HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-11 WorkshopMeridian City Council Workshop September 11, 2018.
A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday,
September 11, 2018, by Council President Joe Borton.
Members Present: Joe Borton, Luke Cavener, Ty Palmer Anne Little Roberts and Treg
Bernt.
Members Absent: Tammy de Weed and Genesis Milam. Also present: C. Jay Coles,
Bill Nary, Cameron Ariel, Warren Stewart, Mark, Mark Niemeyer, Keith Watts and Dean
Willis.
Item 1: Roll-call Attendance:
Roll call.
X__ Anne Little Roberts _X _ _Joe Borton
X__ Ty Palmer _ X__ Treg Bernt
______Genesis Milam __X___Lucas Cavener
____ Mayor Tammy de Weerd
Borton: Welcome to the City Council Workshop this afternoon. We will start with roll
call.
Item 2: Pledge of Allegiance
Borton: Thank you. Item 2 on the agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance. If you would,
please, rise and join us.
(Pledge of Allegiance recited.)
Item 3: Adoption of Agenda
Borton: Item No. 3 on the agenda, adoption.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I -- I move we adopt the agenda as published.
Bernt: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to adopt the agenda as published. All those in
favor say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
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Item 4: Consent Agenda
A. Approve Minutes of August 28, 2018 City Council Regular
Meeting
B. Approve Minutes of September 4, 2018 City Council Special
Meeting
C. Hills Century Farm No. 10 Pedestrian Pathway Easement
D. Findings of Fact, Conclusion of Law for Denial for Tanner
Creek
Subdivision (H-2018-0023) by Schultz Development, Located at
505, 521, 615 and 675 W. Waltman Ln.
E. Approval of Task Order 10925.a for Professional Services for
Commercial & Residential Building Plan Review Services” to
FIRE CODE CONSULTANTS NORTHWEST, for the Not-To -
Exceed amount of $700,000.00.
F. Addendum to Development Agreement for Graycliff Estates
MDA H-2018-0054) with Star Development Inc., located west of
S. Meridian Rd/SH-69 on the south side of W. Harris St, in the
SE 1/4 of Section 25, Township 3N., Range 1W. (Parcel No.
S1225418957)
G. Professional Service Agreement with M .D. Willis, Inc. for City
Meeting Transcription Services
H. Approval of Task Order 10968 for Professional Services for
Optimal Corrosion Control Treatment Report” to MOUNTAIN
WATERWORKS, INC., for the Not-To -Exceed amount of
$94,400.00.
I. AP Invoices for Payment 9/7/18 - $20,056.86
J. AP Invoices for Payment 9/12/18 - $434,404.73
Borton: Thank you. Item 4. Consent Agenda.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move we approve the Consent Agenda. For the Council President to sign
and the Clerk to attest.
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Bernt: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda as published. If
there is no discussion, Mr. Clerk.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 5: Items Moved From the Consent Agenda
Borton: There were no items in five that were removed from the Consent Agenda.
Item 6: Community Items/Presentations
A. Department of Commerce: Idaho Opportunity Grant Update for
Paylocity
Borton: Brings us to Item 6, Community Items/Presentations. We will begin -- 6-A.
Department of Commerce Idaho Opportunity Grant Update for Paylocity and Cameron
Ariel is going to kick this off.
Ariel: Thank you, Mr. President. This is a follow-up item that -- from a previous
discussion that you all had. Based on that conversation we wanted to invite our friends
from the Department of Commerce. We have Bobbi-Jo Meuleman, the director here
with us, and her colleague Cindy Lee with us as well, just to give you guys some
background on the program, how it works and some information in regards to the
Paylocity and so I will just turn some time over to Director Meuleman. Thank you.
Borton: Thank you, Cameron. Thank you for coming and being with us this afternoon.
Meuleman: Yes. Good afternoon, Members of the Council. As Cameron said, I'm
Bobbi-Jo, I am the director of the Idaho Department of Commerce. Thank you for giving
me the opportunity to be here today to give you a little background on how the Idaho
Opportunity Fund works and to answer any questions you may have. So, the Idaho
Opportunity Fund -- it's in statute and it's often referred to as kind of the closing
package. So, as we have competitive projects that are looking to expand, an existing
business in the state looking to expand or a new business looking to relocate into a
state, sometimes you just need that little extra edge, because it is competitive, you're
competing against other states and so that's really the intent of the Opportunity Fund.
It's kind of that closing package and it is for infrastructure updates. So, road, water,
broadband, those sort of infrastructure updates is what the -- what the dollars can be
used for and so in the case of Paylocity, the Opportunity Fund was part of the closing
package for them to choose to locate into Idaho. A very unique project. At first they
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were in Boise and, then, decided that perhaps that wasn't the best fit for them and so
decided to build here in Meridian. As that process happened, they reached out to the
agency asking if the Opportunity Fund would still be viable in a different location. The
director at that time agreed that it would still be viable, because it was part of the closing
package that brought Paylocity here to the state. So, here we are today. They are up
and building. You see it on -- they are a great investment, a great attribute to this
community and they are ready to I think apply for their Opportunity Fund. So, I'm here
today just to answer any questions you may have about the Opportunity Fund or the --
the agreement. So, with that I'm happy to answer questions you may have.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: This just seems like there was a -- Bobbi, thank you for coming by. It's great to
have you here at City Hall. I have got a question. It just seems like there was a gap
where it was -- no one talked about this Opportunity Fund or the monies that are
associated with it. No one knew where it was coming from or who talked to who or -- it
seemed like there was a little bit of confusion. Not enough I's dotted and T's crossed,
so I think that's probably the reason why we are needing some clarification.
Meuleman: Yeah . So, Councilman, thank you for that question. Yeah. There was a
delay. There definitely was a breakdown in communication. You know, we have a
timeline that kind of lays out, you know, when they first came to Idaho, when they chose
to go to Boise, then, when they chose to go to Meridian. Then they contacted the
agency. The agency, then, contacted the city. The company, then, contacted the city
and there was a delay in communication and that is a fact, but for us, you know, we
made a commitment to that company and that's why I'm here today. We think that the
Opportunity Fund is -- their project is -- it qualifies and we want to uphold our end of
that. We understand that that takes a partnership with the city and so I'm not here today
to tell you guys what to do, just to answer any questions you might have about the
process. As far as we are concerned, the process was good. It was followed and I
think this was a unique project because of how it first came about. Right? It was first in
Boise and, then, it came to Meridian. So, it's not like a normal project where usually
they -- you know, they site in one spot and you move from there. But, absolutely, there
was -- there was a delay.
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President, Bobbi-Jo, thank you so much for being here and I worked
diligently when some of these came about and so I love the fact that we have incentive
packages. I am a little bit confused, because I understand it was offered with Boise
when they thought that Paylocity was actually going to build or actually invest and now
it's my understanding that they are leasing. So, I guess I'm losing the cohesiveness
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there of their putting an investment in, although I am absolutely thrilled that Paylocity,
one, selected Idaho and, then, two, is now in Meridian.
Meuleman: Chairwoman thank you -- or Council Woman. Sorry. Thank you. Yeah.
So, if you look in the lease agreement, which is part of the Opportunity Fund, the
application that the city and commerce will go in together, so how it is right now is, yes,
Paylocity is leasing, but -- so, the landlord has paid for the public infrastructure for the
parking lot, but Paylocity is paying that back through their 12 year lease. So, they will
be paying for those infrastructure updates through their lease. So, the landlord is
passing it off directly to them through the lease. And just for the record, too, our Deputy
Attorney General has looked at all of this. I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't
fully vetted from our attorneys to assure, because there, you know, was a gap and there
was, you know, a change in location that it's still -- it's solid on our end.
Little Roberts: Thank you.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Bobbi-Jo, again, appreciate you're a very busy individual, you have got a lot
going on over at your department and I think it speaks to the importance of this
application here before us today. I think one of my biggest challenges to -- was to try to
wrap my head around why the city needed to be involved if there wasn't a match. Can
you help -- I have never been able to get a clear understanding as to why we have to be
a pass-through vehicle, for you to send the money to us and ask to give the money to
Paylocity, which the state's I think very capable of cutting a check to Paylocity
themselves. Can you help the Council understand why we have to play that role?
Meuleman: Yeah. Thank you, Councilman. So, it's defined in code by us that we have
to partner with a municipality. We do not in any of our grants or incentives give the
money directly to a company. It either goes through a city or a county. So, that's
defined in code on our end.
Cavener: Mr. President. And maybe a question for Cameron or for you. So, this was
brought to the Council six weeks ago or seven weeks ago. There was somewhat I think
a desire to expedite it before the end of our budget amendment cycle. Council voted
against that. What -- is there a recommendation that you're asking us to change, to
reconsider, to change our mind, to bring a new application? What's -- I appreciate
getting some background information, but I guess my belief is that this is probably
coming with a request and I'm not quite sure what that is.
Ariel: Mr. President, Councilman Cavener, great question. So, this is just for
informational purposes. We wanted to make sure you guys had all of the information
that you needed, that you had inquired about previously, hence the request to Director
Meuleman to be here this evening. Really, no -- no recommendation at this point. We
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can talk with -- with Bill a little bit more on exactly what would need to be done to
proceed. Obviously, there is the -- the budget amendment that would be necessary to
instrument -- you know, make that happen and, then, also proceeding with the actual
disbursement, so -- and, then, of course, the execution of the agreement. But this is
really just for your information, but no recommendation this evening.
Borton: Council, any other questions? Luke, as you brought up, there were -- when
presented as part of the budget amendment there were questions about kind of the --
the sequence of events and -- and the role of a leasee versus an owner and how that
might impact the viability of this being an appropriate project for it, but this I think -- my
understanding is to make sure any questions that we have got are answered. So, if
there is anything else that -- because you're probably right and my sense is that there
may be a request coming back to revisit the previous decision to try and, you know,
create the funding mechanism necessary for this to pass through. So, if there is any
questions or concerns with that process going forward -- or coming back, we got the
subject matter expert here to try and answer those. One of the items that you brought
up with the lease -- I don't know if we have got a copy of that already. I assume we do.
Ariel: Mr. President, that should be in your board packet.
Borton: Okay.
Ariel: So, all those agreements, everything should be in the packet.
Borton: Okay. And that's -- that -- that's an important component that in order for an
agency to be an eligible applicant or recipient that they pay some sort of premium rent
to the owner who is paying for the infrastructure. That mechanism was vetted through
Department of Commerce to determine it's a viable and appropriate award recipient?
Meuleman: Yes, sir.
Borton: Okay.
Meuleman: Like I said, I wouldn't be standing here if we didn't believe that this -- on our
end we feel like this is -- it passes every criteria that we have for any other similar
project with the Opportunity Fund. I mean this is a fund that -- this isn't the first award
that's been given out, we have given out numerous awards for similar -- similar
infrastructure updates. So, yes, we are one hundred percent confident that this -- this
passes all of those criteria.
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Council Woman Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President. Bobbi -- and I guess that's been one of my concerns is
looking at the other three that have been given out, they were all done by companies
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that were actually putting the infrastructure in and so that's been one that I have been a
little bit concerned about regarding setting precedent for somebody coming in leasing
and, then, turning around and saying, hey, Meridian, I would like this money given to us
as well. So, that's why I want to make sure -- I want to make sure that it's in the lease
that it's very tightly woven in there, that there is a reimbursement for the company that
actually put out the funding for the infrastructure -- infrastructure.
Meuleman: Yeah. Council Woman -- and it's very defined in the lease and in the
application and I'm not sure what other three you're referring to -- other Opportunity
Fund award?
Little Roberts: Mr. President? Yes, Bobbi-Jo, there were two for Chobani and one for
GoGo SqueeZ.
Meuleman: Yes. And each of the projects that have been awarded an Opportunity
Fund -- I think that's the beauty of this fund is each project is so different and so each
project has different infrastructure needs, it's set up different, you know, the community
is different and so they are -- you know, it's all for infrastructure, but, yes, those were --
the Opportunity Fund was used for both of those.
Little Roberts: Follow up? And my big concern was also the -- not only who was putting
up the money, because this is different, but also that where they came in the timeline,
this seems to have come at the tail end of things, instead of really like it's intended to be
a closing, but it's also, like you mentioned, started out in Boise and, then, came over
here and it really wasn't anything -- because normally it would come before Council at
that point, but there wasn't a scope of work. It's hard when you're not -- when you're
dealing with a lease, instead of the developer that's trying to get something done.
Meulenman: I understand.
Borton: Council, any other questions remain unanswered?
Bernt: Clear as mud.
Borton: Other questions? Okay. Thank you, again, for coming and presenting.
Meulenman: Thank you for your time.
Borton: Appreciate it. Cameron, anything further to add on that or -- we may be seeing
this back for further discussion relatively soon.
Ariel: Mr. President. Yes . We will take that into account and, you know, if there is no
other questions or concerns, we will likely bring that forward to you when it's appropriate
after the -- well, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Borton: Okay. Any follow-up questions route to you for now?
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Ariel: Please do so. Yes .
Borton: Okay. Thanks, Cameron.
B. NovembreWhisky and Pacific Companies Old City Hall
Presentation
Borton: Item No. 6-B, NovembreWhisky and Pacific Companies, Old City Hall
presentation, timeline and next steps. Cameron, you're going to kick this off as well?
Ariel: Yes. Thank you, Mr. President, Members of the Council. It's a pleasure to be
with you. We have a couple of distinguished guests here. We have Caleb Roope and
the other proposers to the RFP that was selected via the joint committee and we wanted
to invite them here, essentially, to kind of kick off a reoccurring update to you all on the
progress of their project and how that's going forward. So, we have invited Caleb
Roope to come and present and we will give some time to him and, then, certainly we
can answer any questions you may have as well.
Borton: Okay. Thanks, Cameron. Welcome, Caleb.
Roope: Members of City Council, Thank you for having me. My name is Caleb Roope.
I'm the CEO of the Pacific Companies. We are based in Eagle, Idaho. A 20 year old
company and specializing in housing and mixed use assets and all kinds of different
developments, including public school buildings. Today, as Cameron said, we just
wanted to kind of review quickly on what we are up to and the process going forward
and what we can expect to see with the redevelopment of the property next door here.
For starters, you guys have a process to go through, which is, you know, working on the
transfer of city hall to the MDC and that process has got to play out in its own time, but
while that is happening we are busy doing things under the assumption that that's
ultimately going to move forward and so we are doing our due diligence now. We are
going through, looking at, you know, utility lines and water and sewer and how we are
going to navigate around those and we abandoned the existing alley, do the
fundamental development questions that really scope out what it is we can and can't do
on the site, up to and including whether or not we can make any private acquisitions of
some of the properties that are next door to two of the properties you guys transferred
previously. Through the process we will be working together on amending the existing
development agreement that Josh had with MDC to incorporate the city hall property
and that process will take what it needs to take, but my guess is it's probably resolvable
this year is what we are currently estimating based on what city staff thinks and the
attorney thinks and so we would be interested in proceeding with demolition as soon as
all that got worked out and the transfer happened and working with any existing tenants
in the city hall space. The old city hall space that needed time to relocate, et cetera.
But, essentially, we would take winter and early spring to work on the programming of
the site, get the entitlements all set with you guys, go through the building permit plan
check process, get all the designs dialed in, work on sourcing possible tenants and --
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and users of the -- of the 15,000 square feet of retail slash office space. So, those
conversations are actually starting already, talking to different businesses that might be
interested in coming to the downtown or that are in existing spaces and want to come to
the downtown. But if everything goes according to plan, which I think it will at this point,
we don't have any reason to think it won't, we should be able to start construction
roughly May of next year would be our timing and five years ago and I would have told it
would have taken a year to build this building, but with labor shortages and all the
trouble that we have executing anything anymore these days because of just the overall
busyness of the economy, we have programmed in roughly, you know, additional five,
six months just to -- just to have the space. So, November of -- of, you know, 18
months from now would be roughly our target and so that's pretty much it. Financing
wise, you know, you guys are a high profile city, a lot of people are interested in what
happens in Meridian and especially downtown Meridian, so we have gotten a lot of
inquiries from different contractors, we have got inquiries from banks that are interested
in financing the project. We, of course, have a number of banks that do our work
currently, but we want to work with all them and see what kind of options we have for
financing. The equity is sourced privately. We already have the equity to do the
project, about a 20 million dollar project and about maybe 11, 12 million dollars of debt
and, you know, maybe roughly eight million dollars of equity and that's kind of the
program, so -- so, that's just kind of a quick update for you. I know I threw a lot at you.
You guys have probably heard a lot of that before, but if you have any questions I will
just stop and let you ask those and maybe some things I can give out for the future that
you care about being updated on as to what we are doing. So, I will stop there.
Borton: Thank you, Caleb. Council, any questions?
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President. Caleb, thank you so much for being here. We certainly
appreciate it. You mentioned amending the existing development agreement and I'm
curious how that works and so I know that there is to be a new entity that your company
and NovembreWhisky and one of the things that the committee -- the recommendation
was adamant about was that the agreement was with that new joint venture or whatever
it was, since all along Josh has even said you're responsible for the heavy lifting.
Roope: Yes . That's correct. And so, yes, that -- the amendment would include a new
entity that we would be a principal in, as well as Joshua's company NovembreWhisky. I
believe he will have that same entity in there. So, just meaning like instead of having,
you know, the development agreement sort of hanging out there and, then, a new one
with the city hall property, that they would all be consolidated into one agreement and I
believe that's the direction that staff and the attorney are heading now and we support
that idea.
Little Roberts: Thank you.
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Borton: Council, any other questions?
Bernt: One question.
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: Is your partner here? I can't tell the --
Roope: Well, I didn't recognize him. I would have said no when I walked in, but I
discovered him.
Bernt: It's so different.
Roope: But, actually, he is here. Yeah . Welcome. You want to introduce yourself? It
might be --
Bernt: Yeah. I'll kidding aside, I do have a question. So, when -- when you talked
about demolishing the buildings, whether it's old city hall -- not worried about that
building, because we still have that in the -- or the other two properties that
NovembreW hisky owns. What's the timeframe of when those would be demolished,
taken down?
Roope: So, I think the -- what I would say is that we would get the amendment down to
the development agreement and get that handled and, then, right away start demolition
in, obviously, just capacity, weather, or anything like that that would thwart us, but I don't
see any reason why that wouldn't happen instantaneously. Also, I would want to check
with the MDC folks just about -- we would just spend our own money on that and, then,
get -- look to get reimbursed from MDC, which is typically how we have done all of our
urban renewal agreements previously. We spend the money and do everything and
improve our costs and, then, we get reimbursed from -- from the MDC. So, we would
do that with our own money right away, basically, as soon as we had the legal issues
worked out and everything was buttoned up.
Bernt: Perfect. Follow-up? Caleb, I just want to make sure that you -- you spoke very
eloquently about it, just making sure that all of the legal ramifications and all the
agreements were taken care of prior to that, you know, take -- you know, tearing
anything down and I know that would happen, I just want to make sure that we are on
the same page with that.
Roope: Yes . That's correct. We also have to do some specific testing. So, every time
you tear down a building you basically have to test for lead and asbestos no matter
what, you know, the structure's condition is and even if it's vacant. So, that is one of the
things that has to happen. I don't know if that's happened yet or not, but that's one of
our due diligence items. If it has happened, great. We will follow that. But lead and
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asbestos have to be abated on any building and so that would be -- well, that has to
happen first before we can actually tear it down.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Question for either Cameron or Bill, then, in terms of terminating our -- our
lease with the current leaseholder, what does that process look like? I assume that's
something we have already began. Be great to get an update on that particular element
as well.
Nary: Mr. President, Members of the Council, Council Member Cavener, I can probably
answer that. So, in our current lease with the -- with the building, property, it's a 30 day
clause to terminate. We haven't -- because one of the questions I had for -- for Mr.
Roope was when -- when would we need to do that. I mean, obviously, it's not really
the city's desire to do it too early when it's going to just sit vacant. It's going to get used.
So, I think we have to figure out a good timing on that. We would, then, come back to
the Council and get verification and we are okay to move forward with doing that. Mr.
Ritter certainly knows this process is ongoing, so he definitely is aware that there is a
timing, we just -- I don't know what the timing of that specifically is going to be.
Roope: And I can speak to that if you like. I mean, really, for us it's really just -- so that
we can actually start with construction as soon as the nice weather permits us to. So,
you know, that building can come down as soon as you guys are ready or later, as long
as we are ready to go by April, May construction start, especially if we get a nice, early
spring, want to get as much work as we can get done as early as possible. So, I think if
I were just saying what would be ideal, if we could do it in March of 2019 that would be
probably a preferred choice for us, just -- just to have it out of the way and make sure
we can go on unencumbered.
Cavener: I appreciate that.
Roope: Yeah.
Borton: Caleb, one of the considerations in making that decision, obviously, is the
current tenants who Rick is housing would need to, hopefully, participate in the
discussion of what might work best for them as well.
Roope: Yeah.
Borton: You know, the leases, we understand what it is and we understand what the
options are, how it might end abruptly and there might be a legal right to it.
Roope: Yeah.
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Borton: These are some good downtown businesses who have taken some -- some
pretty good risk. The Treasure Valley -- Treasure Valley Children's Theater is one of
them. They have reached out to all of us and reminded us their role in being displaced
and still being a big part of our downtown. So, if there is -- if -- there are those decision
points on when demolition, for example, could take, having those individuals, either
through record or directly participate in the discussion whether there is some
sequencing of what comes down when and to make it fit the schedule to be timely, but
try to be as accommodating as possible to those --
Roope: Yeah.
Borton: -- existing users, because they are as important, you know, to this community
as you guys certainly appreciate, so --
Roope: Yeah. Well, my kids participate in that theater. We just did our little
performance not too long ago.
Borton: Yeah.
Roope: But -- I got three girls, twins at nine and a ten year old, so they all had fun with
the latest edition of that. Annie was the latest one in case you didn't know, but -- so, I
am totally sensitive to it. We encounter it all the time in our development world and, you
know, this project is really a partnership project. I'm being more practical about things,
so if you guys want to wait longer, you know, we just run up against issues, right, if
you're starting a project in October or November, you know, you have got winter to deal
with and, you know, the nice thing about this project is we are not pressed to do
anything, actually, on our end. It's not like we are under some urgency to do it and we
are always facing interest rate risks, construction costs increased risk, those kinds of
things we are always mindful of, but we do encounter situations -- we build a lot of
public schools, you know, and we know that some of the -- some of the schools that we
work with they are in certain leased facilities and they need to move and stuff and so I
think it's just a matter of you guys kind of maybe specifying to me what you would like to
do and, then, we can pivot around it. I was really speaking more of what would be ideal
from an unimpeded way to move forward, assuming that's what everybody wanted to do
as quickly as possible. We also are willing to help work with the community and see if
we can source other locations for folks to be and that's something -- where is there
vacant space, where can we find it. We are under construction on a 200 unit apartment
building over at McMillan and Meridian -- yeah, McMillan and Meridian and we are
about finished up there. We have a community room there. There might be some
things we can do there, you know, just on a temporary basis to help out. So, things like
that. We are definitely willing to work with the existing users of the building and see
what we can do to help make the transition as painless as possible. We know it's going
to be painful either way, but, hopefully, we reduce some of that pain.
Borton: Part of that process and the value to those end users is that certain schedule --
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Roope: Yeah.
Borton: -- as best as possible, whether it's January or March or -- there is a known date
that things are to add and people plan accordingly to relocate, that they know it's
certainly going to happen and schedules met firmly.
Roope: Got you.
Borton: Okay.
Roope: Okay.
Borton: Council, any other questions on timeline process? Okay. Thanks, Caleb.
Roope: Okay. Well, thank you.
Borton: Cameron, you had opened this with the idea that there may be a recurring
update. Is that -- is that a monthly -- we are assuming going forward or it's more
frequently?
Ariel: Mr. President. Yes . That's correct. So, in the -- in the inception we are thinking,
you know, as things will be moving pretty quickly, certainly with the negotiation of
contracts and where your input will be necessary to get those right, we would anticipate
a monthly, but probably down the road when we are kind of through some of that heavy
lifting and it's more into the construction phase that may -- may fade. But, yeah, for the
foreseeable short term we anticipate a monthly update to you.
Borton: Okay. Part of that process when you're preparing that to prepare some scope
of what's to be discussed, you know, reach out to all of Council and maybe gather some
inputs, so if there is questions looming that you know they know and everyone can prep
up, so the discussion is fruitful and --
Ariel: Correct. Mr. President, yeah, if you have any -- any questions, anything that we
can, you know, bring in advance of, that -- that's helpful, too, and, obviously, as staff we
are going to be working very closely with MDC and the development team to try to make
that seamless and -- as you would like it.
Borton: Thanks.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Just appreciate having the counsel from MDC and the chair here. I just
wanted to give them an opportunity to chime in if there is anything from the urban
renewal's perspective that you need to -- I hate to put you on the spot, but appreciate
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you being here and if there is anything from your perspective that you feel we need to
know. Great. Thank you for being here.
Item 7: Department Reports
A. Fire Station #6 Timeline Presentation
Borton: Okay. We will move on, then, to Department Reports. 7-A. Fire Station 6. Our
recurring timeline presentation. Actually, this is a specific update.
Niemeyer: This is a specific update.
Borton: Specifically, yes.
Niemeyer: Mr. President, Council, good afternoon. We were before you two weeks ago
to give you an update on Station 6. Keeping our commitment of communication,
transparency, and making sure that everybody's in the loop on where we are going,
you're going to have a presentation tonight from our architect Pivot North, as well as our
CMG ESI. Two weeks ago we talked about the timeline, station move in potential. We
are going to present you with two options tonight for you to consider. Have a good
discussion around and, hopefully, get some direction on. So, a little bit of backstory.
We have met with you one on one talking about the timelines and the -- and the
progress of Station 6. The original timeline we got was January, February of 2020.
That accounted for some potential weather, some of those things. Challenged as a
team by the Mayor to come up with a secondary timeline consideration. That was an
accelerated timeline. So, tonight you're going to get that presentation -- or this
afternoon. Not tonight. We are going to talk about pros and cons. We do have the A
team. I think both Pivot North and ESI, under short notice, really stepped up to get this
information put together and that was a pretty big challenge and they rose to it. So, I
know we have the right team in place. I know we do have Keith Watts here from
purchasing. Alex and Dale from Public Works. Want to thank them. I can tell you the
paint's not drying on this at all. Charlie's involved every day, either with the architect or
CMDC or with internal city's ask to keep this thing moving forward as quickly as we can.
So, with that I will finish it up, I will wrap it up when we get done to have a conversation
about the information you're being provided and get some thoughts and ideas and
hopefully some direction on which pathway you would like us to consider. So, with that I
believe, Gunnar, you're going first?
Gladix: Mr. President, Council Members, just wanted to walk back a little bit. You
probably have covered this a little bit before with some of the previous logics, the
schedules and that kind of stuff.
Borton: Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. You got to go ahead and state your name.
Gladix: Oh, sorry. Gunnar Gladix. Pivot North Architecture.
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Borton: Thanks, Gunnar.
Gladix: Okay. So, we have -- originally when we started the project, based on the
timing coming out of the program concept design phase, one of the key things -- or the
two key things that we were looking at when looking at that schedule were reduction of
risk and reduction of cost. So, looking at how that swinged out to hitting in the winter,
looking at some of those costs, we felt that those were some of the biggest risks going
into the beginning of that project, which drove our think and logic towards, well, let's look
at -- and also, actually, bidding conditions at the beginning of the year seem to be
usually a little bit better. I will let Nick and John talk to that a little bit more. They have
more experience with that. But we were trying to focus on the two things, reduced risk
and reduced cost and that kind of put us into thinking of starting right after the new year,
get the bids, get the construction started in the spring. So, that was the drive factor of
what we had scheduled before and so now moving into the adjusted schedule, which is
the fast track schedule, the way that we are going to attempt to do that is to break our
design into different packages, submit different building permits to the building
department. We will be releasing different GMP packages, which is a guaranteed
maximum price to you, and start construction while still working on -- on design as well.
Borton: So -- so, Gunnar, to frame it for us a little bit, the original schedule to have this
built in the normal course with us undergoing a process now with March 2020, give or
take; right? Roughly. And the decision point is what's the cost -- financial cost and
quality of -- the cost to accelerate that to try and be done October 1 of 2019.
Gladix: Correct. And we have got -- so, I will invite John and Nick to come up and --
Borton: Okay.
Gladix: -- they will present some costs to you.
Borton: Okay.
Marks: Good afternoon. I'm John with ESI Construction. John Marks.
Ploetz: Nick Ploetz, ESI Construction.
Marks: So, as Gunnar touched on there, we -- we are trying to mitigate risk for the
project and the cost associated with that. One of the key things was starting potentially
late winter. We had defied -- with the original schedule that we would be going to
construction beginning of March. With the accelerated timeline we would, essentially,
be breaking ground beginning of November, which, essentially, is the beginning of
winter. The cost associated that we have estimated for that would be an additional
125,000 dollars of winter conditions or weather conditions and that's to, basically,
produce protection for the city and the project against those winter months and
inclement weather that may occur. That -- essentially, that total previous estimate was
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75,000 dollars. So, that would bump our winter conditions to 200,000 dollars, which
breaks down to about 50,000 dollars a month. Concerning other costs, I know Gunnar's
got some design side as well.
Gladix: Yeah. So, the other piece of that, too, is the breaking out of everything into
different packages. So, I -- our team worked with our consulting engineers to try to find
out what the maximum cost to run the multiple packages through the Building
Department would be. So, we -- our number that we thought on the design side would
be a maximum of 50,000 and, of course, those can be not to exceed numbers and can
be run hourly, so you can pay -- the city can pay just for what's needed to complete the
extra packages. Some of that will be some overlap in construction administration for
looking after construction while designing and some of the additional risks we confront
when we do fast track projects.
Marks: And just to clarify on the winter conditions, that -- that is an allowance for the
project. We will only spend that as needed throughout the project and we will
coordinate that with the City of Meridian and a representative -- project manager from
the Fire Department.
Borton: Okay.
Gladix Questions?
Borton: So, if my notes are right, I think there might be a slide that shows the financial
cost. Was it 250 or perhaps not to exceed total additional cost. It's greater than that,
isn't it?
Marks: So, for the weather -- weather conditions increase over and above would be
125. With Gunnar's accelerated schedule, not to exceed would be a maximum of 50
and I believe there was a contingency for the design side that was discussed.
Gladix: Yeah. One of the other items that we -- in a fast track project we -- we typically
recommend that the owners keep a little bit more contingency on their side for
unforeseen conditions that occur due to that process. So, I think we had -- we have an
additional two and a half percent, so 125,000 dollars for a design contingency. So, it all
ends up in both weather conditions and design, it would be approximately 300,000
dollars.
Borton: And if I'm looking at the dates right, rather than completing it February 20th of
2020 that would accelerate it five months to all things being equal, October 1 of '19?
Mark: Correct. So, that's accelerating both design and preconstruction, as well as
construction services.
