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2008-04-21 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTESMINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008, AT 7:30 P.M., IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 3519 LIBERTY DRIVE, PEARLAND, TEXAS. Mayor Reid called the meeting to order at 9:26 p.m. with the following present: Mayor Tom Reid Councilmember Woody Owens Councilmember Helen Beckman Councilmember Felicia Kyle Councilmember Kevin Cole City Manager Bill Eisen City Attorney Darrin Coker City Secretary Young Lorfing Absent: Mayor Pro -Tem Steve Saboe. Others in attendance: Trent Epperson Project Director; Nick Finan Assistant City Manager; Mike Hodge Assistant City Manager. NEW BUSINESS COUNCIL ACTION — RESOLUTION NO. R2008-62 — A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, APPROVING CHANGE ORDER NO. 19 ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAGNOLIA ROAD EXPANSION PROJECT. Mr. Trent Epperson, Project Director. Councilmember Beckman made the motion, seconded by Councilmember Kyle, to approve Resolution No. R2008-62 as amended. City Manager Bill Eisen stated this item involves several issues combined into one change order pertaining to the Magnolia Expansion Project. Project Director Trent Epperson stated this change order includes four main items that are all interrelated to the McLean Bridge. The original quantities of the bid did not include all the transitional and bridge approach paving that is required for the project. It also appears that many items of the design for the storm sewer were not fully completed and additional outfalls are required by the Brazoria County Drainage District. There is also a water and a sewer line involved with the bridge and the original design only accommodated crossing with the water line and not the sewer line. Another large portion is that the project was bid with "rip rap" slope protection under the bridge. This is an unacceptable material and method for slope protection per Brazoria County Drainage District #4. The plan has been revised and now requires interlocking concrete blocks as an approved method. The original plan also left off items needed for the Page 1 of 5 — 4/21/2008 guard rail fence. A smaller item is the City accommodated the Master Trail Plan going under the bridge and this was left out of the original plan. The total amount in the package has been reduced slightly to $414,405.35 and the contractor is requesting an additional 15 days be added to the original contract. Staff has established several ways to prevent this type of situation from happening within a project in the future. The City will be bringing in construction managers in earlier and requiring a more detailed scope of the design. The Assistant City Engineer has also been incorporated into the process and provided a very extensive check list for each project. Staff is also proposing several revisions to the existing standard contract for construction projects and will require an independent review for specialty projects in the future. Project Director Trent Epperson continued to provide Council a detailed explanation how Staff is working with contractors to lower the number of change orders for current and future projects. Councilmember Cole stated he does not feel this Change Order should be approved until there have been discussions with Othon Engineers. If the Change Order is paid then the City has lost any negotiating leverage. Councilmember Owens stated there are a lot of things in this Change Order that concern him. This contract has had $646,000 in change orders and there is additional time coming in from Contractors. There is a letter that states the City will not pay for any additional charges, time, expenses or profit loss due to this change, but there is no signature on this. Councilmember Kyle stated the letter dated April 16, 2008 makes exceptions and allows the Contractor to add additional time and overhead costs. This appears to be giving a number for approval that is not valid. Councilmember Owens stated he feels the contractor should have known that they were required to use the specifications set forth by Brazoria County Drainage District No. 4. He also feels that Staff is not completely without blame because they did not catch the errors in the review process. The number of and magnitude of overages in contracts at this time is undermining his confidence levels in the process. Discussion ensued between Council, Bill Othon, Othon Engineers, David Rodriquez, Othon Engineers, and Dominick Trupia, PBS & J Engineers regarding the project. Councilmember Kyle stated she feels there is a bigger issue with Change Orders in general. Change Orders affect the overall budget and the issue needs to be addressed. She feels, in the future, Council needs to receive some type of summary of projects that includes the contractor and where the project is, pertaining to the original budget. Page 2 of 5 — 4/21/2008 Councilmember Cole stated this is a large project and the large amount of the Change Order is actually a small percentage. The problem is when there are multiple change orders. The issues in this change order could have been avoided on the engineering side and during Staff review. He does not feel that the City is getting value engineering and does not have confidence in the process. The process possibly needs to be changed. He is also upset that he did not receive the information for this large change order until Friday. It is more difficult to discuss the item with Staff before the Monday meeting. Councilmember Owens stated he is concerned about the fact that the design did not meet the requirements of Brazoria County Drainage District No. 4 was not realized by the engineers or Staff. Discussion ensued between Council, Project Director Trent Epperson, Project Manager Andrea Brinkley, Bill Othon, Othon Engineers, David Rodriquez, Othon Engineers, and Dominick Trupia, PBS & J Engineers regarding the project. Councilmember Owens stated there are too many contract overages occurring and the City needs to take the necessary actions to prevent this pattern from continuing. Assistant City Manager Mike Hodge stated the process is changing and there is a planned Workshop to explain the changes to Council. The new plan has been implemented and Council will be pleased with the process for the newer projects. Discussion ensued between Council, City Manager Bill Eisen, and Assistant City Manager Mike Hodge regarding the project. Councilmember Cole stated he wants to make sure the City is getting value engineering without having to micromanage the project. If a engineering firm cannot provide value engineering and listen to staff requests, they may not have the option to continue working with the City. He does not feel that he can vote on this item. He did not receive the information until the Friday before the meeting and feels more discussion needs to happen before he can comfortably cast his vote. Bill Othon, Othon Engineers, stated he is willing to work with the City to establish a compromise that will work for the City and his company. Councilmember Kyle stated the City needs to get control of its project process to prevent constant contract overages and other issues. The City also needs to look at legal options when a contractor does not meet the expectations and establish accountability for everyone. Discussion ensued between Council and City Manager Bill Eisen regarding the Page 3 of 5 — 4/21/2008 construction project process. City Attorney Darrin Coker stated if Council decides to table this item, it will only cause the issues to be exasperated. The contractor has stated they are willing to work with the City on all aspects even after the Change Order is approved. Councilmember Beckman made the motion, seconded by Councilmember Owens, to amend Change Order No. 19 to the amount of $414,405.35. Voting "Aye" Councilmembers Owens, Beckman, Kyle, and Cole. Voting "No" None. Motion Passed 4 to 0, with Mayor Pro -Tem Saboe absent. After the discussion Mayor Reid called for the vote on the original motion as amended. Voting "Aye" Councilmembers Owens, Beckman, Kyle, and Cole. Voting "No" None. Motion Passed 4 to 0, with Mayor Pro -Tem Saboe absent. OTHER BUSINESS: Council adjourned into Executive Session under Texas Government Code at 10:35 p.m. to discuss the following: EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 1. SECTION 551.071 - CONSULTATION WITH CITY ATTORNEY — REGARDING POTENTIAL LITIGATION ASSOCIATED WITH PLATTING ISSUES AND GAS RATES. Mr. Bill Eisen, City Manager. 2. SECTION 551.074 — PERSONNEL MATTERS — DISCUSSION REGARDING CITY MANAGER'S ANNUAL EVALUATION. City Council. NEW BUSINESS (CONTINUED): Council returned from Executive Session at 11:43 p.m. COUNCIL ACTION — REGARDING POTENTIAL LITIGATION ASSOCIATED WITH PLATTING ISSUES AND GAS RATES. City Council. Page 4 of 5 — 4/21/2008 Mayor Reid announced no Council action will be taken on the platting issues. Councilmember Cole made the motion, seconded by Councilmember Owens, to approve the City's participation in a Coalition of Cities, headed by the City of Baytown challenging the CenterPoint Energy gas rate case and authorizing Staff to proceed with the hiring of the law firm Herrera and Boyd as part of the Coalition of Cities to represent the City's interests. Voting "Aye" Councilmembers Owens, Beckman, Kyle, and Cole. Voting "No" None. Motion Passed 4 to 0, with Mayor Pro -Tem Saboe absent. COUNCIL ACTION — REGARDING THE CITY MANAGER'S ANNUAL EVALUATION. City Council. No action taken by Council. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 11:44 p.m. Minutes approved as submitted and/or corrected this the 12th day of May, A.D., 2008. Tom Reid Mayor ATTEST: ,L lung �' ��� Page 5 of 5 — 4/21/2008