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REGULAR MEETING
<br />December 12, 2016
<br />Councilmember Davis asked, When you do intent letters, what has been your success rate?
<br />Mr. Robinson responded, So, the project will happen. It's a mandate by PJ, which is a regional
<br />transmission organization and manages the transmission grid and the wholesale market of
<br />electricity. It is their mandate, for reliability purposes, that we do this project. When you look at
<br />the commitment that we made to this City, via Smart Streets—of course, in conjunction with
<br />Smart Streets, but with the network upgrades that we had to do, because of the incidents that we
<br />had. We are completing that this weekend. When we say we are going to do something, we are
<br />going to do it.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston asked whether 2018 or 2019 was the soonest the project could
<br />be completed, and afterward asked if there was anything the City of South Bend could do to help
<br />that process along.
<br />Mr. Robinson responded, A lot of that discussion is based on the funding, because that is the
<br />capital expenditure for our company, and those projectswe vibe with ten (10) other states for
<br />the funding of these projects. He explained that there are so many variables involved in these
<br />projects. If it went really well, he determined that it would be completed before 2019.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston asked, Is there anything that a municipality could do to help
<br />grease the wheels?
<br />Mr. Robinson responded, Just knowing where existing utilities are that type of thing. We are
<br />supposed to get plans. He stated that it is helpful to not have setbacks that could have been
<br />avoided through discussion ahead of time. The Department of Public Works offered to do
<br />everything it could to make sure the process goes forward smoothly.
<br />Councilmember Wiliams- Preston asked if Mr. Robinson had ever come in before his deadline on
<br />these projects, to which he responded that he had.
<br />Mr. Robinson stated, They have given us plenty of time. I would say that you'll be hearing more
<br />and more about our transmission projects. He stated that if they reroute the underground portion
<br />of the Colfax Station line and they can reconnect that, as the other station is being built, the
<br />Colfax Station might be able to be abandoned early, though he admitted to not being sure, as he
<br />was not an engineer. He stated, But if we could, and it makes sense, we will.
<br />Councilmember Broden asked how much time Mr. Robinson had spent with staff regarding the
<br />project's feasibility.
<br />Mr. Robinson responded, We have had two (2) meetings lately. One (1), I believe, was a year
<br />and a half, maybe two (2) years ago. So this has been a project that we've seen coming for a
<br />while. It is probably going to move a whole lot faster now. I'd say, all man hours on our side in
<br />conversation with the City— probably about forty (40) hours, fifty (50) hours.
<br />Councilmember Broden stated that one of the recommendations from the Torti Gallas group was
<br />to spread out the development and phase it in over time. She stated, To me, it looks like maybe
<br />there's a one (1) year difference there between your deadline and Mr. Matthews'. She asked Mr.
<br />Matthews if his project's deadline was the year 2020. Mr. Matthews confirmed that 2020 was
<br />indeed the deadline year.
<br />Mr. Matthews, in reference to Mr. Robinson, added, Another question to ask would be what's the
<br />likelihood that this site we're looking at is not feasible, and you just stay at Colfax? That's a
<br />possibility.
<br />Mr. Robinson stated, I will tell you all the plans that I've seen involve just your location, as a
<br />swap. I have not seen any for the existing space.
<br />Councilmember Davis asked Mr. Mueller to clarify a section of Mayor Buttigieg's letter that
<br />states, "Given to the tight timeline associated with the $4.9 million Regional Cities grant from
<br />the state, I respectfully request that the council support the administration's negotiating team and
<br />our effort to arrive at a compromise." He stated, When I hear "our effort to arrive at a
<br />compromise," that means that you haven't gotten there. It seems to me, from this paragraph, that
<br />this is even looking beyond tonight. Where are you on that?
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