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Home My WebLink About02/14/2019 - Workshop Minutes - City CouncilWKSHP021419 Minutes Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION FEBRUARY 14, 2019 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Karl Mooney, Mayor Council: Bob Brick Jerome Rektorik Linda Harvell Elianor Vessali John Nichols Dennis Maloney City Staff: Student Liaison Bryan Woods, City Manager Rohan Sethi, Municipal Affairs Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager Mary Ann Powell, City Attorney Tanya Smith, City Secretary Ian Whittenton, Deputy City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Workshop of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Mooney at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, 2019 in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77840. 2. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071-Consultation with Attorney, and §551.074-Personnel, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 4:01 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, 2019 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: A. Consultation with Attorney to seek advice regarding pending or contemplated litigation; to wit:  Kathryn A. Stever-Harper as Executrix for the Estate of John Wesley Harper v. City of College Station and Judy Meeks; No. 15,977-PC in the County Court No. 1, Brazos County, Texas; and  McCrory Investments II, LLC d/b/a Southwest Stor Mor v. City of College Station; Cause No. 17-000914-CV-361; In the 361st District Court, Brazos County, Texas  City of College Station v. Gerry Saum, Individually, and as Independent Executrix of the Estate of Susan M. Wood, Deceased; Cause No. 17-002742-CV-361; In the 361st District Court, Brazos County, Texas  Carrie McIver v. City of College Station; Cause No. 18-003271-CV-85; In the 85th District Court, Brazos County, Texas WKSHP021419 Minutes Page 2 B. Deliberation on the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer; to wit:  Council Self-Evaluation  City Manager The Executive Session recessed at 5:15 p.m. 3. Take action, if any, on Executive Session. No action was taken. 4. Presentation, possible action and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda. Items 2e, 2f, and 2g were pulled from Consent for clarification. (2e) & (2f): Emily Fisher, Assistant Director of Public Works, provided information on the two Advance Funding Agreements (AFA) between the City of College Station and the State of Texas, acting through the Texas Department of Transportation, regarding the Barron Road and Capstone Drive Realignment Project and the Royder Road Phase II Project. Neither have budgetary impact. The start dates have not been scheduled at this time but the Barron Road and Capstone Drive Realignment Project will be a 12 month project and the Royder Road Phase II Project will be an 8 to 10 months project. (2g): Emily Fisher, Assistant Director of Public Works, provided information on the closeout construction contract change order with Elliott Construction, LLC, for a reduction in the amount of $345,655.42 for the construction of the East Gate Utility Rehabilitation Project. Mrs. Fisher stated that the reduction was due to the contractor finding ways to cut cost throughout the construction process. 5. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding an approved Charter amendment of the City of College Station relating to the provision of notice for competitive bids and competitive proposals. Mary Ellen Leonard, Director of Fiscal Services, presented a brief overview of the Charter Amendment Proposition 5 that was approved at the November 6, 2018 election, which amended the Chapter to allow the City to determine the method of notice requirements for competitive bids and competitive proposals. Mrs. Leonard stated that currently the City is required to publish advertisements in the local newspaper at least once a week for two consecutive weeks (14 days) to publicize the time and place at which competitive bids and competitive proposals will be publicly opened and read aloud. Mrs. Leonard further explained how the City utilizes an online bidding system where vendors register to receive solicitation notices, download solicitation documents, and to electronically submit secure/sealed solicitation responses. Surveys have shown that this is the source upon which the vast majority of vendors rely to receive information about opportunities to provide goods and services to the City and other governmental entities. The addition of Section 2-96 to the City’s Code of Ordinances will allow the City to use its online bidding system to meet the legal notice requirements for competitive bid and competitive proposal solicitations, and to eliminate the need WKSHP021419 Minutes Page 3 to also publish notice in the newspaper. The date of the online posting must be before the 14th day before the date set to publicly open and read aloud the bids or proposals. Utilizing the online bidding system in lieu of the local newspaper for advertising competitive bids and competitive proposals will save the City an average of $25,364.20 per year and online notices will reach vendors nationwide. 6. Presentation, discussion, and possible action on a roundabout policy. Troy Rother, Senior Engineer, presented a brief overview on roundabout design and their impact to traffic flow. Roundabout  Channelized Approaches  Geometric Curvature to ensure lower travel speeds (less than 25 mph).  Yield controlled entries Roundabout Safety  Fewer Conflict Points for vehicles 32 vs 8  Less Conflict Points for pedestrians 16 vs 8  Reduced Speeds  Collision Reductions  No “light to beat”  One-way operation  Reduce delay  Less expensive vs traffic signal Recommended Principles  Preferred intersection  Vs. Signals and Multi-way Stop Signs  Used on Collector and Local streets  Designed per the BCS Guidelines  FHWA 672: Roundabout Design Guidelines Federal Highway Administration)  Reviewed by City or City’s consultant  Engineering analysis for another option  ROW for a future roundabout Policy Recommendations  For the City Manager to develop a roundabout policy based on the recommended principles that is under his discretion. Council directed staff to move forward with developing a roundabout policy based on the recommendations presented. 7. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding the Lick Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project. Gary Mechler, Director of Water Services, presented an update to Lick Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project. Mr. Mechler explained the bid process and gave an explanation why thebids came in higher than anticipated. There were nine (9) initial proposers attend pre-bids but only 2 submitted a bid: CSA proposed #34,305,000 and PLW proposed $37,470,000. WKSHP021419 Minutes Page 4 Drivers for Higher Bid Pricing  Labor Cost Increases  Hurricane Harvey projects now bidding  Impacting jobs in Texas and Oklahoma  Imported labor required  Materials Costs  2018 Aluminum and Steel Tariffs higher impact than expected  Higher costs for concrete and steel due to demand  Non-Competitive Bidding  Rich marketplace for municipal construction impacted by Harvey projects  Actively worked to invite contractors to bid  All indicated competition, other pursuits, and remoteness of BCS market Mr. Mechler stated that the next steps would be to review and reschedule projects, reduce cost approximately $267,500 through the work with selected contractors and engineers, and finally bring a budget amendment and construction contract to Council on February 25, 2019 with staff recommendation to approve. Council directed staff to move forward as planned. 8. Council Calendar Council reviewed the calendar. 9. Discussion, review, and possible action regarding the following meetings: Animal Shelter Board, Annexation Task Force, Arts Council of Brazos Valley, Architectural Advisory Committee, Arts Council Sub-committee, Audit Committee, Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board, Bio-Corridor Board of Adjustments, Blinn College Brazos Valley Advisory Committee, Brazos County Health Dept., Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce, Budget and Finance Committee, BVSWMA, BVWACS, Compensation and Benefits Committee, Experience Bryan -College Station, Design Review Board, Economic Development Committee, FBT/Texas Aggies Go to War, Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association, Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Relief Funding Review Committee, Landmark Commission, Library Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission, Research Valley Technology Council, Regional Transportation Committee for Council of Governments, Sister Cities Association, Spring Creek Local Government Corporation, Transportation and Mobility Committee, TAMU Economic Development, TAMU Student Senate, Texas Municipal League, Twin City LCWWTP Expansion Budget 32,113,000$ Adjusted bid 34,037,500$ Budget shortfall 1,924,500$ COCS contingency 1,762,500$ Total with COCS contingency 35,800,000$ Total Additional Requested 3,687,000$ WKSHP021419 Minutes Page 5 Endowment, Walk with the Mayor, YMCA, Youth Advisory Council, Zoning Board of Adjustments, (Notice of Agendas posted on City Hall bulletin board). Councilmember Rektorik reported on the Experience Bryan-College Station. Councilmember Maloney reported on the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation. 10. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Mooney adjourned the workshop of the College Station City Council at 5:57 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, 2019. ________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary