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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRM 07-18-75July 18 10:00 A Presidi SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 1975 M. 1200 County -City Building Officer: Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, 217 West Jefferson Blvd. President South Bend, Indiana 46601 1. ROLL CALL issioners ent Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, President Mr. John E. Chenney, Vice President Mr. Donald A. Wiggins, Secretary Mr. A. Peter Donaldson, Member Mr. Robert J. Cira, Member Legal Counsel: Mr. Kevin J. Butler News Media: Ms. Jeanne Derbeck, South Bend Tribune Reporter Mr. Dave Anderson, WNDU -TV Reporter Mr. Dan Caesar, WSBT -TV Reporter Mr. Frank Vellner, WSBT -TV Photographer Mr. Larry Ford, WSJV -TV Reporter Mr. Les Howard, WSJV -TV Photographer Others Present: Mr. Charles L. Bell, Intern with National Trust for Historic Preservation Mr. Gene Evans, Executive Secretary, South Bend Civic Planning Association Mr. Richard A. Madison, Madison Construction Co. Mr. Douglas Simpson, River Bend Plaza Office Mr. Bill E. Slabaugh, Dept. of Public Works Mr. John A. Walsh, First Bank & Trust Company LPA Staff: Mr. C. Wayne Brownell Mr. Mark S. Davis Ms. Helen S. King Mr. Louis N. Wilcox Mr. Keith P. Crighton 2. APP�OVAL OF MINUTES a. Approval of Minutes of Special Meeting of July 3, 1975, held in lieu of Regular Meeting of July 4, 1975: Motion was made for the approval of these Minutes, as mailed, by Mr. Donaldson, seconded by Mr. Wiggins and carried. - 1 - MINUTES APPROVED: July 3, 1975 2. AP AL OF MINUTES (Cont'd b. Approval of Minutes of Special Meeting held July 10, 1975, with amendment to Minutes as mailed: Change Mr. Brownell's report on Page 1'0, Paragraph 2, line 6, from: "secondary service /commercial." to: "service commercial /residential." Mr. Brownell said he had stated, "...we changed the land use on Block 6 from predominently housing to office use, to this secondary service /commercial." which should have been: "service commercial /residential." Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Donaldson and carried, for the approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting held July 10, 1975, with the amendment as noted above, to correct Mr. Brownell's statement. 3. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS MINUTES APPROVED: July 10, 1975 with amend - ment noted Mot on was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Donaldson and CLAIMS carried, to approve the claims, as submitted, and they be ordered APPROVED and allowed to be paid, totalling: $11,983.70. The claims, as authorized, are: P.E1A. R -57 ey, Butler & Simeri. g" .. Swe ney, Butler & Simeri Tra for Supply Company REDEVELOPMENT REVOLVING FUND Payroll: June 14, 1975 through June 27, 1975 City Controller of the City of South Bend Comet Car Wash Credit Bureau of South Bend Mishawaka Great Lakes Copy Supply Company Ind ana Bell Telephone Company Ind ana & Michigan Electric Company International Business Machines Corp. Jack's Conoco Service Off ce Engineers, Inc. Postmaster NAP. A -10 Swe ney, Butler & Simeri Nor hern Indiana Public Service Company - 2 - $ 154.00 Total $ 154.00 $ 1,441.92 2.68 Total 1,444.60 $ 5,044.44 693.07 9.00 4.00 275.00 669.90 27.90 582.66 91.20 176.93 37.80 Total $ 7,611.90 $ 397.00 6.17 Total 403.17 3. AP 4. AL OF CLAIMS (Cont'd BUR _AU OF HOUSING E -7 Bar any Sheet Metal & Heating $ 164.00 Sweeney, Butler & Simeri 465.50 South Bend Tribune 79:20 Total $ 708.70 RED VELOPMENT DISTRICT CAPITAL FUND es Electric Company $ 78.52 Bar Cir le Lumber, Inc. 101.81 Cir le Lumber, Inc. 89.54 D. D. Heating & Sheet Metal Company 48.00 Jac Frost Company, Inc. 6.50 Kue t Concrete, Inc. 45.31 Al promberg and Son 353.00 Total $ 722.68 RED VELOPMENT DISTRICT CAPITAL BONDS OF 1972 Fla 3s International Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Inc. Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Inc. South Bend Hardware Sou hlawn Ford Tractors & Equipment, Inc. a. ICATION Total e ::14wiif l_1 HUD letter dated July 7, 1975: This letter, over the signa- ture of Mr. Stephen J. Havens, Community Planning and Develop - ment, Indianapolis Area Office, advises of HUD concurrence in the award of Plaza Park Contract No. 3, for electrical work, to Colip Brothers Electric, Inc., in the amount of $10,932.80 for the base bid, plus Alternate B in the amount of $21,462.00, or a total contract award of $32,394.80, Project Ind. R -66. Wage Decision No. IN 75 -2028, with three modifications, is in effect for this contract. We are to contact their Equal Opportunity Division to arrange for the Preconstruction Conference for this contract. Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Donaldson and carried, to receive and place the above letter on file.(This letter was received in the mail: July 17, 1975.) =10 $ 480.00 102.53 52.70 131.32 172.10 $ 938.65 $ 11,983.70 HUD CONCUR- RENCE RE- CEIVED FOR PLAZA PARK CONTRACT NO. 3 AWARD TO: COLIP BROTHERS ELECTRIC, INC., R -66 5. OLDI BUSINESS a. Report on consideration of bid received from the St. Joseph REPORT ON River Bend Development Corporation on Disposition Parcel No. BID RECEIVED 6 -1, Project Indiana R -66: Mr. C. Wayne Brownell, Executive ON DISPOSITION Director, gave the following report: PARCEL NO. 6 -1, R -66 As you will recall, a part of this bid involves two acres for Section 8, Elderly Housing, and there were three bidders who were bidding on Section 8 housing, who wanted to use two acres of Block 6 for that pur- pose. They were the Oxford Development Corporation; Crenshaw, Gresham & Smith of Atlanta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee; and the International Construc- tors Company locally represented by Mr. Gordon Medlock. HUD official, Mr. Fritz Poffenberger, told me on the telephone that all three had successfully passed the initial processing, and would'be among those submitted to the State Budget Committee and the Area Plan Commis- sion, and they allow 35 days for this investigation and report, so that no additional information will be available until about August 20th or 22nd. He also stated that there were 7 or 8 other bids made from the South Bend area, but did not tell me who they were. This is a part of the negotiation with these bidders that Mr. Butler and I are trying to carry on, per your authorization, and indicates that we will not know until the latter part of August how Section 8 is coming out. In the meantime, we are trying to work with them on the other parts of the problem, and we are progressing. I have a tentative date arranged with Mr. Taylor and with Mr. Medlock, for this coming week, to meet with them again. Mr. Gene Evans, Executive Secretary, South Bend Civic Planning Association, said while the Commission is on this subject- - perhaps he missed something - -but "You talked about the special investigation of the Section 8 bidders, but what about the bid by the River Bend Development Corporation? Has there been any further progress ?" President Nimtz advised that Mr. Brownell just said that this is involved in those negotiations and they have been meeting with Mr. Taylor and a further meeting is sche- duled for this next week, with both Mr. Taylor and Mr. Medlock. Mr. Evans further asked, "Will the negotiations with the St. Joseph River Bend Development Corporation be delayed by HUD Section 8 bidders? Mr. Brownell advised, "I don't see how it cannot be. You can't accept the bid to use two acres for elderly housing unless you know who is going to get the bid on Section 8 from HUD, because the bid might go to some other - 4 - 5. OLDI 3 BUSINESS (Cont'd bidder in this location. We have no way of knowing that until we find out, so that might delay that part of the bid, and until then there are other parts to keep us busy." Report on damaged grating at old Post Office Building: This item DAMAGED was discussed in prior meetings May 23, 7b; June 20, 6b; July 3, GRATING, 9 -1), and the Commission in meeting of June 20th, requested a re- OLD POST port from the Board of Public Works, through Mr. Rollin Farrand, OFFICE BLDG. City Engineer, who.was present. R -66 Mr. Brownell advised we have received a copy of letter from Mr. Patrick M. McMahon, Manager, Bureau of Public Construction, dated July 10, 1975, to the Board of Public Works, which states the project engineer for the River Bend Plaza work called the Plant Engineer, Mr. Kyle, of the Post Office. Mr. Kyle suggested turn- ing the grating over, but it is rusted and the welds have broken so it should be repaired or replaced. The letter further states because this grating has been reported by Mr. Ed Soltesz as a hazard to pedestrians, "we hereby request that the Board notify Mr. Kyle, at the new Post Office, to repair or replace the grating." President Nimtz asked Mr. Bill Slabaugh, with the Department of Public Works, if he is involved in this grating? Mr. Slabaugh advised they made it so that it is safe to walk on but didn't feel the City was obliged to replace or make any beefed -up re- pairs on that particular grating. He also advised their attitude had been that we should have had it done at the time cif the side- walk construction. To the Chair's question if the General Services Administration has control over the Federal Court Building, Mr. Slabaugh advised he is pretty sure they do, "because the Plant Engineer for the new Post Office is also maintaining that building and I guess that's one and the same boss, unless the post office is renting it from a larger agency." In answer to Mr. Brownell's question if it is safe the way it is, Mr. Slabaugh replied, "It's safe, yes; it's still irregular. They actually should change or weld it." Commissioner Donaldson asked, "Has it actually been established who is responsible for that grating in the first place ?" Mr. Slabaugh was called by the Chair for his response, and Mr. Slabaugh advised, "That is what we want the Board of Public Works to establish. I asked Tom Oesterling and he said he thought it was the building owner's responsibility, and the building owner said he thought it was the Department of Redevelopment's responsibility. Actually, when you get right down to it, they are in the public way. They are encroaching in the public way with their ventilating system, but, by the same token, we sort of encroached on their property with the vent for the pool pit, for which we received their per- mission." Mr. Brownell said he believed this has been turned over to the Board of P!ub1ic Works and that they now have the responsibility to handle this to conclusion, "do they not ?" Mr. Slabaugh answered in the affirmative. - 5 - 6. NEW f a BUSINESS Revised Boundary for Plat of River Bend Addition to City of South Bend: Mr. Brownell advised we found some revisions required for the Plat and are requesting approval for the revisions and the President and Secretary authorized to execute the Plat, Project Indiana R -66. Motion for the above was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Donaldson and carried. Rehabilitation Contract No. 66, Project E -7, Bureau of Housing: Per recommendations of the E -7 Advisory Committee, Commission approval was requested to award Rehabilitation Contract No. 66, to Madison Builders, Inc., for rehabilita- tion work at 505 East Broadway Street, in bid amount of $6,494.00, subject to approval of the South Bend Common Council and Commission Legal Counsel. Mr. Brownell advised this contract was not included with the other contracts awarded in previous: Commission meeting as the taxes needed to be checked for the property. Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Chenney and carried, to award Rehabilitation Contract No. 66, to Madison Builders, Inc., for work at 505 East Broadway Street, in bid amount of $6,494.00. As this contract is over the $5,000.00 grant amount, it will also require approval of the South Bend Common Council and Commission Legal Counsel. c. Change Orders to Rehabilitation Contracts, P Bureau of Housing: Per recommendations of B ing staff, Commission approval was requested ing, in Project E -7: oject E -7, reau of Hous- for the follow- Approval was requested for Change Order No. 1 to Rehabi- litation Contract No. 38, with Area Services, Inc., at 231 East Dubail, for an increase in contract amount of $546.00, for an amended contract total of: $5,917.94, and no change in time, subject to Legal Counsel approval. Mr. Mark S. Davis, Chief Inspector, E -7 Project, in memorandum dated July 16, 1975, advised the staff re- commendation is that this change order request be approved. A total of 20 -1/2 squares of 3 -in -1 seal - down shingles is to be installed to cover the main roof, three dormers, front and rear porches complete. Rotted wood shakes around the lower three feet of the main roof are to be replaced, and metal edging is to be installed around the structure. The contract price will be in- by $546.00. PLAT OF RIVER BEND ADDITION REVISED, R -66 REHABILITATION CONTRACT NO. 66 AWARDED TO: MADISON BUILDERS, INC., E -7 CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 TO REHABILITATION CONTRACT NO. 38 APPROVED, E -7 6. NEW BUSINESS (Cont'd The above work for 20 -1/2 squares of Grade C, Gage 235, Asphalt Shingles is at a cost of: $ 1,121.00 Less the deletion of 10 squares of Grade C, Gage 235, Asphalt Shingles, originally requested in specifications: 575.00 Additional increase requested...... T- 546.00 Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Donaldson and carried, for the approval of Change Order No.1 to Rehabili- tation Contract No. 38, with Area Services, Inc., at 231 East Dubail, for an increase in contract amount of $546.00, for an amended contract total of $5,917.94, and no change in time, subject to Legal Counsel approval. 2) Approval was requested for Change Order No. l to Rehabilita- CHANGE tion Contract No. 5, with Madison Builders, Inc., for work ORDER NO. 1 changes in the specifications at '610 East Ohio Street, with TO CONTRACT no change in contract amount or contract time, subject to NO. 5 AP- Legal Counsel approval. PROVED,, E -7 Mr. Mark S. Davis, Chief Inspector for the E -7 Project, ad- vised and also noted in his memorandum of July 16, 1975, this change involves the changes in installation of two aluminum combination storm doors. When the specifications were written, the exact location for the doors was not selected. This is a transfer of the doors from one side of the house to the other. The specs had called for installing both a solid core door and an aluminum combination door on the side stairway to the second floor. In inspection and at request of the homeowner, it is not physically possible to install both of the doors due to the unusual construction of the door frame and the lack of clearance to the steps. It is suggested that one aluminum com bination be transferred to the first floor bedroom exterior door, which currently has an old wood screen door. Also the alumunum combination door to the rear porch is suggested to be transferred to the dining room exterior door which presently has an old wood screen door. Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Chenney and carried, for the approval of Change Order No. 1 to Rehabilitation Contract No. 5, with Madison Builders, Inc., for work changes specified, at 610 East Ohio Street, with no change in contract amount or contract time, subject to Legal Counsel approval. 3) Authorization was requested to reject Change Order No. 2 to CHANGE Rehabilitation Contract No. 5, with Madison Builders, Inc., for ORDER NO.2 specification change request, at 610 East Ohio Street, for an TO CONTRACT increase in contract amount of $236.00, or a total amended con- NO. 5 RE- tract of $4,917.00. JECTED, E -7 - 7 - 1 Mr. Brownell advised this work has already been done without any authorization, and the E -7 staff recommendation is that the Change Order request be disapproved. Mr. Keith P. Crighton, Director of the Bureau of Housing Program, E -7 Project, advised a section in our contract speci- fically stipulates that "prior to making any changes, the contractor is required to submit a written request as outlined in Paragraph 109B.." Mr. Mark S. Davis, Chief Inspector, E -7 Project, did not receive a request for the change order. The contractor did not comply with the provisions, and, consequently, is in violation of Section 1096 of the contract. Commissioner Wiggins said that Mr. Richard Madison should be aware of all these regulations and stipulations, as he was in- volved in these while he was in our employment prior. This looks like an education program and he agrees with the advice of our staff here that this Change Order should be denied and will so make the motion. The Chair said the motion is that this be denied. At this point, Mr. Richard A. Madison, President of Madison Builders, Inc., entered the meeting. The Chair advised him of the item being discussed and called on Mr. Madison. Commissioner Chenney's question had been, "What does Madison use for justification for the work on the roofing ?" Mr. Madison identified himself, and stated he is the owner of Madison Builders, Inc., and, "On this particular request, in the specifications, it states six squares of roofing to be in- stalled on a home at 610 East Ohio Street, and there is a total of 14 squares that goes on. Rather than incompletely roof the house after I hired a man in, I had him go in there and complete the job, as I think the precedence has been established that, in circumstances like this, that we just go on and do the work. It isn't that a precedence was established through the Agency, other than a job must be completed in accordance with the Code, and that is exactly what we had done on the installation of the roof- ing, and rather than half roof the house as it states, and in- stalling six squares, we went on and completely did the job." Commissioner Wiggins questioned the 14 squares just mentioned, and that the specifications only called for 6 squares; he com- pleted the job, and is asking for an additional two squares of shingles and three squares of rolled roofing - -for a total of 5 + 6 = 11- -what happened to the other three? The three squares of rolled roofing is there also. Mr. Madison said, "In the contract itself, if I can present the specifications to the contract, it states: '300 square foot of 90 lb. of rolled roofing and 6 squares, I guess, of the 230 gage.' Now, it could have been roughly interpreted that it needed 6 squares of roofing and total 300 of it being rolled 6. NEWI BUSINESS (Cont'd roofing, but when I looked at the job, I was hoping that every contractor had read the specifications the way'I had, seeing that it required at least six square of shingles." As to the question by Commissioner Wiggins where the 14 comes in, Mr. Madison advised, 6 + 3 = 9 plus the 5 (2 of shingles and 3 of rolled roofing), which makes a total of 14. Commissioner Wiggins said, "For a great many contractors, I could buy the idea that they weren't familiar with the procedure, but I can't buy that in your case, because you ought to know these procedures better than any other contractor out there." Mr. Madison said, "I'm familiar with the procedure, but I'm also familiar with the contractual obligations that we must maintain. When we are bidding on the jobs that we bid on the basis of the bid proposal, and when we deviate from that, that is..." Com- missioner Wiggins interrupted "You are not privileged to deviate." Mr. Madison said, "That's correct." Commissioner Wiggins stating further, "So when you deviate from that, without getting approval for the deviation, you're on your own." Commissioner Cira also said, "That's right." Commissioner Wiggins further added, "Now, if you want to donate roofing to people, I'm 100% for that. I think you are a very generous fellow, but if you want us to donate; you're going to have to ask us first." In further explanation, Mr. Madison said there is quite a delay in applying for a change order, and "after we had started the work and rather than excuse the men for a week or two, or three, waiting on the approval, I just went on and completed the work, as necessary, on the site. Commissioner Wiggins replied, "Well, the only thing I can say is.that you took the gamble and you lost." Mr. Gene Evans, Executive Secretary, South Bend Civic Planning Association, said, "Yes, but he has not lost yet. I would like to say a word to defend Mr. Madison, and he and I don't even know each other. I think from a practical standpoint, I think I would have done the same thing he did, recognizing that his image- - his reputation as a contractor -- might be defaulted a little bit if he were not to finish the job properly and then run out of the contract specified amount of material. Now, I think you and I, if we had been doing our own roof and had not purchased enough material, we would have gone out and immediately purchased the material to finish the roof. I think he is to be commended for finishing the job. Admittedly, it's a risk, but I don't think you ought to be 'batting him over the back,' but the risk and prejudging here- -you said, 'He gambled and lost. Your vote hasn't been taken, I would remind you. I appreciate the staff's recommendation here and I am probably clear off base, and from where my main concern is supposed to lie, but I do feel that in many respects he has taken the right action. Commissioner Wiggins said, "There is an obligation here on the part of any contractor- -and I say, any contractor - -to check the job and find out whether the recommendations here of our staff who put out the specs are proper or not; whether these materials 6. NEWIBUSINESS (Cont'd are, in fact, what he is going to need. You ought to be able to tell a half roof from a whole roof, I would guess. We had one here before where they didn't." Mr. Evans said he was glad Mr. Wiggins said that, and not me. Mr. Madison said when he had submitted contracts with Alternates, which was not a part of the particular specification, "it didn't help in the acceptance or rejection of bids, so it was a policy that was pre - established by the Department that we bid in ac- cordance with those specifications and any change orders that may be required be submitted after the b °ids had been accepted. In other words, I have no authority to change - -I can go out here and look at this job when it is put up for bid - -if there are 20 squares and it says 8, I can't bid 20 squares. I must bid what is on the specification." Mr. Brownell asked Mr. Madison if he is familiar with this sec- tion of the contract which says [read in its entirety]: "Except for the purpose of affording protection against any emergency endangering health, life, limb, or property, the Contractor shall make no change in the materials used or in the specified manner of constructing and /or installing the im- provements or supply additional labor, services or materials beyond that actually required for the execution of the contract unless in" pursuance of a written order from the Local Public Agency author- izing the Contractor to proceed with the change. No claim for adjustment of the Contract price will be valid unless so ordered. All requests for changes in the work to be performed must be in writing and sub - mitted to the Local Public Agency for approval and integration into the Contract." Mr. Madison said that's exactly what "I am requesting now. I re- quested the change order previous to the Commission meeting, and, therefore, there was like a week's lapse of time before the Com- mission had met, and the man had already been employed to do the work, and rather than delay the completion of that construction, I purchased the materials - -I know that that's part of the contract- - but, I did, in writing." Mr. Brownell asked where he had the extra roofing installed - -on the house or on the porches, and Mr. Madison replied, "On both- - the house and the porches." Mr. Crighton added, "The point, in question, here is the fact that Mr. Madison completed the work without Commission approval. We are not working our own homes, and this is public money that we are dealing with, and you all know that we have to be extremely careful with this - -and the point is, that Mr. Madison completed this work of his own volition, without Commission approval, and not when he submitted his request in writing, or anything. It - 10 - 6. NEWIBUSINESS (Cont'd has nothing to do with it. The point is: the work has been completed." Commissioner Wiggins said Mr. Madison has a point with timing here. "I think if you could see that you had a problem, Dick, you didn't have to start the roof. You could have let the roof as it was, until you found out whether it would be ap- proved, couldn't you ?" Mr. Madison said, "Yes, but it only required a limited amount - -on a contract percentage basis - -it was just a limited amount that we were dealing with, and, there- fore, rather than delay the completion of the contract, I went on and completed the work as it was to be completed in accordance with..." Commissioner Wiggins interrupted, "You see, what we are debating here is not principle, we are debating degree, and the principle is that you don't start it at all. Now, if it is just a little bit--is a little bit of sin a less sin than a lot of sin ?" In further defense, Mr. Madison said, "There has been - -the pre- cedence has always been, that if a roof may not specify exactly how much is to be taken care of, it has to be brought up to Code, so, therefore, that responsibility..." Commissioner Wiggins said, "This is not the argument, Dick. Had you come to this Commission and presented to us that it required more material than was in the specifications to get this job done and to do it properly, we would have been perfectly willing to listen to you; and without any question, I feel, we probably would have acceded to your request, but the problem here is that you did not come to this Commission and say, fellows, we got a problem and this is what it takes to resolve it. You resolved the problem and then you come to us after it is done, and you say, 'Hey, Guys, I had a.problem and this is what it took, and I did it, and now will you pay for itV When our regulations strictly say - -and these are the regulations that you should be aware of, because you headed this department up at one time [Director of Rehabilitation], in this respect, and it says you can't do that, nor can we approve it, and if we approve the money and our auditors say you can't do it, whose on the hook? We are! At the moment, you're on the hook, and you are asking us to take you off, but we can't take you off, without climbing up there in your place. Do you see what we are into ?" Mr. Madison said, "There has been leniency extended in matters similar to this situation, and it is just my feelings that - -even in the past - -that the Commission has allowed the continued com- pletion of the work." Commissioner Wiggins said, "We have, when we were advised before the work was done. We have not conducted any prior to. You see, it's a question of getting a cart before the horse here. If you had asked us at the right time, we could legally - -and properly - -and without much question, would have done it, but we are pretty well bound by the rules and regulations from doing it at this point." Mr. Madison stated, "I just can't see it; I think there is a moral obligation involved and also a contractual obligation in accordance with the statutes." Com- missioner Wiggins said the "contractual obligation was on your - 11 - 6. NEWIBUSINESS (Cont'd part to ask us before you did the work." Commission Legal Counsel, Mr. Kevin J. Butler, arrived in the meeting in the portion of the above conversation and President Nimtz briefed Legal Counsel, and Mr. Nimtz stated that he asked Mr. Butler, privately, -a question, and "I will ask him publicly so each Commissioner will understand what the legal status is on this thing. Mr. Butler, we were discussing a request for a change order for $236.00 for some work that was done by Madison Builders here, without prior Commission approval, and Mr. Wiggins has raised the question that if we are audited by HUD and this is run across and they disallow this payment, who's responsible for the $236.00 ?" Mr. Butler advised, "Audited by HUD, or by the State Board of Accounts - -in either event - -if it's determined that a claim was paid, which could not have been paid properly under the contract documents -- proper procedures - -the individuals who sign that claim form are responsible. Of course, all of you are bonded and the Bonding Company would, of course, have to make good on that, and then the Bonding Company has an action against the claim." President Nimtz [also an attorney] added, "That's right." Commissioner Wiggins said, "I'm sorry. You just bought the roof, but I am not going to." Mr. Madison said, "I s till can't understand--I don't see where you're sticking your neck out. I don't know what the legal ramifications are." Commissioner Wiggins responded, "You just heard it from our attorney." President Nimtz added, "I'm sorry, Mr. Madison. There is a call for the question here - -the situation is that any Commissioner who signs this claim, and if it is disallowed in the audit- - either by the State Board of Accounts or by HUD - -the Commissioners who sign the claim are responsible for that amount of money. The question has-been called for, and the motion is that this claim for $236.00 be disallowed." The motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Chenney. Four (4) "ayes" were cast in favor of the rejection of the change order, with Mr. Donaldson casting a "naye" vote. The motion was carried by four Commissioners to reject Change Order No. 2 to Rehabilitation Contract No. 5, with Madison Builders,. Inc., for specification change request at 610 East Ohio Street, for an increase in contract amount of $236.00. Mr. Madison asked, "Can I question the decision in that? Is it okay if I re -open the matter, or leave the matter open for my attorney to get involved in it ?" President Nimtz said, "You have a right to consult your attorney and have him consult Mr. Butler. Surely." Mr. Butler said this can be raised at a later time. "In other words, the matter can be brought up again." - 12 - 6. NEW1 BUSINESS (Cont'd d. Retract Petition Dated April 29, 1975: Commission authorization was requested'for the Executive Director to write a letter to the Board of Public Works to retract the Petition, dated April 29, 1975, to vacate and dedicate simultaneously, by replat, certain streets, alleys and lots as are shown on the Plat of River Bend Addition to the City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, Project Indiana R -66. Mr. Brownell advised this Petition was signed by the Commis - sioners, and approved by the Commissioners. It is dated April 29, 1975. They have since found that they would Tike to have us withdraw that Petition and file two separate Petitions: 1. To vacate: To be filed with Board of Public Works. 2. For replat: To be filed with the Area Plan Commis - sion. Motion was made by Mr. Donaldson, seconded by Mr. Wiggins and carried, to authorize the Executive Director to write the above letter. RETRACT PETITION AND RE- FILE TWO SEPARATE PETITIONS, R -66 e. Report on George & Ella Pope Case, Parcel No. 13 -8, R- 57:Project: POPE CASE President Nimtz called on Mr. Brownell to make a report con- STATUS, cerning the discussion he had with the old problem of the Pope R -57 case in meeting with the HUD officials. Mr. Brownell advised that Mrs. Fredi Schmutte and Ms. Eleanor Granger were here from the HUD Office, in Indianapolis, and we met herewith Mr. and Mrs. Pope, Messrs. Kevin J. Butler, Frank Alford and himself. The discussion was about the re- habilitation of their home in which they have funds available to them from a 312 Loan. Mr. and Mrs. Pope were informed by the HUD officials that their problem had to be handled between the Pope's and this LPA, and that HUD had no additional funds for them, and that their arrangements would have to be made entirely with this Commission. Mr. Pope is trying now to get a contractor who will do additional work on their home and when he gets the contractor, we have agreed to meet with him and his contractor, and have our inspector check the house for any work that has been done on the house that is defective, and then proceed from there. The claim Mr. Pope is making is that his loan money is not worth as much to him now as when he borrowed it, due to changes in prices and things. We told him we cannot do anything about that. Mrs. Fredi Schmutte is the former Miss Fredi Rolsky, recently married. Mr. Butler said this contract was initially started in 1970. Mr. Brownell added that the Pope's have had two contractors and has had difficulty between the contractors and himself. The HUD representatives were here to try to resolve this case that has been pending. -13 - 7. PROGRESS REPORTS a. River Bend Plaza Activity Schedule, R -66: Mr. Louis N. Wilcox, Director of the River Bend Plaza Office, advised the schedule through the end of July for the River Bend Plaza activities is in the Commissioners' packets. b. Introduction of Mr. Douglas Simpson of the River Bend Plaza Office: Mr. Wilcox officially introduced his colleague from the River Bend Plaza Office, Mr. Douglas Simpson, who is on the staff for the summer through the courtesy of the Recreation Department. Mr. Simpson has been of great assistance in the office. c. River Bend Plaza, R -66: Mr. Dan Caesar, Reporter for WSBT -TV, said that he has had the occasion to walk through the River Bend Plaza in the afternoons, and he certainly hopes that more benches will be placed on the Plaza so people can sit down. There were many people looking for a place to sit -- that were sitting on curbs or edges of the bricks where the flower boxes are--and he suggested pro- viding additional benches and perhaps some tables. This might encourage more people to come downtown. Mr. Wilcox said Dan Caesar's recommendation was not pre- arranged either. President Nimtz addressed his comment to Mr. Wilcox: "Lou, I want to say that from all the reports that I had, the 4th of July