HomeMy WebLinkAboutSM 07-08-77SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
July 8, 977
10:00 A. M.
Presidin Officer: F. Jay Nimtz, President
1. ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present
Legal Co nsel
News Media
Guests
Community Development Staff
LPA Staff]
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
21200 County -City Building
217 West Jefferson Boulevard
South Bend, Indiana 46601
Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, President
Mr. Donald Wiggins, Vice President
Mr. Lloyd E. Robinson, Sr., Member
Mr. Kevin J. Butler
Ms. Jeanne Derbeck, Tribune Reporter
Mr. Dan Caesar, WSBT -TV Reporter
Mr. Isaiah Cook, WSBT -TV Photographer
Mr. Kenneth D. Fikes, F &F Electric
Mr. William Howell, Howell Electric
Mrs. Janet Allen
Mr. Keith Crighton
Mr. Ken Schaller
Mr. Carl Ellison
Mr. C. Wayne Brownell
Mr. Marc Brammer
Ms. Christine L. Trippel
Mrs. Jane A. Zimmerman
0 Motion by Mr. Wiggins and seconded by Mr. Robinson and carried,
t e Minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 17, 1977 were approved
a mailed.
3. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS
0 Motion by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Robinson and carried,
t e claims in the amount of $41,950.89 were approved as submitted
a d were allowed and ordered to be paid.
Lhst of claims approved this date is as follows:
1
3. AePROVAL OF CLAIMS (CONT'D
PkOJECT EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT INDIANA R -66
Kevin J. Butler
$ 745.55
Edward A. Chapleau
40.00
0 Neal Trucking Company, Inc.
1,439.90
Redevelopment Revolving Fund
12,139.72
R tschard Brothers, Inc.
23,808.96
TOTAL
$38,174.13
R17-DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT CAPITAL
Edward A. Chapleau
$ 160.00
C rly's Sales and Service
141.35
TOTAL
$ 301.35
R:-DEVELOPMENT REVOLVING FUND
P yroll: 6 -4 -77 thru 6 -17 -77
$ 2,374.14
D )rothy Z. Deanne - Petty Cash
83.80
I diana Bell Telephone Company
605.53
P stmaster
10.27
A oco Oil Company
101.67
TOTAL $ 3,175.41
3L2 LOAN
Hubert L. Weaver $ 300.00
TOTAL $ 300.00
GRAND TOTAL 41,950.89
4. CQMMUNICATIONS
a Letter from HUD area office dated June 20, 1977 RE: Execution
oF disposal documents for Parcel 6 -1, E & F, Indiana R -66.
all
(1) HUD area office letter, dated June 13, 1977,
RE- Indiana R -66, Disposition Parcel 6 -1
(2) HUD area office letter, dated June 2, 1977,
RE: Indiana R -66, Disposition Parcel 6 -1
Letter signed by Steven J. Havens of the HUD area office,
ted June 24. 1977. RE: subparcels E & F of Disposition Parcel 6 -1.
Mr. Brownell said, "Actually, these letters are all tied in together.
I should explain that Mr. Butler has called on the attorney for
tie St. Joseph River Bend Development Corporation to have a
statement prepared under oath by one of their officers and we
2
4. COMMUNICATIONS (CONT'D)
already have a copy of the CPA audit report."
Mr. Nimtz: "I have seen something where it showed the cost
a location ...
M-. Brownell: "That's right, we have a certification by the
CIA who audited their expenses in connection with this so that
t ere should ...
M-. Nimtz: "Well, that will suffice if they get a CPA to sign it...."
M . Brownell: "Well, they want the statement that you are getting
through their attorney I believe.
M-. Butler: "Yes, that's right."
M% Brownell: "So that will clear the matter up."
M% Nimtz: "This is all academics."
M-. Brownell: "It's all red tape but it's all a matter of one side
of HUD not knowing what the other side was doing."
M-. Robinson: "I move the director be authorized to comply and that
fie whole bit be placed on file." Mr. Wiggins supported, all agreed
in favor of the motion which was carried.
Mr. Nimtz: "Just who prepared the statement that I saw, it had
a reakdown of everything..."
Mr-. Brownell: "It was by the CPA firm that was hired. We
r quired it in our regulations. Now the difficulty is
tat Mr. O'Malley had these people all cleared in Washington and
I said to him, 'Mr. O'Malley, that's fine but I have to have
s mething in our file because I have to satisfy the other side
of HUD.' So he sent me a copy of his letter stating that they
ware approved. I put it in our file and then when the other side
q estioned it I sent Mrs. Schmidt a copy of that letter signed by
O'Malley. I'll just get this other statement and send it to
Jacqueline Schmidt and that should cover it.
M . Nimtz: "I don't know whether Don and Robbie have seen that,
i 's just a one page statement showing a breakdown of the costs..."
Mr. Brownell: "It showed the costs were in excess of $10,000 on
Parcel F and in excess of $3,500 on Parcel E. Of course, on E
t ey went into their co- developer agreement in order to control the use
of that parking area and their agreement was not to collect
o er $10,000 over and above a sales price on F and their costs
ware certified by the CPA as being in excess of $10,000 so we
t ink we have all the evidence as does Jacqueline Schmidt. As
son as we get the statement we will send it down.
3
5. OLp BUSINESS
N
a. Elimination of Labor Standards Provision, Rehabilitation
Contracts, report by Keith Crighton; tabled for further study
in Commission Meetings of May 6 in—dMay 20, 1977; until
,lulu 8. 1977: for full consideration by the membership of the
ssion.
Mr. Nimtz: "I see again we have reoccuring the Labor Standards
P ovision and again we don't have a full commission. Every
time we have had this up we have had only three people present.
Keith, is there anything new on this thing or not, I'm about
t direct this be put over again until we get the full commission
h re...."
. Crighton: "No sir, that's fine."
M Nimtz
: "Alright, the chair will direct that this be put
t o the agenda for the July 22 meeting.
NSW BUSINESS
a Request for C
a_ ard, subject to
lal counsel review:
mission approval of bids for contract
outh Bend Common Council approval and
C
ntract
Set
3/10
R.A. Stickler
$ 8,757.00
C
ntract
Set
3/10
F &F Electric Company
$10,856.20
C
ntract
Set
3/10
P1aia Construction
$54,971.00
4. Brownell: "R.A. Stickler you will find in your packet
attached—this is the plumbing..."
4. Nimtz: "Alright, let's take these one by one because
M Howell is here concerning...
Mr. Brownell: "B &B Plumbing bid $13,275.90; Bob Frame Plumbing
and Heating bid $14,667.50; Sid's Plumbing and Heating Company
did not make a bid; and R.A. Stickler bid $8,757.00 according
to the bid tabulation report. They are asking the Commission
t approve the acceptance of the R.A. Stickler bid at $8,757.00
s bject to the approval of the South Bend Common Council and
1 qal counsel review.
M . Robinson: "My question is this ... is this a block bid, in
other words this is for more than one residence?
MI. Crighton: "Yes it is. 14 houses."
Mr. Robinson: "I would make a motion that the bid be accepted."
. Wiggins: "I'll support that."
4
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a. (Cont'd)
Mr. Nimtz: "Moved that the bid of R.A. Stickler be approved. Any
further discussions? Any comments from the floor ?" All were in
favor and the motion carried.
Jeanne Derbeck: "Could we ask what neighborhood these houses are in ?"
Mr. Cri hton: "These are in the southeast and southwest project area.
T is is the first set we have bid in this manner -- bulk bidding.
WR are trying to save a little money."
M,. Brownell: "The next contract is the F &F Electric Company bid
of 10,856.20. They're asking the commission to approve this
bid, again subject to South Bend Common Council approval and
1 gal council review. This is for electric work and this is
tie matter in which Mr. Howell is here to address the commission.
Tie bids are listed in the bid tabulation sheet as Joe Kocsis
E ectric Company $10,945.50; B.W. Electric Company $5,550.00;
S uth Bend Electric Company - no bid received; Electric Construction
C mpany no bid received; Howell Electric Company $12,670.00; Barnes
E ectric $14,337.00; and F &F Electric Company $10,856.20."
Mt. Wiggins: "Apparently according to the tabulation sheet,
B W. Electric Company was the low bidder.
Mt. Brownell: "Well, they only bid on part of the houses. Their
b d is not really..."
M�. Wiggins: "Then that's not an acceptable bid."
M-. Nimtz: "Mr. Howell came to see me about this and said he
hid seen I believe Keith Crighton and Mr. Butler concerning
tie thing and there is some question as to whether all of
tie bid documents or the bid was complete at the time of the
a ceptance of bids and closing of bids. So, Mr. Howell,
3t e chair will recognize you if you would like to address the
c mmission concerning this situation as to what happened."
lir,,
h
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i
I
h
T
s
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1. Howell: "I'm not so much concerned about stopping this bid
•om going on so much as for in the future cause there's more
)uses to be bid on and we (Howell Electric) want to know what
)ur guidelines are. The newspaper spells out what must go
i at the time of the bidding. And the bid book tells what must
in at the time of the bidding. I've lost several jobs
!cause of one piece of paper. I've lost a very good job because
could not get back in town in twenty minutes for a bid. And I
ive lost money to the City because I did not get a bid in in time.
iey took $50.00 from me. Now I want to know if these documents
?an anything. The attorney tells me that the only thing they
?ed at the time of bidding is a figure. Now if this was a
?aled bid, Joe Kocsis had no paperwork, didn't have a figure, I
ty for my secretarial work but they stopped bidding to go outdoors
5
6. NSW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a� ( Cont'd)
M-. Howell (cont'd): ... "give it to the Redevelopment secretary
t figure his bid for him and come back with a figure. Most
i regular. B.W. bid on part of the houses. I say if they are
1)w on their bidding they should get the bid -- if any irregu-
1 iri ties are going on, then it wouldn't matter. South Bend...
tie next two didn't bid. I had a bid bond which I worked hard on.
I got my bid bond after two o'clock from my agent because he
c uld not get in touch with the company but he called me up I
r n like hell out there where he had the paperwork ready and I
g t back here at twenty minutes to three. Got a parking ticket
t o for it mind you ... to come in with my bid bond. If I
h dn't had a bid bond I'd have walked up here as I've done
m ny times, laid my papers down and picked up my deposit and
w lked because my bid would not have been accepted, as in the
p st. There was only one person, and that was B.W. who had a
bid bond and his paper work but he did not bid on all the
h uses. Barnes Electric had no paper work but you went out
aid figured out his bid for him and it came to $14,000 and
s me I guess. That's what the secretary came up with. F &F
hid no paper work or some but had an unsigned personal check.
After the bidding was over you permited the contractor to go
d wnstairs to get a certified check. Well, it's only a minor
t ing. The book says that it is supposed to be in the package.
N excuses for elevators, no telephone calls, and what have
y u - -- bidding is very serious. Just by misplacing a decimal
p int I may have lost Notre Dame Library on a joint venture.
T ey would not even permit us to move the decimal point over
w ich put us $240,000 over the bid. At least it had been in
tie ball park and it looked reasonable, whether we got the job
o not. Now that's how bid's are. If you are going to change
tie system, put it in the documents. There's no need ... this
c sts lots of money, secretarial work that I pay for and that
other people are supposed to pay for. I can't see what the
h ll good is a non- collusion form to sign it after the contract
i let, or other bid documents that's in there that only takes
a signature and a notary public stamp. What good is a notary
p blic after you have got the bid?
M�. Nimtz: "Mr. Howell...
Mt. Howell: "That's the only thing ... it's not because of who
g t the bid or anything like that, the only thing we want is fair."
M,. Nimtz: "Mr. Howell, as I understand your appearance is that
y u would like to have a definite understanding or ruling by
tie commission as to how the bidding should be handled in the
f ture as to when the hour of bidding has arrived, that all
d currents must be in place and in order rather than allowing
s bstitution or extending of figures, is that the basis of
Y ur presence this morning ?"
0
6. N17W BUSINESS (CONT'D)
o (Cont'd)
Mr. Howell: "Yes, there is a contract in the paper now up for
bids—two weeks ago Friday ... what do I want to pick them
up for and spin my wheels around here if I know I could walk
ip here with just a figure and hear them say, 'I'm sorry, your
b d's thrown out because you don't have a bond, or your bid's
thrown out becuase your bidder's certification form is missing..."
Mr. Nimtz: "Well, let me get some response here now. Who would
1 ke to respond first?
Mr. Howell: "I think it should be read out as to what the bid
conditions are and if they (the conditions) weren't in there
if you delete one (a contractor) delete another.
Jeanne Derbeck: "Are you saying Mr. Howell, that you have
been treated less fairly ?"
Mr. Howell: "Well I most definitely am."
Jeanne Derbeck: "...that they don't exact all these things
from others but from you they do, and don't make others follow
the regulations ?"
Mr. Howell: "I don't follow you—that they are singling me
out? Oh no, no, no, no..."
Jeanne Derbeck: "Are you saying that some people get by without..."
Mr. Nimtz: "I think what Mr. Howell is saying ... I spent some
time with Mr. Howell yesterday and what he feels is that the
procedures are rather loose here... by the people who open the
bids. Of course he has also referred to some other jobs that
he has lost, which we don't have any jurisdiction over like
the Notre Dame Library, and so on, but what he is saying is
that other organizations and entrepreneuers are very strict
in not allowing any changes once the hour has arrived for the
opening of bids and bids being closed and no changes are allowed,
s bstitutions or additions thereto. But here, apparently whoever
has been handling the opening of bids and the tabulation has
not been too stringent in regard to extension of figures and
a lowing checks to be brought in. Isn't that what you are
saying Mr. Howell ?"
Mtn. Howell: "It says a bid bond, certified check, or negotiable
notes. . . "
Mr. Nimtz: "He is not saying that he was singled out he is just
saying that the procedure is rather loose. Keith, I will call on you.
Mr. Cri hton: "I can th ink of no instance in the past two and a
half years where we have thrown a bid out because their bidder
certification form was not complete or not notorized or 96A form
7
6. NSW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a� (Cont'd)
M Cri hton (Cont'd): "...was incomplete or not notorized,
w have, I agree, a more flexible bidding procedure than I
mist say the other instances that Mr. Howell has brought up.
H wever, we do not have an attorney sit in on our bid openings.
All we do is merely open the bids, read the documents and do
n t make a determination at that time as to who is the low
bidder or best bidder or whether or not the bids are complete.
T is is a specific instance, all the bids were opened, but
b cause of a number of discrepencies in the bidding procedure,
aid misconceptions on the part of the contractor we took all
tie bid documents over to Mr. Butler and discussed the matter
with him and at this point I'll refer to Mr. Butler.
M-. Nimtz: "So we are very clear in regard to F &F's bond,
w at was the status of that ?"
. Crighton: "As soon as the bids were opened Mr. Fikes, the
ner of FT went to.his bank and got a cashier's check. There
s some misunderstanding as to what type of check..."
. Nimtz: "He had a personal check of something, not a cashier's
eck...what do you require? ...a cashier's check ?"
. Crighton: "A certified check or a cashier's check."
. Nimtz: "Mr. Butler I guess you are next."
Mr. Butler: "Basically, not basically, absolutely, the responsi-
bility for that decision was mine. I ... because Keith indicated
a ter the bids were received, I think early the following week,
at there was some question, Keith, Ken and I had conversations
and I asked Ken Shaller to bring the documents over so we could
go through the various documents submitted by the bidders on
the electrical aspect of the 14 houses. As we started going
through the documents I suggested to Ken that we start with
the low bidder first and move forward to the next lowest bidder
if we had a problem...if there were errors in the bidding that
were fatal. The error with B.W. as pointed out was that they
did not bid on all fourteen of the houses. I determined that
that was a fatal error. The next in line was F &F Electric.
The two discrepancies or problems with that bid were number one,
the check that has been referred to and second, the standard
questionnaire that had not been submitted with the bid documents.
It was my determination that the way the check was handled was
appropriate in this case ... we have pointed out that we are
not as stringent on these re- habilitation bids. By statute
w are not required to have bid bonds but that is something
t at has been a policy decision in order to protect basically
tie home owner... that we have the bid bond and the performance
b nd with these contracts. This was the first time that we
hive permitted something other than a bond as a bid bond.
P for to this a bond was the only acceptable form of security.
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a� (Cont'd)
Mr. Butler (Cont'd): . "In this case we did permit, in addition
to cashier or certified checks, we also are permitting letters
o credit if bidders can obtain those as well as the traditional
bid bond. So because this was the first bid it is understandable
that there is confusion or that there can be confusion with
respect to this because of the first time we were also opening
up the bids to subcontractors on a group of homes ... most of
these people not having bid before or being used to any of
our bid procedures and primarily because that particular matter
with respect to the check was handled within a half of an hour
to forty -five minutes, Mr. Fikes, is it, was back within that
half of an hour or forty -five minutes and I determined that
wits not a fatal error and the bid could and should be recommended
awarded to F &F Electric with respect that the standard questionnaire...
it had been our practice through the years and is a practice of
some other agencies...that the standard questionnaire if it is
not submitted with the bid form, a bidder should be informed of
that and that it should be explained..."
Mr. Nimtz: "What questions are on this form Kevin ?"
I M . Butler: "Basically, the type of equipment that the person has,
t e idea being whether the individual company is equipped to
h ndle the work.
M�. Nimtz: "Mr. Howell, would you like to respond ?"
M-. Howell: "Mr. Crighton says that as soon as the bid was opened
t at they were permitted to go and pick up the check. The bid
m eting was over about three - thirty. After that, after everyone
1 ft the room, they went out to seek this check, not when it
w s opened. Now to show you that I was trying to do the thing that
i right, I had a little confusion whether I should use the
c pies in the black book, because all of what had to be for the
b d to be accepted was not in the yellow folder.
M% Robinson: "What was in the black book Mr. Howell ?"
M% Howell: "If you can hand it to me I can show you."
M% Robinson: "The contract ?"
M% Butler: "I don't know if this is the same contract Mr. Howell,
'Fit it does have..."
M% Howell: "No, I mean the contract documents, anyway on a
S turday morning, which I hated to do, I called Mr. Crighton
at his house. My secretary and I both talked to him on the
p one and asked him concerning the sheets in the black book.
S ould we remove them and use the black book, because the black
b ok is a part of your ten dollar deposit. The others, I made
a copy of those in the yellow folder, and made a booklet form to
s nd them in with the bid. He went through and explained what
was in the black book, as to what was to be submitted, and to
V1
6. NIfW BUSINESS (CONT'D
al. (Copt' d )
Mr. Howell ( cont'd): ... "leave them in the black book, not
t take them out. So we took them out made copies and inserted
tie sheets back in order the way they were. Now we went
t rough this trouble on a Saturday, that was the Monday
b fore the bids. Even without a bond, we were still hoping
w could get a bond, he ,explained thoroughly what had to be
d ne with the black book and the sheets. After the bid was
o er and I spoke to him, I don't know whether it was that night
o the next morning, but I came up there and he said it wasn't
necessary, those sheets were minute... he said they have to be
ii at least after we award the contract ... we want them signed.
Wall, what the heck did he take his time Saturday morning to
h 1p explain to me so I'could get in there and make my bid
1 gal on the following Monday because I figured I might not
have time on Monday. Since I wasn't able to get a clarification
o the bidding procedure from him at the office I called him
a his residence, never done it before, and as they read it
o t I was the only one who had all the forms... the 96 and 96A
f rm, (looking through the black book) I see one here, very,
v ry lengthy, and it takes a lot of time to put them together.
S e, whoever submitted this one here submitted it here in the
black book. These copies were also in some in the yellow folder.
Aid I had to get permission to write in the black book..."
M-. Butler: "I think at this point so that we have the complete
contract document, the forms are compiled and placed in the
black folder after the bids have been awarded and prior to
execution of the contract. But that is..."
Mr-. Howell: "Maybe Mr. Crighton has a misunderstanding of that
bit anyway, .the main thing is that I called him because I wanted
t make sure that I was proper this time and not let out on a
small technicality, as I was on the South Bend ball park lighting
w ich I was $200.00 low bid but there was one sheet, the bidders
q alification form not in there, the original, there were copies
i all of them, but the original one disappeared and I lost the
j b, but I didn't cry about it, I came back got my deposit
a d walked.
*. Nimtz: "Keith, would you like to respond ?"
M-. Crighton: "Well, I really don't want to disagree with Mr.
Howell and I really don't want to get into an argument, but
ff I'm not mistaken when Mr. Howell called me on Saturday he
asked me quite simply what he needed to have for his bid on
Monday, and I told him which documents he had to have in order
t have a bid. And I still think I am right in what I told
h -m in order to have a'legal bid, that he had to have all the
d currents filled out which he brought in and so did the other
c ntractors."
Howell: "At the time of bidding, Mr. Crighton ?"
M . Crighton: "You didn't say time of bidding, you asked for
a legal bid."
10
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a� (Cont'd)
. Howell: "Well, isn't a legal bid at the time of bidding ?"
M�. Robinson: "May I expound on this...
Mr. Howell: "And one other thing, just to clarify Mr. Butler,
these contractors that you say are new, Barnes Electric was
an electric corporation in this country while you were in the
Virgin Islands ... not Joe Kocsis, F &F might be the newest one
here... I have been in here since 1969, I mean 1959 and I have
s bmitted many a bid not only for the Redevelopment but for
m ny other things and I.know how the bidding goes...there's
n one here that just came in last night.
M% Butler: "No, my point was that this was the first time
tie individual subcontractors were bidding on the rehabilitation,
r development, community development /rehabilitation contracts
aid I think that the various agencies do handle their bidding
ii different ways."
M . Howell: "There's no.real excuse, if in doubt you get on
t e phone like I did. I called Mr. Crighton."
*. Nimtz: "Mr. Robinson wants to respond here."
M,. Robinson: "Mr. Howell, I don't disagree with your basic
pints. And I agree, when you play a ball game everyone should
p ay with the same rules. This redevelopment business that
we have been in we have been trying everything under the sun
to try to get more employers interested in bidding on this
t pe of construction, but because of the involvement of the
F deral government and all of these forms that you are talking
a )out and we know that they have to be filled out, this
discourages a lot of people. We have had to make various
c anges on this Board of other requirements we have had in the
past, such as before they had to, when we put bids out on a
b ock basis such as this manner, they had to get a performance
bond for the total project. It was cost prohibitive for the
smaller type contractors so then we allowed at the last minute
one of the employers to put up a cash bond so to speak for the
h use he was working on and then transfer it from house to house.
I am really overjoyed with the number of contractors that bid
this block. This is an innovation that we have started again
and I hope it certainly continues. If you in the future, if
something happens and you don't get all your papers in and someone
t ys to deny you from getting a contract I would hope that you
w uld be here screaming on both your feet or doing headstands
o whatever because I do feel that because we have to be a
little more flexible, we are trying to get all the employers
ii town interested, that we can and not less, you come to this
a d I'll come to your side to help support you if you are
s reaming because you didn't have something in and they denied
Y ur bid."
11
6. N---W BUSINESS (CONT'D)
a (Cont'd)
Mr. Howell: "What you say is all fine except one thing, you'd
like to go out and do a little two bit job like rewire twelve
or, thirteen houses without a fight all the time. I could
be working now not sitting up here. Complain, complain,
complain, get the ball game rules made out before the game
aid before we finish the game. I don't cry because if I
g to the race track and bet two dollars on a horse; the horse
1 ses...I tear up my scratch sheet and look for another one
bit I don't want to know that you are going to change the
riles of the race when the horse turns the first bend, you see,
b cause I'm not going to bet any more, and what I'm talking
a out here is that you change the rules of the race before
t e race has started
M-. Nimtz: "I think Mr. Howell has got a point and I agree
with Robbie that we are trying to get everyone to bid on
t ese things,Kevin, I think we need to review this thing and
i sue some guidelines of some sort ... you know, informal as
t ey may be. This is a difficult thing to do I know, but one
t ing Mr. Howell made clear to me is that—you get your bond
o t of Chicago right ?"
M% Howell: "I don't know where the bonds come from. I have
ai agency here, Robert Laven, who is very good. He was
vary upset about it after he hear about it.
Mr,. Nimtz: "What you have to do is go over.a lot of hurdles
t satisfy the bonding company that you are all right and
t en you have to go over the hurdles at the bidding procedure
w ich is a second time..."
Mr. Robinson: "Since I have to deal on my day to day basis
with these bonds, to me when they have a certified check that
i3 better than any bond that you can write, because if you
have to cash in a bond you have to fight with the insurance
c mpany while he is trying to lean on his client to pay before
t ey have to pay so I'd much rather have a cash bond than just
a plain 'ole bond."
Mr. Howell: "YOU have to deal with the bonding company—the
b nding company spends a lot of money preparing this, there's
n t the money in it for him. But it may come up to a high
rise building and if you think the contractor can go in there
aid put up a $300,000 certified check ... if I had three hundred
t ousand in cash I wouldn't be fooling around here... I'd go
b ck to the Virgin Islands with him!"
Nimtz: "Well, lets resolve this thing. I think Mr. Howell's
►int is well taken, what you are asking is to get some definite
iderstanding of the rules - -- you are not really complaining
iat we have awarded the contract to F & F... alright..., Oh,
ccuse me Janet...."
12
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
a� (Cont'd)
Janet Allen: "I
am thoroughly confused on this because it's
like Mr. Howell
said, if they are
going to have all these
regulations and
then Mr. Crighton,
with I don't know who, and
apparently you
don't either, opens
the bids, why don't you
seal them. Why
all this business
of regulations when you don't
k ow who opens
them.
The same
Mi. Nimtz: "There is no dispute as to the figure amount but if
y u attend a meeting of the Public Works and Safety..."
Janet Allen: "That's my whole point..."
Mr.
Nimtz: "...which is very strict,
the envelope is opened
by
the city
attorney, I don't know
who does it now, reads
what
the bid
is, the non - collusion
statement, the bond, etc.
bang,
bang,
bang ... if one of those
is missing, that rules it
out.
The same
way with the School
Board..."
J4net Allen: "The same should be here when you are dealing..."
Mr. Nimtz: "Robbie's point is that Mr. Howell is fortunate to
have a secretary, some of these people don't have a lot of
help and in order to get people interested in these things
atid get them bidding the rules have been somewhat relaxed,
not in the figure amounts, but in regards to these other
d cuments being submitted ... Am I stating this correctly ?"
Janet Allen: "Why require them at all ?"
M�. Nimtz: "Because the government wants them..."
M�. Robinson: "Because you have to require them."
Mr. Butler: "No, in this case the point that I was making was
the bids that are made to the Board of Works, the bids that
are submitted to the County are reviewed, because those re-
quirements are statutory requirements. We have imposed our
own requirements because of the experience we have had in
s me of the other rehabilitation projects... Specifically, the
b d bond and the performance bond. We were running into the
s tuation for example, R -57 LaSalle Park..."
M . Robinson: "Yes, this has been greatly liberalized visa vie
the other types..."
M% Butler: "But we have imposed our own requirements, for
e ample the bid bond, the performance bonds, the standard
q estionnaire, non - collusion affidavit and so forth."
M% Wiggins: "May I ask a question? Would it be possible to
pit this in a narrative form and provide it to the contractors
with their bid documents they receive in the beginning, with
13
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
al. (Cont'd)
Mr. Wiggins (Cont'd): "...the invitation to bid the contractor
c mes up and picks up a set of papers, isn't that the way it
o erates? Would it be possible to put something about the
a tual procedure in a narrative form that would detail some
of these things because this is different from what he might
hive to do in other circumstances and I thoroughly agree with
M-. Howell that he ought to know, they all ought to know
e actly what is expected of them so that they can be in the
same relative position. I don't know what the legal advertising
r quirements are in these instances, I assume these..."
M�. Butler: "We are required to advertise."
Mr. Wiggins: "In addition to the advertising is there an
i vitation extended to various contractors who are on your
list ?"
Mr. Cri hton: "We mail out about forty or fourty -five copies
of the invitation to bid to contractors everytime we give a
s t out.
Mr. Wiggins: "Alright, I would assume that anyone that picks
u a set of forms ought to be advised of exactly..."
. Howell: "It was in the letter..I received one of those letters.
erything was in the letter down to the very last sheet of
at had to be in your bid package.
Mr. Robinson: "If this Board had the luxury like the other
e tities of government whereby we had an over abundance of
employers bidding any type job they submitted I am sure that
o r requirements would be much more rigid too, but since we
haven't enjoyed that luxury... at least since I have been on
tie board—and from the conversations that I have had with
s me of the board members of the previouse history, we have
had one heck of a time getting people interested in this
t pe of job to bid them. So this is why we are so much more
flexible than the other entities of government Mr. Howell, but
I agree with you that there ought to be the same rule applied
4r everyone."
M Nimtz: "Keving, would you take down a suggestion here and
s e what you can come up with. Can we leave it that way and..."
w
a
1. Butler: "For example, the bid itself cannot be tampered
ith, it has to be signed, the non- collusion...we have taken
position that that has to be completed."
14
6. NIfW BUSINESS (CONT'D)
al. (Cont'd)
Mr. Wiggins: "Well, I don't quarrel with this, but I think
everyone needs to be told the way it is, and everyone know how
it is so that everyone is operating on the same basis and the
same ball park. I can't quarrel with that a bit, everyone should
play the same game with the same rules. You can't have one
rile for one and another for another one. And everyone ought
t3 know what the rules are because the biggest problem seems
t be that there is a communication gap here that we need
t respond to. This is one of the reasons that we are in this
p sition. That the Redevelopment Commission has a degree of
s pervision over this sort of thing. This is basically
a out where it is at because the bidding itself and the work
itself is being done by the Housing Bureau under the Community
D velopment which is entirely apart from us. Our role
h re is to simply do what we are doing here this morning.
I -am certainly glad you came. I can recall the time not too
l ng ago when we were having this sort of thing and we were
1 cky to have one bidder. We had some jobs posted where
n body bid and we had to put them back up again. We had
cases where we had one bidder. And then we had a problem
oF what do you do when the one bidder comes in over your own
e timates...the bid is the only one you can get. The longer
y u go the worse it gets because inflation runs against these
t ings. Even your estimates are higher and we are fortunate
t have a number of bidders and I don't want anything to happen
t at will discourage people from bidding. I want you to be
e ger and willing to bid on the next batch."
Mir. Nimtz: "Mrs. Allen ?"
Janet Allen: "I have one more question. You said that this
project rounds out to about a total of $80,000 for 14 houses,
how do you break that down and get the Council's approval
for anything over $8,000 ?"
Mr. Cri hton: "It is any contract that exceeds $5,000 that is
s bject to Council approval. These contracts will be presented
t the Council in the same format presented to the Redevelopment
C mmission...only in resolution form."
J net Allen: "Well, the idea is that anything over five thousand
h s to be approved, and you have a limit of eight."
Criqhton: "The ordinance states that contracts that exceed.
Jlanet Allen: "In other words one of these houses could cost $20,000."
Mr. Crighton: "No. The rules still apply. It is the difference
between the Common Council that it does not monitor the grant
amount received by an individual, they monitor the actual contract
amount for construction. It is our responsibility to see that no
individual house exceeds the $9,000 limit."
15
6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT'D)
a (Cont'd)
Janet Allen: "And you can break that down to see that none
of the 14 houses..."
Mr. Crighton: "Yes."
Jeanne Derbeck: "In other words then you could go up to the
,000 limit on a house ?"
M-. Crighton: "We could, but we won't. In this new procedure
we are saving anywhere from 12 and 18 percent on our contracts,
a tually we are getting a lower cost for rehab by going directly
to the subcontractor instead of using a general contractor."
Mr. Nimtz: "They (Housing Bureau) are actually being the general
contractor in this thing."
Jeanne Derbeck: "I see that, but still I thought that the $5,000
1 mit to some extent was a guard against putting too much money
into a house that was not worth it."
Mr. Wiggins: "Part of this understand, was established back
when they were all done on individual houses."
Jeanne Derbeck: "But still why should we put more money into a
house than it's worth..."
M . Wiggins: "Well I'm sure..."
M . Crighton: "Who is to determine that ?"
Jeanne Derbeck: "...Well, I think there's a point where..."
Mr. Crighton_: "Who is to determine how much a house is worth. To
a home owner a house may be invaluable if they can't find another
property."
Jeanne Derbeck: "But if it isn't going to last very long after
you put money into it...
Mr. Wiggins: "Even as he says, under rule of thumb a guideline
of what... $9,000 is the maximum which may or may not be
realistic, it depends upon a lot of factors, the size of the
house for one."
Mr. Robinson: "Mr. Chairman, could I be in order to make a motion?
M . Nimtz: "Yes, but let me first of all say the chair now directs
M Butler together with Mr. Crighton to come up with some
g idelines and format as Mr. Wiggins suggested concerning how
t ese things will be handled. Now we recognize the motion."
M11. Robinson: "Because of F &F Electric being the low bidder, I
m ke a motion we accept their bid."
16
6. NIEW BUSINESS (CONT'D
(Cont'd)
Mir. Wiggins: "I'll support the motion."
Mr. Nimtz: "Any further discussion, any questions ?..." All
ware in favor and the motion carried.
W. Howell, I want to thank you for coming up and I want to
t ank you for a very informative discussion."
M . Howell: "Thank you and if you don't mind I'd like to
stay, but I will have no further comments."
M . Nimtz: "Yes, thank you, you are welcome to stay for the
r st of the meeting. Proceed Mr. Brownell."
M% Brownell: "The next item on the agenda is the contract 3/10
Plaia Construction Company $54,971.00. The bid tabulation sheets
indicates that Plaia Construction bid $54,971.00; Charles Brown
Maintenance Company Inc. did not bid; Greg Britton bid $55,254.00;
H & H Builders did not bid; Slatile Roofing and Sheet Metal Company
I c. bid $67,875.00. The low bidder according to the tabulation
s eet is $54,971.00 by Plaia Construction Company."
. Robinson: "Mr. Crighton, since I have not been on the Board
long, is this the first time this Britton and H &H Builders
re involved, even though they didn't bid ?"
M% Cri hton: "Mr. Britton is a contractor that has been involved
ii rehabilitation in Elkhart, Mishawaka but has never been to
S )uth Bend before. H & H Builders bid in Model Cities. Charles
B own Maintenance and H & H Builders, although they did not return
t eir bids both called me Monday evening and explained they felt
t ey did not have time to get involved although they had picked up
d cuments. So we did have pretty good response."
Mt. Robinson: "Evidently, with your new procedure it has increased
t e interest, thank goodness, I hope it continues."
Mtn. Crighton: "So do I."
Mr. Nimtz: "Any further discussion or questions ?"
Mr. Wiggins: "I move that we approve the low bidder."
Mr. Robinson: "I support."
Mr. Nimtz: "The move is seconded to be awarded to the low
b dder which is Plaia Construction Company. All were in favor
atid the motion carried.
Commission approval requested for Section 312 Loan applications
f r the following:
17
6. NtW BUSINESS (CONT'D
b� (Cont'd)
NAME
Mr. and M s. Ernest Brock
625 East ayton
South Ben , Indiana
Mr. and M s. Owen Garner
1228 Sout Bend Avenue
South Ben , Indiana
AMOUNT
LOAN NO.
$3,450.00 18 /MC- 11/4/1 -77
$2,750.00 18 /MC- 11/5/1 -77
Curtis and Sally Lake $5,950.00 18 /SOU- 2/14/1 -76 -77
2117 West Linden
South Beni], Indiana
T ese loans were approved in a block. All the documents have
b en assembled and put together.
Mr. Crighton stated that August 1st is our deadline
of 312 money we have had since last year and at the
meeting the rest of these loans will be submitted.
to us that if we are able to allocate the remaining
Bend will take top priority in getting additional 3
y ar and probably in a larger amount.
M�. Wiggins: "I'll move the approval...
. Robinson: "Seconded."
on this $75,000
next commission
HUD has mentioned
$75,000 South
12 money next
. Nimtz: "The move is seconded to approve these loans. Any
rther discussion ?" All were in favor and the motion was carried.
7. PROGRESS REPORTS
M% Brownell reported that we have two progress reports and then he
w uld have a report from the Design Committee.
R habilitation continues in the northeast project (June, 1977)
lbertracts are in various stages of completion, and rehabilitation
taking place on the four remaining structures for contract set
lA awarded to Charles Brown Maintenance Service.
Tie second progress report is concerning the updated information
s eet listing change orders approved by the Redevelopment Commissioners
d ted June 9, 1977 for Contract SECDPRCS /6 -48 from the Bureau of
H using dated June 23, 1977. I beleive copies of these are in
y ur packet. If they aren't I'll dig them out for you.
sere was no action necessary on these reports.
7. PROGRESS REPORTS (CONT'D
Mt. Brownell made the following reports on the Urban Design
R view Committee:
June 30, 1977 at a meeting of the Urban Design Review
C )mmittee of the Department of Redevelopment of the City
o South Bend held in my office, the plans for the site
d velopment and building alterations for the South Bend
o fice of the People's First Federal Savings and Loan
A sociation were presented by Mr. Edwin D. VanRyn, Architect.
a 1:30 p.m. Present were Mr'. John R. Kagel, Mr. Hubert
G tzinger, Mr. Richard Johnson, Mr. John DeLee, Mr. James
E Childs, Mr. Edwin VanRyn and myself. After reviewing
tie plans Mr. Getzinger made a motion to approve the plans
s conded by Mr. John Kagel and carried by vote of the
c mmittee and the five members of the committee who were
p esent signed the minutes of that meeting.
Tie other meeting that I wish to report is one which took
place on June 20, 1977 at a meeting of the Urban Design
R view Committee of the Department of Redevelopment of the
City of South Bend held in the office of Mr..John E. DeLee
tie City Building Commissioner. The plans for the corporate
o fice of Lowe's Inc. were presented by Mr. Sam F. Jones partner
o the firm LeRoy Troyer and Associates Architects at 1:30 p.m.
P esent were Mr. John R. Kagel, Mr. Hubert Getzinger, Mr.
Richard Johnson, Mr. John DeLee, Mr. James E. Childs, Mr. Paul
R elke, Mr. Lloyd Taylor, and myself. After reviewing
tie plans for the corporate office of Lowe's, Inc. Mr. Richard
J hnson made a motion that the plans be approved subject to
tie approval of the South Bend Fire Department and the State
Fire Marshall's office. Seconded by Mr. Hubert Getzinger and
c rried by vote of the Committee and the five members of
t e committee signed the minutes of that meeting.'
J anne Derbeck: "Did you say who was the architect for the
b ilding? Troyer ?"
. Brownell :"Sam F. Jones, of the firm LeRoy Troyer & Associates
�hitects .... a partner of the firm."
Jeanne Derbeck asked when work would start on this development to
which Mr. Brownell replied that he didn't know because they had
been scheduled to start on July 4, but hadn't as of yet. Jeanne then
asked if there was anything definate from Gordon Medlock on the
Midway Motor Lodge and the Hoffman House Restaurant and was informed
t at the St. Joseph River Bend Development Corporation had asked
u to obtain the title policies for Parcels A and B as it was now
t me to take them down and pay for the parcels according to the
c ntract of sale.
Toe next commission meeting is scheduled for July 22, 1977 at 10:00 a.m.
ere being no further business the meeting was motioned for adjournment
Mr. Robinson and seconded by Mr. Wiggins. All were in favor and the
tion carried.
19
Commiss on Meeting Minutes
July 8, 1977
r.
Lot
F. JAY NIV Z, President
utive Director