CITY OF
PICKERINGTON
CITY HALL, 100
LOCKVILLE ROAD
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY
9, 2006
WORK SESSION
6:30 P.M.
1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Hackworth called the Service Committee Work Session to order at 6:30 P.M., with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Hackworth, and Mrs. Riggs present. No members were absent. Others present were Judy Gilleland, Jeff Fix, Lynda Yartin, Ed Drobina, Lance Schultz, Joe Henderson, Jennifer Frommer, Jerry Dailey, Scott Seaman, Mayor Shaver, and others.
2. SCHEDULED MATTERS:
A. Review and discussion of Access Management Plan. Mr. Hackworth stated Ms Frommer had provided draft copies of the Access Management Plan to all Committee members and she was present to review the draft. She stated this work session would provide a background on the Access Management Plan and additional work sessions could be scheduled at the desire of the Committee.
Ms. Frommer stated typically roadways serve two purposes, mobility and access. She stated mobility is the efficient and safe passage of people and goods, getting people to and from, say interstate highways. She stated access is getting the people and goods to specific properties. She stated the city’s roadways are essential to public health, safety, and welfare, and the city is responsible to preserve and maintain its road network. She stated the failure to manage access is the leading cause of accidents, congestion, reduced speed, loss of roadway capacity, increased delays, and potential property damage and personal injury on roadways.
Ms Frommer gave a power point presentation detailing the draft Access Management Plan. She provided a handout to the Committee members regarding balancing access and mobility.
Mr. Hackworth stated he felt we need to investigate the legality of closing some of the access points, and Ms Frommer stated we are already in that process. Mr. Hackworth stated he would like to give the Committee members the opportunity to review all of the information and then schedule another work session to answer any questions.
The Service Committee Work Session recessed at 7:05 P.M. and reconvened in open session at 7:15 P.M.
B. Review and discussion of contract award process. Mayor Shaver stated he would like to address the process of selection for engineering contracts. Mayor Shaver stated there has been a concern by council members that we are not bidding out all projects. He stated there might be times when W. E. Stilson is the best possible engineer for a job, and there is nothing that unilaterally precludes them from being involved in the process. Mayor Shaver stated our goal is to award contracts to the most qualified firms for the job. Mayor Shaver further stated when awarding contracts for projects such as bridges, roads, etc., that involve the safety of the community, you do not want to simply award it to the lowest bidder.
Mayor Shaver stated we could do a request for qualifications on each and every project, however, what the City has chosen to do is to use the pre-qualification process. He stated this allows us to pre-qualify a set number of firms after reviewing their qualifications, past experience with them, etc. He continued that once they are pre-qualified the City Manager and staff can determine which firm is the most qualified for specific projects. Mayor Shaver stated further just because a firm has been pre-qualified, however, it does not mean that we cannot negotiate with that firm. Mayor Shaver stated by pre-qualifying firms it minimizes the amount of time staff must spend each time we have a project to be done, and it also allows us to use multiple engineering firms.
Mayor Shaver stated it is up to this Committee to decide if they want to review and bid out each engineering contract or what process we want to use. Mrs. Hammond clarified that what we have now is a pool of engineering firms that have been pre-qualified, that we can choose from for whatever purpose is needed. Mrs. Riggs stated she has not had any issues with how we have been giving out contracts, the way we are doing it now works, and we have a good staff and City Manager who is very capable of making those decisions. She continued since she has been on Council she felt this has been an excellent process and she does not see any reason to change it. Mr. Hackworth stated he concurred with Mrs. Riggs and he did not see any reason to change our procedures for contract award at this time.
Ms Gilleland stated we are working toward the pre-qualification process this year. She stated last year we did two projects and we did send out for pre-qualifications for those two projects. Mrs. Hammond stated she agreed she was happy with the process now. She stated questions had been raised that she did not know the answers to, and now that she is aware of the process she will be able to clarify it and that will be helpful for her.
2. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Hackworth closed the work session at 7:30 P.M., February 9, 2006.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk