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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Special Meeting_09072023 CITY OF IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING IONA CITY HALL SEPTEMBER 7,2023—6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Evan Mann, Public Works Director Zech Prouse, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West. ABSENT: Council Member Michael Thompson. VISITORS: Kevin Harris, Dave Noel, Jason Cooper, Rob Heuseveldt, Kyle Jones and Shawn Going. Mayor Gubler welcomed everyone and led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call was taken by Clerk West to open the meeting. Clerk West confirmed Council Member Thompson is not present but did submit his evaluation tally sheet prior to tonight's meeting. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Complete Evaluation and Selection Process for Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) for City Engineering Services and Award Winning Firm — Mayor Gubler read aloud various sections of the Request for Qualifications that was published by the City of Iona. He then said he does not agree with this process because it is very subjective, but explained this process is required by the state to select a City Engineer. Mayor Gubler stated the City's objective tonight is to review the proposals submitted and select a firm to negotiate a contract. However, the City can choose not to make any selections tonight. Mayor Gubler stated he would like to give each representative that is present 5 minutes to introduce themselves and their qualifications. Kevin Harris of Forsgren & Associates approached the podium and stated their firm has worked with the City of Iona since 2018, initially to assist in the design for the water tank project. He continued and stated in those 5 years they have provided good service and have become very familiar with the City and its needs. Mr. Harris stated he is the manager of the Rexburg office, but he and Engineer Dave Noel each live less than 10 minutes from Iona. He continued and stated they have enjoyed working with the City and would like to continue that relationship. Jason Cooper of Euclid Engineering approached the podium and stated he lives in Iona and is also a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission for the City of Iona. He stated he has over 19 years of experience in engineering both in municipalities and in private firms. Mr. Cooper stated he has worked on a wide scope of projects including 80 million dollar projects down to small projects. He stated he is the only employee of Euclid Engineering and will be the only point of contact for the City of Iona. Mr. Cooper stated he grew up in Iona and is looking forward to this opportunity to serve the City in this capacity. Rob Heuseveldt of Sunrise Engineering approached the podium and stated Sunrise Engineering is a relatively large firm with a newer office in Pocatello. He continued and stated he lives in Victor and passes through 1-2 times each week. Mr. Heuseveldt stated he worked as the Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Victor for 10 years, so he understands the IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING—SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 strengths the City staff brings to the partnership. He continued and stated their firm has all the qualities the City is looking for in a City Engineer and hopes to be given that opportunity. Mayor Gubler began deliberation amongst the Selection Committee which includes Mayor Gubler, Council President Geray, Council Member Thompson (submitted tally sheet to Clerk West prior to the meeting), Council Member Wadsworth, Council Member Mann and Public Works Director Prouse. Council President Geray disclosed he knows the owner of Visualize Engineering & Design and invited them to submit a proposal for this process. He continued and stated he informed them where they could find the RFQ on the City's website but has had no additional contact with them throughout this process. Director Prouse then disclosed that he was contacted by Rob Heuseveldt with Sunrise Engineering prior to this meeting to discuss City issues. Mayor Gubler stated he met Rob with Sunrise Engineering when he came into the City Office to meet with Clerk West. Mayor Gubler stated one of the requirements in the RFQ was to limit the number of pages to 4 pages + a cover sheet. He expressed his frustration that one of the firms submitted a proposal with 14 pages. Council President Geray stated he does not think that is grounds for dismissal and stated if the selection committee wanted to scrutinize the entire RFQ there would most likely be grounds to disqualify all the proposals. Mayor Gubler asked the Selection Committee if they had any questions. Council Member Mann asked whether he could ask the candidates questions. Mayor Gubler stated this is the time to do so. Council Member Mann then stated all the candidates have a lot of the same experience or qualifications. He continued and asked each firm to describe what makes them uniquely qualified for this position. Rob Heuseveldt with Sunrise Engineering stated one thing he has heard throughout this process and in the RFQ is that the City is looking for one point of contact. He continued and stated he would be that one point of contact for the City, regardless of what type of project or questions arise. He further explained that he is also uniquely qualified because he has worked as