MINUTES OF MEETING
CORAL
SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
A regular meeting of the Board of
Supervisors of the Coral Springs Improvement District was held on Monday, September
19, 2011 at 6:35 p.m. at the District Office, 10300 NW 11th Manor,
Present
and constituting a quorum were:
Martin
Shank President
Theodore
Mena Vice
President
Duane
Holland Secretary
Also
present were:
Kenneth
Cassel District
Manager
Dennis
Lyles District
Counsel
Dan
Daly Director
of Operations
Kay
Woodward District
Accountant
John
McKune District
Consultant
David Macintosh Wastewater
Department
Ed Stover Water Department
Randy
Frederick Drainage
Supervisor
Jan
Zilmer Human
Resources
Stephen
Seigfried CSID
Cory
Johnson CH2M
Hill
Cedo
DaSilva CH2M
Hill
Michael Bone Lanzo Construction
Joe Brown Lanzo Construction
Andrew Bauman Lewis,
William Capko Lewis,
Joe Morera SWCD
Jorge Acosta Resident
The
following is a summary of the minutes and actions taken during the September 19,
2011 CSID Board of Supervisors Meeting.
FIRST
ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr. Shank called the meeting to
order and Mr. Cassel called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Minutes
A.
August
2, 2011 Special Meeting
B.
August
15, 2011 Regular Meeting
There not being any,
On
MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by Mr. Holland with all in favor the minutes of the
August 2, 2011 special meeting and August 15, 2011 regular meeting were
approved.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Bids for SCADA System
Mr. Daly reviewed the following:
·
The District previously
entertained the idea of putting in a SCADA system for the 41 lift stations in
the field as well as the four lift stations located at the grounds of the water
plant.
·
The request for bids
was published twice. Approximately five
interested parties attended the mandatory pre-bid meeting, but only two bids
were submitted.
·
Staff recommends
awarding the bid to Data Flow Systems for rental of a system at a cost of
$59,400.
·
Mr. Holland asked about
the training and whether up to 12 people can be trained. Mr. Daly clarified only four people can be
trained; however, there are only two to three people who work with the lift
stations.
·
The data obtained from
this system will allow the District to evaluate the direction in which to proceed.
·
Mr. McKune agreed this
system will be helpful in isolating the location of system leaks.
·
Mr. Cassel and Mr.
Lyles explained they brought some items to staff’s attention regarding the
contract. The contractor is willing to
make the changes to its standard form of agreement, but did not have it ready
in time for tonight’s meeting.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Shank with all in favor the bid for a SCADA system was awarded to Data Flow
Systems subject to modifications requested by District counsel.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
C. Engineer
·
Project
Status Report
Mr. Brown provided an
update on Plant F.
Ø All
of the concrete grounding and placements at the clarifier have been completed.
Ø Up
to 75% of the painting has been completed.
It will be tested after 10 days, and they will proceed from there.
Ø All
of the parts were ordered for the reassembly of the diffusers. The work will start once the painting is
approved.
Ø The
piping in Plant E was televised. DVD’s
of the recordings were sent to Mr. McKune and they do not show corrosion. They are ready to proceed with Plant F, which
should be ready within a month.
Mr. Brown provided an update on the
Nano Plant.
Ø They
are into the second week of check outs in preparation for testing.
Ø They
are mostly completed with the work.
Ø The
Nano Plant is in a 30 to 60 day testing cycle.
They will make substantial completion requests once the orifice testing
is completed and the membranes are inserted.
Mr.
Johnson discussed the following:
Ø He
will have more clarity on the status of the projects tomorrow after they have a
meeting. His opinion is substantial
completion is closer to 45 days.
Ø A
substantial work list is being provided to Lanzo.
Ø Progress
is being made in the right direction.
Ø Mr.
Shank asked about the painting and if it was done to Mr. McKune’s
satisfaction. Mr. McKune stated they are
taking an area and testing it. Mr. Schwarz
is suspicious of some of the prep work done on one of the repair spots, and a
portion will have to be redone if he is correct. Mr. McKune thinks it will be fine.
The
Board discussed the following:
Ø Mr.
Shank attended the last construction meeting in which Mr. Schwarz said their
corrosion expert advised it will take three years for corrosion to occur underneath
the paint. He requested a three year
performance bond or letter of credit. He
also wants something in writing stating if there is a problem during this time;
it will be completely redone and not patched up.
Ø Mr.
Mena asked Mr. McKune for his opinion.
Mr. McKune stated no one can guarantee the coating will last well into
the future. They are trying to repair it
the best way possible and testing it to see the results. Mr. Shank’s request was communicated to the
paint contractor. He will discuss with
the company owners. He has yet to
respond to Mr. McKune or Lanzo.
Ø Mr.
Holland understands the request for a warranty bond. He does not understand having something in
writing, which states they have to redo everything if a problem arises because
it is too broad.
Ø Mr.
Mena agrees to request a three year warranty bond. He does not agree on taking the paint down to
the bare metal if there is a problem.
Ø Mr.
Brown noted CH2M Hill did not like the repair method recommended by the painting
contractor.
Ø Mr.
Johnson stated it is not CH2M Hill’s place to tell the contractor what to
do. They can tell them whether they are
meeting the requirements and specifications.
The painting contractor’s suggestion did not meet the
specifications. He clarified CH2M Hill’s
role is to interpret the contract and provide recommendations to the Board.
Ø Mr.
McKune stated once the plant is in service, 85% of the tank is under water,
which is a corrosive atmosphere. The
remainder is in a splash zone, which is not a corrosive atmosphere. Any difference between the area above and
below the water will be visible once the water is taken down after a year,.
Ø Mr.
Bone stated if they agree to extend the warranty to three years, they extend the
rights in the contract for the same term. If it fails in three years, the District will
have the same rights against Lanzo and Lanzo will have the same rights against
the painting contractor.
Ø Mr.
Lyles stated it is an industry standard with regard to sureties to have a 24
month life; after which they expire. A
surety will need to be in place with a long notice period as well as a backup
surety. If the surety does not extend,
it is the obligation of the subcontractor to put another one in place. If the subcontractor fails to do this, the
District can look to the original two year surety to cure the default of the
contractor.
Ø There
was Board consensus to request a surety bond or letter of credit from Lanzo.
Ø Mr.
Bone stated if the Board agrees to accept the paint after the pullout tests are
successful contingent upon a two year extended warranty period or letter of
credit, it is what Lanzo has to do. He
can go to his subcontractor with it.
On MOTION by Mr. Holland seconded
by Mr. Shank with all in favor if the paint in Plant F passes the pullout
tests, the Board will accept the paint work contingent upon the contractor
providing the District with a two year extended warranty or a letter of credit.
Ø Mr.
Lyles clarified the Board is entertaining an extended warranty proposition as discussed,
not as an imposition of an additional step for the contractor, but as a way of
avoiding what was originally recommended, which is to take the coating all the
way down to the bare metal and redo it. The
Board is trying to find an easier and less expensive way for the contractor to
complete the work. The alternative is
the engineer of record on the project originally looked at the problem and
determined it was the application, the material or both were out of
specification. In order to get it into
specification with a resolution, which is less expensive and less time
consuming for the contractor, the Board has met the contractor half way. This is an attempt by the Board to make
things easier for Lanzo. Mr. Bone
recognized the Board is compromising with Lanzo.
Mr. Mena recognized Mr. Morera from
SWCD was in the audience and welcomed him to the meeting. Mr. Morera introduced himself to the Board
and addressed the letter sent to them regarding a future meeting of the
districts to discuss common interests and working together. The SWCD Board is looking forward to working
with CSID as well as the other districts in the area.
·
Mr. Shank stated at the
last construction meeting Mr. Johnson told Mr. Stover cleanout plugs are not
necessary and there are plants CH2M Hill engineered and built without
them. He asked Mr. Johnson about an
email he sent Mr. Stover today saying it was not being used after the initial
startup, but they are at the plants he listed.
·
Mr. Johnson stated he
misspoke. He believes CH2M Hill stopped specifying
them on this project because they are not used typically in any of the other
District’s projects. CH2M Hill decided
not to include cleanout plugs in the specifications due to the infrequent use
of valves versus the cost savings. The
valves cost $16,000 to $20,000.
·
Mr. Stover does not
agree. He said they are a functional
tool to keep the plants running. He
prefers staff make their own valves. Each
one cost $95, which comes out at a cost of $15,000. Mr. Shank agreed to Mr. Stover’s
recommendation.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Tabled Items
·
Culvert
Project Agreements and Modifications
Mr. Shank provided the
Board with an update on a meeting he had with Mr. McKune and Mr. Frederick
regarding the culvert project. The
following was discussed:
Ø The
new culvert is stage one of a three stage project.
Ø There
is no reasonable assurance there will be FEMA funding for the other two stages
and the additional costs will be approximately $6 Million.
Ø Stage
one will lower possible flooding by less than 2.4 inches.
Ø The
accuracy of the model is in question due to input data, which discusses 18
inches and a 100 year flood over three days.
Mr. Shank recalled a rain event in 1979 in which there was 16 inches of
rain over a 10-hour period with little or no flooding.
Ø The
actual slab elevations in CSID can be, but is not inputted into the model.
Ø Assumptions
of blockage of culverts and capacity of pumping stations are made in a worst
case scenario.
Ø Changing
the flow pattern may cause flooding in other parts of the District while
reducing only a small amount of water in the area.
Ø The
west side basin will have to pump more than the east basin.
Ø Mr.
Holland asked if the FEMA grant will help in any way. It was explained the FEMA grant only provides
funding for the first stage.
Ø Mr.
Holland asked if the District is beyond where it should be or if it is on
target in terms of planning to build a culvert like this.
Ø Mr.
Frederick is concerned because the plans consider moving water away from an
area which may flood to another area which will likely flood.
Ø Mr.
Holland questioned whether it was worth the District spending these funds. Mr. Frederick stated the District has
functioned as is for over 30 years without any issues.
Ø Mr.
DaSilva explained the previous Board requested CH2M Hill look into this. He stated the west basin is separate from the
east basin. The west basin does not have
as many issues because there are twice as many lakes, which results in more
storage.
Ø Mr.
McKune stated this is a predictive model.
He has an issue with models because a lot of proximations are made when
the data is inputted into the model.
Ø Mr.
Shank asked if there will be a response from FEMA if the District does not
proceed with the project. Mr. Lyles
responded a comment was made at the meeting Mr. Shank attended indicating there
may be a problem with FEMA in a future storm event in which there is property
damage. If the District applies for
help, there is a record of the District being approved for funding on a project
to prevent flooding and the District electing not to proceed with the
project. After further research Mr.
Lyles was unable to find a regulation in a Code of Federal Regulations
addressing this situation and directing FEMA to decline claims if someone turns
down a grant.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor the culvert project was stopped.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor Mr. Cassel was directed to write a letter to FEMA
regarding the project, pay the two invoices associated with Work Authorization
#60 and cancel the remainder of Work Authorization #60.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Request from Lanzo Construction Company for Retainage Reduction
The Board reviewed the
request from Lanzo for retainage reduction from 5% to 3.5% on the water
treatment plant only.
Mr. Mena MOVED to approve reducing
the retainage for Lanzo Construction Company as recommended by the District
Manager and Mr. Holland seconded the motion.
·
Mr. Mena asked if there
was a reason for doing a percentage retainage reduction versus a dollar
amount. Mr. Cassel explained a
percentage can be applied across all line items in the pay request as a retainage
reduction.
·
Mr. Holland stated he
feels comfortable with the retainage reduction as outlined in Mr. Cassel’s
memorandum.
On VOICE vote with all in favor
the motion as previously outlined passed.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Change
Order #2 to Lanzo Construction Company
Mr. Cassel reviewed Change Order #2
and the following was discussed:
·
This change order
consists of 14 changes to the project, which are a result of negotiations to
issues which arose. Instead of doing
separate change orders they were all consolidated into one.
·
The change order
increases the current contract price by $104,571.55.
·
The backup indicates
which items were added and deleted.
·
Mr. Shank asked about
the addition of a curb at Tank F, which will be in dispute. Mr. Cassel responded it is likely it will be
in dispute as to who ultimately pays for it.
This is a contractual obligation between the District and the
contractor. Other issues will need to be
dealt with CH2M Hill separately.
·
Mr. Mena expressed his
frustration with CH2M Hill and changes made to the project. Mr. Johnson defended the changes made and
stated the amount of change orders on this project are low by industry
standards.
On MOTION by Mr. Holland seconded
by Mr. Shank with Mr. Holland and Mr. Shank voting aye and Mr. Mena voting nay
Change Order #2 to Lanzo Construction Company for an increase of $104,571.55
was approved.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion of Proposals
for District Counsel
The following was discussed:
·
A total of four
proposals were submitted: Lewis,
Longman & Walker, Gray Robinson, PA, Bryant Miller Olive, and Weiss,
Serota, Helfman, Pastoriza, Cole & Boniske, PL.
·
Mr. Lyles would also
like to be considered for retention.
·
Mr. Shank reviewed the
proposals and rated them based on their work history with special districts,
lobbying, litigation and fees.
·
Mr. Cassel stated he
had inquiries from another firm. He did
not instruct any firm to attend the meeting being he did not know what the
Board’s process was going to be or the direction the Board was going to take.
·
Mr. Holland stated he
broke down the firms into four major categories. He added location as one of the categories. He feels a more local firm will add to
availability. He also looked at
ownership. He did not like the fact
Bryant Miller Olive is located in
·
Mr. Mena narrowed it
down to two firms. He feels changing
just to change is not always the best option.
Mr. Lyles has been District Counsel for 15 years. He knows the District well and has lobbying
ability. He is also familiar with Lewis, Longman & Walker and
feels they are equally good firms. He
does not feel it is the appropriate time to make changes with all of the issues
the District is dealing with regarding the construction project.
·
Mr.
Holland agrees the Board should not change District Counsel just to make a
change. He would like to meet as a Board
to discuss and identify the critical success factors moving forward as a Board
and as a District first and have another meeting to move ahead or have a
presentation from the law firms.
·
Mr.
Shank asked representatives from Lewis, Longman & Walker about construction
litigation and whether they would represent the District with someone from the
firm. Mr. Capko responded they do not
have to ‘farm out’ construction litigation.
Mr. Bauman would be the lead attorney on construction litigation.
·
Mr.
Shank stated he spoke with Mr. Lyles who indicated his firm uses an outside
lobbying firm and also recommends an outside construction litigator. Mr. Shank would like an all inclusive firm. His two choices at this time are Lewis,
Longman & Walker and Mr. Lyle’s firm.
·
Mr.
Lyles clarified his firm is primarily a litigation firm which represents local
government entities. They are the
outside trial counsel for the City of
·
There
was Board consensus to hold a workshop meeting to continue discussing attorney
services.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Proposal
from ADS Engineering for Hypochlorite System Hardware Connection
There
being no questions or comments,
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor the proposal from ADS Engineering for
hypochlorite hardware connection was approved.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Review and
Consideration of Additional Fees to CH2M Hill Associated with Work
Authorization #50
The following was discussed:
·
Mr. Shank met with CH2M
Hill where they discussed five separate issues.
·
There was an agreement
to pay Work Authorization #50; however, Mr. Shank does not recommend paying the
line items in dispute.
·
CH2M Hill wants to go
to mediation to dispute certain charges.
·
There was consensus to
have a three way mediation to determine liability for issues and resolve
matters without placing responsibility on one party.
·
Mr. Shank recommended instructing
District counsel to draft a demand letter to be sent to CH2M Hill requesting
they pay $547,000 within 15 days after the completion of the project.
·
Mr. Lyles stated one of
the issues which arose during the settlement discussions was the bifurcation of
the claims, the issues with Plant F, engineering decisions, specifications and
who did and did not comply. CH2M Hill is
requesting they be part of the mediation with Lanzo and the District. Mr. Lyles recommends allowing CH2M Hill to be
part of the mediation.
·
The Board should
address the $547,000 overpayment, or failure to make a timely request during
the first true-up period, as a separate matter because it does not involve
Lanzo.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor the District will enter into three way mediation
with Lanzo and CH2M Hill.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor District counsel was directed to send a demand
letter to CH2M Hill at the end of the project requesting they pay the District
back $547,000 within 15 days of completion of the project.
·
Mr. Cassel reviewed the
two invoices associated with Work Authorization #50. Mr. Cassel does not feel the $5,244.80 monthly
allowance line item on the invoice dated May 1, 2011 through May 27, 2011 is
appropriate as well as the $3,290.99 attributed to time spent on Plant F. He made the same recommendation for the
$5,244.80 monthly allowance line item on the invoice dated May 28, 2011 through
June 24, 2011 and the $133.74 for Plant F review time. The remaining charges are appropriate.
·
Mr. Shank questioned
the reason for using Mr. Easton on the project and the District having to pay
his airfare for traveling back and forth from
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor payment of the CH2M Hill invoices presented to
the Board associated with Work Authorization #50 were approved with the
exception of the amounts indicated by the District Manager.
·
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
CH2M Hill Work Authorization for Work to be Performed in Connection with Claims
Filed by Lanzo
The following
was discussed:
·
Assistance provided to
the District by CH2M Hill should litigation or claims arise out of the project
by the contractor is not part of the scope of services for which they
originally submitted a price in their work authorization and will have to be
paid separately.
·
Mr. Lyles stated it is
not uncommon for an engineering firm to request compensation at previously
approved rates for their assistance in gathering information for litigation. The difficulty is determining how much of the
work is to assist the District and the claim with respect to Lanzo and how much
of the work is on their own behalf for potential claims and discussion of
settlements the District is entering into with CH2M Hill.
·
Mr. Cassel stated the first
obstacle is the three inch thick claims book the Board was presented with a
week and a half ago.
·
Mr. Lyles stated the
proposed form of the work authorization covering these activities was not in
the agenda package and was just submitted at the meeting. He cannot make a recommendation at this time
because District counsel and staff have not reviewed the work authorization.
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor this item was tabled.
·
There was Board
consensus to discuss this at a special meeting following the workshop the Board
will hold.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Manager
·
GIS
Presentation/Briefing
Mr. Daly provided the
Board with a presentation/briefing on GIS for the District’s infrastructure:
·
GIS stands for Geographical
Information System.
·
The District has a
great deal of blue prints and is not aware of what it does not have in blue
prints. The workers have to refer to the
blue prints when there is a water main break, which is not efficient.
·
There is a company soliciting
the District’s business which can input the blue print information into a
computerized system. Mr. Daly provided
them with a set of blue prints to do a sample.
·
The program this
company uses has a module which can be incorporated into Google Earth.
·
This also leads into
document imaging.
·
The City of
·
Mr. Cassel stated there
is an asset book, which was created over the past few years. All of the documentation associated with the
pump stations will be able to be inputted into the system.
·
The system will allow
the District to look at how to effectively and efficiently accomplish the
digitization of the District’s records as well as the accessibility and
usability of the records in field.
·
The system will also
mesh with the Broward County Property Appraiser’s information.
·
This will be a
multi-year project, concentrating on the most important layers first.
The following was also discussed:
·
Mr. Daly distributed a
draft newsletter for the Board to review.
·
Mr. Shank requested Mr.
Daly look into having defibrillators throughout the plant.
·
Mr. Shank would like to
set up a permanent drop off area for residents to discard toxic materials so
they are not dumped into the District’s canals.
Mr. Daly will make some calls to find out if they can do this.
·
Mr. Shank questioned
whether the previous Board followed through with their fiduciary responsibility
by not having District counsel review the contracts for the water treatment
plant and wastewater treatment plant.
Mr. Lyles explained a practice evolved over the years in which the
District engineer assembled the specifications and construction contracts. It was part of the services contracted with
CH2M Hill. A discussion ensued regarding
the review of contracts in the past. Mr.
Holland expressed frustration in not having legal counsel review contract
documents.
·
Utility
Billing Work Orders
·
Monthly
Aerial Photographs
The
above items are for informational purposes only.
B.
Attorney
There being no report,
the next item followed.
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of August
Financials and Check Registers
There being no questions or
comments,
On MOTION by Mr. Mena seconded by
Mr. Holland with all in favor the financials and check registers were approved.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisors’ Requests and Audience
Comments
·
Resident
Correspondence
An email was provided in the agenda
package from a resident complementing Mr. Mena for his help.
The following was discussed:
·
Mr. Shank requested Mr.
Mena talk to the city about the following:
Ø Enforcing
grease trap cleaning, which causes lift station clogging.
Ø Talk
to the landscape contractors who work on the medians about not blowing leaves
and clippings into the sewers.
Ø Have
code rangers look out for blocked or clogged storm drains.
·
Mr. Shank stated his
meeting on Thursday was a waste of his time.
He prefers the attorneys make opening statements and then step out of
the room in the future.
·
There was discussion
regarding disagreements between the District engineer and the contractor.
·
Mr. Mena asked why the
District is not allowing school tours of the plant. It was explained there have been school field
trips at the plant. At this time it is a
safety and liability issue due to the construction project. Once the construction project is complete,
field trips to the plant will resume.
·
Mr. Mena would also
like to implement a reward program for the employees.
·
Mr. Holland stated he
was pleased with the meeting he attended.
FOURTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There
being no further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Holland seconded
by Mr. Shank with all in favor the meeting was adjourned.
Kenneth
Assistant
Secretary President