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Common Council
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COMMON COUNCIL ACTION
MARCH 25, 2003
NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 8:00PM EST, COUNCIL CHAMBERS
| ALL COMMON COUNCIL ACTIONS TAKEN AT THIS MEETING TO APPROVE EXPENDITURES AND CONTRACTS OR TO ACCEPT BIDS AND OTHER PROPOSALS REQUIRING THE EXPENDITURE OF CITY FUNDS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. |
The regular meeting of the Common Council of the City of Norwalk was held on Tuesday, March 25, 2003, in the Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut. The Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, called the meeting to order at 8:10pm. The Mayor requested a minute of silence to remember all the servicemen and women fighting in the war.
I. ROLL CALL
Betsy Bain Jeanette Olmstead-Sawyer
Kenneth Baker (absent) Christopher Perone
Fred Bondi (8.15) Kevin Poruban
Carvin Hilliard Judith Rivas
Barbara Hudgins Douglas Sutton
William Krummel Peter Wien
Bruce Kimmel William Wrenn
Matthew Miklave
Thirteen (13) members were present at Roll Call.
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A. Regular Meeting of March 11, 2003
Mayor Knopp suggested that members of the Council make their suggestions and changes and the minutes not be formally adopted because there is at least one line missing at the top of page three.
** MS. HUDGINS MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 11, 2003.
** MR. MIKLAVE MOVED TO TABLE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 11, 2003 TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
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III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public spoke this evening. ______________________________________________________________________________
A. RESIGNATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
There were none this evening.
Mayor Knopp said in several of the areas they would be taking up tonight would include smart government, energy, the infrastructure of the schools and moving forward with a comprehensive IT plan for the city; all of them are important contributions by this administration.
Mr. Bondi joined the meeting at 8:15pm.
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** MR. MIKLAVE MOVED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
VII. COMMON COUNCIL COMMITTEES
A. LAND USE AND BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
5a. Authorize the Norwalk Public Schools to file and apply for a School Building Grant for Re-roofing at Nathan Hale Middle, Ponus Ridge Middle, Kendall Elementary and Naramake Elementary Schools.
5b. Authorize the preparation of schematic drawings and outline specifications for the Re-roofing Projects at Nathan Hale Middle, Ponus Ridge Middle, Kendall Elementary and Naramake Elementary Schools.
Mr. Miklave moved consent to add to the agenda:
Mr. Miklave continued with those items included on the consent calendar.
B. PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE
1a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for and accept grant funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bulletproof Vest Partnership under the 2003 Bullet Proof Vest Partnership Grant program.
1b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements and instruments necessary to implement the 2003 Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant pursuant to such grant funding.
C. PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
1a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for and accept grant funds from the Connecticut Department of Education under the Youth Service Bureau Grant Program for 2003-2004.
1b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements, documents, instruments and amendments thereto as may be necessary to implement a Youth Service Bureau Program, pursuant to such grant funding.
2a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for and accept grant funds from the Connecticut State Department of Education and State Department of Education and State Department of Social Services under the School Readiness and Child Day Care Grant Program for 2003-2004.
2b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements, documents, instruments and amendments thereto as may be necessary to implement a School Readiness and Child Day Care Grant Program, pursuant to such grant funding.
3a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for and accept grant funds from the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services for the 2003-2004 Quality Enhancement Grant Program.
3b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements, documents, instruments and amendments thereto as may be necessary to implement the Quality Enhancement Grant Program.
5a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents with the State of Connecticut necessary to continue to operate the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) for the period March 31, 2003 through March 31, 2004.
5b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements, documents, instruments or amendments as may be necessary to implement the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) for the period March 31, 2003 through March 31, 2004.
3. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute an agreement with the Bethel A.M.E. Church to utilize the area at Andrews Field for a Juneteenth Carnival Celebration Friday June 13, 5:30 - 10:00pm, Saturday June 14, 12:00-10:00pm, Sunday June 15 from 1:00 -5:00pm 2003. Set up would take place Wednesday June 11, 2003 at 8:00am,clean-up by Monday June 16, 12:00 noon. Estimated attendance 500+.
4. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute an agreement with the Rowayton School PTA for the use of the Rowayton School field for their annual Carnival to be held Friday May 2, 5:00-10:00pm and Saturday May 3, from 11:00am - 6:00pm. Set up would take place 8:00am on April 30 and be broken down by 12:00 noon on Sunday May 4. Estimated attendance 1,500.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
B. OTHER GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS
Mr. Miklave noted that today was the wedding anniversary of the Mayor and Mrs. Knopp.
Mr. Miklave announced there would be a public hearing on 2003/04 capital budget, it will be held by the Planning Committee and the Finance Committee on April 3, 2003 at 7.30pm in the Community Room; he added that a regular meeting of the Planning Committee will follow thereafter.
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There was no discussion this evening.
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Mayor Knopp asked permission of the council to move to item VII A 6 as there are people in the audience present to discuss this. He also said that Mr. Krummel has requested a five minute recess to discuss this matter. There were no objections.
VII. COMMON COUNCIL COMMITTEES
A. LAND USE AND BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
6. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute an amendment to RCC Consultants Inc.'s consultant contract for Information Technology, to include the design of IT system for the Brien McMahon High School/Center Global Studies Improvement Project for an amount not to exceed $47,950.00. Acct.#09025010 5777 C0237.
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE ITEM.
** MR. MIKLAVE MOVED TO RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES.
The Common Council members went into recess at 8:20pm and reconvened at 8:35pm.
Mayor Knopp asked Mr. Schmidt if he would come forward to talk about some issues relating to procedures and then to give some background on how matters progressed.
Mr. Schmidt explained that there were two processes going on at the same time, the ITT Committee was in the process of developing a wide area network and recommended RCC to be the consultant and to authorize a contract for RCC to work on the city wide project. Well into that process, Mr. Schmidt continued, it was learned that the Board of Education was about to award a contract for an IT component for Brien McMahon High School and the procedure that they were using was that the architect had solicited bids from various consultants and was then in fact going to hire a consultant and the architectural firm would be reimbursed. That process would be outside of the process the one the city uses for bidding; he added that this is not uncommon. During the course of the ITT Committee proceedings it became apparent that the architect was in the process of hiring a consultant firm for Brien McMahon and it was brought to their attention that there was certain logic to the Board of Education using the same consultant that the city uses. It was suggested by the ITT Committee that the Board of Education consider soliciting a proposal from RCC – that is what they did. Mr. Schmidt said that Mr. Opdahl and Mr. Reichenbach agreed that it made sense to use the same consultant for Brien McMahon that the city was already using.
Mayor Knopp asked if the Fletcher Thompson proposal for an IT consultant had ever come before the ITT Committee. Mr. Schmidt replied that it did not.
Mayor Knopp asked Mr. Schmidt how the proposal from RCC (for Brien McMahon) compared with the other proposal. Mr. Schmidt said the difference was like night and day; the proposal from RCC was very comprehensive, professional and was giving the type of intelligence that the architect needed. He added that it has been a very strong contribution to the development team at Brien McMahon.
Mr. Kimmel asked after Mr. Opdahl and Mr. Reichenbach had seen the proposal from RCC, who else did it go to. Mr. Schmidt replied that officially it just went to them; he added that copies of it were made available to others including the Common Council members.
Mr. Kimmel asked if the ITT Committee or the Adhoc Committee discussed this officially. Mr. Schmidt noted for the record that the ITT Committee did discuss this at length and it was with very strong support from them that the Board of Education use RCC.
Mr. Kimmel said he was very uncomfortable knowing that no city agency went through the proposal. He said the premises to go with RCC is a good one, but they are in a way, flying blind
at the Council level because it was not made available to city agencies.
Mr. Schmidt commented that the ITT Committee strongly supported the concept of going with RCC but they did not assume responsibility for going over the terms of the contract that were specific to the proposal; that was clearly within the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.
Mr. Kimmel asked if the Board of Education had had a public meeting to discuss and vote on it. Mr. Schmidt said he did not know this. He added that he is very intimate with the IT initiative of the city and of Brien McMahon and he said he did not only think that RCC is only the right company but also the right price.
The Mayor stated that the ITT Committee is not the appropriate entity to make a decision regarding the scope of the work. He also said that his emphasis was having an overall city wide plan and his concern was that the IT RFP was put out for Brien McMahon was not going to be potentially consistent with the city’s plan.
Ms. Bain stated that she has no problem with the concept of the technology plan but she said she was hesitant in approving this matter because the Building Committee, the school system and city officials have in all cases, very clearly defined the scope of the work they wanted to do. That scope has always been defined, in essence, before the work actually began. Ms. Bain stated in working out the language of the contract they have always taken more time over when entering into an arrangement, to nail down what the expectations of the consultants are and the people behind it. She added in this case, with the technology, integrating the project of the school and the work of the IT consultant; she understood that RCC has already been involved and would like to go back and have an effort made with more people to have a better understanding of the scope of the work.
Mr. Schmidt stated that the original process was not going to involve the Common Council at all; the original process was that the architect was going to hire and that would not come to the Common Council.
Ms. Bain stated that that was not her understanding as the ITT has always been identified as a component of owner, which is the city and the decision would rest with the City.
Mayor Knopp stated that Ms. Bain and Mr. Krummel have spoken with Fletcher Thompson and they indicated that by tabling this for two weeks would not constitute a delay. Ms. Bain said that Fletcher Thompson concurred with the concept of a coordinated IT approach both for the city and the schools, so plans are already underway and in their minds and there would be no problem with the final decision.
Mr. Krummel stated that he had spoken with Michael Shrier from Fletcher Thompson and he talked about an even longer time period of one month. Mr. Krummel noted that this was also depending upon the continued co-operation of the people at RCC.
Mayor Knopp said he considered a month to be excessive and said in waiting for two weeks they could clarify some of the items.
Ms. Bain clarified that no concern has been raised about the qualifications of RCC or the ability to work with them.
The Mayor suggested that the Adhoc Committee approve the scope of services before the RFP is sent out.
Mr. Miklave stated that he was opposed to tabling the item; he said he has listened to this debate and still could not hear a reason to reject the contract. He said he had a philosophical difference of opinion to some of his colleagues regarding having companies perform services with the expectation that there is going to be a contract signed, he added that he thought that to be bad practice.
Mr. Poruban stated that he too was opposed to tabling the motion. He said he could understand the problems before the Land Use and Building Committee but a motion to table would only delay RCC’s performance and right now it provides cohesion between the city and the Board of Education.
Ms. Bain noted for clarification, that by the council authorizing this does not mean a contract is signed. She said they had authorized the hiring of Gilbane as construction manager many months ago and the contract is still not signed.
Mr. Kimmel said when working without a contract, he did not think a two week delay would effect the process. He said he thought it an excellent idea to have a unified approach and since this is a change, they have to consider the Council and the Board of Education have different responsibilities when it comes to school construction and they have to make sure they are all on the same page. Also, in this case, they should not establish a bad precedent, procedural wise especially on a project this large. He explained by having Mr. Opdahl and Mr. Reichenbach look at the contract, the Board of Education did not have a public meeting and this meant the public did not have a chance to discuss it. He said what that means, is that it did not go through any official city bodies and there was no public knowledge of what is going to happen at Brien McMahon regarding IT and without that kind of discussion it would be wrong to move forward, officially. By waiting for two weeks they can preserve the integrity of the committees and agency system and give the public an opportunity to speak.
Mr. Miklave said Mr. Kimmel made some excellent points about procedure, however he thought it fundamentally bad to have someone work without a contract. The only way this does not delay the project is if RCC continues to work without a contract. He agreed that this is a bad precedent and that is to continue a project subject to the good will of someone else.
Mr. Krummel suggested that the motion go back to committee as opposed to being tabled.
The Mayor said he considered this to be an inappropriate move as time would get lost and as they venture into the first phase they would not want to delay the decision. He continued to say that Council members have raised some good points and although it is a close call he did not think a two week delay would cause significant damage.
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED TO TABLE THE ITEM.
** THE MOTION PASSED TEN (10) VOTES IN FAVOR (MS. HUDGINS, MS. OLMSTEAD-SAWYER, MR. SUTTON, MR. WRENN, MR. WIEN, MR. HILLIARD, MR. KIMMEL, MR. PERONE, MS. BAIN, MR. KRUMMEL) AND FOUR (4) VOTES OPPOSED (MR. MIKLAVE, MS. RIVAS, MR. BONDI, MR. PORUBAN) BY ROLL CALL VOTE.
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE ITEM.
Mr. Krummel stated that he was delighted at this step towards energy conservation and said it is a very significant first step and was proud to move this forward. He said he was looking forward to a city wide (including school buildings) participation in this program. Mr. Krummel added that he was also looking at alternative energy sources being used in city projects. He said the architect at Brien McMahon are looking at possibilities that will be an initiative for the city using this science labs. He said present, tonight is Mr. Patel, the director of engineering for Nxegen.
Mayor Knopp requested of Mr. Krummel to make a friendly amendment in the second line of the motion where it says all city buildings to add the words "and school".
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED TO AMEND THE MOTION BY ADDING "AND SCHOOL" AFTER THE WORD CITY IN THE SECOND LINE.
Mr. Kimmel said he supports the amendment and said it is extremely important that they have an understanding that there are a lot of schools in Norwalk and they cannot go separate ways; they should stay in constant communication and to stay on the same page.
** THE AMENDMENT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
Mr. Kimmel said one of the things that he wanted point out is that with the deregulation coming in 2004 it is important for them to document the usage when they have to go out and make their purchases, he added that this system would allow them to do this.
Mr. Miklave asked Mr. Lo how many responses there were to the RFP. Mr. Lo replied that there were two. Mr. Miklave asked how the prices varied between the two. Mr. Lo responded by saying that other proposal was non-responsive.
Ms. Bain said she wanted to clarify that the savings will be calculated on a usage of energy as opposed to a dollar cost; so the saving will be calculated on a reduced usage. Mr. Lo confirmed that was correct.
Mayor Knopp asked Mr. Patel if he would like to make a comment.
Mr. Patel thanked the Mayor and said they are excited about helping the city in any way they can and added that they have been very successful doing this kind of work in New Haven.
The Mayor commented that they have been through a very difficult year and said there are more ways to get more for each dollar the city spends instead of slashing programs etc. He said this program is a way to increase value for each dollar spent on energy. He said these kind of issues are so important, especially during a recession and gave the example of just by turning down the temperature control on a soda vending machine over a weekend, can save over the year, hundreds of dollars in energy.
** MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
2a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for the Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) - Year 2003 Municipal Buildings Program (Municipal Conservation and Load Management Program).
2b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements and instruments necessary to implement the Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) - Year 2003 Municipal Buildings Program (Municipal Conservation and Load Management Program).
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE BOTH ITEMS.
Mr. Krummel said he was again, delighted that they are taking these steps to reducing the energy usage and they have the good fortune of Nxegen working with CL&P and the city to give the benefit of taking advantage of this state supportive program.
Mr. Patel said Nxegen in its history of business has been part of the CL&P conservation program and they have been one of their top vendors over the years bringing these types of solutions to the market.
Mr. Krummel asked Mr. Patel when looking at the energy consumption of the various buildings, he noticed that the energy consumption in school buildings is much greater than for two of the three city buildings (referred to in the CL&P program).
Mr. Patel said Nxegen ordered the audit of fourteen facilities and presented them to CL&P and it was them who made the decision to approach certain buildings and beyond that he could not identify their reasons.
** MOTIONS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
3. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute an amendment to Hibbard & Rosa Architects, L.L.C.'s School Roof Replacement contract to provide architectural services for the Belden Avenue Main Library roof replacement project for an additional amount not to exceed $7,800.00. Acct.#09036210 5777 C0274
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE ITEM.
Mr. Krummel said this is an excellent move, where they take advantage of an on-going project dealing with the schools and use it as an opportunity to move to prepare roofing facilities in city building.
Mr. Kimmel said this is a great idea. He said when he saw this in its simplicity it’s great, it gets done cheaper and faster; he applauded the people who thought it up.
Mayor Knopp said by doing this there are significant savings from architectural fees; these are usually up to 7% or 8% and by using this method they now pay approximately 4%.
Mr. Kimmel said the architect in this case, Tom Hibbard, has been of outstanding, excellent service to the city.
Mr. Miklave said this is a lesson about the need to maintain buildings they have; he said they see this time and time again. During their debate on the operating budget there was a lot of commentary about the need to make further cuts, he said there is also a need to spend more on fundamental things. He said they have to remind themselves that they have to make the daily expenditures to take care of the buildings they have.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE ITEM.