Borton: Okay. Council, any questions yet? There was some of that to some certain
degree with other construction projects that comes with not only financial risk, but there
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are challenges, as you guys well know more than anybody, in trying to build quicker and
during those conditions. Whether -- I don't know if you guys can comment on some of
the nonfinancial risks that somebody might have in accelerating construction for a
project like this or perhaps -- I know Keith Watts is here. Put him on the spot, if Keith
has some comments to -- to ask of us is to give some general, you know, appetite for
going faster at a greater expense. We are not necessarily voting or deciding the path
today, but if we have got great comfort in accelerating or discomfort, the chief needs us
to -- and the Mayor certainly needs us to weigh in soon, so -- so, that's -- in order to
make that kind of thumbs up, thumbs down thought, it would be helpful to hear what are
those -- in addition to 300,000 what are the other challenges that we might face in going
fast.
Mark: So, a couple of the other challenges that we may have. You know, the City of
Meridian doesn't typically provide separate permits. So, with the split GMP packages,
essentially, we would be designing a core install site package, placing that for permit
and out to bid for the GMP one and, then, once reviewed and approved and the notice
to proceed is provided, we would start construction and continue with the design of the
interior package, which you can see below the dark blue accelerated timeline
construction, we have an accelerated timeline bidding GMP two package. That would
be the interior package. So, effectively, we would be in construction, without knowing a
verified bid number.
Gladix: Yes. You will -- you will have to approve a cost of the first GMP without a final
cost of the rest of the work. So, it just -- that's just a risk that we want to stick within the
budget number. We do 50 percent of the work on the superstructure and, then, we
have a -- still an estimate number for going into that second GMP approval in the next
year. January.
Marks: Yeah.
Gladix: So, it's just one or the other.
Borton: So, how does that go? When that goes wrong what happens?
Gladix: We -- we go over budget, because the market conditions of labor.
Borton: Is there any issue that arises with construction itself?
Gladix: Not with that particular --
Marks: Yeah. Not typically. When we do encounter over budget bid packages on bid
day, we will go out, talk to our subcontracting community, see -- talk to them, see what
the -- what's jumping the price up. We may try to value engineer -- value analysis --
analysis on some of the products. Maybe it's a sole source spec or, you know, there is
just issues with the design of it, you know, the design team and ESI would, essentially,
vet after bid to either make the decision to provide a deductive change order with an
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alternative product or manufacturer or we would talk to the city and recommend putting
the package back out to bid to try and build up some more competitive nature for that bit
package.
Gladix: One of the other items that I think we have talked about is usually the CMGC
process is a -- is a good process because we can work as a team to maximize the value
of the project. So, one of the things that we will have to do if we want to do the
accelerated track is to make kind of a final stop decision in a couple weeks. The plan is
this. The building is this. Everything -- because we have got to go take off to the races
and get the drawings done. So, we won't be able to do any value analysis on some of
the superstructure and those kinds of things. We will be able to do that on interiors and
finishes and that kind of stuff that comes in that later package, but we will have the
opportunity to get as many value items kind of figured out during that design in the
longer term.
Borton: Okay.
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President. I don't know who wants to kind of tackle this, because this
is not my realm. Building. I kind of get the impression that we are asking you to do
something that's outside the norm. Is it like really outside of the box or is it just kind of
outside of the box? Because it doesn't sound like we are set up to do it. We have got
to do something different to accommodate you splitting up permits and stuff.
Gladix: My understanding -- from a construction and design standpoint, fast tracking is
-- is a normal thing. We are just responding. Oh, sorry. We are just responding to it,
you know, a little later and figuring it out. So, it's not a big deal for that. From a policy
perspective I do believe the city has not been doing multiple packages for single
projects. So, that maybe a change that we just need to work with the Building
Department. I have been working with them to see what they need to be able to do
that, but -- but, really, the overall thing is we just, you know, managing scope, schedule
and budget and if we want to increase the speed that -- some, you know, effects the
budget. So, that's basically the main message.
Little Roberts: Okay. Great. Thank you.
Borton: Council, any other questions? Okay. Mr. Watts. I kind of hinted I might call on
you before, but sort of the same question from the city's perspective of the -- I mean the
pros would get it five months earlier, but about some of the cons before we make a
decision on how it might go.
Watts: President Borton, Council Members, that is correct. The CMGC statute was
approved a year, year and a half ago, or a year or two ago to allow us to actually use
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the CMGC -- did not take into consideration two GMPs. The process is built for a single
GMP and one of the analogies I use is if you hire a contractor to build -- or paint the
bottom half of your house in the contract and your second contractor -- you don't have
very much negotiating power to get the second half maybe for the same price that you
would expect. So, that's just a basic analogy. And that's -- I think it's one of the reasons
that you typically don't do CMGC in two phases, although construction is fast tracked on
these -- these folks in all the time I'm sure, it's just time is money. So, if you want to
build faster it costs more. The city's experience with other folks at the helm in the
contracting realm fast tracking has kind of been disastrous for us in the past. It's cost
more money. The quality has gone down. We have had contract issues. We have had
lots of other issues. So, our own experience has not been favorable. Like I said, it's
with different folks, but that is the city's experience.
Borton: Again, does it -- is it just an expense issue or are there unforeseen -- you know,
if you have got a value add or quality construction problems that can arise if you go fast
-- faster.
Watts: That's what we have -- that's what the city has experienced in the past. We
have experienced quality problems. We have experienced the lack of value added
design and negotiation. So, it has hindered us in the past.
Borton: I don't ask that to assume there is going to be any problems, but just -- we
seem to recognize those challenges after the fact and when something's completed and
you don't have the ability to go back and correct it, so --
Watts: And the other thing that I would like to add --
Borton: Sure.
Watts: -- you're not in building construction -- in our sewer and water lines, when we
want something done we set a date in the contract and say it has to be done by October
1 and, then, we put 1,500, 2,000 dollars a day liquidated damages. If you miss that day
we start reducing the cost of that contract. That's a guarantee to get your contract done
in a date that you think or that you are requesting. If we are just saying we want to
move in on October 1 and we endeavor to do so, you're going to pay the cost, you're
going to take the risk on without that guarantee, unless there is something additional.
I'm not sure these folks would be jumping up and down about signing liquidated
damages, but that's how to guarantee a date or at least put a value on that date. So,
take that in consideration as well.
Borton: Regardless of where the data is.
Watts: Correct.
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Borton: Okay. Council, any questions for Keith? Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Okay. I appreciate the two paths and the options. It sounds -- in super simple summary
format that it's five months earlier for 300,000 dollars.
Gladix: Yes.
Borton: Thank you very much. Chief.
Niemeyer: Mr. President, Council, that was the presentation that these folks were
asked to do to provide for you. The best way I can describe it as we moved this project
forward several months ago we had a philosophy of cost over time, meaning cost was a
very big significant factor. We know the cost to be increased. I know if you all saw the
Idaho Statesman article about the Boise Fire projects in the city of Boise, their costs
have doubled. We are very conscientious of cost. So, Charlie has been very involved
in trying to bring that cost down and get rid of anything we don't absolutely need to get
that cost down. Option B presents a time over cost, so if we speed up the time we have
a little bit more cost. There is some timing to this, depending on the conversations that
occur with this Council on the direction that you may want to see us go. The
accelerated time requires a decision at some point fairly soon to get them moving in the
timeline that you see before you on the screen. Sticking to our original timeline doesn't
have that pressure. So, as I have looked at as a fire chief, there are pros and cons to
each one -- to each option that you have before you. The pro is certainly on the
accelerated is we move in sooner. We provide service sooner. There is some cons on
that accelerated timeline that is a little bit concerning as well from an engineering
standpoint, a value standpoint. Going too fast may mean -- and this is -- that is a little
concerning, too. So, certainly, those are pros and cons. We are here to get your input,
so I would welcome your thoughts at some point. Direction. I know the Mayor is not
here, but certainly taking back to her the discussions from today's Council -- today's
Council. I keep thinking tonight.
Borton: No worries. One of the -- the sources of this conversation was the earlier
frustrations we have had in the process leading up to before any of this has happened,
right, the original --
Niemeyer: Sure.
Borton: -- planning and construction design and we bought over that and you, to your
credit, have kind of owned how things kind of drug out longer than anyone intended and
so we are trying to remedy that maybe on the back end and -- and one of the hard asks
from the Mayor, as I understand it -- and at least I applaud the hard ask is let's pick a
date, draw it on the board and make it happen. Now, the flip side of that is to make
informed decisions on what's the cost of doing so. Because you certainly can do it. You
guys can certainly make it happen. But going into it with our eyes wide open, is the cost
worth the benefit. So, I love the hard ask to get it done quick and I think it's great that
she's done that. Now we need to make a decision if we are comfortable, understanding
the cost, doing that or -- or keep the original schedule. Again, we are not voting on it
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now, but I think if Council would weigh in on what they do or don't have heartburn on,
that will help steer conversation and follow up for next week.
Niemeyer: Yeah. For us in the Fire Department on the conversation, the -- not to build,
with the direction that it -- create a timeline for us to know which way we go for sure.
Borton: Thoughts from Council on those options?
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Chief, I echo Council Member Borton's comments. I read some of the
challenges and the frustration coming from Council and you and the Mayor said what
can we do to try to address some of that. So, I appreciate -- appreciate the team
bringing -- giving us some -- some options. These are the subject matter experts and I
appreciate you coming and asking for a decision from Council, but not to put it back at
you, but let the station -- we tell them take a shot and what happens when we -- when
we miss it and to Council Member -- on the date on the board, man, make sure that we -
- I don't want our citizens to come back and have conversations with us and the Mayor
and saying why didn't you make your date. So, if you have a recommendation as -- as
the chief that you would like to share with us, we are taking that into consideration.
Niemeyer: I can share with you my concerns. Do I -- do I have one of those two dates
-- to be honest with you, I'm not a builder. Never have been in my life. So, I do rely on
the subject matter experts to say if we did X, we can expect Y. If we did Z, we can
expect A. My biggest concern going into an accelerated timeline is not to shortcut
anything. This project is worth taking the time to make sure it's done right the first time,
that we don't have any short -- my family and I have built three homes over the course
of our years and they are solid, go up, they are straight and when the sheet rock goes
on it doesn't crack. So, that was -- that was my biggest concern about the two GMP's
and that process. I don't know. I'd like to come before you with a guaranteed maximum
price on the entire project and the accelerated timeline does not offer that, so we would
have to go into that with eyes open. If you ask me is it better to get firefighters in the fire
station sooner, I would say absolutely. I think we all can agree to that. But as far as the
projects itself and the quality of work, I would probably lean towards the other. Hope
that -- that was a total political answer.
