A regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the DeKalb County Public Building Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) was held Thursday, November 6, 2007, at 8:30 A.M. in Conference Room East of the DeKalb County Government Administration Building, pursuant to written notice of each Commissioner as required by the bylaws.

ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Robert Hutcheson at 8:32 A.M. Commissioners present were Chairman Hutcheson, Mr. Beryl Smith, Mr. Robert Morrison, Dr. Richard Baker and Mr. Matt Swanson. Also present were Mr. Gary Hanson, Ms. Mary Simons, Mr. Ken Campbell, Mr. Matt Bickel, and Mr. Matt Burdin of Wold Architects and Engineers.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Mr. Morrison and seconded by Mr. Smith to approve the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, August 2, 2007. Dr. Baker asked for clarification concerning the wording of the last sentence of the first paragraph under “Bid Awards: Community Outreach Building.” Dr. Baker made a motion to revise the sentence by striking the words “by change order” Mr Smith seconded the motion. The motion carried. Chairman Hutcheson called for a vote to approve the minutes as amended. The motion carried.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA
A motion to approve the agenda as printed was made by Mr. Smith and seconded by Mr. Morrison. Chairman Hutcheson announced that two additional items needed to be added to the agenda. Administration Building Boiler Project and Document Storage will become items 7 and 8 respectively. Therefore, “FY 2008 Budget Discussion”, “Changes to the Open Meetings Act” and “Adjournment” became items 9, 10 and 11. There being no other additions or amendments the agenda was accepted without further discussion.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONER
Chairman Hutcheson welcomed Mr. Matt Swanson as the newly appointed member of the Public Building Commission. Each of the other members introduced themselves to Mr. Swanson.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Chairman Hutcheson opened the floor for nominations for Chairman to serve in the coming year. Mr. Smith nominated Bob Hutcheson and Mr. Morrison seconded the nomination. Dr. Baker requested Chairman Hutcheson be named Chairman by acclamation. The motion carried. Chairman Hutcheson requested nominations for Vice Chairman. Mr. Morrison made the motion to nominate Beryl Smith. Dr. Baker requested that Mr. Smith be named Vice Chairman by acclamation. The motion carried. Mr. Smith nominated Gary Hanson for Treasurer and the motion was seconded by Mr. Swanson. The motion carried. Mr. Swanson nominated Mary Simons for Secretary and the motion was seconded by Mr. Smith. The motion carried.

PROJECT STATUS - COMMUNITY OUTREACH BUILDING
Mr. Matt Bickel of Wold Architects and Engineers distributed a two-page report titled “Checklist Template”, dated Nov. 5, 2007. (Exhibit A) Mr. Bickel explained that the curb cut was made for the construction site just off the area that will become the front parking lot for the building. He added that a lot of material had to be stripped from the site to bring the area in conformance with the street level. Mr. Bickel stated that the two piles of dirt, one of which is good black dirt, will be put back into place for seeding and sodding, and the second will be removed. He continued that the geo-thermal well-field has been placed in the existing storm water detention pond. Mr. Bickel added that the trenching and header connections have been made and have passed inspection by the City of DeKalb. From the building standpoint, the concrete footings and foundations for the entire perimeter as well as for the interior bearing walls of the building have been excavated, poured, and backfilled. Currently the underground plumbing and electrical are being installed throughout the building and the concrete slabs are scheduled to be poured the week of November 14, therefore, G’sR Plumbing and Mascal Electric are on site installing the under-slab conduits and pipe. At the same time Rockford Structures is working on the exterior of the building with the masonry and on the interior bearing walls. The present plan is to work through the winter. We are on schedule with Com Ed to have permanent power the week of December 12. The permanent water source is also scheduled to be installed by the end of the month. Dr. Baker asked if the project is on schedule. Mr. Bickel stated that the startup was slower than anticipated but now all building permits and applications have been approved and in place. Chairman Hutcheson asked how many total wells were drilled? Mr. Bickel responded there are 63 wells that are each 160 feet deep.

CHANGE ORDERS
Mr. Hanson distributed copies of change order number one (Exhibit B) and said this is for additional site and utility work amounting to $176,057.27. He added that the funding for this order will be provided by the County. He explained that handling it in this manner is more of an accounting procedure, and partnering with Rockford Structures to add it to their contract was the best solution. He said the improvements were for the entire subdivision of Windsong Acres designed by McClure Engineering and this is a County expense. Mr. Bickel explained this was part of the original design for Windsong Acres, for infrastructure of water mains, and sanitary and storm sewers as required by the City of DeKalb. Mr. Hanson emphasized that this will hereafter need to be noted and funding for this change order does not reflect on the COB project. He added that if this had been a stand-alone project it would have cost more and handling it in this manner will save the County money. Mr. Smith made a motion to approve the change order and it was seconded by Chairman Hutcheson. The motion carried.

PAY REQUESTS
Mr. Hanson distributed copies of the pay request summary (Exhibit C) indicating the total for Payout #1 for November, 2007 is in the amount of $430,496. Mr. Hanson explained that the left-hand column contains the contract totals for each of the construction categories. He added that these pay request amounts have been approved and recommended by the architects and asked for approval by the Commission. Mr. Smith made the motion to approve Pay Request #1. The motion, seconded by Dr. Baker, was unanimously approved.

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING BOILER PROJECT
Dr. Baker expressed his concerns regarding the delays that had occurred and asked if this project is complete and satisfactory. Mr. Campbell responded affirmatively. Dr. Baker expressed his concern regarding the delay that had occurred between Wold and the installer. Mr. Campbell stated that his correspondence indicating problems began in April but were not resolved until the second week of October. Mr. Campbell stated that he felt he did not get enough support from Wold. He said he had to contact the manufacturer to send out a representative and found the boiler had not been installed correctly which should have been Wold’s responsibility. He further added that this was the boiler which was installed in the fall of 2006 and began to have problems all that winter. Mr. Campbell stated that since Wold was the owners’ representative they should have provided more backup. Dr. Baker said perhaps Wold should not be used for the proposed boiler project to be done in the Public Safety Building. Mr. Burdin, the representative from Wold who worked on the Administration Building project, responded that there were two different issues. The initial issue was air separation because of water that had air in it thereby affecting the heating component. Mr. Burdin stated that a meeting was held on April 10 to establish where the air was getting into the system. It was determined that an additional air separator was needed which was not part of the original specs. He added that in early May Wold obtained additional prices from the contractor. A discussion was held whether to have the original contractor or a new one install the additional separator. Mr. Burdin said that in late July Wold received a letter from Mr. Campbell stating he had the manufacturer inspect the installation. At this time it was determined there were five items at issue which were different from the manufacturer’s literature for installation. Mr. Burdin stated he met with the boiler representative to inquire why these items were affecting the air entrapment since none of the items listed had any affect on air entrapment. The other issue was that the exhaust outlet was too close to the combustion air intake which would affect the firing rate of the boiler. In September, another meeting was held and it was determined by the representative that the five items did not affect the air separation which was the same conclusion that was reached in May. There was one item out of the five which was a check valve issue. The contractor agreed to correct the other four items at his cost. However, the air separators were still required at an additional cost of $3,000, which was approved by the Commission in October. Dr. Baker asked if the manufacturer had specified the additional air separator? Mr. Burdin responded that it was not part of their original letter and was not part of their specifications. Dr. Baker asked if the air separator was part of the original issue? Mr. Burdin responded that it was not an issue with the old boiler and worked with that boiler but not with the new one. He added that once the air was out of the system, there was heat in the building. Mr. Burdin stated this again was Wold’s recommendation stated in their letter in May. Dr. Baker said that he did not think it should take that long to get the trouble shooting done. Mr. Burdin replied the trouble shooting began as soon as Wold was notified that an issue existed and the recommendation was in the County’s hands within four weeks. Mr. Smith recommended that further discussion should be held prior to entering into any contractual agreements for the Public Safety Building. Mr. Bickel emphasized that the recommendation was made by Wold in May but was not acted upon by the County until July.