Mr. Krummel said on the outset they have an active Roof Committee that has reviewed Mr. Hibbard’s roof work and proposal and confirmed to support it. With regard to the deletion of the Briggs High School and the addition of Silvermine and Wolfpit schools, he felt that was a decision of the Board of Education.
Mr. Kimmel said in relation to Briggs, the condition of this roof is not that bad and regarding the roofs on Silvermine and Wolfpit there are some serious problems. He said they are not pushing Briggs aside. He added that they also have to consider the proposals on the location of Briggs having students right on Route 7, so there are many issues to consider.
Mayor Knopp said with the inclusion of these roofs that they expect to accomplish eight school roofs this summer and they hope to get a head-start on a lot of the work before school is let out.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
7. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to make payment to Gilbane for Construction Management Services rendered to date for the Brien McMahon High School/Center for Global Studies improvement project. Payment shall be $99,545.45 which covers the costs for the Feasibility Phase and for Design Phase beginning October 2002 to ending February 2003. This payment amount shall be deducted from total fees payable until the agreement approved by Common Council on June 11, 2002. (Item X.G.1.) Acct. #09035010 5777 CO237.
** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED APPROVAL OF THE ITEM.
Mr. Krummel said he has been a member of the Adhoc Committee for Brien McMahon and proud to have been associated with both the architect and the construction manager, Gilbane, he said they have done excellent work.
Ms. Bain said she supported this strongly.
Mr. Miklave stated he was opposed to the resolution because they had just had a debate where they had tabled authorization for a couple of weeks to get clarification on the scope of services that will be provided. He said now they are going to turn around and make a payment to contractor who does not have a contract yet. Mr. Miklave said that is a strange position to be in. He reiterated his earlier point in that he thought it was bad practice to have contractors working without a contract.
Mr. Wien said he would support this, although he understood the comments of Mr. Miklave. He said when they voted to table the previous item; there was a lot of confusion. He said with this, Gilbane have done a good job and there are no real problems.
Mr. Kimmel referred to a previous job done on West Rocks where they had lost a summer of work. He said he is comfortable with this approach as long as they payment is always for work that has been done.
Ms. Bain said they need to keep in mind the scope of the work and that is a document that is only a few pages long. Then there is the issue of the contract, a forty (plus) page document where they are trying to iron out a contract that is for a relationship that had not been entered into by the city before and that takes longer. She said Gilbane has performed to the highest expectation and have operated in good faith and said it is morally right to pay them for the work they have done.
Mr. Krummel said Mr. Miklave made a good point but said the difference between RCC and Gilbane is like night and day in that they had many meetings to review what Gilbane would be doing and there is no comparison to the lack of information on the RCC proposal.
** MOTION PASSED THIRTEEN VOTES IN FAVOR, ONE VOTE OPPOSED (MR. MIKLAVE) BY VOICE VOTE.
C. PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
4a. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all documents necessary to apply for and accept grant funds from the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management under the Neighborhood Youth Center Grant Program for 2003-2004.
4b. Authorize the Mayor, Alex A. Knopp, to execute any and all agreements, documents, instruments and amendments thereto as may be necessary to implement a Neighborhood Youth Center Program, pursuant to such grant funding.
** MS. RIVAS MOVED APPROVAL OF BOTH ITEMS.
Ms. Hudgins stated that these particular programs for children fund the continuation of a model program in Norwalk. She said this program has given seventy six children a safe, afternoon place that include parent involvement and have improved academic performance. Ms. Hudgins said all of the Public Health and Welfare motions are made to continue very vital programs for children. She thanked Linda Wilock for her ability to make the funds go as far as possible.
Ms. Hudgins said the funds for these programs have been seriously cut and they are at risk for further cuts, she asked if anyone has access to the state officials to encourage them to protect this program and others.
Mr. Bondi said he would like to see this grant is being presented because of the cut backs in HUD to the Norwalk Housing Authority. He said he hoped this grant money would take the place of some of that money to continue the programs to the children throughout the city.
Ms. Rivas said that when things are going well, you take them for granted. She thanked Linda Wilock and echoed that this money is needed and they should not take it for granted.
Ms. Bain noted that she has worked with Ms. Wilock for a number of years and she is excellent in her role and very thorough.
** MOTIONS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VOICE VOTE.
D. RECREATION, PARKS & CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE