to have people or equipment on the site. He explained every day they go past the completion date is cutting into their profit margin. Kempf said the construction isn’t dragging their feet and are extremely motivated to work. He said the discussion was held on Friday, October 7, 2008 and then again on Monday, October 10, 2008. Kempf said they are still dedicated on the project, as it is a big project for the construction. He explained they are looking at the project as a cornerstone project for them to larger government projects that open it up for the company. Kempf said they are looking at the project as a cornerstone, have the project in their brochure, and have a good relationship with Kempf’s department. He said through to the end he feels confident the company will deliver the best possible product they can, and they are still focused on it. Kempf said Harney is obviously right in that the department heads have expressed to him that every day past November is cutting into their profit margins on the job, and a lot of the companies just want to make as much money as possible at the current stage of the game.
Neuzil said the only thing he wants to add for project updates is that he and Meyers had the opportunity to meet with Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch to start thinking about the project that will be next. He said they don’t need to go over much now because they are running over, but perhaps in the next couple of key issues it will be good to get some updates. Kempf said he has some floor plans for downstairs and the upstairs. He said they are still tweaking some things he will go over with the Board in the very near future. Kempf said he doesn’t think his department is at the point where they can spend a whole lot of the Board’s time yet, but in the very near future they will be there.
R. Sullivan asked Kempf what the address of the Health and Human Services Building will be. Kempf said the address will be 855 South Dubuque Street. R. Sullivan said he was hoping the address would be off of Dubuque, like the Administration Building. Kempf said the City originally addressed it 125 Lafayette Drive. He said all his department did was contact the City, state the case that no one knows where Lafayette Street is, and there is no access to the facility off Lafayette Street. Kempf said they were more than happy to address it off Dubuque street so the Ambulance Service and the Administration Building are all along the same road.
Adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary