HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-16-18 MBE/WBE MBE/WBE Utilization Board Meeting
July 16, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Committee Members Present: Kareemah Fowler, Jas Alexander(late)
Committee Members Absent: William Dunn, Cheryl Ashe, Jonathan Gonzalez, Meghan
Buell, Dr. Janet Evelyn, Jitin Kain
Others Present: Michael Schmidt, Christina Brooks, Karen White, Sharon
L. McBride, Tim Scott(late)
Karen White called to order the MBE/WBE Utilization Board meeting at 6:00 p.m. She introduced
members of the Committee.
Kareemah Fowler stated, One(1) of the things I would like to start with is addressing the standing
dates and times. We sent out an email with standing dates and times and that included three (3)
separate dates. That was to accommodate the schedules of Personnel and Finance as well as the
overall City calendar so as to not conflict with budget hearings or other things going on in the City.
That standing calendar is really a placeholder to be sure we comply with State Statute.If something
were to happen and we couldn't get a meeting notice out, we are still governed by that document
and we can still meet if we need to. That is what that is. Put it in as a placeholder but don't take it
for Bible because the times can change,just like today. We kept it on the same day but the time
actually changed from five (5)to six (6) because there were other things going on during the day.
We do that and that is a standard practice for the Clerk's Office as we do that for the Council
Meetings and the Budget Hearings. However, you will always get a regular meeting notice before
the meeting ensues with the exact date and time.
Ms. White requested a list of the members on the Utilization Board.
Ms. Fowler stated, I don't know if members maybe lost interest because of the time between the
meetings but we had a good group here the last two (2) times we met. Everybody we had showed
UP.
Ms. White stated, I think the time change may have affected them coming. I would hope to keep
the time at five (5) moving forward, but they cannot conflict with the budget.
Ms.Fowler replied,The next three(3)meeting dates are worked around the budget. We don't have
any date in September and October because they are heavy budget months. We looked specifically
at those dates to be sure they do not conflict with the budget hearings. But you have to check that
second (2nd)notice because the budget dates change. We had two (2) changes recently.
Ms. White stated, Keeping the Board meeting times the same will develop a level of consistency
for the members to get used to. We had a very good meeting last time but there has been a large
gap in times we have met.
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Ms. White continued,I would like to give a brief overview of our last meeting which was in March
of 2018. We started out with a welcome and introduction and then did a historical overview of the
Board and Ordinance. We are aware that we need to go back and review that Ordinance and be
sure it is still in line with what we would like to see accomplished. We also want to make sure
there is continuity in the language and there is a clear understanding. Part of that amendment
process would include reviewing recommendations that came from the Board. There were six (6)
recommendations that came from the Board in 2014. We can circulate those recommendations to
the Board Members as we will begin looking at the Ordinance very shortly. We then had an update
from Christina that gave us context to the relationship between the Board and the Diversity and
Inclusion Office. We looked at the Diversity Purchasing Report, the Plan and the Diversity
Purchasing Outreach efforts as well.Under New Business we talked about the Board structure,the
roles and responsibilities, the need to look at sub-Committees but also looked at all the open
positions to be sure we fill those. We do have minutes of that meeting and we can circulate those
minutes to the Board Members so they have an update as to what was discussed.
Ms. White went on, We are now on Agenda Item three (3) which is the Review of the Common
Council/City Clerk/Diversity and Inclusion Office roles and responsibilities. One (1) goal I was
hopeful we could complete was an Action Item. We don't have a quorum,though. The Council's
role is to ensure there is continuity. The Council is involved with the Board in terms of support,
looking at the Ordinance, and to make sure the Board adheres to all Open Door Law expectations.
We also can give legal opinion by working with our Attorney Bob Palmer. It comes under the
Personnel and Finance Committee as we are the support. The Ordinance was developed by the
Council and at that time when we actually developed the Ordinance we knew we would have to
make some modifications. Up until the change of leadership with the Personnel and Finance
Committee, we were really meeting regularly and made a lot of great accomplishments. But
leadership is important as well. That is the role I see coming from the Council and a lot of it is
clearly identified in the Ordinance. I do know that this Board, according to the Ordinance,has the
responsibility to give a report to the Council and there are certain other things. If you look at the
responsibilities from the Council perspective,they are outlined in the Ordinance.
