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CITY OF SHOREWOOD
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
MONDAY, APRIL 10,2000
5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
6:00 P.M.
MINUTES
1. CONVENE SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
A.
Roll Call
Present:
Mayor Woody Love, Councilmembers Zerby, Garfunkel, Lizee and Stover; Public
Works Director/Engineer Brown, Planning Director Nielsen; Friends of the Southshore
Senior Community Center: Bob Gagne, Lee Paris, Jim Hillis, Glen Froberg, JoAnn
Kvern, Dorothy Huffman, Bob Bean, Karla Thomson, Joyce Flury and Phil Hallin.
Absent:
None
B.
Review Agenda
Mayor Love made a correction to the agenda, noting this meeting is a "Special Meeting" and not an
"Executive Session."
Lizee moved, Zerby seconded, approving the agenda as amended. Motion passed 5/0.
2. MEETING WITH THE FRIENDS OF THE SOUTHSHORE SENIOR COMMUNITY
CENTER
Mayor Love stated the intent of this meeting is to facilitate communication to better handle issues that
may come up in the future.
Director Brown reviewed the current issue at hand. He stated that the Friends previously submitted a bill
to the City for $1537.41 for repair of the HV AC system at the Southshore Senior Community Center. He
stated the Friends felt that this repair item arose due to improper original construction and not due to
maintenance of the HV AC system. Director Brown noted that because this work was completed by a
contractor ordered by the Friends, Merit Heating and Cooling, it prohibits the City from being able to
seek reimbursement from the bonding company, the original contractor or the original sub-contractor for
the project. Staff felt it was not appropriate for the City to pay for a bill without first seeking resolution
through the bonding company. Director Brown noted that this has been a long-standing issue and that the
City has been in litigation with the bonding company. He stated that Staff supports the effort of the
Friends and expressed the importance of identifying the responsibilities of each party to better handle
these types of issues in the future.
Mayor Love opened the discussion to all those present and stated his interest in the process used for the
claim.
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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING - April 10, 2000
Page 2 of 4
Mr. Gagne clarified the breakdown of the bill and the work that was completed by Merit on the HV AC
system. He reported on the details of the incident that occurred which created the bill. He stated that due
to past history of contacting the City with maintenance issues and knowing that the City was in litigation,
the Friends determined that this was a problem which needed immediate attention. He clarified that
Merit determined that the HV AC system was not constructed correctly.
Mr. Bean stated that none of the original subcontractors want anything to do with this project because of
the bad situation they were in with the general contractor. He expressed the efforts the Friends made in
accommodating the original construction schedule and in their fundraising efforts. He feels that the
Friends should not have to pay to redo something that was not done right in the first place. Mr. Bean
also expressed that although this is a frustrating issue, the Friends appreciate the leadership Shorewood
took and continues to take on this project. He questioned the schedule for work to be completed on the
fire hydrant and the parking lot.
Director Brown expressed that City staff has also faced frustration with this project. He stated that the
Friends should expect to see some action on the work to be completed in a couple of months. He noted
that Staff would need to discuss the scheduling of this work with the Friends.
Councilmember Stover questioned how issues like this would be handled in the future.
Mayor Love noted that the purpose of this meeting is not only to discuss this specific issue with this bill,
but also to determine a process for dealing with these issues in the future.
Ms. Kvern expressed her positive experience with those who have rented the building and how much
they appreciate the facility. She stated that having a facility for seniors shows the community cares about
its aged population.
Ms. Flury also noted that the facility is used not only for the senior residents, but it is also being used
more as a community center.
Mr. Froberg questioned how the Friends should handle future problems that may arise that might be
determined to be defective original equipment. He noted that this particular situation was a matter that
had to be attended to immediately, so the Friends took immediate action that was required of them and
incurred this particular charge.
Mr. Bean stated that because the Friends couldn't get the original contractor to do work, they hired Merit
and have continued to use Merit since they are familiar with the system.
Engineer Brown stated that he didn't see harm in specifically having Merit do the work. This particular
issue is with the Friends calling out a contractor prior to Staff having an opportunity notify the bonding
company. This process nullified the City's claim to resolve this issue.
Mayor Love confirmed that the building is an asset to the community. He also expressed his concern
that the City was bumped out of its position of recourse.
Councilmember Garfunkel confirmed that the City has no recourse on this item; that is it not possible to
go back to the bonding company. He didn't feel this was a Shorewood issue now.
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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING - April 10, 2000
Page 3 of 4
Mr. Gagne stated that the Friends brought this back to Shorewood based on history, noting that of the
five cities involved, Shorewood took the lead on this project.
Councilmember Zerby expressed that there seems to be an expectation of warranty on this building, and
questioned how much warranty service the City can provide.
Councilmember Stover asked what alternative did the Friends have when this situation occurred.
Mayor Love asked Engineer Brown what process would have changed his recommendation on this issue.
Engineer Brown stated his understanding of the service Merit provided which created the bill.
Mr. Gagne clarified that Merit had been out two days prior to work on the system and the Friends paid
that bill which was $145. He stated that the HV AC system was turned on, it didn't work properly, so the
Friends called Merit a second time. They determined they needed to contact Trane and both Trane and
Merit came out to repair the system, which created the bill for $1537.41.
Engineer Brown noted that if a warranty issue exists, the City has to notify the bonding company of the
plan of action to fix the problem. It is hoped that the bonding company would respond immediately to
the request. This communication with the bonding company puts them on notice legally that there is a
problem. Engineer Brown clarified that if there is a warranty issue or if something major goes wrong
with the Building, the Friends should call him.
Ms. Kvern stated that in her past experience with the former Administration, she got the impression that
the Friends should not call Engineer Brown. She agreed that the procedure is probably correct if the
Friends could simply say we have a problem and if they were told they could correct it. She felt though,
from past history, this doesn't look like it will work.
Councilmember Stover stated that Shorewood took the lead in this project. She stated that they hired the
contractor; they had the money and got some money from other cities. She expressed that Shorewood
took responsibility for the building and that the council at that time had every intention of having the
building fully completed before it was turned over to the Friends. The building didn't get done on
schedule, but the Friends were willing to take it over anyhow. She believes the council should keep some
of that past history in mind. She believes this is an issue of a malfunctioning system and not a
maintenance item. She also noted there remains an outstanding punch list of items to be completed on
this project.
Mayor Love stated that staff based their recommendation on Shorewood not having any recourse for this
item. He expressed the importance of establishing a process to avoid having this kind of
misunderstanding in the future.
Mr. Bean noted the revenue loss the Friends suffered from failure to occupy the building when promised,
noting the $500 per diem penalty for failure to take occupancy. There was never a final resolution on
what this revenue number might be or if the Friends will see any of this lost revenue come out of the
litigation.
Mayor Love asked if council was in clear agreement on how to proceed. He expressed that we need to
come up with an agreement that clearly states how to handle future items.
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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING - April 10, 2000
Page 4 of 4
Ms. Flury commented that the Friends didn't have any guidelines for this particular issue. They didn't
know that they were putting the City in a position of not having recourse.
Mr. Bean stated that the Friends will take whatever direction is decided relative to calling Engineer
Brown. He asked for clarification in defining what types of situations or items require the Friends to first
contact Engineer Brown.
Mayor Love requested Engineer Brown to put together a proposal. Mayor Love, Engineer Brown,
Acting City Administrator Nielsen and Mr. Gagne and any other Friends representatives could meet to
discuss the procedure and define issues which would require the Friends to contact Engineer Brown
when problems arise. It is hoped that this can be completed within the next couple of weeks and reported
on at the next council meeting.
Mr. Bean noted that it will be necessary to come up with a new vendor list, for plumbing, heating, etc.
Engineer Brown stated that there are certain things, like the sprinkler system, that both he and the Public
Works crew are trained to repair and that they are on call for major items like this.
Mayor Love noted that the Council will considered this particular incident at tonight's Regular Council
meeting and will report back to the Friends Board on establishing a procedure for future issues.
On behalf of the Council, Mayor Love thanked everyone in attendance at the meeting.
3. ADJOURN
Garfunkel moved, Lizee seconded adjourning the Special Meeting with the Friends of the
Southshore Senior Community Center at 6:55 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.
Jean Panchyshyn,
Recording Secretary