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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 11/09/2015 - Committee of the WholeSPECIAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE McHenry Council Chamber, 333 S Green Street November 9, 2015 Mayor Low called the Special Meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order on November 9, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were Mayor Low and the following Aldermen: Santi, Glab, Schaefer, Curry, Wimmer and Peterson. Absent: Condon. Also in attendance: City Administrator Morefield, Deputy City Administrator Hobson, Director of Economic Development Martin, Director of Finance Lynch, Director of Public Works Schmitt, City Attorney McArdle, and City Clerk Jones. Additionally in Attendance: Chad Pieper, Akram Chaudhry, Todd Destree, Mark Hardie, Tim Hartnett, and Ajay Jain representing HR Green, Inc. CITY OF MCHENRY MISSION STATEMENT Mayor Low read aloud the Mission Statement of the City of McHenry. PUBLIC INPUT SESSION No one spoke at the Public Input Session. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING SCOPE OF ENGINEERING SERVICES PROVIDED BY HR GREEN, INC. Mayor Low announced the meeting this evening would be a presentation and discussion regarding the scope of engineering services provided to the City of McHenry by HR Green, Inc. and following the presentation there would be an opportunity for questions. Mayor Low introduced City Administrator Morefield. City Administrator Morefield informed Council that HR Green, Inc. (formerly Smith Engineering Group/SEC) has been the City of McHenry's appointed engineer since 2005. In that capacity, HR Green provides the City with engineering expertise, as needed, in a variety of areas through a single engineering liaison (Mr. Chad Pieper) who then is able to draw on the broader resources of HR Green depending on the nature of a specific issue. Additionally, on a project basis, HR Green provides design, scope of work, bidding and bid evaluation/selection and project management services for the implementation of the City's capital improvement projects. Also, HR Green provides the review of subdivision and site plan submittals in accordance with City, County, State and Federal Ordinances, observes and documents construction of developments and generates acceptance punch lists. HR Green also assists in the planning and construction oversight of capital development projects and provides general engineering assistance on issues ranging from operation and maintenance of the City's entire infrastructure system to coordination with State and County Engineers. City Administrator Morefield stated that in an effort to provide Council with a detailed explanation and understanding of the services provided by HR Green and an opportunity to Special Meeting of the Committee of the Whole Page 2 November 9, 2015 openly discuss how services are implemented, principals of HR Green are in attendance at tonight's Committee of the Whole meeting. City Administrator Morefield introduced City Engineer Chad Pieper. Mr. Pieper informed Council that HR Green, Inc. was founded in 1925 by Howard R. Green. Mr. Pieper stated he has been with HR Green since 1999; served as Assistant City Engineer since 2005, working with Bob Wagner at SEC and became the City Engineer for the City of McHenry in 2009, Mr. Pieper provided a detailed presentation of services HR Green provides the City of McHenry and the benefits the City of McHenry derives from HR Green, including: • close proximity of the HR Green McHenry office; • interacting with City Staff on a daily basis; • obtaining grants and funding; • variety of expertise provided by the professionals at HR Green; and • civic involvement. Responding to an inquiry from Alderman Santi, Mr. Hartnett, Vice President of Government Services Midwest, informed Council that HR Green has offices in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. In Illinois the offices are located in Evanston, McHenry, New Lennox and Yorkville. The McHenry office is staffed by 82 personnel, is expanding rapidly, and will soon be expanding to approximately 100 employees. Mr. Hartnett informed Council that HR Green is able to provide the City of McHenry the expertise of architects, general engineers, geographic information system technicians, landscape architects and land planners, all in close proximity to the City providing on demand staffing. Mr. Pieper added that many of the employees working in the McHenry office of HR Green also reside in the City of McHenry. Alderman Glab stated that his issue is not with the quality of work or the level of expertise the City of McHenry receives from HR Green, but with the costs associated with the work performed. Alderman Schaefer inquired whether HR Green bids on projects in other municipalities and how methods of compensation differ. Mr. Hartnett stated that each project analysis is made based on specific knowledge about a community and knowledge about the job requested. Mr. Hartnett indicated that HR Green is not interested in what in the business is known as a "cattle call." Mr. Hartnett cited experience with the City of Crystal Lake as an example. Responding to an inquiry from Alderman Curry regarding whether HR Green would consider its fees competitive, Mr. Hartnett stated that, compared with other firms having the same levels of expertise, HR Green would appear favorable coming in at the middle of the road or slightly less than other firms. Special Meeting of the Committee of the Whole Page 3 November 9, 2015 Responding to Alderman Curry's inquiry regarding the disparity in the rates for the same job title (i.e., project manager), Mr. Pieper explained that there are different levels of project manager and other employees, based on experience. He and Director Schmitt, in an effort to simplify the various levels of job classifications necessary to complete a project developed a line on the billing rate sheet that "averages" the different job classification for each project. Mr. Hartnett interjected, stating that if the line items are an issue and Council would like to see each individual, their job classification, and hourly billing rate on each job broken down on the bill rate sheet he would be happy to share the information. Mr. Hartnett stated HR Green has no problem with transparency. Mr. Pieper stated he would be willing to work with Director Schmitt to prepare a more explanatory bill rate sheet satisfactory to Council. Alderman Wimmer opined that the benefit of having all the expertise available at HR Green in such close proximity to the city it serves is apparent. Alderman Peterson stated that he observes the depth of service and background of expertise being provided to the City of McHenry by HR Green. He opined that he believes the City is getting what it pays for. Mr. Hartnett introduced Akram Chaudhry and informed the Council that prior to becoming a principal of HR Green, Mr. Chaudhry was with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for 31 years. Mr. Chaudhry explained briefly the process of how IDOT determines how cost is built into a project. Mr. Pieper noted that HR Green has assisted the City in the application process and with obtaining approximately $25 million in grants and other funding since 2010, along with the successful application for a $33.6 million Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ([EPA) low -interest loan to fund improvements to the wastewater treatment plant project. Responding to Alderman Santi's inquiry about whether it is necessary that everything be reviewed by the City Engineer, Mr. Hartnett responded that not everything is reviewed. Mr. Hartnett explained that a checklist exists of projects and documents which require review by the City Engineer and, additionally, it is spelled out in City Ordinances. Alderman Glab opined that he believes in the spirit of competition and feels he has no comparisons on which to base the job done by HR Green. He stated that ideally he would like to review two or three other engineering companies. Additionally, Alderman Glab stated that the City of McHenry is paying for a high quality engineering firm and he feels in some cases it is unnecessary for the City to pay for a high level of expertise for a lower level project. Alderman Glab opined that he would be in favor of having a City Engineer on Staff to review projects. Mr. Hartnett, responding to Alderman Glab's statement, indicated that HR Green is not willing to skimp on expertise. HR Green takes pride in the work it performs and is willing to Special Meeting of the Committee of the Whole Page 4 November 9, 2015 stand behind the work performed. He noted that HR Green enjoys a longstanding reputation for business accountability and is fully committed to the success of their clients. Mayor Low announced to Council that the purpose for tonight's meeting is to provide Council with an explanation and broader understanding of the services HR Green provides. A discussion regarding possible future staffing needs for the City should be reserved for another discussion. Alderman Curry asked if there is a process in place that evaluates annually the quality of work and services performed by HR Green that is provided to the City (i.e., a type of report card). Mr. Hartnett responded by advising Council that HR Green maintains a specific quality assurance program, lessons are learned with every project and a panel review takes place at HR Green at the conclusion of each project. Additionally, [DOT conducts an annual evaluation. Responding to Alderman Glab's inquiry regarding whether HR Green provides this type A presentation before each municipality it represents, Mr. Hartnett informed Council that this is the first opportunity that HR Green has been given to make a presentation before a Committee of the Whole. Mayor Low thanked the representatives from HR Green for their presentation and the information they provided to Council. Mayor Low suggested the Council members take an opportunity to review and digest the information provided and present via email to City Administrator Morefield or Director of Public Works Schmitt, any questions or comments they feel are applicable. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Schaefer, seconded by Santi, to adjourn the Special Committee of the Whole meeting at 8:37 pm. Voting Aye: Santi, Glab, Schaefer, Curry, Wimmer, Peterson. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Condon. Motion carried. The Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 8:37 pm. yor City Clerk