week, etc., were tremendously successful. I have heard nothing but praise. I have seen a couple of letters in the Voice of the People that were not too good, but most of the comments I have heard have been very posi- tive, and I want to congratulate you and your staff on the work that was done." President Nimtz referred to a letter in the Voice of the People, in reference to some of the prices charged by the booths, and that neither we, Plaza staff, or anyone else has any control over the prices charged, and that the booths set their own prices. Mr. Wilcox advised the licenses are issued by the City and to the best of his knowledge, there are no stipulations in there as to the prices they can charge. Mr. Caesar said in reference to this that he hadn't noticed any prices there were high there, and in talking to one of the booth owners of the ethnic foods that he quite frankly didn't make much money. Commissioner Wiggins added that on some of these complaints, that some people are a little out of date in their idea of what prices are ordinarily charged at any of these -- whether it is public or private. People don't seem to take into account the fact that it requires quite a bit of expense in providing that type of service at those locations and that expense has to be re- covered somehow. - 14 - RIVER BEND PLAZA ACTIVITY SCHEDULE, R -66 DOUGLAS SIMPSON, RIVER BEND PLAZA STAFF, R -66 RIVER BEND PLAZA, R -66 JULY 4TH FESTIVITIES 7. PROGRESS REPORTS (Cont'd Mr. Dan Caesar said his observations were that we did not have enough trash containers during the festivities to place the trash in. They were not adequate and were filled. He re- commended we consider some changes in that, and that if he were on the Commission, he certainly would encourage more of the vendor stands to be out there all the time. He suggested having vendors there who would serve ethnic foods all day throughout the week. That would being a lot of people downtown. President Nimtz said that technically, that is not under our jurisdiction or control. We could be advisory to that, but that is something that is under the Board of Public Works. Mr. Brownell said that we will have to go just the opposite, and that we are going to have to get those stands off of that block where the pavement will be dug up in that block, so the stands will have to be moved.` Mr. Wilcox said he had the opportunity about ten days ago to tour the lake front in Chicago, and he saw at least 15 or 20 vendor stands - -even on Oak Street Beach -- various parks- -and even on various rights of way in Chicago- -are doing a thriving business, which is somewhat similar to the various things we do, and that he would certainly heartedly recommend to the Redevelopment Commission that we not permanently remove the vendors -- temporarily take the street pavement out, of course, but that he would like to suggest that those vendors be given the opportunity` for other locations on the Plaza. He said he feels it is very necessary to depart in what goes on in downtown South Bend. "In my estimation, the vendors are a necessary part of the downtown South Bend area, and in the construction of the addition to the Plaza, I would certainly recommend that the thought be given to locating them in some other area of the Plaza pending completion." Commissioner Wiggins said, "to encourage people to come down, I am with you 100 %. There is a certain amount - -at least applying to children and the young -at- heart - -that remains with the idea of the hot dogs or hamburgers, or whatever, in the outdoor kind of circumstance, that can well be the deter- mining factor as to whether someone comes downtown or goes somewhere else." Mr. Brownell advised we will have a problem with the hot pretzel stand and the Photo Hut as they have to be moved and they require electrical connections which we had installed from the I &M lines. They will have to be moved out of the way because we are going to tear that pavement up where they are. Mr. Wilcox was not disagreeing he said, but "just making the observation, but I think that such stands for vendors, or what - ever you want to call them, should be included for any future plans for the Plaza. I think, as Mr. Wiggins pointed out also, Commissioners are certainly aware of the fact that the perfor- mances put on downtown have created greater business downtown for the merchants, and I personally, with 18 months of this - 15 - 7. PROGRESS REPORTS (Cont'd operation, would like to see that sort of thing elaborated, as long as it does not violate any of the other regulations." Mr. Brownell said he thought that Mr. Wilcox should be working on this problem in getting these moved. President Nimtz emphasized the point 1s the licensing of these stands and their placements is the Board of Public Works' responsi- bility. d. Notice to Proceed on recent contracts awarded: Mr. Bill Slabaugh brought up the subject of the contracts signed by the Commission for Nautilus Contruction Corporation on the dredging contract and their contract on Plaza Park, Contract No. 1; also, the contract on the sidewalk ramps for Phase II -E with Harry H. Verkler Contrac- tor, Inc., and if these contracts are ready they would like to issue a Notice to Proceed for those three contracts. Mr. Brownell advised Mr. Butler has reviewed these contracts and that this afternoon he will be working on putting these together -- everything except one item and that is with Nautilus Construction Corporation, we will have to have a change order on Plaza Park Contract No. 1-- and he plans to work on these this afternoon and will go through each contract to make sure we have all the documentation, and if everything is in order he will issue the Notice to Proceed on the contracts. Commis- sioner Wiggins requested Mr. Brownell to advise Bill Slabaugh when this is done as Bill Slabaugh said he would like to get the contractors started on this work. e. Block 6 Bid Status: Ms. Jeanne Derbeck, reporter for The South Bend Tribune, inquired as to when we could expect to have a firm acceptance or rejection of the bid on Block 6, and Mr. Kevin J. Butler, Commis- sion Legal Counsel, advised he believed we had said last week that we intend to handle this matter as expeditiously as possible, but, at the same time, we want to make sure that we cover all bases. We don't want to act precipitously. At that time, Ms. Derbeck added, it was said that there are a couple of conditions that the developer had placed on their bid that were not acceptable as conditions, and it seems as though that should be a matter that they either remove the conditions or they don't. Mr. Butler advised he thought he had indi- cated last week that those two problems that were mentioned the first week prior to that- -the last regular meeting- -had been resolved with the bidder. Question asked by Ms. Derbeck, "Since apparently some changes have been made in the bid -- conditions removed, etc. - -is it still the same bid legally ?" Mr. Butler advised, "No. Actually, again we indicated we are dealing now, we are negotiating with the two entities who have expressed interest in the property. Because the bid, as initially submitted, had those two problems, since there was only one actual bidder - -of course, the Medlock group (Interna- tional Constructors Corporation),wh.ich admittedly had expressed interest but couldn't bid because of the land -use restrictions- - we are at this point proceeding then with negotiations with these two bidders to see, in effect, if we can negotiate a redevelopment contract." - 16 - 7. PROGRESS REPORTS (Cont'd) Ms. Derbeck asked, "But is it legally the same bid ?" Simultaneously, the answer was, "No," from Messrs. Butler, Nimtz, Wiggins and Brownell. Commissioner Wiggins further added he sees her point, "No. The HUD regulations say that if you do not have an acceptable bid at that point, you can then enter into negotiations." Legal Counsel advised the State Law actually governs this. Continuing, Commissioner Wiggins said, "...and actually because of the conditions, there are no conditions allowed in bidding and because there were conditions, the bid was not accepted. In fact, all the proposals had conditions. One of the conditions that was common to all of them was that 'if they could get the HUD financing for the housing for the elderly'-- they all wanted to build the elderly there, but they all were condi- tional upon the HUD financing. We can't accept the conditions. This is one of the hang -ups we had with the Associates venture. Ms. Derbeck said she understands that, but the point she is question- ing is the legal status of the bid, "if it did not turn out to be acceptable as is ?" Mr. Brownell said, "The technical legal status of the bid is: the bid was made, we have not rejected it formally as yet; it is still before this Commission. We have indicated to you that we probably will recommend to the Commission that it be rejected on the basis that it is not an acceptable bid. But, in the meantime, we are negotiating with the princip s trying to see if there is an acceptable proposal here. We don't want to lose the pro- posal if there is one in here." In reply to Ms. Derbeck's question, Mr. Butler advised, "State law provides that after bids have been called for - -if either there are no bids received, or no acceptable bids received, then the Redevelop - ment Commission may negotiate with anybody really - -of course, in this instance, we are limiting ourselves to the two development groups who have expressed interest in the property. We have permission to negoti- ate a contract for the redevelopment property. We do not have to rebid. Commissioner Wiggins added that in the event, if we can't come to any kind of a negotiated settlement with anybody, then we might have to go through this whole procedure again, but that we hope to avoid because this is time consuming. Ms. Derbeck said she can see what we are doing now, "but that sooner or later, you will have to accept a bid." Mr. Butler advised, "No, not accept a bid, but accept a proposal to enter into a contract with a redeveloper." If any changes are needed, however, Ms. Derbeck said, "in the original specifications, then you have failed to give the other redevelopers a chance to bid who might have bid if the specifications were changed." Mr. Butler advised, "We can't change the land use. We cannot negoti- ate with the Medlock group to a point where we would enter into a contract permitting them to build a motel - -that we can't do -- because that is in violation, as you are indicating, in the land -use plan." Mr. Dan Caesar, reporter for WSBT -TV, asked, "The same holds true for the drive -in bank, right ?" Mr. Butler said', "The same holds true, right. - 17 - 8. INTRODUCTION OF SOUTHHOLD MEMBER President Nimtz introduced Mr. Charles L. Bell who is here for the SOUTHHOLD suminer as an intern from the National Trust for Historic Preservation MEMBER ass'gned to Southhold for the summer. He is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 9. NEXT COMMISSION MEETING The next Regular Meeting of the Redevelopment Commission will be at NEXT 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 1, 1975, in the Office of the Department COMMISSION of Redevelopment. MTG., 8 -1 -75 10. ADJOURNMENT Thee being no further discussion, motion was duly made by Mr. Cira ADJOURNMENT for adjournment, at 11:05 a.m. ..uy (SEAL) , txecutive =: ,•President