DEKALB COUNTY PUBLIC BUILDING COMMISSION
A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND BODY POLITIC ORGANIZED PURSUANT TO THE “PUBLIC BUILDING COMMISSION ACT.” ILLINOIS REVISED STATUTES 1977 CHAPTER 85, SECTIONS 1031 THROUGH 1054 CHAPTER 85, SECTIONS 1031 THROUGH 1054AND CURRENTLY UNDER ILLINOIS COMPILED STATUTES 50 ILCS 20/1 et seq.

MEETING OF TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2009

A regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the DeKalb County Public Building Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) was held Tuesday, August 4, 2009, at 8:30 A.M. in Conference Room East of the DeKalb County Government Administration Building, pursuant to written notice to each Commissioner as required by the By-Laws.

ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Robert Hutcheson at 8:30 A.M. Commissioners present were Chairman Hutcheson, Mr. Beryl Smith, Dr. Richard Baker, Mr. Matt Swanson and Mr. George Daugherty. Also present were Mr. Gary Hanson, Treasurer, Mr. Jim Scheffers, Facilities Manager, Mr. Matt Bickel of Wold Architects and Engineers, and Ms. Mary Simons, Secretary.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Hutcheson called for a motion to approve the minutes for the meeting held on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. Mr. Smith made a motion to approve the minutes and Dr. Baker seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Dr. Baker requested that an addition to the agenda be made to discuss the management letter from Sikich which was received at the completion of the 2008 PBC audit. Chairman Hutcheson stated that the item would be placed on the agenda as item number 4A. A motion was made by Mr. Daugherty to approve the agenda as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Smith. The motion carried.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH BUILDING

PROJECT STATUS:
The Commissioners expressed many concerns regarding the problem being experienced where the COB parking lot is heaving. Mr. Swanson stated that the minutes were incorrect last month where it stated that he would return with another engineer’s opinion for this month’s meeting. Mr. Swanson said he did discuss this situation with someone who has a lot of knowledge and experience in working with asphalt applications. Mr. Swanson explained that he and his sources felt that there was something in the sub-grade that occurred causing the problem. He suggested there may have been ice or water in the sub grade and the only way to properly fix it would be to cut out those areas and have them redone. Mr. Hanson commented that the Engineering report presented at the last meeting recommended to initially having a light duty roller used to smooth out the area and additionally recommended that sub-drains be installed with a cost at approximately $10,000. Mr. Scheffers stated that he felt the heaving problem is not confined to the one area as he has observed another suspicious area on the west side and others may not yet have become evident. Mr. Scheffers stated that there appears to be water in the drain area which is eroding the area and will eventually create more heaving problems. Mr. Bickel said that it is his understanding that the actual drain and storm line where “grade was shot” were not the areas that moved. For clarification, Mr. Swanson asked if the Engineers’ opinion is that where the drain and storm line were set to grade, that area did not move, and it is the rest of the parking lot that came up. Mr. Bickel stated that was the way it was explained to him. Mr. Swanson stated that he is in complete disagreement with the opinion given by EEI and felt that another engineer’s opinion should be obtained. Mr. Bickel recommended that another opinion be acquired and at the same time agree to do some sampling or testing to determine the conditions of the sub-sections. He added that if it is then found that the parking lot was not installed as per specifications in the documents provided to Rockford Structures, they and their subcontractors will be responsible for the repairs at whatever costs that are incurred. He then stated that if it is found the lot was installed according to the engineer’s design and specifications and according to the City of DeKalb requirements, then a determination would have to be made regarding the additional drains as recommended by the original engineer’s opinion. Mr. Bickel explained that it should be determined what exactly caused the problem and what the long term solution should be. Dr. Baker made a motion that Matt Bickel of Wold Engineers obtain an independent engineering firm to do whatever is necessary to obtain a definitive answer to resolving this problem and a report be given at the next PBC meeting. Mr. Daugherty seconded the motion. Mr. Scheffers requested some specific testing take place by the engineering firm. Mr. Bickel responded that he will coordinate this effort with the Facilities office to assist in defining the scope of the proposal. The motion carried.

CHANGE ORDERS:
Mr. Bickel stated that there are two change orders (attached as Exhibit “A”) which are items 23 and 27. Item number 23.1 is for a credit for lights to be installed in the storage mezzanine. Item number 23.2 is for a floor box in the Education suite which was omitted. Mr. Bickel added that change order 27 is where Mascal is seeking a labor rate increase which occurred after the substantial completion date. The negotiated amount is as follows: Change Order #23 was revised to $3,141.00 and Change Order #27 was reduced to $0.00. A lengthy discussion took place regarding how the net amount was achieved resulting in a motion by Mr. Smith to approve both change orders. Dr. Baker seconded the motion. The motion carried.

PAY REQUESTS:
Mr. Bickel presented one pay request for Mascal Electric in the amount of $20,329.00. (Attached as Exhibit “B” ) He reported that Mascal has completed all the punch list work, presented all their manuals, the “as built” drawings, and is ready to close out their portion of the job. Mr. Bickel explained that this will reduce their retainage down to $8,223.00 which includes the $3,141.00 for the change orders discussed previously today. A motion was made by Mr. Smith to approve the pay request as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Swanson.

Dr. Baker asked Mr. Scheffers if there are any other issues he might have with Mascal prior to closing out their contract. Mr. Scheffers expressed some concerns with the fencing surrounding the emergency generator and asked Mr. Bickel if that would fall under Mascal’s responsibility. Mr. Bickel responded that he feels the fence was installed as per the specifications provided by Caterpillar and Mascal fulfilled what they were directed to do to complete the installation. Mr. Bickel added that he has not had a reply yet from Cat regarding their responsibility but will continue to communicate with them. Dr. Baker asked Mr. Scheffers if everything has been tested and if he is satisfied that everything else is in working order. Mr. Scheffers said there is one issue we are working on with M.G. Mechanical regarding the glycol storage tank. Mr. Scheffers explained that the tank normally holds 40 gallons of a glycol mix but for some reason the level dropped to 9 gallons, however no leaks were found. Mr. Scheffers was instructed by M.G. Mechanical to refill the tank and keep it under observation. He reported that there has not been any more loss of glycol. Dr. Baker asked about the amount of retainage being held for M.G. Mechanical. Mr. Bickel stated the amount was approximately $20,000.00. Mr. Bickel said that M. G. Mechanical has been responsive when we have required a service call issue, however, they have not been very responsive in submitting their pay requests close-out documents. Mr. Bickel said they have not been very cooperative in the area of training for the FMO staff and that formal training needs to be provided. He added that the next step will be a formal letter requesting that training be scheduled. Mr. Scheffers indicated that M. G. Mechanical has not been charging for any service call we have requested. Dr. Baker made a motion to have Mr. Bickel draft a letter to M. G. Mechanical requesting that training of the FMO staff be scheduled in a timely fashion. The motion was seconded by Mr. Daugherty. The motion carried.

Mr. Hanson reported on the progress for the COB storage system installation. He explained that we originally intended to use GSA pricing, however, there was some interest from other vendors, therefore we put the project out for bid. We received two bids which were $50,000 apart. However, the low bidder did not submit a bid bond and on advice of the state’s attorney the project would have to be re-bid. We have decided to go back to the GSA pricing and will make sure everything we require will be included. Dr. Baker asked if we have had any prior experience with the low bidder. Mr. Hanson responded that the low bidder is Associated Industrial Structures from Minnesota and we have not had any previous experience with them. Mr. Hanson stated that the other bidder is J. C. Edwards from Peoria. He added they have done all of our other five installations and have done a very good job in the past. Mr. Hanson said that they are unable to lower their costs which is unfortunate because they had put together the original design for the COB storage room. Mr. Bickel stated that we are hours away from completing the GSA pricing for the project. He stated that prior to putting this project out for bid he had contacted AIS to check them out and found they have a lot of experience with government installations. Mr. Bickel was requested to check references and then issue the contracts if thery were favorable.

STATUS OF THE 2009 PBC PROJECTS
Mr. Hanson distributed copies of the 2009 PBC Project Status report (attached as Exhibit “C”) He reported that he is not certain that we will proceed this year with item #1 the moveable wall in the Gathertorium. Mr. Scheffers reported that item #4 Parking Lot Maintenance will not take place until after the installation of the generator at the PSB which is item #6. He explained that a crane needs to be brought in to place the generator which may cause some damage to the parking lot, therefore, the parking lot maintenance will be done after the generator project. Mr. Scheffers stated that the garage floor & drain project has been completed and was not problematic. He said that now all the electrical is located in conduit on the wall instead of in the floor. He added that the only issue to be completed is to install power to a heater located in the employee corridor.

AUDITORS MANAGEMENT LETTER (Attached as Exhibit “D”)
Dr. Baker stated that item two on page three of the management letter drafted by Sikich LLP as part of the 2008 audit and titled “Segregation of Duties” was a concern both last year and this year. There were no solutions or recommendations made but only pointed out as a concern. Dr. Baker mentioned both items one and three in the management letter. A lengthy discussion took place concerning item number three regarding the funding of the General Operations Fund. Dr. Baker commented that it appears that we will be out of money in the General Fund for the type of projects the PBC has done in the past. Dr. Baker expressed concern that these projects will not be done due to the lack of funding to facilitate important projects. Mr. Hanson suggested that perhaps the administrative costs could be built into a project at the time the project is being funded by the county. Dr. Baker felt we should attempt to seek new revenue sources. No further action was taken.

NEW/OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Daugherty asked if there are plans to remove the excess dirt remaining at the location of the Community Outreach Building. Mr. Hanson responded that last fall the County Highway Department requested that they use it as part of the construction project to widen Annie Glidden Road. He added that it is scheduled to be gone by the end of summer but with the lack of activity seen to date that may not happen.

NEXT MEETING:
Chairman Hutcheson announced that the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 8:30 A.M. in Conference Room East.

ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Mr. Daugherty seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously by a voice vote. Meeting adjourned at 9:48 A.M.


Robert Hutcheson, Chairman

Mary G. Simons, Secretary