a City Public Works Director, so he understands both sides of engineering and can relate to our City staff. Council Member Mann asked if Sunrise Engineering is looking to expand in Idaho. Mr. Heuseveldt stated their firm has an office in Afton and Pocatello, as well as surrounding states. He continued and stated they are looking to grow amongst the smaller communities in this area of the state. Director Prouse asked if Sunrise has in-house lab capabilities, or if they subcontract those out. Mr. Heuseveldt stated they have both capabilities and use a materials testing facility in Utah. He also stated if they were backlogged, they could send those to other facilities. Council Member Mann asked what Mr. Heuseveldt's availability would be if awarded this contract. Mr. Heuseveldt stated he would estimate approximately 20%. He further explained he currently dedicates one day each week in the office of another municipality he works for and would do the same thing for Iona. Dave Noel with Forsgren & Associates approached the podium to also address Council Mann's questions. He first clarified that in the RFQ that was published by the City it specifically states that the Selection Committee will not ask additional questions that are not already in the RFQ itself. He continued and stated since the committee has asked the questions, he will answer them. Mr. Noel stated their firm is uniquely qualified because they have already been working with the 2 IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING— SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 City of Iona for 5 years and has an understanding of the systems in place and future goals. He further explained their firm is also the engineering firm for Iona Bonneville Sewer District, which services our community. Mr. Noel stated in their proposal they have included a roster of employees that can address all of the disciplines that the City has identified in the RFQ as needed. He continued and stated he is only 5-10 minutes away and is always available via telephone. Jason Cooper with Euclid Engineering approached the podium to also answer Council Member Mann's questions. He stated he is unique because he is the only candidate that lives in Iona and knows most of the Council members personally. He continued and stated he is the only point of contact for his firm. Mr. Cooper stated as far as availability, he does have a full-time job with Idaho Falls Power, but has already spoken to them about this potential opportunity and was assured they would grant him the flexibility needed. He continued and stated he grew up in Iona and has watched it grow from the small town to what it is today. He recognizes the engineering challenges that come with growth and believes those need to be addressed thoughtfully and efficiently. Council Member Mann asked Mr. Cooper if he felt it was a hinderance to be the only employee of the firm, rather than having teams of employees like the other candidates. Mr. Cooper stated he does not feel it is a hinderance because he is dedicated to the City of Iona and has a lot of contacts in the engineering community. Mayor Gubler stated it is now time for the Selection Committee members to evaluate each candidate on their tally sheets. Discussion took place regarding who should add the tally sheets. Council President Geray suggested a non-voting member total the tally sheets. Mayor Gubler agreed and asked Andrew Rawlings to complete this step. Attorney Rawlings added up the tally sheets from the Selection Committee, When completed, Attorney Rawlings gave the final point sheet to Mayor Gubler. Mayor Gubler read aloud the total points for each submitted SOQ: Forsgren&Associates, Inc.: 523 points Harper-Leavitt Engineering, Inc.: 488 points Sunrise Engineering, Inc.: 475 points Euclid Engineering, LLC: 470 points Visualize Engineering& Design, LLC: 458 points Council President Geray expressed concern regarding the method of adding actual points and suggested ranking the firms from 1-5 on each committee members' tally sheet. Council Member Mann agreed and offered to add them using this method. Mayor Gubler gave Council Member Mann the tally sheets. Council Member Mann added them and concluded the rankings remained the same as using the total points method. Mayor Gubler confirmed Forsgren&Associates as the chosen firm by the Selection Committee. Attorney Rawlings clarified he will work with Forsgren & Associates to draft a contract to be presented at the next City Council meeting. Council President Geray agreed and stated the contract needs to be subject to annual review and approval. Mayor Gubler entertained a motion. Council Member Mann made a motion to award a contract to Forsgren & Associates for engineering services to be prepared and presented at the City 3 IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING—SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 Council Meeting on September 26`h. Council Member Wadsworth seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried. Director Prouse stated the state allows municipalities to create a list of pre-qualified engineers after completing this process. Mayor Gubler then stated the top 3 on this list will now be added as pre-qualified engineers that City could use in the future. STAFF REPORTS: No reports made. SUGGESTED AGENDA ITEMS: No comments made. Meeting Adjourned at 6:53pm. COUNCIL APPROVED: September 26, 2023 Dan Gubler, Mayor ATTEST: (.$),e/ Keri est, City Clerk/Treasurer 4