Appropriation - Capital Expenditures for year 2002, $1,600,000 from the County Option Income Tax Fund

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COUNTY-CITY BUILDING SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 46601-1830 CITY OF SOUTH BEND STEPHEN J. LiJECKE, MAYOR PHONE 574/ 235-9216 FAx 574/235-9928 TDD 574/ 235-5567 DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE FREDERICK B. OLLETT, III CONTROLLER March 5, 2002 City Council President Roland Kelly City Council 4"'Floor, County-City Building South Bend, Indiana 46601 RE: $1.6 Million Appropriation -Professional Services Development of Police and Fire Facilities Dear Councilman Kelly: The attached appropriation Ordinance is for $1.6 million. When combined with the $400,000 appropriation for professional services fees for the Police and Fire stations in the previously approved 2002 Capital Improvement Plan(CIP), this brings the total appropriations for this purpose to $2 million. You asked whether DLZ was the only firm approached about designing the project and whether the city should consider competitive cost proposals for the architectural and engineering professional services. The design work was initiated in 2001 with a Qualification Based Selection (QBS) process. We invited numerous firms who had submitted qualification and experience statements that were relevant to police and fire stations to submit written proposals. Those were evaluated by two representatives each of the Police ,Fire and Public Works Department. The best three joint ventures were given the opportunity to make more extensive oral presentations and concept proposals Upon completion of the short list review, the successful team was DLZ/Zimmerman. DLZ is a local architectural and engineering firm with a significant number of engineers and architects. They strategically teamed on this project with Zimmerman Design from Wisconsin. Zimmerman has a wealth of experience on police and fire stations. The fees for DLZ/Zimmerman are in the range for the type of project by size and by complexity. It is important to remember that good engineering mid architectural services saves money in the long run, since the big dollars are in the construction. The better the set of plans and specifications that are put together, the less likelihood of contractors covering risks for unknowns or being in a strong position to negotiate additional change orders after award. For that reason, we discourage the use of competitive cost bidding on engineering and architectural services and make our selection based on the best fit for the project in terms of qualifications and experience and then negotiate a reasonable price within standards of the design industry. CATHERINE A. HUBBARD-SHEAR LIZ ROWS THOMAS SKARBEK SUSAN WALLACE ROBERTt~LLEN DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR MANAGER DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES CTTYFINANCE BUDGETING & FINANCIAL REPORTING BENEFITS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY