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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIPC Board Meeting Minutes October 2022Inclusive Procurement and Contracting Board Committee Meeting Minutes ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: October 4th, 2022, Time: 5:43 pm Location: Microsoft Teams (Virtual) & TRC 1165 Franklin Street, Suite 100, South Bend, IN 46601 Link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9b4ujy I. Call to Order- The IPC Board Committee is now called to order on October 4th, 2022, @ 5:43 p.m. (Attendance provided based upon verbal statement for the record) • COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Keana Baylis, Dr. Breanna Allen, Murray Miller, Antonius Northern, Kara Boyles • COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT VIRTUALLY: Jeff Rea, Dr. Michael Morris, Dr. Karen White-Goyzueta, • DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Michael Patton • LEGAL: Michael Schmidt • PUBLIC WORKS: Kara Boyles • COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Rachel Tomas-Morgan, Wilbur Boggs, II. Approval of September Minutes o Roll Call vote: o Ayes- Keana Baylis, Kara Boyles, Murray Miller, Dr. Breanna Allen, Antonius Northern, Karen White-Goy, Murray Miller, Jeff Rea, Michael Morris o Opposed: None (0) o Eight (9) Ayes, September Minutes are Approved III. Diversity Officer- Michael Patton o Welcomes and introduces Antonius Northern as new member of the IPC Board. o Introduces Katt Redding to share testimonials of her experience with the Small Business Assistance Suite (SBAS). • Renovation company • Utilized bookkeeping • Going through the Women & Minority Business Certification • Is able to take on larger jobs due to help from the SBAS. o Discussion point • Murray Miller: Asks if the SBAS provided Katt Redding with funding. • Michael Patton: Informs the Board that the Department of Community Investment provided funding for Katt Redding. • Antonius Northern: Is interested in the experience that Katt Redding had with being coached on bookkeeping. • Katt Redding had left the meeting via Microsoft Teams before Antonius had the opportunity to ask. o Michael Patton shifts to present on the Small Business Assistance Suite update covering the 1-3rd Quarters of the year. o Discussion Point • Murray Miller: Requests the number of businesses that have gotten certified as a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) with the help of the SBAS. • Michael Patton: Will provide information at a later date. • Murray Miller: Asks if businesses are certified through the Small Business Assistance Suite. • Michael Patton: Clarifies that the SBAS aids in the process of obtaining certification. The SBAS cannot grant certification. • Michael Schmidt: Suggests that it would be wise to encourage participants to register their businesses with the city and with the Chamber to expand their network. • Michael Patton: States that the SBAS encourages the above. However, it is challenging to get participants to follow through on the registration. • Jeff Rea: Requests insight on how vendors are selected for different resources that help service women and monitory business owners that pursue the SBAS, what the contracts look like, and how much assistance is given. • Michael Patton: States that there is a discussion with potential vendors about costs and the goals of the Small Business Assistance Suite. Upon agreement of terms, a contract is created that binds the services of the vendor to the Small Business Assistance Suite . Cost varies per vendor. o Discussion Point • Dr. Breanna Allen: Asks about post-assessments and if current vendors, IM Power & Moss Light (Vendors who provide SBAS with coaches), have outcome goals for each of their applicants. • Michael Patton: Confirms that tracking is done on each business, for each step of the process, as well as the business's accomplishments along the way. Says that coaches from IM Power and Moss Light assess the needs of each business upon meeting with the business owner. • Antonius Northern: Asks if post-assessment is a new tool in the progress tracking report. • Michael Patton: Confirms that post-assessments are a new tool and that the current post-assessment numbers do not reflect the entirety of the program. • Antonius Northern: Asks if the SBAS has done evaluations with business owners in the past. • Michael Patton: Confirms that there are evaluations and that we provide pre and post surveys. • Murray Miller: What is the average time of a session? • Michael Patton: States that sessions are 15-30 minutes each, per resource needed. • Antonius Northern: Asks if there has been an increase in coaches available to women and minority-business owners that pursue SBAS services. • Michael Patton: Confirms that there has been an increase in coaches. States that it was a valuable decision as it helps make sure participants complete their plan of action. o Discussion Point • Jeff Rea: Asks how we defend the SBAS as it mirrors other state-run and local programs that also provide small business assistance. • Michael Patton: States that it is important for local individuals who are a part of the underserved community to have a tangible program that is in the area, as it is hard to connect with state or national programs. Especially without access to Wi-Fi or other technical components. • Jeff Rea: States that there is another program in South Bend, with a coaching staff of five, that provides services that mirror those of the SBAS and serve those within the underserved community as well. Says he hopes that we are in connection with them as well. • Michael Patton: Notes that the SBAS is strategic in choosing diverse vendors that reflect the participants that they serve, as many underserved groups struggle to trust similar programs. o Discussion Point • Michael Patton: Lastly, waiting on Board members to provide last month's action item of providing 3 businesses that the SBAS can track progress and support. IV. Board of Public Works - Kara Boyles o Public Works – Report • Kara Boyles gives a brief summary of the Department of Public Works reports. o Discussion Point • Antonius Northern: Asks if we are able to give out goals after a contract has already been created. • Kara Boyles: States that goal waivers are utilized when contractors have met good faith efforts, or when the scope of a project changes. • Michael Schmidt: States that program administrators are notified of an increase or decrease in the scope of a project. Further, administrators then decide on what changes are to be made. Contractors are not able to eliminate the goals of the original contract. o Discussion Point • Michael Schmidt: States that current projects are nearing the 75% threshold of completion and team is running into issues because contractors have been slow to update B2G Now and learning how the system functions. V. Procurement - Michael Schmidt o Report Updates • Minority business numbers have improved. Jackson Services had a large engagement for a demolition project with the City and that is what is driving the increase in numbers. • Also receiving a handful of vendors that we have updated as women or minority-owned. o Discussion Point • Murray Miller: Asks if professional services count towards goals. • Michael Schmidt: They are exempt from the ordinance due to being a professional service. • Murray Miller: Asks if that messes with the numbers. • Michael Schmidt: States that he sees two competing numbers. He looks at what the City spends with MWBEs each month and year-to-date citywide, and then at Public Works, which functions through goal setting where there are contractors, but states that he doesn’t have access to that tracking. • Michael Patton: States that B2G Now tracks the logistics of Public Works. Says he will share it with the Board. o Discussion Point • Michael Schmidt: States that there is a new issue. Says there was a minority contractor that did not make an effort to contact women-owned sub- contractors. Because of this, their quote was rejected. 1. Due to the program plan, there would not be a way to reward this minority company (for example) if they did reach a good faith effort in trying to fulfill the goals of the contract. 2. Schmidt encourages the Board to be proactive in thinking about a solution, or pathway, that best resolves this problem, as the quote would have been ideal for the budget of the set project if the minority business owner had met good faith efforts in finding a women-owned business. VI. Old Business o Keana Baylis: The IPC Board meeting time will stay the same. VII. New Business o None VIII. Announcements o None IX. Floor Open to the Public o Public Absent X. Adjournment- Vote o Motion to Adjourn vote: o Ayes- Keana Baylis, Dr. Breanna Allen, Murray Miller, Jeff Rea, Michael Morris, Antonius Northern, Dr. Karen White-Goyzueta, Kara Boyles (9) o Opposed: None (0) o Four (9) Ayes, Motion to Adjourn is approved Notes & Action Items • Provide 3 businesses that SBAS can support and perform progress tracking. • Prioritize problem-solving for women and minority vendors that make good faith efforts, but do not meet other program plan requirements.