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11-18-1982 - Special ~. , ~ u CITY OF EDGEWATER CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING November 18, 1982 Mayor Christy called the meeting to order at 3:30 P.M. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Robert Christy Councilman Jacob Lodico Councilman David Ledbetter Councilman Wilbert Pendleton Councilman John Wilbur City Atty. Jose' Alvarez City Mgr. Joseph Mitchell City Clerk Nancy Blazi Police Chief Earl Baugh Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Mayor Christy apologized to Mrs. Bennington, as well as any of the other newly elected Council members, for their not receiving their paperwork before today. Councilman Ledbetter asked which special meeting notice the Council is going to abide by, since we received three. Mayor Christy stated that we will begin with Mr. Mitchell's meeting notice, then go to Councilman Pendleton's, and last to the mayor's. Mr. Mitchell explained in connection with the purchase of Community Center tables, he was going to take this from City Hall renovation, which has an ample balance, but the accounts people would rather take it from Community Center so he is asking that $900. be transferred from City Hall renovation to the Community Center. Councilman Ledbetter reminded Mr. Mitchell that at the Council meeting he said that these tables were going to be charged to the Fire Depart- ment. Mr. Mitchell stated that he said they are for the use of the Fire De- partment. Mayor Christy stated that he spoke with both the former Pire Chief and the new Fire Chief, and they did not have any knowledge that these were going to be purchased. Mr. Mitchell stated that Mr. Britain, who is the Bingo chairman ) approached him requesting that the damaged tables be replaced; he had the Parks & Recreation people to count the damaged tables, and he ordered them. The request was made and it did not have to go before the Fire Chief. Mayor Christy stated that both Mr. Bevel and Mr. Reiley asked that it be put on the record that they did not request these tables. He added that according to what the Council saw at the last meeting, the tables cost $772.80. There was only $136. in the Community Center Federal Revenue. It seems that you are putting the cart before the horse; you are buying the tables and then moving the money to pay for them. He went on to say that he knows you can move up to 25% of the budget around, but he feels too much of this is being done. Mr. Mitchell explained that this readjustment is about 1% of the total budget and then there will be 24% left that can be adjusted before the Council has to have a Public Hearing. ~ u Mayor Christy recommended to the Council that we do not move the money around. Mr. Mitchell went over the request again, stating that the state- ment shows a balance of $1,323.92 in City Hall renovation and a balance of $54.06 in Community Center; because the accounting section would like to classify this as Community Center, he would like permission to transfer $900 from City Hall renovation to Com- munity Center. Councilman Wilbur stated that he will make that motion, being seconded by Councilman Lodico. Upon roll call vote the motion CARRIED 3-2. Councilman Ledbetter and Mayor Christy voting NO. Road Paving Program: Mr. Mitchell stated that the City has encountered a problem with the current road paving program in Florida Shores. On November 8, 1982 he was notified by the contractor, Martin Paving,that the actual linear footage to be paved exceeded the Briley Wild estimates. Also, that they had used a denser mix than had been estimated by the engineers. He immediately took steps to verify these statements and issued a verbal stop work order. He had sufficient cause to believe that the engineers had erred in their estimates, so in order to avoid a cost overrun he issued a written stop order under the con- tract provisions. There was a staff conference on November 10th to work out a solution. At the time of the stop order, both Pine Tree Drive and Travelers Palm had received a soil cement treatment and sealing and Vista Palm had received it from 30th to 26th Street with the balance from 26th Street to 22nd Street receiving only grading and soil preparation. To finish the job Vista Palm will have to receive soil cement treatment for that portion from 26th Street to 22nd Street and all three will have to have the final asphaltic surface applied. Mr. Mitchell read his report from the staff meeting to the Council (see attached) Mr. Bill Cross, Briley, Wild & Associates, spoke to the Council explaining that in preparing the estimated quantities for soliciting bids on this project, they inadvertently omitted the section of Travelers Palm Drive between Indian River Boulevard and 12th Street. The difference is the cost of the cem~nt due to the design,. which they have to estimate, there is no other way to get it done. He does not feel that there is anything out of line. The fact that they left off those blocks caused the total job, the number of linear feet, not to be bid on, but had we put them on there, the contractor would have bid it in :and you would still be looking at the same price. He apolo- gized for leaving this out, but you still have a contract on unit price bases; you are only paying for what the contractor paves. Councilman Lodico questioned how a mistake of quite a few thousand dollars could happen? Mr. Cross explained that the City did not prepare a standard.set of engineering plans for this project. It was indicated that the City wanted so many streets paved, then later they received a letter adding some. We did not pick this up in our drafting room. Councilman Lodico stated that there have been other errors made by Briley, Wild in the past and he just can't believe this one. Councilman Ledbetter stated that he is also at a loss to understand how this mistake could be made by an engineering firm. Councilman Pendleton spoke that the Council went ahead with this plan hoping to start a paving program. We are now being forced to pay more Council meeting 11/18/82 -2- u ~ money or knocking off four blocks, no matter which course we take we are going to irritate a lot of people. This is a big problem for the City, and he can not understand how this happened. Councilman Wilbur asked if we stop where we are at now, it is going to cost another $25,387.77 to finish putting the top on? Mr. Mitchell explained that if the job is completed as it now stands, the figure would be $37,868.60, if you want to complete the job adding the four blocks, you have to add the $25,378.77 to that. Mr. Mitchell explained that there have been no payments made to the contractor, however the engineering and other out of pocket costs, have been $15,000. This amount has been paidithere is no problem with this. Councilman Ledbetter stated that the original cost of this project that the Council had in mind was $283,000., then you put another $63,000 on this you corne up with $346,000., plus the engineering fees now. We are not talking about $283,000 we are talking about $346,000;this is not going to keep the people's payments under the $480. that was promised. Mr. Mitchell stated that there will have to be an addition to the assessment. He added that the first figure was $400. for an 80 foot lot, it is likely to be now $500. for an 80 foot lot. This would be if the entire project was completed. This will all have to go back to the drawing board for refiguring. Mr. Daigle, Martin Paving, spoke to the Council in regard to the Measurement of Payment section of the specifications. It reads that final payment will be made on the basis of the actual quantities of these items satisfactorily completed within the limits shown or directed. He stated that they were within the limits that were shown and directed to pave; although the linear footage was wrong. There- fore they were within the specifications in their work. Mr. Mitchell stated that he takes objection to these comments. Mr. Daigle advised Briley Wild of the footage and the total cost of the job, so he was fully aware of the limits of soil cement, authorized amounts. Mr. Daigle stated that this was prior to construction at which time we did not have an established quantity. We were requested at the pre-construction meeting to give an estimate of what the expenditures to the City would be and the only figure we had to base our estimate on was the 38.17 Ibs. Mr. Mitchell read from the contract section regarding adjustment of unit prices that wherever the quantity with respect to any item that is covered by unit price differs from material and significantly from the quantity of such work indicated on the contract documents, an appropriate change order shall be issued upon recommendation of the engineer to adjust the unit price. He stated that Mr. Daigle could not help the linear foot measurement, however he did have a contract limit on the soil cement base course and when it was discovered that the quantity would be higher than estimated by the engineer no noti- fication was given to the engineer. Had the City been notified by the engineers, this would have been brought back to the Council and the job not authorized until this was straightened out. Mr. Daigle stated that price has remained the apply here because the measure changed. the unit price was not adjusted, the unit same. He felt that this section does not unit price is the same, the quantity to Council meeting 11/18/82 -3- ~ u Mayor Christy repeated the question, why the engineers weren't notified of what exactly was going on. Mr. Daigle stated that in this type of work the difference in the mix is not a substantial increase in this design mix, since the original figure was just an estimate. Mr. Mitchell stated that again he has to take issue with this because the statement given by Mr. Daigle to Briley, Wild on October 7th in- dicated specific quantities. The quantities were changed, which affects the total price. There was no notification given to the staff and therefore no one could have pointed this out to the Council. Councilman Ledbetter stated that his first question was why the City wasn't notified of the change. His other question is what kind of tests have been made on the base of the roads? Mr. Cross stated that they passed a series of tests on the density requirements. Councilman Pendleton questioned if the tests that were conducted called for 38.17 Ibs. per square yard? Mr. Daigle stated that this was an estimate worked up by the engineers for bidding purposes. Mr. Mitchell explained that this estimate was built into the docu- ments. The slip was th~t after the soil test was authorized, the contractor became aware of the need for more cement, but the con- tractor failed to notify the engineer in order to coordinate this through the approval process. Mr. Daigle stated that a change order was not issued, but they were going by the section of the specifications that he read earlier to the Council. Attorney Alvarez stated that Mr. pendleton's point is well taken; the agreement determines the obligations of both parties. He can not determine at this point whether the agreement has been breached; however, from what he has heard, there is a good possibility that the agreement has been breached. What is before the Council now is the choice of whether you want to pay and proceed or hold the project until a determination is made of the various prices and the duties and powers under the agreement. Subject to that we can go ahead and recoup or you can stop this now and negotiate and let a judge decide. Councilman Wilbur asked what the City's position would be if we decide to continue the project as far as what soil cement is now and authorize some $37,000. Attorney Alvarez stated from a purely business point of view you should look for what solutions