HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-05 Informal Meeting SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL APRIL 25,2005
INFORMAL MEETING
PRESENT: Derek D. Dieter, 1St District; Charlotte D. Pfeifer, President, Roland Kelly
3rd District; Ann Puzzello, 4th District; David Varner, 5th District; Ervin
Kuspa, 6th District; Al `Buddy" Kirsits, At Large; Timothy Rouse, At
Large; Karen L. White, At Large
Topics: Consultant Fees
After School Programs
Miscellaneous
1.) Consultant Fees—Mayor Luecke began by reaffirming the administrations desire
to cooperate with the Council. In an effort to provide meaningful information the
administration would like to know more about what the Council wants. The Mayor
suggested perhaps he could describe the why, the who, and the how of selecting outside
consultants. City Director of Public Works Gary Gilot then distributed a spread sheet
detailing which consultants were hired and how much they were paid every year from '94
thru `2004. He began by explaining the many Q &E offers that were received
unsolicited by the City mostly from engineering firms. Q &E meaning qualification &
Experience. Mostly local engineering firms have been hired because of their in-house
experienced staff and special area expertise. Beyond engineering the City used
consultants for specialized legal work, legislative consultants, and engineering design
work as well as environmental issues. The Mayor cited the need for outside bond counsel
to assure the integrity of an issue and the sometimes need for a"fresh look" at projects
such as downtown development or corridor redevelopment.
Derek Dieter asked if there as any process to evaluate the work product of consultants to
give us an idea of whether we are getting our"bang for the buck."
Sharon Kendall suggested that whether a project moves forward or not as the best
measure.
Tim Rouse asked if"City Plan" would impact the future use of consultants.
Sharon Kendall said it would most assuredly would in her area as we traveled down the
road map provided by "City Plan."
Gary Gilot cautioned there would likely always be a need for specialty engineering
services.
Charlotte Pfeifer and Karen White asked if minority owned or minority represented
consultant firms were hired citing a responsibility of the city to foster inclusive policies.
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SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL APRIL 25,2005
INFORMAL MEETING
Tim Rouse spoke to the advantage minorities racial or ethnic may have in their ability to
communicate with the public. Trust and openness would also accrue to a person "of
color" communicating with the same.
*Attachment - #1 Consultants '94 - 2004
2.) After School Programs —Pam Meyer subbing for an ailing Lynn Coleman spoke
about the Youth Grant (YG) and After School (ASP) programs Assisting Pam Meyer was
Judy Smith the CED administer of these programs. Pam Meyer detailed the source, the
application process, and ultimate awards of the `05/'06 ASP program budgeted at
$150,000. The maximum grant is $15,000 per awarded program. The same was done by
Pam and Judy for the `041'05 awards totaling$157,548. Forty-two applications were
received, 19 were funded.
Charlotte Pfeifer asked if there were any behavioral or violence problems at the ASP
sites.
Judy said Lynn spot-checked sites with no problems observed or reported.
Karen White asked if there was an evaluation of effectiveness procedure?
Derek Dieter asked how many people participated in the programs?
Pam, Judy, and the Mayor deemed the programs a great success. The Mayor thanked the
Council for their support.
*Attachment#2 - ASP& YG Program Summary &Application
3.) Miscellaneous
1. Gary Gilot described in more detail the days Public Works (BPW) agenda.
*Attachment#3 —BPW Agenda 4-25-05
2. Acknowledged the receipt of a letter from FOP initiating the '05 wage/working
agreement process.
*Attachment#4 - Letter
Adjourn 5:50 p.m.
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SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL APRIL 25, 2005
INFORMAL MEETING
Respectfully Submitt
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John Voorde, City Clerk
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