The January 7, 2010 Board Meeting of the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors was called to order by Board Chair Sherry Sterrett at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Administration Office.

Pledge of Allegiance

Executive Secretary Susie Kubota led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call

Board Present: Bonato, Donaghu, Hurd, Shepard, Sterrett

Board Absent:

Berggren, Kubota, Miller, Peters, J. Pitcher, T. Riley (intern), Spatz

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Consent Calendar

Board Member Bonato suggested some changes to the minutes. Upon motion of Donaghu/Hurd, the Board approved the warrants as presented and the minutes with suggested changes.

• a. To Approve Bills to be paid, warrants #13148 - #13199 in the amount of $76,233.00 dated January 7, 2010.
• b. To Approve Minutes of November 19, 2009.
• c. To Approve Resolution 2010-01-07, Honoring Dick Nicoll with Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

The General Manager mentioned that he will be attending the retirement party for Dick Nicoll on January 14, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and will present the resolution at that time.

To Consider Agreement with Stephen E. Harriman AIA & Associates for Architectural and Related Services for the New Senior Center and Teen Center (ACTION)

The General Manager expressed how he has been impressed with Steve Harriman and how well he works with the staff, seniors, community members, City staff and with the architectural review commission on presentations. He said that Tom MacDonald initially hired Harriman to complete plans for a Senior Center. The General Manager is recommending hiring Harriman and said he thinks that Steve has proven himself over the past year and a half. The General Manager said that he is flexible and easy to work with, always willing to meet and make changes and suggestions, and will also give the reasons why something may or may not work. He highly recommends him for the job and recommends approval of the agreement. The General Manager thanked Steve Harriman, Mark Cornelius and Hamid Sarvi for working during the holiday season.

The General Manager said the entitlement phase will be a total fixed fee and the bidding and construction services will be on a not to exceed limit, which seems to work best in the scheme of things. Interim Project Manager Hamid Sarvi gave a background of how the agreement evolved. He said there were separate agreements for Steve Harriman and other work. Sarvi commented that Harriman put together a good scope of services, which includes the architectural design and also structural, mechanical and electrical designs as part of the scope. He said the other agreements at the beginning were from Milani & Associates, Civil Engineers who will also conduct surveying work. He said some items not included in the proposed agreement are listed in Exhibit B such as theatrical lighting and sound system, interior design, security system, interior and exterior signage design, telephone, computers, soils engineering, etc. There are some proposals for various soils engineers and geotechnical firms currently being reviewed. He said they will be worked on as the project progresses. Sarvi said the agreement has fixed fees and T&M (Time and Materials) included.

Attorney Mark Cornelius worked on the agreement with Steve Harriman and Interim Project Manager Hamid Sarvi along with the General Manager. He said that Harriman was willing to compromise and to also have the other consultants under his agreement, where he will have sole control, which will make the project more manageable. Steve Harriman introduced the other consultants that will be part of the project team; Ken Alcock with Milani & Associates, the Civil Engineers, Richard Alcina with MPA Design, the landscape architects, and Mansour Firouzian with Engineering Network, the mechanical and plumbing engineer.

Board Member Shepard asked about the structural engineer. Harriman pointed out that the information is listed under Exhibit A. Board Chair Sterrett had a question on the hourly rates listed in Exhibit B, specifically where it’s indicated the rates are subject to change annually. She feels that when an agreement is signed it should be at the rate that it is agreed upon. She suggested maybe putting a percentage increase instead of the way it is written as “open ended”. Sarvi said that with many projects it takes several years to complete and with the economy, it is normal to have a rate change. He said normally it is a 2% – 4% increase. Board Member Bonato commented that the rates were fair and Sarvi agreed. He said with all contracts, there usually is an inflationary clause. Harriman explained that it all depends on the economy. He said he would be open to add language to state that it is subject to change within reasonable approval, or approval by the Board. Attorney Mark Cornelius said Harriman is willing to change the language to add, “…after approval, in which the owner will not unreasonably refuse”. Bonato did not feel comfortable with changing the language, but maybe a percentage increase included would be better. Harriman said he would accept a change to a cap of not to exceed a 3% increase in rates. Cornelius will make the suggested language to the agreement.

Board Member Bonato had a question on plan checks and asked why the total fee would increase by 2%. Harriman checked and double checked with the City’s Building Department and they assured him there would not be any outside plan checks. He explained the process and how plan checks can create an unreasonable amount of extra work and time, but on this project it is a moot point due to the City assuring there will be no outside plan checks. He said usually the rate is double the 2% amount. In regards to additional insurance, Bonato had a question on raising the amount of coverage. Board Member Donaghu was satisfied with the amount. Bonato also asked why attorney fee provisions were not included in the agreement. Attorney Mark Cornelius stated the District has never approved an agreement with attorney fee provisions. He said if the Board chooses to include it, he can have it written in. He said it can discourage litigation and someone will have to be certain that they are right when they want to undertake litigation. He personally does not recommend it because it artificially raises the stakes of litigation. Bonato said when the District gets into construction contracts it might be something to consider.

Board Chair Sterrett expressed how she was impressed with Steve Harriman being present along with the other sub-contracted firm representatives and thanked them for attending the Board Meeting. Some further discussion followed.

Upon motion of Donaghu/Bonato, the Board approved the agreement with Stephen E. Harriman AIA and Associates for architectural services for the Senior Center and Teen Center with additional language discussed and recommended by Attorney Mark Cornelius; including discussion that each annual increase will have to be justified by architect with the reasonable satisfaction of owner and with each annual increase not to exceed 3% per year. The Board approved the agreement for the Schematic/Entitlement Phase, Design Development Phase and Construction Documents Phase work at the fixed fee amount of $562,256 plus allowances for commercial kitchen design and acoustical engineering in the amount of $43,000. For the Bidding Phase and Construction Phase work on an hourly Time and Materials basis with $167,947 with an additional $35,000 for Out of Scope Work of Time and Materials not to exceed limit.

To Consider Agreement With Jerry Haag For Environmental Consulting Services For The New Senior Center, Teen Center, Community Center And Pleasant Oaks Park (ACTION)

The General Manager said Jerry Haag was planning to be present, but had a mix up with his family schedule and the General Manager said he did not have to be at the Board Meeting. He said the agreement is straightforward. There is an additional $6,000 for the asbestos and lead based paint survey for a total of $66,900. The Selection Committee decided to have the asbestos and lead based paint survey completed. With the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, the City of Pleasant Hill will be involved to make sure all requirements are met.

Board Member Bonato had some questions. She asked if the insurance deductible can be lowered from $50,000 to $25,000, within reason. Attorney Mark Cornelius said with the subcontractors, Haag would be responsible for all the subs and the insurance would have to cover the subs. Bonato was wondering if the subs carry their own insurance and workers comp. Interim Project Manager Hamid Sarvi suggested getting a copy of the proof of insurance for each sub-contractor working for Haag. Bonato agreed and also wanted to check with Haag regarding lowering the deductible amount to $25,000, or an amount that is reasonably feasible.

Upon motion of Bonato/Donaghu, the Board approved the agreement for environmental consulting services with Jerry Haag with modifications stating the subcontractors are required to provide evidence of workers compensation insurance unless they are sole proprietors and that the deductible or self-insured retention not exceed $25,000 unless obtaining a policy with that deductible would cost the consultant more than $500 difference.

Board Announcements And Requests To Staff

Board Member Shepard asked if the District is in negotiations with the Dahlin Group for the plans for the Community Center and asked if there are other groups the District is looking into. The General Manager said there has not been an agreement approved yet and it is up to the Board to decide on. Board Member Shepard said she did not feel comfortable passing the agreement for Steve Harriman for $800,000. She is not sure if it was the right choice for such a large amount of money and there is nothing to compare it to. Board Member Bonato expressed similar concerns and encouraged more discussion. Interim Project Manager Hamid Sarvi explained from his experience working with million dollar projects, the range for architectural fees only, not including landscape architect fees or engineering fees which the Harriman agreement includes, is from about 9.25% of the estimated construction costs for a project where the architectural fees were $765,500 for an $8.2 million project not including T&M fees, whereas Steve Harriman’s agreement includes the T&M and the landscape architecture and engineering fees. Sarvi said other projects he worked on came out to about 11.9% through 16.7% of the construction costs, so Harriman’s agreement is about 7.7% of the estimated construction costs, which he feels is very reasonable. Shepard still felt that public agencies do not “drive a hard bargain” unlike the private sector. The General Manager stated that public agencies have many more requirements than the public sector. He said he asked the Board to contact him with any questions or concerns ahead of time. Board Chair Sterrett agreed he did, but she said she did not start reading the documents until 4:00 p.m. tonight. The General Manager said he had the whole design team ready this week and today to answer any questions, but no Board Member called or contacted him to ask any questions. Board Chair Sterrett said it was a good presentation and the Board should be able to ask questions at the Board Meeting with public present. The General Manager stated that he could have found out answers ahead of time or the design team would have the answers ready for the Board at the Board Meeting. Board Member Bonato felt there needs to be more time to decide on items and would like to see a Board Meeting before action is taken on items, so there is time to ask questions and to have some dialogue, then at the next Board Meeting be prepared to take action.

Board Member Bonato wished everyone a Happy New Year!

Board Chair Sterrett said she received a Holiday card from the Teen Council and said she did not remember receiving one in past years. She thought it was impressive, a nice thought and a nice thing to do. The next Board Meeting will be next Thursday, January 14, 2010.

Staff Announcements

The General Manager made the following announcements:

• • He said the geotechnical engineer agreement will be on the next Board Meeting agenda for approval. He said the soils engineer will need to start right away. Board Member Bonato asked what the soils engineer will be doing. The General Manager said they will be testing about 5 - 6 bores around the Senior Center and Pleasant Hill Park. Interim Project Manager Sarvi said the soils engineer goes down about 20 feet and retrieves soil samples in certain intervals. They examine the samples for various things and the numbers they come up with will be used by the structural engineer to determine how corrosive the soil is so the correct materials are installed for utilities underground and the results also determine the level of compaction needed.

• All the Districts involved with the California Recreation District Employee Benefits (CRDEB) have signed on to process the funds to combine into one fund and then distribute the funds to the remaining Districts. He said they will be turning the funds in to PARS and matching the funds for the employees. He hopes the funds will be turned over by the middle or end of February.

• The new Board of Directors photo will be taken at the next Board Meeting.

• There have been seven applications received for the Bond Oversight Committee.

Adjournment

Board Chair Sterrett adjourned the meeting at 9:33 p.m.