you have, short of just going ahead and paving. Without knowing the implications, it could be inter- preted that we have agreed to a new agreement by authorizing the continuation. Mayor Christy questioned why the City may be responsible for the extra expense, when we were not notified of any changes. He feels that if we agree to make compensation for this we are admitting that we were at fault. Attorney Alvarez stated more than that, you will be accepting the error and paying for it. Mayor Christy stated that he feels we should get this straightened out before we go ahead. -4- Council meeting 11/18/82 Q u Councilman Pendleton suggested that we could go ahead and finish the job omitting the four blocks and as far as the additional payment for the increase in the square yard of cement, he feels that this is a negotiable item. He thinks the attorneys should work this out. We should not accept full payment of that. Mr. Cross recommended that Briley, Wild's attorney, Martin's attorney and the City attorney all get together and negotiate this and that a report be brought back to the Council. Councilman Wilbur made this a motion, being seconded by Councilman Pendleton. Attorney Alvarez questioned the City Manager on the procedure that will be followed in regard to the payments and the activities on this project. Mr. Mitchell stated that he will call the attorney before doing anything. The representative from Martin Paving spoke to the Council about the work that has been done by them, completed and accepted and verified by the engineer; whether this means that they are not going to receive payment for this. Attorney Alvarez stated that he does not know the terms in the agreement providing for that payment, however in view of what is before us today, which is a possible breach of the agreement, we have to go back and look at this from the beginning. The representative from Martin Paving read from the letter to the City written by Briley, Wild. He stated that if there had been a breach of agreement, this letter requesting payment would not have been directed to the City. Upon roll call vote on the motion to have the attorneys negotiate, the motion CARRIED 5-0. Board of Adjustment appointments: Councilman Pendleton stated that he feels the Council has been lax on appointing members to the boards when their terms are up. He ex- plained that there are three recent vacancies on the Board of Adjust- ments and the Council should address themselves to this so that the board will have a full membership to work with. Mayor Christy pointed out that Mr. Roush's term was up on September lOth and he has voted on matters before the board since then. Councilman Pendleton replied that the Council is as much at fault because they have not made the appointment. Mr. Ken Millard, Chairman of the Board of Adjustment~ spoke to the Council about the terms of office of his board members; explaining that over the years the various clerks started using the dates of the resolutions for determining the members' terms of office. All of the members terms are from August to August. He went over the list of board members with the Council, pointing out the errors. He added that four of the Board of Adjustment members' terms ended in August and they have been waiting for reappointments. Mr. Mitchell stated that Mrs. Blazi and his secretary attempted to set this up in an orderly fashion, however they will go back and see what has been missed. He suggested that the Council wait until they receive a report before they make any changes. -5- Council meeting 11/18/82 u ~ Councilman Ledbetter made a motion to temporarily reappoint the present members back to the Board of Adjustments. There not being a second to the motion, Mr. Mitchell stated that he does not understand the hesitation, this would keep the board running like it is. Councilman Pendleton questioned the temporary appointment. Mayor Christy stated that the new Council that is coming aboard can change this, so why not set it as temporary from the start. Councilman Ledbetter stated that due to the fact that this is the wrong motion, he will withdraw it. Mr. Frank Opal spoke to the Council that these appointments should be turned over to the new Council. Councilman Lodico made the motion that the appointments that were spoke of before be made. Councilman Pendleton stated that the following appointments should be made: Cecil Roush for a three year term expiring August, 1985; Louise Martin for a three year term to expire August, 1985; and Gary Butt for a three year term to expire August, 1985. Mayor Christy questioned if that was Mr. Lodico's motion or Mr. Pendleton's motion. Councilman Pendleton stated that this is his motion. It was seconded by Councilman Lodico. Councilman Lodico had no questions, he stated that there are at least fifteen more appointments to be made by the new Council. Councilman Ledbetter stated that he will make the motion when the new Council takes over to review all boards. Upon roll call vote, the motion CARRIED 3-2. Councilman Ledbetter and Mayor Christy voting NO. City's Insurance Policies: Councilman Ledbetter stated that the insurance contract with the City is three years, therefore he made a motion that we renew the insurance with Caton Insurance Firm, being seconded by Councilman Lodico. Councilman Lodico stated that he feels to change the insurance now would mean that we would have to go out on bids from everyone. Councilman Pendleton stated that the reason that this was put on the agenda at a Council meeting a short time ago; we were given the information that the policy had expired and that a rider had been put on it and that the rider expires December 1. Now we are getting other information that the policy has one year to run. Mr. Mitchell stated what he meant to express to the Council was that the second year of the contract had expired and it has one year to go. All that is normally necessary is for the manager to present the invoice to the Council at a meeting. Councilman wilbur reminded the Council that there was a $10,000.00 difference in the price of the policies. -6- Council meeting 11/18/82 ,- ' ~ u Mr. Caton was given the floor. He explained that he was called and asked to furnish the City with some information for an appraisal or study that was being done on the insurance. His figures were an estimate, this was not a formal bid. He has analysed this policy and they did find a classification that was included that would take out a couple thousand dollars. He stated that 1981 package policy, the bonds, the police professional liability, public official liability came to $27,478. This year the renewal is $29,584. Mr. Caton explained several reasons for the increase; the property increased from $6,000 to $23,231.; six more people were added; personal injury protection was included for the entire City; all risk to the building was added; and all risk to the Council. He added that the personal injury protection for the entire City which has been added may be an area that Attorney Alvarez would like to look into. Perhaps this coverage will be sufficient for the officials of the City without having the separate official liability. Mayor Christy stated that all of this information should be furnished to the new Council. Mr. Caton agreed and suggested that next July the new Council should go out for bids and have a study made to determine which policy will be the best for the City. Mayor Christy asked if we are obligated to a penalty if we cancel the policy at this time. Mr. Caton stated that this is true. Councilman Wilbur still questioned the difference in the two policies. Even if we had to pay a penalty, we may be saving money in the long run. Mr. Mitchell gave a comparison of the companies'offers to the Council. Councilman Ledbetter stated that we should either stay with this company or go out on bids. Councilman Lodico questioned the substantial difference in the figures. Mr. Caton stated that he is unable to answer this question because this is the first time he has become exposed to these figures. He does not know their limits or coverages. He went on to say that when you want a bid, you specify exactly, so that both parties would have exactly the same information. Mr. Mitchell pointed out that the experience factor accounts for something here. A new company would be dealing with no experience factor. Ms. Stephany Farquhar ,representative of Tumblin Insurance, stated to the Council that the bid from Tumblin Insurance Agency was based on the same information that was given the current agent. She pro- posed that since the coverages are equal, their price is $6,000.00 lower, she would like to see the Council move to take the insurance program and take advantage of the savings. They will guarantee any cancellation of this policy during the next year will be on a pro- rata basis. This would give the City time to evaluate the coverage. She feels that the City should take advantage of this savings and if the City decides at a later date to cancel the policy it will be of no cost to them. Councilman Ledbetter stated that what is being said is true, however he has been made to understand that she was furnished a copy of -7- Council meeting 11/18/82 . .' Q (.) Mr. Caton's bid originally, and her package was worked up from that. He asked if this is true? Ms. Farquhar stated that this is correct; however, that this is the common procedure in the insurance industry. She went on to make a statement about the lower premium charged from her company and again stated that the coverages are the same. Mayor Christy asked Mr. Caton if he received a copy of Tumblin's bid? Mr. Caton stated that he did not. He added that he is not questioning anything here, however he would like to suggest again that the Council go out on bids so that everyone will be getting the same information. He did not even know that a bid situation existed. Mayor Christy stated that he wants the record to show that the repre- sentative from Tumblin's Agency had the opportunity to go over the bids, the cost and all of Caton's, and the Caton representative did not get the same opportunity. Councilman Ledbetter questioned Mr. Caton as to whether the two accidents we have had during the last two years with the police cars would cause an increase in the policy. He also questioned the number of new employees and the affect this has on the cost. Mr. Caton stated that the City is not being penalized for the accidents, however may be missing out on a lot of discounts because of this. He does not know if Tumblin received that information or not. Mr. Wargo asked if this Council advertised for bids? Mayor Christy answered No. Mr. Wargo went on to say that he can not understand how the Council can even consider all of this until this is done. Mayor Christy read from the minutes of the November 1st Council meeting, where Mr. Mitchell explained that our present liability insurance policies have expired and that a rider has been put on them to extend the coverage to December 1, 1982. It was voted on at that meeting to hold a workshop to discuss the insurance policy. He called for a roll call vote on the motion on the floor which is to renew the insurance with Caton. Upon roll call vote the motion CARRIED 4-1. Councilman Wilbur voting NO. Public Records Law - State Statute 119.05 Attorney Alvarez read this statute to the Council and the public. Mayor Christy stated that the point here is to show that the new Council has a right to every paper that the other Council had and it is our obligation to give it to them. If they do not want to keep the papers, they can turn them over to the archives in Tallahassee. Mayor C'--. '>:- Councilman Wilbur made a man Pendleton. Meeting Minutes submitted by: Susan Wadsworth Debbie Sigler Council meeting 11/18/82 ~ Councilman (j~ Councilman -8-