Cavener: Clear as mud. You would make a great council member.
Niemeyer: I was. I'm getting good.
Palmer: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Palmer.
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Palmer: So, clearly we have got three factors to determine here. Time , money, and
quality risk mitigation. The only scenario that I didn't -- and to me all -- all three should
be considered equally and considered equal and the only scenario that provides for two
of those is the original timeline. So, to me two-thirds of the three equal option -- equal
considerations are covered under the original. So, that's where I lean. Not lean. That's
-- whatever is a little bit stronger than lean. Tilt firmly on that side.
Borton: Okay.
Cavener: Mr. President. Sorry. I think if -- if we didn't have the scenario that would
have Station 6 being able to be operated out of Station 1 at least temporarily, we have
got the truck on order, we have got the staff, feel confident in their ability to be able to
manage any challenges that are in front of them from an administrative level, I don't see
the -- our taxpayers get a stronger rely on the expenditure of 300,000 dollars to get the
station open up a few months earlier. Because the station is going to be in our
community for a long time and years from now nobody's going to recall that we got the
station open three months earlier. I haven't heard the compelling administrative case for
getting it open sooner. In fact, quite the contrary, for many of our staff really voice
some concerns about if we accelerate what that could do to the overall quality of the
project, so -- and I know we are not making a decision, that you're looking for
recommendations. I'm supportive with keeping the timeline as is, but appreciate your
due diligence as the chief and as a team to come back and at least give Council the
opportunity to consider something different.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: So, it seems as though that -- you know, we all know this project is behind
schedule and I think that there has been a little heartburn because of it, not only from
this Council, but from those -- all those who are involved from citizens, from different
stakeholders and those who have been watching this project closely. I feel like, you
know, we have asked for an expedited assessment solely for the means of where we
can do it quicker, but, then, it's going to cost more money and I just -- I just -- it's really
hard for me to wrap my arms around that, to be honest with you, especially since it's in
the middle of the wintertime and so the greatest unknown isn't necessarily a cost factor,
but it's Mother Nature and if there is someone in this room that can guarantee me that
this is going to be a mild winter, then, we can go into business together and make a lot
of money. It's just not -- it's just not going to happen. There is just nothing where you
can tell what's going to happen with, you know, Snowmageddon or, you know,
something similar or even something in that realm that would, you know, cost more
money, but, then, we may not even get in at that time frame because of unknowns and it
certainly would cost a lot more than 300,000 dollars and so with -- with the -- with the
fact that there are no guarantees with the expedited process with -- with what was
stated, previous to -- we haven't had a lot of success in these type of projects, I would
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probably lean more toward let's stick to the timeline, let's get it right and, you know, go
from there.
Borton: Thank you, Mr. Bernt. Any other comments? Any other leans?
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Yes .
Little Roberts: Given the information -- and thank you so much, team, for coming in and
-- and putting this together for us and things. Yeah, I lean towards sticking with the
original timeline, trying to move it up that hopefully we will have a very mild winter and
things will be able to run smoothly, but depending on Mother Nature, we could be at a
complete standstill anyway. So, I kind of lean, since we are talking leaning, lean toward
leaving the regular timeline.
Borton: Chief, I think you have got some consensus on direction.
Niemeyer: That's what I hear.
Borton: Yeah. I agree as well. I think it's great. Again, valuable information to have. I
appreciate the team putting this together of these options. I don't necessarily -- knowing
now the cost that it would outweigh the benefit and -- and this is a long-term asset and
we want to have it done right, so --
Niemeyer: Well, Council, I think we have heard you. We will take that back to the
Mayor when she gets back, but I think as of now we will continue to move down our --
our previous timeline, unless it comes back to you for another consideration.
Borton: Thanks, chief.
Niemeyer: Thank you.
Borton: Mr. Watts.
Watts: I just had one more comment or just a reminder. We talk budget and we talk
construction estimates back and forth. I should remind Council that we do have a
budget, it's 3.9. So, if we -- I'm going to talk process for a few minutes. If we move
forward with the original concept, complete design, you know, you decide to go ahead
and finish the bid project and put together a GMP amendment to bring back to the city
prior to that -- during that same you would have to do a budget amendment prior to the
amendment, because we can't ask for a contract if we have no funds allocated for it, so
we would need to do a budget amendment for the difference in the 3.9 and when the
GMP comes in and, then, would execute the GMP.
Borton: Okay. We will be able to talk about that.
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Watts: Okay. Thank you.
Borton: Thanks, Keith.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: And we are comfortable with setting a date -- a move-in date of January 31,
2020, today? Why is everyone laughing?
Borton: It got really quiet. Not perhaps there yet, but -- any other comments on Fire
Station 6? Okay. Thank you again for coming. I appreciate it very much. Hopefully
that's helpful direction.
B. Citywide Strategic Plan Update
Borton: 7-B, Citywide Strategic Plan update, which would normally be presented by the
Mayor. As you know she's unable to attend, is out of town, and so Vincent gets the
laboring oar and will provide some update. I talked to the Mayor a little bit about it and
at least the structure of this -- and it sounded as if this is happening every six months
and the spring one -- the spring update will include the -- the red line, so to speak, of the
objectives, here is what's been completed and here is what's been removed. Here are
the dates of completion. Here is what's been added or proposed to be added and the
living document changes in the spring and this is the mid-year update, how that is
progressing. So, things aren't necessarily coming on or off right now, but you're going to
provide some context as to what's -- what's moving on the direction you got in the
spring. Fair summary?
Koontz: That sounds about right.
Borton: Take it away.
Koontz: President Borton, Members of the Council, from the Mayor's Office I just want
to pass on our sympathies and thoughts and prayers to the Mayor on her current
situation and, you know, we are -- we are just with her and, you know, we are thinking
about her right now, so --
Borton: Hey, Vincent, we are going to have you get that mic right up close to you.
Koontz: This one?
Borton: Either one. So, everyone online can hear and watch.
Koontz: Can you hear me now?
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Borton: There you go. Much better. Thank you.
Koontz: So, today's going to be an opportunity for a status update on our citywide
Strategic Plan. We are going to cover the total objective completion status. We are
also going to talk about our tactics and overall completion since last March. We are
going to have our departmental close outs. There is a couple that are being closed out
today that we are going to report on and those department people are going to be
reporting on that. We are also going to report back on a couple of follow-up objectives
that we said we would bring back every Council meeting and, then, we are also going to
report back on our high priority updates and, then, any next steps or questions you
might have. I will try my best to answer any questions on those objectives. I also have
some people in the audience to help me out with that and, hopefully, we don't have to
do that and if -- you know, if we have got questions that need to be answered I will have
the Mayor, you know, come back to you at that point. So, let's move on to what we are
going to be doing today. So -- so, first thing I was wanting to talk to you about would be
our current progress on our objectives. We are currently at 19 percent complete. We
have completed a total of 12 objectives in our strategic plan out of the 62. Last October
when we reported we were at six completed strategic objectives and so -- and also, in
addition, we have nine strategic objectives that are due before the end of the year. So,
in February when we do that update we should have a significant amount of strategic
objectives to report completed and explain how our performance measures are being
met on those strategic objectives. Next slide is the total plan completion. This
represents the total of 374 operational tactics that are involved in the completion of the
strategic plan. We are currently sitting at 44 percent complete of the strategic plan
tactics. Twenty-two percent are currently in progress. Last March we updated you at
36 percent and from almost a year ago we have gone from 22 percent to 44 percent
complete in our tactic status report. As I mentioned before, we are going have close-
outs and follow-ups. We have two that are going to be recently closed that departments
are going to report back on. You have also asked previously as Council that we report
back on the urban renewal district 1-A-2 and 2-A-2 the prospect of partnerships needed
to cultivate businesses and jobs. So, we are going to report back a little bit on that.
Brenda had also covered a little bit of that information at one of the previous Council
meetings a few weeks ago, so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel and cover everything
she covered, but I will give you a little bit of -- a few nuggets that are additional to that,
so -- so, 1-A-2. A couple things that I wanted to highlight on the urban renewal district
with some of the occupied properties. We have got Primary Health that's opened since
the last March update. Epic Shine Carwash, Ten Mile Creek Retail, Paylocity and
Horrocks Engineers, totaling almost ten million dollars worth of permanent value at that
time. I have also got a little bit of information about some of the things that are in
progress that you might find interesting. Two hundred and forty unit lots are underway.
We have -- the Paylocity building is currently 75 percent leased. The Magellan building,
which includes Brighton, is 25 percent pre-leased. We also have the Ameriben
expansion, which is going to include 150,000 square feet of additional space and
Ameriben will occupy 90,000 to 120,000 square feet of that facility. There is going to be
an additional new class A office building that's going to be to the east of Paylocity
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upcoming, 80,000 to 100,000 square feet of -- square feet on that. There is also a cool
gym and lift center, 10,000 square feet. They partner -- they partnered with Kristin
Armstrong, which should open in March of 2019, and that's about all I have on the
information on that one, but that should be pretty interesting -- interesting. So, in total,
there is a perspective of 260,000 square feet of prospective tenants in the Ten Mile area
in those buildings. So, a significant amount of -- of business activity will be going on in
the urban renewal district. 2-A-2. I mentioned that, you know, Brenda covered some of
these things. This is to develop and maintain a broad spectrum of partnerships needed
to cultivate diverse jobs and businesses. We are going to talk about -- I'm going to talk
about the performance measure one, which is to maintain and expand the membership
at the Meridian Economic Development Steering Committee. Brenda and Cameron
both mentioned to me that they are going to be using the ready team that was
previously mentioned to assist in the implementation of the targeted industry analysis
that's taking place and they are going to use the ready team to provide feedback on
those trade industries that they -- that we come up with from Logan Simpson, from the
consultant and the -- the enhancement that was brought forward and so they are going
to be using that ready team and the economic development steering committee to
provide insight and additional feedback on the target industries and how we should
proceed and use those. This -- this is kind of new. We didn't do this the last time we
presented, but talked with the Mayor and we had a few completed objectives that had
some changes that we would like to report back on and/or -- it is some important
information that Council should be aware of. So, on 4-D-2 the develop -- the
comprehensive family focused health and wellness program for city employees, there is
a federal court ruling that vacated some of the provisions that have to do with our
wellness -- wellness incentives that we currently put in place. In response, we had to
change the way we do our biometrics and health risk assessments and so they made a
couple changes with the health and wellness benefits committee, they are going to see
and decouple the wellness benefits from the -- from the medical plan and the committee
is going to remove them at the premium discount just tied to the biometrics and, then,
give it to everyone. Now, it's -- it's not going to be a substantial cost difference, because
only about five percent of the city employees were not taking advantage of that
discount, but wellness works is an important part of our program for the city and they
are making -- we are making additional -- HR is making additional meetings in the -- in
the departments to talk -- talk to the employees about the importance of it, even though
it's now no longer coupled with taking and doing the incentives. So, if you have
questions about that I will be happy to answer them, but we don't -- I don't have an
exact cost on -- on that, but it's fairly minimal, because most people were already
participating in that 15 dollar discount in the program. Let's see. Go back. And, then,
on 5-C-1, research and identify a catalog of long-term funding mechanisms and
contributors for supporting arts and culture. Got a little bit of an update on that from
Hillary. So, during the past -- past year the arts -- Idaho Commission on the Arts budget
was reduced, so they suspended their public arts grant opportunities for the time being.
