September 3, 2002

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 8 p.m. by the Chairman.

ACTION - MARITIME GARAGE PROJECT

Ms. Kabel said they had gone through an extensive process to select a construction manager. Construction plans and a preliminary development program were approved by the Council. These documents were the basis for seeking project proposals. An RFQ system was used. They received proposals from 15 pre-qualified firms, four which were chosen for in-depth interviews. From those in-depth interviews, two firms were selected for more in-depth interviews, and many hours were spent answering questions and fine-tuning costs. The developer recommends E&F Walsh. This recommendation was approved by the Redevelopment Agency earlier this evening and it will go to the Planning Committee. The contract document is being worked on now and they hope to have it within the next few weeks.

Mr. Bentkover said there was a big difference between the two bids. The construction manager is bound to honor their bid. He asked how there could be such a huge difference. Mr. Morque said that the bids were very tight. In the public portion of the work, there was a difference of $183,000, which is not large, considering the scope of this project. A larger discrepancy is in the private portion ($259,000). The garage facility is a simple building. The mixed use portion (private sector) has three different uses and is more complex. The design was not as highly developed on the private side.

Mr. Bentkover asked if the lowest bidder always gets the job. Ms. Kabel said it is always the lowest responsible bidder. On the public portion of the work, the bid came in $2,200,000 than had been estimated.

Mr. Morque said both firms were very experienced and capable. E&F Walsh brought in a very competent team of people who had worked on the South Norwalk train station project. Mr. Jellerette asked if the South Norwalk train station project had come in on budget. Mr. Goldman said it came in under budget and there have been no structural issues. It was built in 1996.

The Chairman asked if operational aspects would be included in the fee structure and Mr. Morque responded affirmatively. Mr. Goldman said this would be a pay on ticket facility, with a kiosk in the lobby. There will be a separate area for the Maritime Aquarium, and the Aquarium will be responsible for selling tickets to their facility. Mr. Morque said that the City's responsibility is to build the shell space and the Aquarium's responsibility is to provide furniture, fixtures and equipment. The Chairman asked if the Aquarium was aware of that; Mr. Morque said they are.

Ms. Jimenez said they had discussed evening parking as a way of providing for overflow parking in South Norwalk. Mr. Goldman said if they want to set up a fixed fee for parking after 6 p.m., the customer can go to the cashier and pre-pay for their ticket. Having a facility of this size without a live person in the lobby, particularly in the beginning, is not included in the bid specs at this point. The type of equipment being discussed costs $40,000 and an arrangement would have to be made with the credit card companies. Ms. Jimenez said they think that the potential for additional revenue is through night parking. They are thinking of this as an operational expense. Mr. Goldman said they should figure out the volume at night and perform a cost analysis. When doing so, they have to figure in all of their operational expenses, such as utilities, and then make a decision. There is physical space in the lobby where this machine could be installed.

The Chairman asked if the structure would have to be either closed at one point during the night or manned 24-hours a day. Mr. Goldman said it depends. On the weekends, it might not make sense to close the garage. At certain times, they may be able to close the garage to transient parkers at 8 p.m.

Mr. Bentkover asked if it wouldn't be smarter, easier and cheaper to put the $40,000 cost into the bond issue immediately. Mr. Goldman said it would depend on how they budget for the garage. The Chairman said it would be a smart idea to put the money for this into the funding proposal.

Mr. Goldman suggested that Spinnaker make a presentation on the operating system at another time to the Authority. The Chairman said this should be a separate item included in the bonding package. Mr. Miller said he needed to know the full amount needed right away. He also said that this machine could be addressed later out of the operating budget.

Mr. Miller said he would have reports on expenditures and revenues at the next Authority meeting. He said they need additional financing authorization. They are approximately $1,300,000 short of their financial requirements. Due to the fact that a State grant is not immediately accessible, they will get the authorization on a short-term loan for this amount, although the money will be coming. The Redevelopment Agency sent a letter to the Mayor asking for a bridge loan. This has to go to the Planning Commission, the Board of Estimate & Taxation and the Council. Mr. Miller said he plans to finance a portion with fixed revenue bonds. They will finance the piece they expect to recover from the sale of Parcel 3 with variable or short-term notes. The $1,300,000 will be financed the same way. He said he thought that a variable might be the better way to go. Ms. Jimenez asked who would absorb the cost of the financing; Mr. Miller said it would be the Parking Authority.

** MS. JIMENEZ MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE NORWALK PARKING AUTHORITY, ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN, URBAN MULVEHILL, TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH E&F WALSH (KLEWIN) FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AS A CONSTRUCTOR FOR THE PROPOSED MARITIME PARKING GARAGE FOR A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE (GMP) FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WORK OF $13,550,057 AND BASED ON THE FOLLOWING FEE STRUCTURE:

PUBLIC WORK - $11,557,740
PRIVATE WORK - 1.992,317
__________

TOTAL PUBLIC &
PRIVATE WORK $13,550,057

The Chairman asked who Klewin was. Mr. Morque said it is the parent company of E&F Walsh. They are a Connecticut corporation.

** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

** MS. JIMENEZ MOVED THAT THE PARKING AUTHORITY SUPPORT TEMPORARY FINANCING OF $1,310,000 BY THE CITY OF NORWALK THAT WILL BE LATER REIMBURSED BY THE STATE BONDING COMMISSION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

** MR. BENTKOVER MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Telesco
Telesco Secretarial Services

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