Ms. White continued, The City Clerk's responsibility at that time was to, again, I don't know if it
was clearly identified but they had a support perspective. They make sure the announcements are
posted and I want to say even the minutes. That is the City Clerk's responsibility.
Ms. Fowler stated, That piece wasn't in the Ordinance but we took it on like any other ad-hoc
committee.
Ms. White stated,They also make sure it is recorded and is part of the record for the City of South
Bend.
Ms.White continued,The Diversity and Inclusion Office is something that is new and is not clearly
identified in the Ordinance and that is one (1) area we want to make sure is. I know Christina has
made some recommendations with regard to what that relationship would look like. We will be
looking at those and will be sure everyone is on board.
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Ms. Fowler stated, That piece was laid out in the Ordinance it just was not laid out with regard to
the relationship between the Board, the Council and the Administration.
Boardmember Jas Alexander arrived at the meeting at 6:12 pm.
Council President Tim Scott arrived at the meeting at 6:13 p.m.
Ms. White opened the floor to members around the table to introduce themselves.
Jas Alexander stated,I represent labor in South Bend and throughout the State of Indiana. I am the
Indiana Political Coordinator and Diversity Trainer for labor in the area. I am from South Bend.
Tim Scott stated, I am the President of the South Bend Common Council. I am very in touch with
what is going on here.I am excited about the improvements we are going to make here. My normal
day job is being the Director,of Material Management for a tier one (1)automotive supplier that is
a certified WBE Company. It is our mission and our mission has grown over the years. We are
meeting our goals and needs that we want for minority businesses that we do business with. That
is very well promoted within the automotive industry. This is near and dear to my heart. My team
is over sixty-five percent (65%) women and has other minorities as well. We have a diverse team
and staff and if there is any way I can bring my experience and talent,which is very little compared
to Christina, I am willing to do so.
Christina Brooks stated,I am the Diversity and Inclusion Compliance Officer for the City of South
Bend. I am housed in the Mayor's Office. This is my second (2nd) year in the position. I lead the
Disparity Study right now for the City. Like Tim, I am excited to be moving forward on Diversity
Purchasing objectives.
Kareemah Fowler stated, I am the South Bend City Clerk. I have been a Board member on this
Board since its establishment in 2011 and I am excited to get it back and started again. The Board
had been inactive for a while and I am excited to work on the newer initiatives the City has going
on in terms of Diversity and Inclusion. I am a resource for you as the Clerk's Office, as well as
personally, and we are excited to have everyone on Board. We will be sure everyone gets the
minutes of last meeting as well as the roster of the members on the Board. Everyone should have
received the standard notice with all the dates and times for the meetings this ye but everyone
will also get a separate meeting notice for each meeting. That is in case there is a time change
because of other conflicts. Moving forward,we will try to keep on track with the set meeting time
that we have but keep an eye out for the notices.
Michael Schmidt stated, I am the City's Director of Purchasing. I am not a member of the Board
but am here to help provide resource and take some things going on in these meetings and start
implementing them in our purchasing. If I can answer something or research something and get
back to you, I am going to do my best with that.
Ms. Fowler stated,Purchasing is a huge role in this and I am glad you are at the table. We are glad
to have you. You sent out a breakdown of our purchases by the month. That was really good, so
thank you. That is something they are doing for each Department to utilize. We were doing
something similar on our own but having someone else do that for us is really great.
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Mr. Schmidt stated,I don't want to speak too much but the goal is for all departments to see,month
by month, but also collectively. There are opportunities to see areas to improve efficiency. We, as
a Purchasing Department, also get to look across the different Departments and see where
efficiencies can implemented.
Karen White stated, I am the Chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee. This particular Board
falls under the Personnel and Finance Committee. In 2011 1 was one (1) of the co-sponsors and
worked with our attorney and others in terms of the current Ordinance we have. I encourage the
Board to look through it again as we will be looking at it to be sure it is doing what we would like
for it to do. The previous Board had six(6)recommendations and we have Christina's, as well, so
we want to look at those with our attorney. The Council's attorney is Bob Palmer and he helps us
with all the legal types of things we are dealing with as well.
Sharon L. McBride stated, I am the third (3rd) district Common Council representative. I am also
the Director of the St. Joseph County Community Corrections DuComb Center. I am here today
to observe and support. I had someone over the years asking about minority business loans and
grants and I had encouraged her to come and listen. She was supposed to come today. So I came
to get information for her as well as support things that start here and come before Council. Being
new, I need to be more diverse in what I vote on and what I know about.
Ms. White stated, We will move to item four (4) on our agenda. In terms of election of officers,
we can't take action because we don't have a quorum. That is unfortunate because we need a Chair
and I do have a recommendation for that but I will wait until we have a quorum so that we can
take action. We need a Chair. My role will be reduced. I will always come to the meetings but I
will not be acting as Chair of this Board. We don't need a Secretary position. We also need to look
at the sub-Committees, too.
Ms. Fowler stated, The Common Council has an appointment to fill so maybe looking at doing
those interviews at the next Council Meeting, you should let me know.
Mr. Scott stated, I was away on vacation and now that I am back but I did talk to Jennifer Coffman
in the Clerk's Office. She did send out all the applications for all the Boards we have open
including this. There were three (3) applications for that last time I checked so I was going to talk
today about that process. In the past, what we've done for Council is those three (3) individuals
would come before Council and do a quick interview with each of them. Then the Council
members actually vote on who would represent the Council. We can do that next Monday. We can
look at doing that.
Ms. White stated, In terms of the appointment by the Chamber, can someone reach out to them?
Ms. Fowler replied, I can reach out to them.
Ms. White stated, At one (1) point in time, the President of the Chamber used to serve on the
Board.
Ms. Fowler replied, I can check with the Chamber but the other appointee we have to look at is
the Board of Public Works. Jitin was coming at one (1) time but he hasn't been here in a while. I
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can reach out to him and see if that is still his role or someone else in his Department. I will check
on both of those appointments.
Ms. White stated, I think the first (P5 goal is to get the Board up to full strength so that everyone
is ready to move forward. There are a lot of exciting initiatives taking place within the City and
we want to make sure we are aware of in our understanding the level of engagement needed to
support the efforts of the City.
Ms. White continued, Under New Business we have an update from Christina.
Ms. Brooks stated, I wanted to give everyone an update on the actual Disparity Study in terms of
where we are with that. We currently have the Disparity Study website up and running and it is
successful. You can either access it through a separate link or go to the new City of South Bend
website under the Mayor's Office. Diversity Inclusion is on the very bottom of that webpage and
there is a link directly to the site. That site gives and overview of the study and methodology that
is being employed to create the final recommendation report. It also allows people in the
community to submit questions that they have specifically about the study or data that is being
collected. It also provides a timeline of engagement. We had an internal meeting with City staff
and Common Council Members and then we had an informal community engagement meeting.
Ms. Fowler asked, When did you have the meeting with Common Council?
Ms. Brooks replied, That was the internal meeting. It was in the Mayor's Conference Room.
Ms. Brooks went on, So the next time that we have scheduled for Colette to come is November
2018. That will be the outreach to business owners. In order to make sure she gets honest feedback
from the business community, she has asked that no representatives from the City or Common
Council be in those meetings. She wants to hold individual one (1) on one (1) meetings and focus
groups. The closer we get to that date we will have more detailed information about where those
meetings will take place and the days she will be here. She is using the information that we
collected from the initial public meeting. Everyone that attended that initial public meeting will
receive an invitation to attend one (1) of those data collection sessions if they own a business or
they have some type of insightful information about diversity purchasing in the City. In addition
to that,she is also counting on us to provide her with an up to date list of businesses that have done
business with the City of South Bend.
Ms. Brooks continued, To be clear, she is not just interviewing minority and women business
owners. She is interviewing everyone that has done business with the City. This is an inclusive,
and hopefully a transparent, process. I hope people understand that it is not just a specific group
that she wants to talk to. She wants to talk to everyone. We have provided her a preliminary list
but the closer we get to November,we will send her an updated list of vendors that have contracted
with the City in the past, not just over the three (3) years of the study but also including 2018. So
that is the next engagement piece. Right now we are still cleaning up some of the data. There is a
master contract data file that Colette's team is using to actually conduct the availability and
utilization analysis. We are cleaning that up as there were some missing bits of information so we
are trying to make sure that contract data file is as complete as possible so that their analysis has
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validity that it needs to have for it to be legally standing. My team is trudging through about four
hundred and fifty (450) specific contracts and are getting specific information. We are now down
to verifying the paid-to-date amounts. There was some discrepancy in that in the initial file so we
are trying to get the most accurate information that we possibly can from our NaviLine System,
which is less than perfect, but we are combining that information with paper documentation to
verify. We are trying to make sure the information we are providing Colette to do this analysis is
as clean and as accurate as possible. We hope to get that to Colette within the next week or so.
Then her team will take over with all the data crunching. They will reach out to each one (1) of
the vendors listed in the contract data file to verify the information we have provided and then they
will ask them a series of questions before they actually do the analysis. All of that will be ongoing
as she comes through the City to conduct the qualitative analysis with the focus groups. She will
wrap all of that up in quarter one (1) and quarter two (2) of 2019 and then she will have a final
report and recommendation for this Board's review and the City Administration's review before
we share that with the community as a whole.
Ms. White stated, The website for the City was recently updated so I have not had a chance to look
at your website but in terms of refining the Disparity Study,I think that at least from the community
meeting you held, there is a lack of clarity as to why as well as the outcome and purpose. I don't
know if that is on your website when you talk about the Disparity Study. I know individuals are
coming with a lot of different perspectives with regard to the need for the Disparity Study and why
and then what the outcomes will be.
Ms. Brooks replied, That is actually the very first (1St) thing you would see when you go to the
website. It provides a very clear and succinct definition of what a disparity is, why we are
conducting a study here in the City of South Bend, how it is being done, what it is measuring and
what the expected outcomes will be. It is as clear as we could possibly make it. It is pretty standard
if you have a chance to look at other cities that have conducted Disparity Studies. The language is
boiler plate. If there are any questions at all, what Colette's team has been doing is, if someone
submits a question through the website that they can't answer, they forward that to me. Then I
have been providing information to those local residents. Typically, her team fields a lot of
questions.
Mr. Scott stated, The problem right now is that the new website is only in this building where you
have to have VPN connection to actually see the new website. The public is still on the old site.
Ms. Fowler stated, Regardless, we will be sure we have this link on there because there is other
stuff on for the Council that needs to be on there.
Mr. Scott stated,I hope to have a conversation about what will be needed in the budget to continue
the study. Is it going to continue being part of the Administration's budget?
Ms. Brooks replied, Yes, it will be. One (1) of the things that our consultant, Colette Holt, has
made very clear is that,in her twenty-five(25)plus years of experience and successfully defending
minority and women business programs for cities,counties,airports and states, once you complete
this Disparity Study, you have to follow through with the recommendations and you have to set
up a unit that can meet the compliance standards that we set up based on those recommendations.
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Anything short of that means we have wasted a lot of time and energy. So it is going to be
extremely important to us to make sure that we can be part of the way that we do business going
forward.
Ms. White asked, Is there any other information you would like to share, Christina, about different
programs you are doing with regard to diversity? I think a lot of those different opportunities to
discuss really impact our work as well.
Ms. Brooks stated, Yes, there are a couple of things that we have worked on collaboratively with
the Department of Engagement and Economic Empowerment and DCI. There are two (2)
programs in particular that are grant funded programs that really are going to centered on
developing minority and women construction businesses. We are working with NNN as part of
that project. There is also funding through the Community Winds Grant, now, where we will be
able to train minority and women business owners to give them the skills to redevelop housing and
things like that, right here in the community. That is part of how we are developing small
businesses here in the area.
Mr. Alexander asked, Is there discussion about developing a co-op for that purpose?
Ms. Brooks replied, There was some initial discussion but we have a lot of people making
suggestions right now and we just need to make sure we have the capacity to do everything. If
there is an opportunity for us to roll a co-op model into something we already have on the table, I
would be really interested to get more input from you on that. There are a few other things going
on right now and that might be a possibility.
Ms. Fowler stated, One (1) of the questions I have is about what we are doing to help the current
small businesses. I understand the new stuff and ideas but how are we helping support the current
small businesses?
Ms. Brooks replied, One (1)of the ways we are doing that is by creating a partnership with Project
Impact and Michiana Score. We're housing an incubator right across the street from the Charles
Martin Youth Center. So it is in the heart of the West Side community. So people with existing
businesses or if they even have a thought about creating a business, or if their business is
struggling, they now have access to mentorship through Michiana Score as well as the business
development side that Project Impact brings. They are also partnering with the North Central
Indiana Business Center though IUSB. Spark at St. Mary's College is also a part of that. Fundera
is another partnership that we have established and they have a full financial sweep of support,
they will provide, in addition to the financial mentorship they receive from Michiana Score.
Ms. Fowler stated, I'm aware of that but one (1) of the things that I would like to know is how we
are going to get that information out and connect those people. I'm aware that exists but when does
the roll out happen?Who rolls it out?How do we market that to make sure that people know about
it and we help them get going? Some of those things could already exist and I don't know how
well of a job they have done in letting people know about that.
Councilmember Sharon L. McBride left the meeting at 6:42 p.m.
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Ms. Brooks replied, So right now they are renovating the space. They want to make sure all of the
resources are in place before we make a public splash about its existence. We want to make sure
that all of our ducks are in a row so that when we open the doors, people can come right in and
receive a high level of service. So that date is pending. We are in quarter three (3) and, from what
I understand is that probably around the end of quarter three (3), we should expect an
announcement to come.
Ms. White stated, It would be helpful to get a list of all these various initiatives and put them
together so we can begin to look at what is available. That, to me, is probably the first step and
getting an overview of who they are and their mission would help us see if there are any gaps. I'm
thinking of this because even at the Council and the Administration level we have all these grants
and I'm getting them all confused. We approved one(1)on Monday and that is not the one(1)that
was awarded today and I'm getting all confused. If we put them all together and see the focus. My
concern is the impact and I want to make sure the impact isn't in just one (1) area. How do we get
the most out of the resources? How do we sustain? And what are the expectations? It's good that
we have the grants and I know someone mentioned to me that the Board of Public Works is up for
a grant.
Ms. Fowler stated, This used to be a big part of the Board of Public Works. I think the structure is
different now but purchasing, before, the whole initiative fell under the Board of Public Works
just because they have the biggest stakes. It is important.
Ms. White followed up, And then the impact of the grants as we move toward the budget hearings
not only this ye but next year as we begin to plan and evaluate the effectiveness.
Ms. Brooks stated, One (1) of the things I have tried to stress which is probably why my timeline
is maybe a little longer than others is establishing something that is going to be sustainable. We
will have a way to measure how successful the impact will be for a lot of these programs. I agree
completely that a lot of these programs and organizations have been around for a very long time
but we have never measured the benefit as we have never collected the data for the exact type of
impact they are having. We don't know how many small business owners have taken advantage
of the resources and which ones have been most effective. Those are things we have not been able
to measure and that is what I want to make sure we are doing this go around.
Ms. Fowler stated, That helps us to have information so we can support the City and any other
initiatives they are trying to do as well as members of the community that are asking. Some of this
new stuff is great but they will ask about why they haven't been working with the people already
with small businesses.
Mr. Alexander stated, As it pertains to these businesses and the opportunities in which the City
can work with them, I'm sure in the businesses we have available that we can work with them as
there might not be a vendor. Has anyone come up with or identified the businesses that need to be
developed within the community?
Ms. Fowler replied, Yes and there have been some workshops,huge workshops and initiatives put
on by the City Administration and the Board. We had one(1)when all the Department heads came
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out and identified all of their expenditures. That was majority business and minority business to
try and link them together to try and see what they can do. I don't know if we went line for line
saying things were untapped but what our Purchasing Department is doing in compiling those
month to month lists helps us identify all things that are untapped in the expenditures. The City
has done that twice. Christina has a master list and I have a master list of local small businesses
and we blast those notices out to those small businesses at those times.My list needs some updating
and Christina's is probably a lot more current. The list I initially received was given to me by the
Board of Public Works. The events were full and we need to do more of that.
Ms. Brooks stated, One (1) of the good things that have come out of the Disparity Study website
is we have gotten a lot more people that are local that were not on our radar and they have filled
out a form we have created to put them on those lists Kareemah was just talking about. We have
been updating that and we typically get two (2) to three (3) new people every week since we
launched the website. People have been reaching out asking about getting certified and we have
been taking their information and I have been meeting with them one (1) on one (1) to get an
understanding about what type of services they provide. If they are not in an industry of which the
City does business with, we still keep them on the list. Large corporations in the area are now
asking for that list and they want to know so they can partner. We wanted to make it clear to small
business owners that this isn't just being compiled for selfish reasons just to do business with the
City, but are also wanting to expand their business with other businesses.
Mr. Schmidt stated, So the Disparity Study will also tell us what we don't have, correct?
Ms. Brooks replied, That is correct. It sheds some light on the opportunities we have to have
someone local to come in and do business with the City.
Ms. White stated, I'm going to go around and ask for everyone to give their final input to this
meeting. I think you did receive some of the goals from the previous Board, the six (6) areas, and
I want you to look through those and give suggestions about that at our next meeting. We will look
at that and some other areas. We will be pooling together a sub-Committee to start looking at that
Ordinance because the last time that was really looked at was when we submitted it for adoption
in 2011.
Ms. Fowler asked, Early on, do you think Michael could look at things that may be potential
barriers for us as far as a purchasing perspective?
Mr. Schmidt replied, Yes and I'm happy to sit and have a sidebar meeting with you about that. I'll
be able to go back to my lawyer roots and look at something and ask how we can wordsmith
something to get around those potential barriers. The whole point of inclusion is to not have any
barriers. I love a document that has less rather than a document that has more because sometimes
things can be accidentally restrictive.As long as I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, I'm more than
happy to help with that.
Ms. White stated, The bottom line is we want the best Ordinance that will meet the needs of not
only the City but the citizens as well.
Ms. White then opened the floor to members of the public.
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Sunny Lu-Williams, 7250 Oakbay Drive, Noblesville, IN, stated, I am a MBE/WBE and we had
the opportunity to work in the State starting two (2)years ago through a State-funded opportunity
called the Safety-pin Project which was a focus on reducing infant mortality. We were working
directly with Community Wellness Partners. Karl Nichols of Community Wellness Partners
forwarded me this meeting invite. But I wanted to share some of our prior experiences in areas
where we can help. Techsery was started as an MBE/WBE and is certified through the Federal
Government, the State of Indiana, the State of Illinois and a dozen different cities. We have lived
the procurement vehicle in all of those areas and we could create an excellent procurement vehicle
and certification process that actually support inclusion and access rather than it being cumbersome
paperwork. Myself, I serve on the Federal Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization and
so I am in D.C. semi-annually. We just had a great procurement fair which was sponsored by the
Federal Government but also a local east coast company. They have a great governance structure
with membership tiers and incentives for a mentor/protege relationship. That is a great business
opportunity for existing SBAs to partner. Our organization has been a mentor for various other
organizations. It is time to give back and pay it forward. We have both Chicago and Indianapolis
offices. Our key areas of focus are corrections, healthcare and education. Those areas were
originally very traditional and typically when you think about MBE/WBE organizations you think
about the indirect, the easy purchasing. We started in those areas but we have since moved and
grown.
With no further business, Ms. White adjourned the MBE/WBE Utilization Board meeting at 7:07
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Q X-l4_ -1_41�_�
Karen L. White, Councilmember-At-Large
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