07-31-19 CC Special WS MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MONDAY, JULY 31, 2019 5:00 P.M.
MINUTES
1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M.
A. Roll Call
Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Siakel, Sundberg, and Labadie; City Administrator
Lerud; Director of Public Works Brown. Councilmember Johnson was absent.
B. Review Agenda
Sundberg moved, Siakel seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed
4/0.
2. ENGINEERING FIRM DISCUSSION
City Administrator Lerud provided information that he requested from the three engineering firms
as well as comments he received during the reference and background checks. He said due to
the quick turn - around time from the presentations, staff has not been able to review all of the
information provided. He said he still thought important to discuss the matter rather than waiting
until late August. Lerud said there is no deadline to this process, and he said there would be
further discussions at future council meetings.
There was a general discussion about the current engineering firm as well as what the other firms
can bring to the table.
Council member Siakel said that there is still some confusion regarding the retainer fee as the
dollar amounts were several thousand dollars difference between the three firms. She suggested
that a matrix or spreadsheet be developed that would allow easier comparison.
Council member Sundberg asked if a different firm was selected, how difficult would the transition
be to a new firm. Director of Public Work Brown said that there will some difficulties with any
transition, but it should not be the determining factor in the council making the decision.
Lerud said as part of the RFP all the firms had to offer hosting the city's GIS information. He said
that the city will be evaluating LOGIS and having them host the city's GIS system. He said LOGIS
is a joint powers agency in the state, and if the city hosts its information there, the choice of city
engineer would not be impacted.
Council member Labadie said she was impressed that Stantec brought a funding person to the
presentation and wondered how much value there was to having that asset. Brown said that most
engineering firms have that type of position. Lerud added that a funding person could add value
in the way projects are prepared — ensuring that if there is available outside funding, plans and
CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
JULY 31, 2019
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specifications could be prepared in a way that gives the city the best chance possible for that
funding.
Mayor Zerby asked if the city was prepared to reduce the number of firms under consideration.
After a brief discussion it was decided to continue to consider all three firms.
Brown said that one thing he and Lerud discussed was the idea that the engineer that would be
assigned to the city from each firm be invited to be interviewed by the council. He said that a half
hour is not enough time to gauge the qualities of the engineers, as his opinion of the firms has
changed between initially meeting them and following their presentations.
The consensus of the council was to get further clarification on the following items:
• A better break down on retainer costs and overall costs on a spread sheet.
• Answering the question of how the firm will approach taking on a project that is in- progress.
Will the firm start over producing their own information from the beginning, or review the
in- progress plans and revised as needed?
• Try to assess the value of a dedicated funding person.
Lerud said that staff would continue to work on this and look to schedule the interviews.
3. ADJOURN
With no other business, a motion to adjourn was made by Labadie, second by Sun berg.
Motion passed 4/0 and the meeting adjourned 5:35 P.M.
ATTEST:
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Sandie Thone, City Clerk