Regular Session
The Holmes County Board of Commissioners met in a Regular Session on the above date with the following members present: Commissioner Kenneth Williams, Commissioner Ron Monk, Commissioner Jim King, Commissioner Phillip Music and Commissioner Monty Merchant, Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Brandon Young,
Angie Jonas, Deputy Clerk, was present and kept the minutes.
Mr. Dinkins led the prayer and pledge.
Chairman Merchant opened the meeting.
The Board discussed the consent
items. Commissioner Williams asked that the ordinance number on page one of the
EMS & Board Vehicles
Budget Amendment #3
Northwest Sanitation Garbage Franchise
Miscellaneous Appropriations Agreement: Chamber of Commerce
Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board discussed the
Fairchild
F & W Construction Company 122,731.16
Mr. David Skipper, Engineer of Hatch Mott MacDonald, stated that one company had bid a steel bridge and the other had bid a concrete bridge. He explained that the bid price included removal of the old bridge materials, installation of the temporary bridge for a period of one year and also removal of the temporary bridge. Mr. William Campbell of Fairchild-Florida Construction clarified that the bid that was announced for his company was for a cast in place concrete bridge. Commissioner King made a motion to award the project to the apparent low bidder, F & W Construction, pending engineer review and for the original bridge materials to be declared surplus. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Bids)
The Board discussed the landfill engineer submittals. Chairman Merchant stated that the following eight firms had expressed interest in the position: Geosyntec Consultants, Thompson Engineering, Brown, Burdine and Associates, HAS Golden, Capital Engineering Services, SCS Engineers and Jones Edmunds. He asked the Board to rank their top four firm choices. Commissioner Monk stated that the rankings should be submitted in a sealed envelope format so that they could be opened in a meeting. Commissioner Monk made a motion for the Board to submit their top four firm choices and for the top firm to be selected from those choices. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Williams asked whether the ranking should be submitted before the next meeting. Commissioner Monk stated that he was agreeable to this.
The Board discussed the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) Administrator firm ranking for the Gritney Fire
Station and
1st Jones-Phillips and Associates
2nd Fred Fox Enterprises
3rd Alday Howell
Commissioner King made a motion to negotiate with Jones-Phillips and Associates. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Ranking Sheets)
Mr. Bob Jones, Grant Administrator, updated the Board regarding the rural development grant status. He stated that the application had been submitted and explained that the State had released an amended list for stimulus project funding. He advised that the Gritney Fire Station project had been moved up the list of the projects that will be funded. He also stated that it may be possible for funding to be available this coming fall, and that the CDBG application amount was $750,000.00. Commissioner King stated that he would like for Chairman Merchant and Mr. Cody Taylor, Clerk of Court to negotiate with Jones-Phillips and Associates. Chairman Merchant stated that he was agreeable to this. No further action was taken.
The Board discussed the employee health, dental, vision and life insurance quotes agenda item. Chairman Merchant advised that Public Risk Management (PRM) had been the County’s provider in the past. He stated that the life insurance premium had not been paid by the County previously, and asked whether the Board would like to consider adding the life insurance option. Commissioner King stated that he would like the insurance coverage to remain unchanged. Commissioner King made a motion to award the bid to PRM. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(See Quotes)
The Board discussed the engineering firm final selection for the engineering firms of record. Previously, the Board heard presentations from each firm. The firms were ranked as follows:
1. Greenhorne and O’Mara
2. David Melvin Engineering
3. Hatch Mott MacDonald
4. Metric Engineering
5. CDG Engineering
Chairman Merchant stated that it had been discussed previously that the Board would like to retain the top two ranked engineering firms. Commissioner King asked what the process would be for project bid awards if there was more than one firm selected. Attorney Young explained that other Counties offered the projects to both firms for bids and advised that this may lengthen the bid process, however the competition may allow for the County to get a better price. He also advised that it should be noted that if a firm secures grant funding for a project, that firm should be awarded the project. Commissioner Monk made a motion to accept the top two ranked engineering firms. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board discussed the excavator lease quotes. Previously, the Board had discussed leasing an excavator for storm related repair work, since it may be possible for the County to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Commissioner Monk explained the quotes and stated that there were several options for discussion. He advised that the lease term offered by most of the vendors was six months, with the exception of Thompson Tractor, which had a four month lease term. Commissioner King asked whether sealed bids should have been gathered for this process. Mr. Cody Taylor, Clerk of Court, stated that traditionally, the Board has advertised for non-FEMA related leases with a standard bid notice and specifications. Attorney Young stated that normally bids would not be received for leasing equipment, but explained that it may be a favorable idea to advertise so that all vendors have an opportunity to submit a bid. He advised that it would also be a favorable idea for the Board to declare that purchase would not be guaranteed at the end of the lease. Commissioner Williams stated that it was not guaranteed that the County would purchase the equipment at the end of the lease term. Commissioner Monk clarified that the intent was to lease the excavator to be utilized for FEMA projects and also that funds were available from the insurance settlement of another excavator that had been damaged recently by flooding. He stated that he would gather more information. Commissioner Williams made a motion to table this item. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Quotes)
The Board discussed the sealed bids for the air conditioning unit for the Health Department. Chairman Merchant stated that the bids included a five year warranty on the compressor, and a one year warranty on parts. He also stated that the term for this installation was fourteen days. Commissioner King asked whether the Health Department would be contributing to the cost of this purchase. Chairman Merchant advised that an additional bid would be coming for the building insulation portion, but that he had not spoken with Ms. Holly Segers, Health Department Administrator, regarding this expense. The following bids were submitted:
|
Company |
Materials |
Labor |
Total Bid |
|
P & P Heating and
Cooling, Inc. |
$12,216.31 |
$1,200.00 |
$13,416.31 |
|
Horton's Chipley
Heating & Cooling |
|
|
14,000.00 |
|
William Crutchfield
Enterprises |
12,000.00 |
3,100.00 |
15,100.00 |
|
Hasty Heating and
Cooling |
|
|
15,871.00 |
|
Peaden Mechanical |
13,957.00 |
4,841.00 |
18,798.00 |
Commissioner Music made a motion to award the bid to P & P Heating and Cooling at the bid price of $13,416.31, contingent upon engineer review. Commissioner Monk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Bids)
The Board discussed the District Three grader agenda item. Commissioner Music stated that he would like to trade in the grader since it had approximately 14,000 hours of operation on it, and had been under constant repair and stated that a used piece of equipment would be acceptable. He asked that the Board to go out for bids on this item with a trade in. Commissioner Music made a motion to go out for bids for a grader and to inquire about the financing available for the purchase. Commissioner Williams seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Monk asked Mrs. Stafford for an update regarding FEMA settlement from prior years’ storms. Mrs. Stafford, Emergency Management Director, stated that the final reconciliation was not completed to date, however it did appear that the County would owe some money back. She explained that all paperwork had already been submitted to FEMA and that she would be meeting with agency representatives soon to determine the final amount due.
The Board discussed the auditor contract. Chairman Merchant stated that the contract had expired with Carr, Riggs and Ingram (CR& I). Mr. Cody Taylor, Clerk of Court, stated that while CR & I had conducted the audits for some time, the Board had the option to extend and renegotiate the contract or go out for request for proposals (RFP’s). He advised that there was a limited number of governmental auditing firms in the area. He explained that the fee for auditing the grants had been 1%, but that Mr. Galloway of CR & I was willing to negotiate that aspect of the contract. Commissioner King made a motion for Chairman Merchant and Mr. Taylor to negotiate the contract terms with CR & I and to extend the contract for one year. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Merchant stated that a repair
request had been received from Ms. Tabitha Arnold for
Chairman Merchant stated that he had
received a request from Jerome Szczekot, EMS Director, to send an employee to
Chairman Merchant stated that he had received a request and schedule from Ms. Jean West, General Support Administrator of the school, for the use of the inmate work squads. He asked the Board to look over the schedule to be sure that there were no scheduling conflicts with the dates provided. No action was taken on this item.
Chairman Merchant stated that he had received a price quote for the canopy replacement for the former EOC/Board meeting building. He asked the Board whether to gather quotes for the repair so that they may be reviewed at a later meeting. The Board agreed by consensus.
Attorney Young advised that he had filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of the County this week in the case involving the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Mr. Stone. He also stated that the plaintiff had filed a discovery motion and that he would be collecting the necessary information to satisfy this.
Attorney Young updated the Board regarding his role in the union negotiations. He stated that he had spoken with Mr. Mike Morgan, Union Liaison, regarding setting a preliminary meeting at the end of July. He advised that the final meeting should take place in September, and that he would be bringing any changes before the Board. He explained that a grievance had been filed, but that it may be satisfied in the upcoming negotiations.
Attorney Young updated the Board
regarding the land purchase for the proposed dirt pit on
Attorney Young stated that he was working on drafting a local preference clause in the procurement policy. He asked the Board if the cap should be $10,000.00. Commissioner Williams stated that he was agreeable to this. Attorney Young explained that he would be completing this policy soon and that it should be ready for adoption at the next meeting.
Attorney Young updated the Board regarding the recent meeting with Mr. Tony Arrant, Consultant. Previously, the Board had discussed whether Mr. Arrant had satisfactorily fulfilled the Evaluations and Appraisals Report (EAR) consulting work that he had been contracted to complete. Attorney Young stated that Mr. Arrant was willing to complete the Evaluations and Appraisals Report (EAR) and submit the document to the State for an additional $10,000.00 and upon completion of the EAR, the Comprehensive Plan work could begin. Mr. Cody Taylor, Clerk of Court, advised that the additional funds would not be released to Mr. Arrant until the final EAR had been satisfactorily submitted and approved by the State. He explained that Ms. Michele McDaniel, former Planner, had signed a contract with Mr. Arrant for this work and the additional $10,000.00 fee and that Mr. Arrant had already been paid a fee of $50,000.00. Commissioner Williams asked whether the County owed Mr. Arrant the additional funds, should he complete the additional work or not. Attorney Young affirmed that Mr. Arrant believes this to be true. Commissioner King stated that he was unaware of this contract. Mr. Taylor clarified that a separate fee had been paid to Greenhorne and O’Mara for some Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping which was not the same work as specified in the memo of understanding with Mr. Arrant. Speaking regarding this topic were the following:
Mr. Tom Jenkins, Planning Commission Member
Mr. Hubert Hendrix, Planning Commission Member
Mr. Brian Lemiux, of Greenhorne and O’Mara
Commissioner King made a motion for Mr. Arrant to complete the EAR and submit it to the Planning Commission, the Board and the State and to discontinue the visioning process. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Music made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Williams seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
________________________________ ______________________________
Clerk Chairman