DOCUMENT STORAGE
Dr Baker stated that he is concerned that the PBC is charged with the storage and maintenance of the County’s historical records, and asked if the PBC has met its requirement under the Illinois Compiled Statutes as stated in the county yearbook. Mr. Hanson responded that it would require a legal opinion to determine who is ultimately responsible for maintaining the records and the statement contained in the county yearbook is not the legal requirement but a paraphrasing of what is being done. He added that the PBC simply has provided a method of organizing the records and storing them. By way of explanation, Ms. Simons stated during her years working in the County Clerk/Recorder’s office that triplicate copies of all the records in that department are made with copies stored in separate County buildings. She added that all records in that department are both filmed and scanned. She stated that the Circuit Clerk and the Treasurer have similar systems for maintaining their records, and that the PBC merely stores one set of the records. Dr. Baker asked if a letter should be sent to the department heads indicating that it would be a good idea to have backups. Mr. Smith responded that he felt if the departments are responsible for their records, it should not be the responsibility of the PBC to tell them how they should maintain them. Mr. Smith added that if our responsibility is to provide space, we should do that, but not instruct how the department heads should maintain their own records. Mr. Smith stated that he would like to know exactly what the statute states is the responsibility of the PBC. No further action was taken, however, the consensus was to consult with the States Attorney about who is responsible for the records.

BUDGET DISCUSSION
Mr. Hanson stated that copies of the FY 2008 budget were mailed to the Commissioners . ( Exhibit D) He added that he is not asking for approval of the budget today but would rather wait until December so all members will have the opportunity to review it. He explained that most of the budget is not discretionary but based on existing lease agreements with the County for maintenance and construction of buildings, as well as based on bond issues that come through. Mr. Hanson added that one of the reasons he is not asking for approval today is that the Finance Committee is proposing a change of procedure for not flowing the funds through the PBC. This has been done under an old tax limitation rule and it is the only way to provide the funds to maintain the buildings. The statute has now been changed so the County General Fund can be increased under the umbrella of the tax cap and no longer requires the money to be funneled back and forth, thereby simplifying the accounting used. This issue will be resolved prior to our next meeting. Some discussion regarding the budget and funding for the PSB took place; however, no further action was taken.

OPEN MEETINGS ACT
Ms. Simons explained that there were some recent changes to the Open Meetings Act which affect five member boards and commissions. With the guidance of John Farrell of the States Attorney’s Office she has prepared a set of guidelines for the Commission to use. Ms. Simons said the most significant changes are the definition of a quorum, setting meeting dates a year in advance, posting meeting schedules, and notification of the media. Ms. Simons stated that she has prepared a meeting schedule for 2008, and a vote by the Commission is required to adopt the schedule. She emphasized that the meeting schedule can be changed as long as proper notification of the change is made as provided in the Open Meetings Act. Mr. Smith made the motion to adopt the schedule as presented. (Exhibit E) Mr. Swanson seconded the motion. The motion carried.

PROJECT UPDATE
Mr. Hanson distributed copies of the “Status of PBC Projects” dated November 5, 2007 (Exhibit F) for informational purposes. Dr. Baker asked how the projects are funded. Mr. Hanson responded that the projects are funded by the County Board and added that funds for the projects listed have previously been approved.

NEW BUSINESS -SALARY RECOMMENDATION
A brief discussion took place regarding a letter to the Commissioners from Mr. Hanson recommending a salary adjustment for Mary Simons to increase her salary from $18.00 per hour to $19.00 per hour effective January 1, 2008 based on an approximate 25 hour work week. Mr. Smith made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Swanson. The motion carried.


ADJOURNMENT

A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Swanson and seconded by Mr. Smith. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.




                                                                                                           __________________________

                                                                                                           Robert Hutcheson, Chairman



_______________________________
Mary G. Simons, Secretary

 

Commissioner Expiration of Term Office Original Appointment

Mr. Robert Hutcheson September 30, 2009 Chairman January 16, 1991
Mr. Beryl Smith December 01, 2010 Vice Chairman September 30, 2000
Dr. Richard Baker September 30, 2011 November 16, 2005
Mr. Robert Morrison September 30, 2008 July 17, 2002
Mr. Matt Swanson September 30, 2012 September 19, 2007


Non-Commissioner:

Ms. Mary G. Simons September 30, 2008 Secretary March 7, 2000
Mr. Gary H. Hanson September 30, 2008 Treasurer February 18, 1984




Approved: December 4, 2007