No estimate on time frame for reinstating. However, the Meridian Arts Commission will
keep a close watch on additional grant opportunities and partnerships to help with
upcoming installations. So, just wanted to make you aware of that. I get to hand this
over for a couple minutes. Come on up, Dave.
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Borton: Welcome, Dave.
Tiede: Thank you. Council President, Council Members, happy to be here today. So, I
have one slide to go over with you and it is Objective 3-C-3, develop and implement
technological and communication contingency plans and programs for continuity of city
operations. Quite a mouthful. What we did last year was we updated our disaster
recovery plan. We met with each department and prioritized needs and to categorize
those into recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives and, then, we worked
with the Mayor's office, Kaycee Emery, to develop outwards communications for an
outwards facing communication plan, which, quite honestly, she did most of it, which
was great. And, then, we developed a vendor assistance plan. So, moving forward you
see a few performance matrix that we have up on the screen in front of you. I'm going
to cover a few brief acronyms here just for your information, you will see RTOs, RPOs
and RTAs on here. Recovery -- or RTO is recovery time objective, which is how much
time it takes to actually get service available again. RPOs are recovery point objective,
which is how much data loss can we sustain. And, then, recovery -- RTA is recovery
time actual. So, what -- what do we actually do when we had some situation happen.
So, our goal, as you can see here, is to do regular updates to our disaster recovery plan
and, then, actually exercising on a regular basis annually. When we do that we would
like to see that our recovery time actuals meet or exceed our objectives on both the
recovery point and recovery time. If they don't, then, you need to communicate with the
department and reevaluate. Hey, do you guys need something tighter than what we
have right now or what we are able to meet or do -- what we have, does that work for
you. If it works, then, great, because that means it won't cost us anymore money, but if
it doesn't work and you need something better than we have, then, we will have those
discussions and figure out where we need to go. Those are our measurables we have
and we will be checking on those annually -- every year. As it currently stands we --
because we are implementing here we didn't have a true exercise, because we are still
in the implementation phase of the disaster recovery plan, but we have had at least one
issue where we had to revert a system back to a backup and our recovery point
objective and recovery time met -- one met, the other exceeded what the department
requested. So, that is what I have to report. Any questions?
Borton: Dave, is there -- on this one when you -- when you -- a plan is developed, is
there a -- like a document that -- that is adopted that kind of outlines the internal
operations to accomplish this recurring task?
Tiede: Yes . We have a plan that we developed -- to go through the actual updating of it
is actually in our ticketing system so it just creates an automatic reminder for us
annually, saying, hey, you need to go do this and it's assigned to somebody to work
through. But as far as the actual recovery steps, we haven't documented that, because
it changes pretty often. I mean depending on the system it could vary from system to
system, but the overall standard operating procedure for everything and how we are
handling it is documented.
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Borton: Okay.
Tiede: I was not asked to present that to Council, but I do have that if you're interested
in it. It's a very exciting read.
Borton: I only asked because there is some -- some of the objectives that we have,
they at least initially talked about, you know, supporting, you know, disaster recovery.
Well, using language like that you never accomplish the objective when, actually, the
objective is to establish a -- kind of a finite plan and process to ensure ongoing X, Y and
Z and I know HR we talked about it with, you know, compensation and benefits. Well,
you never get done doing that, but you perhaps create some structure to a plan that that
objective can be completed and, then, implemented year over year.
Tiede: And that's what we did. We created a structure to say, hey, look here are the
systems, here are each department's needs for recovery times, recovery points, so we
make sure we align with that and, then, we said how we are going to accomplish that.
In this case it's some technology that we have that's part of our system -- our main back
end infrastructure. We make sure we apply that. When we bring new things up we go
and exercise it annually. That's usually on our big desk DR date where we actually will
take systems offline. It's usually early in the year on a holiday, because we take down a
lot. And, then, from there we just go through and execute, update it annually, so -- but,
like I said, happy to share if that would be of value.
Borton: Council, any questions? Okay.
Coles: Vince, do want me just to take this away? I think I'm going to. Mr. President,
Members of the Council, I'm the next slide up here. I will just do it from -- from my seat
right here, let Vince stay seated. As you can see on your screen, the 5-C-3 is about
connecting and promotion of the arts in the community and so Hillary really has done a
lot of work with the commission over the past year to accomplish this particular
objective. Some highlights and some notes. You can see the performance measures
there. The first performance measure is around a showcase event that's held annually
and the second is about educational information. So, in regard to that first performance
measure this past week, we just had Art Week here in Meridian and so that satisfies that
performance measure. We feel like that is a showcase event every year within the City
of Meridian. It's finding its sea legs and every year will continue to -- to grow and to
improve and to get better, but that is performance measure one. Second about
educational information, a promotional plan has been developed under home of Hillary
and the Arts Commission and to Council Member Borton's question to David just a
second ago, yes, that is a document that lives and breaths within the clerk's office. It is,
essentially, a checklist of sorts that when art is installed within the City of Meridian, kind
of a checklist is gone through to say new art has been installed, now how do we inform
the community, how do we connect the interested parties that want to know about art
and art opportunities in Meridian -- how do they know about that and so it's kind of a
rundown of how we get the message and the word out about new art being installed
within the city. Now some other items of note on this particular objective, Hillary, the
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Arts Commission, together worked with Dave and his team to create a digital art map, a
story map, if you will, of all of the art installations within the city. That is on our website.
It is currently live. It's in the Meridian Arts Commission section of the website. You can
see all of the art installations within the city and that was created with, like I said, Dave
and his team. I believe that, looking at my notes here, is all as it pertains to this
objective. I do want to note -- and Dave kind of alluded to it and you as well, Council
Member Borton, that we believe that this particular objective, while it may be done and
checked off for the time being, really is kind of a living and breathing objective, that as
new opportunities that relate to the funding mechanisms that Vince talked about earlier
as it relates to arts, that there are changes throughout the year that -- now we have a
promotional plan in place, but it's just implemented, so now we need to measure its
effectiveness and we haven't done that yet and so in the next iteration of the strategic
plan perhaps this objective comes back tweaked a little bit, because it continues to live
and breathe and grow as the city grows, as art opportunity grows within the -- that --
while it's checked off now, it doesn't mean now we are done with it, it just means now
we are working the plan. So, I just wanted to throw that out and let Council be aware of
that as well. And I will stand for any questions you might have.
Borton: Thank you, C.Jay. Any questions? Thank you. Vincent, who is next?
Koontz: Thanks, C.Jay and Dave. Appreciate that for the valuable information on that.
All right. This is the meat of the presentation or so. High priority updates. So, we are
going to update Council on all our previous high priority items. We are also adding in
tow new exciting items, the objectives of 3-D-2, performance measurement, and 3-D-3,
continuous improvement. So, we will report back on those as well. We did not
previously report on those, because they were in progress. All right. 1-A-1. This is
reinvigorate the Destination Downtown plan, gaining broad and strong support and
positioning of the plan for implementation. So, a couple of current efforts and highlights
that I wanted to talk about on that would be the Pine Avenue corridor is nearly complete.
I think there are some cars going down, even though it's closed. But, you know, that's
okay. Old city hall approval and subsequent developments currently in motion. We
have set meetings -- believe Cameron set some meetings with deChase in order to
continue momentum and build on more developments and if you had anything to add on
that, Cameron, maybe at the end we can -- you can note what the process is on that. A
couple of ongoing actions related to the subjective. One, we are also working with
Cameron and Parks are looking at potentially bringing a marathon through the center of
town at some point in the near future. Also the Main Street Market is completed, so
Colin is going to be meeting with some key stakeholders and conversations with a
potential partnership with MDC, but I can't really allude to that, because he hasn't had
the meeting yet, but he will be bringing that back at some point in the near future. The
summer interns created a downtown database of businesses in order to assist in
creating better events and look for gaps in businesses that will look to expand from
downtown activity. I know the -- it was the summer interns that -- for the work life skills
that came in. Staff and MDC are currently developing -- developing incentives slash
disincentives to spur developments in downtown. Cameron is also going to be following
up with MDC on any tactical and visioning changes with the MDC and Ashley to see if
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they need to make any visioning or tactical changes to the Destination Downtown plan.
MDC also has -- also has an application underway with Union Pacific with appropriate
property with more updates to follow on that and so at this point we are on track to
complete that objective by the end of the year, but it may require a little bit of listing on --
you know, MDC's part to see about the Destination Downtown plan. I don't know if you
have anything else you wanted to add on that, Cameron?
Ariel: Mr. -- Mr. President, appreciate Vincent's help with kind of the documentation and
follow through on this, but I think a lot of what's going on is really down there. Are a lot
of these things are in various stages of progression, some of them very infantile. I
mean you mentioned, you know, the potential marathon, things like that. They are more
of a, you know, conceptual stage, but, then, you also have things like the RFP Pine
Avenue, those things that are, you know, further along in -- in -- in their progression and
almost to completion. So, we are just excited. Bottom line with all that's going on in that
regard -- and, obviously, you know, you support of a lot of these things and making that
a priority really, you know, makes our work that much more real and focused. So, we
just appreciate the ongoing support in this regard particularly, reporting back ongoing
with these items.
Koontz: Any questions on the subjective?
Borton: Any questions? No. It's a quiet -- a quiet afternoon.
Koontz: I like it. All right. 1-B-1. This is one that was tied at least to the
Comprehensive Plan. We previously reported that this was zero percent completed. It
is currently 15 percent complete. Most of it's aligned with the project timeline with the
consultant and so many of our strategic objectives, more than I can count, are actually
attached to this objective and because of its completion we will see substantial
completion going forward. So, now that this one's in progress we will see a lot of other
strategic objectives moving. Logan Simpson has currently audited our plans, studies
and policies related to the comp plan. Logan Simpson was also assisting currently in
creating and defining our market goals and will be doing that as part of the comp plan
exercises. Phase one -- phase one, the foundation was complete a few months ago.
Fifteen hundred people participated in either in-person or online surveys. Phase two is
currently in progress. It should be completed October. About 250 people have
participated in the visioning survey. More to come with the additional events that are
upcoming with Meridian Business Day and Community Block Party. Number four
should take about 12 months and so this objective should wrap up close to November of
next year and with the comp plan draft and general adoption at that point. They are
also going to be doing a SWOT analysis and market analysis, which should be
complete around November, which will inform our targeted industries and other -- other
programs and, again this -- this objective should be completed in November of 2019. 1-
C-1, codify and establish areas of impact boundaries. This one has been moved out
significantly, because of just little progress on the areas of impact. I know Bill Nary is
working with Jerry Mason over the pros and cons and looking into a path forward with
AIC and a possible legislative solution with this particular objective at this point. So, it's
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moved out at this point probably until at least this legislative, if not the next legislative
session for completion, because of the lack of progress at current on this one. So, don't
have much else to add on that, but that's kind of where we are at. Reality, so -- and 2-
A-1, identify, develop, and utilize tools needed for the successful attraction and retention
of jobs. Brenda had mentioned to you a few weeks ago that she had been looking at
incentive packages that -- they will also be aligned with the target industry analysis and I
think C.Jay is passing that out right now to you guys, just to get an idea. I don't know if
any of you have seen these yet, but this is her current bidding package that -- that she's
created. We also -- I also want to just provide a brief update, because Brenda
mentioned it last time, the strategic plan update that the opportunity zone, if -- if you're
unaware where it is, the only opportunity zone that was created by the tax code
package in 2017 is the area bordered by Meridian, Cloverdale, Fairview, and I-
84 and investors in that area will receive tax incentive based on the projects or
investments, i.e., for capital investment, capital gains reduction or appreciation,
exclusions. Somewhat in excess in this -- in this -- this objective is tied pretty much to
the targeted industry analysis as well. You will see a pattern with that on a few of these.
But this one, along with the relationship management software that Brenda has been
looking to -- to use, will make this objective substantially complete. The voice of
management software is called Executive Pulse and she provided a couple of benefits
to me on tracking business relationships. They use SalesForce. It's very similar to that.
But it's got a very expansive open -- open market, so you can see and really -- you can
really get information about it and various stakeholders can get the information realtime
and it's got a professional -- professional reporting, data sets, and matrix that are
essential to Brenda and economic developments, you know, overall viewpoint and, you
know, what -- what they are able to provide to both the Mayor and potentially the
Council on what she's working on. That one's due to be completed 2018 and that's one
of those nine objectives that should be complete this year, based on those -- the
industry analysis and the software rotation. And 2-A-3, the only tactic that's left on this
one is tied to the industry analysis -- the analysis that Logan Simpson is doing, so there
is not much to say about it, other than Logan Simpson will be doing the targeted
industry analysis profile, a SWOT, and they will not only be doing the SWOT analysis,
but implementing it and including it with -- in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan
update. So, they can take into account transportation planning, infrastructure, and also
trending industries moving forward, so they can make a better assessment of what we
are going to look at as far as target industries and integrate them into the
Comprehensive Plan. So, again, this one should be substantially completed by the end
of the year as well, so -- and, again, this is dependent on the industry analysis. 3-D-2.
Improve citizen access to government. This one was 70 percent complete in March.
Now 90 percent complete. We have our telephone town hall slated for September.
Robert has developed an implementation plan that is currently being executed. We also
have drafted performance indicators to assess how we are doing as far as our outreach
strategies to the public. The enhanced timeframe with the -- with the software
implementation has run into challenges because of lack of qualified individuals that are
able to implement and execute the software. So, we will bring that back and we will
also have a discussion about -- and bring back information found in the city -- or town
hall at a later date. This one is due for completion in March of 2018. Okay. 3-B-1.
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Develop cost effective and competitive benefit plan. So, this one was previously
reported at 60 percent. We are currently 95 percent. Apparently has important
updates. This one should be completed by the end of September. So, it was close to
being completed before the presentation, but it's still got a few things to work on.
Benefits -- our benefits committee completed our guiding principles activity, mission and
vision statements for a benefit process. Mercer provided a timeline and a strategic
roadmap, which will influence and continue to guide our benefits process going forward
and the benefits community will evaluate that roadmap yearly -- on a yearly basis to
determine what our benefits future will look like. So, as soon as that -- as soon as that
is evaluated by the benefits committee this objective will be completed. But, again, it
will have ongoing applications with the plan and roadmap that's been created with the
assistance of the department and our -- and our consultants. 3-D-3. Develop a
succession program. This one was previously reported at 15 percent. We are now at
31. Succession planning groups. One and two have been identified for key critical
positions. Group three is nearly complete with only one department left. This -- all key
critical positions will be due by September 21st. The remaining components can be
completed and data will be analyzed and individual programs will be established for
those key positions for the succession planning program in the city. This one is set for
completion in October as well. So, once that final department finishes, they can
complete the rest of the analysis and implement the key positions and -- and their
associated plans to those key individuals. 3-D-4 is developing an employee
engagement program. This one was ten percent complete in March. Now, 40 percent
complete. Recently completed our citizen survey. Review of existing engagement
programs has been conducted and completed. The Mayor -- the Mayor has also
reviewed our existing identification programs and any modifications that have been
recommended and the leadership is currently looking at those modifications at this time
and so that's where we are at. That one is not due for completion until early 2023. 3-B-
5. Develop and maintain a competitive compensation program that enables quality
recruitment and rewards and encourages high performance. On this one it says ten
percent complete, but a lot of the -- a lot of the components of this are towards the back
end of the objectives. So, this one hasn't shown a lot of movement, but there is work
that's being done inside of it. The market review and wage increase was completed and
recommended for fiscal year FYI-19 budget. Our police STEP plan was recently
completed. Fire wage study in year two of the internal alignment from HR was recently
completed. Final year line review and, then, the exit interview analysis is currently in
progress. The compensation committee is meeting in October to discuss changes and
review data gathered by HR and the consultant and, then, changes recommended will
be brought forth to leadership for review. This one is estimated completed sometime
early in 2019. This -- this objective 3-D-1 is align resource systems and employees to
meet strategic objectives and priorities. In the past 11 months, as I mentioned earlier,
we have moved from 22 percent complete to 44 percent complete on the strategic plan.
We will be -- I will be working with the department directors on a gap analysis that will
allow us to complete the remaining strategic objectives on time with necessary
resources that the directors believe are needed to complete those objectives. At that
point, I will develop a plan to address gaps in policies, budget, and revise staff
responsibilities if needed to complete the remaining strategic objectives in the next two
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years. And that will be completed when the strategic plan is done. 3-E-2. This is one
of the new ones that was being reported on. It's zero percent complete, but there has
been some work done on it. I currently have been working on assessing the current
environment, gathering data, and evaluating current processes, asking departments
what their version of premier looks like, what's not so premier in those departments and,
then, what their priorities are for some of the data they want to collect and evaluate in
the department for their operations. We have also been discussing short and mid-term
and long-term goals on those common success -- and what the success points look like
and, then, we are also building capacity for data and what will be tracked, what success
looks like, what we need to test still. So, that's kind of in the initial phases, but should
have substantial completion on that by the end of the year, developing those initial pilot
performance -- performance indicators, performance matrix. Some of the departments
are a little further along than others, but we will provide some more updates on that
probably the next strategic update in February. 3-A-3. Develop a citywide continuous
improvement program. This one was zero percent complete. Has started recently
partially due to the investment we made in the -- in the Peak program with Brian Elms
and -- and our continuous improvement process. Peoples used in Denver to realize
multi-million dollars worth of savings and -- and not just in like lean systems or other
process improvement techniques, but use a variety of different methods to -- to
determine whether or not a process is efficient, effective, or meeting the needs of the
community and so this one's going to be, you know, long term -- long-term investment.
We have -- with the -- with the Peak training that we are going to be doing upcoming,
we are going to train an additional 25 individuals in what we already experienced. I
know, you know, Anne's already been through that and a few others. The leadership
team found a lot of value in that. We are going to have an additional 25 individuals
trained in the same process and, then, Brian Elms is going to come back and train a set
of trainers, so we can train our own people on how to do it and, eventually, we will have
a whole team of continuous improvement and change innovators in our city. So, I look
forward to that -- to that -- that piece, but -- so that -- we are also currently awaiting
contract reviews, part of the process improvement evaluation, you know, kind of alluded
to some of the things we were talking about earlier with -- with the fire project and a few
of those other capital projects that we have -- we have been working on, but more to
come on that, but we are currently doing a process improvement evaluation on some
contracts, so -- so, we will come back to that at a later -- at a later date. I'm almost
done. Homestretch. All right. 3-E-4. Institute a priority based budget system to meet
the adapted level service expectations. This one was 50 percent -- now 55. Brad has
been working with the support departments and has completed the cost of government
initial stages. Currently he's working with Parks and Rec conducting their programs.
Essentially, what he's doing is identifying what programs people work on, what
processes people work on, what they spend their time on and, then, associating that
with the costs of the personnel in the city. So, you know, those are some of the initial
steps in the -- in the cost of government program. So, he's currently working with those
departments and we will move in some of the other departments in that -- in the near
future. 4-A-4. Employee programs. Identify gaps to enhance the community's
perception of public safety. This is a police objective that was reworked in March. So,
we only completely changed this objective to make it more achievable and more
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meaningful. A couple of key highlights. The public safety PIO has been posted for --
and will assist in the strategic nature of this -- of this objective. A working group will be
established in the police department to review our existing and future policies, gaps in
service, and we will use this data to make process improvements and evaluate the
current programs that are in the police department to see if they are really making a
difference, to see if they are really working, if they are doing what they intended and you
move forward from there. A c ouple of highlights. Crime prevention strategy
management has been created, set for implementation in 2020. A c ouple of key points
would be proactive business community, communication about -- about crime
prevention and, then, reduction in crime and disorder and, then, expansion of regional
collaboration with other partners. So, the first one, it's also been working on expanding
crisis training. All the officers -- they would like to be able to have that in effect in the
next two years. And, then, I was told by the chief that the new basic police academy
training has been delayed a little bit. They have -- they have developed that and
currently talking about implementing that in -- sometime in 2020 as well. And I think
that's it. So, if anybody has any questions. Our next up would be the strategic plan
review and refining in 2019. If you have any questions on any of the things I talked
about I stand ready.
Borton: Vincent, thank you for the update report. Council, any questions?
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: Not a question, just a comment. Thank you, Vincent.
Koontz: Sure.
Bernt: Well done. And we met and discussed a little bit about this and I love it that
you're taking this and the little tweaks that you're doing to it. So, thank you so much.
Koontz: Thank you. Appreciate it.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: On that note I -- I had the opportunity to spend part of my Friday afternoon
with Vincent about the plan, vision casting, talking about where things are headed. If
Council Members haven't had a chance to do that yet I would really encourage you to
get on his schedule. Vincent's a great addition to the city and I think it's -- it's important
for us as Council to dive into that and have kind of a very candid and free flowing
conversation about our feelings on the plan. There is things that we would like to see in
terms of these reports. It's unfair to staff to come and kind of feel like it's a conference
where you're presenting a lot of information and we have to take in a lot of this
information and one of the things I applaud Vincent is that he's open to that feedback, if
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there is ways that we can get this that's more digestible so it's not drinking out of a fire
hose, he and the Mayor are open to that. So, I think those conversations with them one
on one are important to do, something I would encourage Council Members if they
haven't met with him to follow through on that.
Borton: Right.
Koontz: Yeah . I look -- I look forward to it. It's -- it's a -- it's interesting to get the
perspective of the -- of the Council at all times, so --
Cavener: We are all different.
Koontz: Yeah.
Borton: Interesting. Any other questions? Thank you, Vincent. I appreciate the report.
Koontz: Thank you.
C. Council: Commission and Board Updates
Borton: Council, Item 7-C. We gave this up in the last week. We did this in the spring,
Anything -- I apologize, but we were going to use these workshops for the -- if there is
something of unique interest or reports for those outside agencies that we are assigned
to, have time to kind of get a little quick heads up on those. So, if you have something,
great. No worries. Councilman Cavener.
Cavener: Thanks, Council Member Borton. I'm happy to start. The Transportation
Commission has some vacancies, so if you know -- I know as Council Members we
often find ourselves talking to people in the community that have a desire to serve and
to be involved, so there is an opportunity there if you only want to encourage them to
apply and meet with the Mayor about that. The Transportation Commission meetings
typically happen the first Monday of the month. We had a holiday on this Monday, so
we did not meet at our regular time and I was unable to attend the rescheduled meeting.
I also sit on the VRT executive and general committee. We have had a lot of
presentations from VRT that pretty much summarize a lot of the dialogue that's
happening at the board level, but I guess I will -- I will place maybe for consideration for
us as a Council or for the President, if the Mayor -- talk to her. Meridian is the only city
that participates on VRT that does not have the Mayor involved at the executive level or
at the general level. One of the things that I'm finding is that more and more requests
are befalling on staff to help or participate and as a member of the Council who
oversees budget it's always been a struggle for me to provide any type of direction or
feedback about staff. I know that's one of the reasons why the Mayor's talked about her
involvement on MDC, is the request that fall on staff. So, this may be a -- I know we
sometimes look at the new fiscal year to redo the liaison assignments and it may be
prudent at that time for the Mayor to either replace Council Member Milam or myself if
she is willing and able, so that we eliminate some of those challenges that happen with
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staff involvement. We as a Council continue to look at transit. I think having her
involvement in that correlation with -- with staff becomes more -- much much more
important.
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: I am on the board directors for COMPASS and currently we are working on
discussing Communities In Motion 2.0. Implementation of grants and project
development and it's very complex and very -- there is a lot -- there is a lot to it, but, you
know, funding and performance measures. So, the last meeting I went to spent heavily
talking about Communities In Motion 2.0. And so if you have any further questions --
and, regardless, I would be more than happy to answer some questions for you. Also
there was something I want to -- one second. Sorry. Tomorrow is the annual parks
tour. Tomorrow night. And so I invite you all to join us in the parks tour to go see some
highlights with Steve's team and what they have put together and it will be -- it's always
a treat and I'm excited to be there and I invite you all to join us as well.
Borton: Mr. Palmer.
Palmer: So, I am assigned to the Rural Fire District. And I think that that is the perfect
assignment for me, because every time -- I missed this last one, but every time I go I'm
not stressed at the end of it. That was not the case with VRT . It's just some old dudes
who just get the job done and don't quabble over things, they just handle their
assignment so -- but because I did miss this last one, chief, did I miss anything that was
noteworthy? Okay. All is well there.
Borton: Okay. Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Air Quality Board. And the Air Quality Board has made some huge
strides in figuring out how to find those people that reside in -- within Ada county and
license their vehicles outside and thus avoid emissions testing and so there have been
some tricks and some things that have happened that they find it necessary, like cars
that are in Florida or places like that, but we have got a lot of residents in this area that
vote in this area, that license their cars at summer cabins or things like that and so they
have made some huge strides. At one point they thought it was over 20,000 and it's
looking more like it's about 12,000 cars that do that at this point and the other thing that
they have cut down on -- and I think we will probably see something substantial here in
the next month or so -- is those that have done things to their cars -- to the vehicle that
make it -- them no longer -- so, they won't pass the test, so they don't take the test and
that they have modified their vehicles and we are going to see another several thousand
cars -- vehicles. It's primarily trucks along those lines that will be required to unmodify.
Palmer: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Palmer.
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Palmer: Got a question for you. So, are you saying that if -- revenue would increase
due local transportation entities if emission testing was eliminated?
Little Roberts: No. Actually, the opposite. By making sure that they are complying will
bring in those revenues.
Palmer: They would just -- sorry.
Little Roberts: Yeah. It would actually increase revenues by those that are not licensed
here that need to be licensed here by about 12,000 cars. So, ACHD and Air Quality
Board -- both will receive more revenue.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: So, I have a question for Council Member Roberts. My recollection, I think I
left the Air Quality Board just about a year ago and they were in the process of
implementing a new software tool. I have heard secondhand there has been maybe
some challenges. I'm just curious if they have been resolved and are some of the
operational challenges of the Air Quality Board improving and moving forward?
Little Roberts: Councilman Cavener, that is correct. There have been a lot of
challenges with that update. It is my understanding we were reported -- it was reported
to the board at the last meeting that they were in the process of running the tests and
reports and were just about ready to implement. Next Monday we should be on
schedule. I have not heard anything different to -- for them to report that it is up and
running and set to go -- is what the last board report was.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Yes.
Cavener: Council Member Little Roberts, once that is implemented maybe as a
courtesy let the entire Council just know about that piece.
Little Roberts: Absolutely. Be happy to.
Borton: So, great reminder. We will do this monthly. If there something big going on,
obviously, share it, but you don't have to wait for the workshop. So, if you go to one of
your board meetings and there is a topic of interest that may be coming before us or we
need to weigh in on, shoot an e-mail, kind of heads up to everybody. Kind of do that
every now and then, but it's never a bad idea to -- for all of us in the loop when you hear
something going on, even if it's just an FYI, I have seen everyone do it every now and
then, so those are -- those are important to get. I'm -- I'm an alternate all over the place,
so I don't have an update, quite frankly. I'm the spare. So, we are going to be reaching
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out to see areas of internal liaison and boards that people maybe haven't gone that they
have interest on. It makes sense to rotate. Some departments we keep for two years,
some we don't, but that will take place in October. So, in September we will be reaching
out and seeing what interests everybody and -- and where we can all serve and kind of
get engaged in the city in different capacities. Stay tuned for that.
Item 8: Future Meeting Topics
Borton: Future meeting topics.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: One, appreciate Vincent's comments about the Mayor early on. Perhaps
afterwards we could all get together and do something as a -- as a body for the -- for the
Mayor's family. And, then, not necessarily knowing when she's going to be back in -- in
capacity, it would be great sometime shortly after she's back to provide an update to the
Council about the government accountability officer, what progress is being made, what
is coming -- or forthcoming from her office related to that particular bid.
Borton: Anything else? Okay. On Item 9 we have got to make an amendment to it that
I failed to see at the start. The Executive Session, there is two other subsections with
all these sections of subsections -- sections to add. So, I will first move to amend the
agenda to the title Item 9 to be an Executive Session pursuant to Idaho State Code 74-
206(1)(a),(1)(b) -- in addition to everything else. So, amend to at (a) and (b). So, in
answer -- but down below it's 206(a),(1)(a), section -- subsection section. So, we
missed an (a)(b) below the (1)(a) of (a)(b), so --
Cavener: Got it. I will second that.
Borton: Moved and seconded to amend the agenda to clarify that Executive Session.
All those in favor. Motion. Thank you.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 9: Amended Executive Session
A. Executive Session per Idaho State Code 74-206(1)(a) To
consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or
individual agent, wherein the respective qualities of
individuals are to be evaluated in order to fill a particular vacancy or
need; 74-206(1)(b): To consider the evaluation, dismissal or
disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought
against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual
agent; 74-206(1)(d): To consider records that are exempt from
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disclosure as provided in chapter 1, title 74, Idaho Code and
74- 206(1)(j): To consider labor contract matters authorized under
section 74-206A (1)(a) and (b), Idaho Code
Borton: Okay. Item 9 would be Executive Session.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move that we move into Executive Session per Idaho State Code 74-
206(1)(d), 74-206(1)(j), and 74-206(a)(1)(a) and (1)(b).
Bernt: Second.
Borton: And inclusive of the (1)(a) and (1)(b) we just had --
Cavener: (1)(a) and (1)(b). Thank you, Mr. President.
Borton: Awesome. Moved and seconded to go into Executive Session. If no
discussion, Mr. Clerk.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS: (4:52 p.m. to 6:09 p.m.)
Borton: I would entertain a motion to come out of Executive Session.
Cavener: So moved.
Little Roberts: Second.
Borton: All those in favor say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES . ONE ABSENT.
Borton: Entertain a motion to adjourn.
Cavener: So moved.
Little Roberts: Second.
Borton: All those in favor.
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Borton: Awesome. Moved and seconded to go into Executive Session. If no discussion,
Mr. Clerk.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.- (4:52 p.m. to 6:09 p.m.)
Borton: I would entertain a motion to come out of Executive Session.
Cavener: So moved.
Little Roberts: Second.
Borton: All those in favor say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Borton: Entertain a motion to adjourn.
Cavener: So moved.
Little Roberts: Second.
Borton: All those in favor.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:09 P.M.
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