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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-1997 Meeting I I I PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ROOM - June 10, 1997 4:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mays, Chairman; Kuhlke, Zetterberg, members; R. Oliver, Administrator; Brenda Byrd-Pelaez, EOA Director; Butch McKie, Finance; Lori D'Alessio, County Attorney's Office; Tom Beck, Director Recreation; Rob Sherman, Stewart Walker and Larry Harris of the License & Inspection Department; Moses McCauley; Interim Transit Director; Ronnie Few, Fire Chief; Richard Leech, Director ARC Library; Al McDill, Director Bush Field; Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission and Belinda Brown of the Clerk's Office. ABSENT: Moses Todd; Commissioner. ALSO PRESENT: Sylvia Cooper, Augusta Chronicle; Rosemary Forrest, Metro Spirit. The Clerk: We have a request for 6 addendum items as listed on your addendum agenda. 1. Discuss the future operation of Newman Tennis Center. 2. Motion to approve professional services supplement at Belle Terrace Swim Center for $6,500 to precision Planning Inc. 3. Approve work Plan for Phase I renovations to Julian Smith/Lake Ilmstead Park in the amount of $689,431, and to approve the transfer of Augusta Canal Master Plan funds in the amount of $100,000 in SPLOST Phase III, to be added to the Julian Smith/Lake Olmstead proj ect. (proj ect budget estimate from Roger Davis & Assoc. ) 4. Motion to approve $25,000 increase to the capital budget for architectural and constructgion costs related to roof replacement of the "old tower" electrical vault building and approve architectural fees. 5. Motion to approve $120,000 increase to the capital budget for architectural and construction services related to the demolition of the old hotel wings, along with a work order to proceed not to exceed $45,000for architectural fees. 6. A motion to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with the Transit Department and Gregory Szymik. Mr. Kuhlke: So move. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Library Director to Approve $28,000 as detailed in 1997 Capital Budget toward purchase of replacement Bookmobile; said funds to be matched with federal, state and other library funds to purchase vehicle. Mr. Leech: We have a 1984 vehicle with 174,000 miles on it. We are looking to replace that vehicle with a handicap accesible vehicle which will allow us to better serve all residents of the area that we currently serve. The total cost is about $120,000. we have a Federal grant of $42,000 in hand towards this. We have State monies in the amount of $20,000. We have committments from our other member counties totaling about $25,000. We can get a trade in of about $5,000 on our current vehicle and with the $28,000 that's in the Capital Budget for Bookmobile use we will be able to pull together our package and sign a contract for the purchase of a new vehicle. So what I'm asking is that the money be made available so that we can go ahead and sign a contract. We must spend the Federal money before September 30, 1997. Mr. Zetterberg: So move. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A Discussion: License Extension: A request by Jerry L. Kight for an extension to purchase the alcohol beverage license to be used in connection with the Town Tavern Restaurant located at #15 Seventh Street. Mr. Kight: Jerry L. Kight, 2615 Marlet Court. Mr. Walker: He is requesting an extension of purchasing his license. It is in accordance with the Ordinance, he has already been approved and we want to ask for a sixty day extension becuase he still has more repairs to do to the building. Mr. Zetterberg: So move. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. Motion carried unanimously. New Ownership: A request by Hayward A. Fields for a consumption on premise liquor, beer and wine license to be used in connection with Club Hollywood's located at 1505 Morth Leg Road. There will be a dance hall. No objectors. Mr. Harris: The license should be in the name of Chandrea Dock who is the local manager, Mr. Fields resides in Statesboro, Ga. Ms. Dock: Chandra Dock, 2620 Circle. Mr. Walker: This application is in the name of Chandrea Dock, and it does meet all requirements of the Alcohol Ordinance and has been approved by the Sheriff's Department and we recommend approval. I I I I I I Mr. Kuhlke: So move. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion: Sunday Sales License: A request by Glenn Ashley for a Sunday Sales License to be used in connection with Charlie's Restaurant & Tavern located at 2182 Gordon Highway. Mr. Ashley: Glenn Ashley, 4542 Peach Orchard. Mr. Walker: This application meets all requirements of Sunday sales and has been approved by the License Department and the Sheriff's Department. Mr. Kuhlke: Move approval. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Director of Recreation to discuss the future operation of the Newman Tennis Center. Mr. Beck: Back in April when we first brought the Newman Center issue to you, you did instruct me to go out for a request for proposal to try to seek lease holders any potential firms, individuals or groups that might be interested in leasing the facility for operation. We did so, we sent out a request for proposal and I also met individually with two of the local Tennis Associations, the CSRA Tennis Association and the Mont Tennis and Chess Academy, who are two of the incorporated bigger tennis bodies in the area. At the completion of request for proposal time we received one bid in for potential operation of the facility. Since you received your information, I have received a memo from Mr. Fuzy's with Sport's Habit Inc., was affirmed, and did put a proposal in. Since that time Mr. Fuzy has withdrawn his bid. Therefore, I would like to recommend placing the operation of the Newman Tennis Center under the Recreation and Parks Department with the proposed budget at a total operational cost of $216,000. Should you decide to accept this proposal, I would also ask that you would allow us the opportunity to go ahead and employ the same persons that are operating the center now. Mr. Oliver: You want to go down what those persons are and what they do, because this is going to increase our overall personnel count. Mr. Beck: In your budget, we have outlined the areas of personnel, and there are actually four areas of personnel that this involves. (1) The manager of the facility; (2) the head professional; (3) a full time maintenance worker that is employed year round to keep up a fairly intense landscaping situation and eighteen tennis courts; (4) parttime support staff, that would be employed to run the Pro Shop, do the sign in-sign out, collection I of fees and concessions, that type thing. Being more specific, the managers duties would be that to be the overall manager of the facility, paid at a salary, and I know that this is of some concern, and we'll go ahead and get it out in the open now and talk about it. There is some concern, and Lori, Jim, Randy and I have talked about it, how we can approach it. Currently, the relationship with the manager is this; he is paid a straight salary by the University and then is also allowed to teach tennis lessons to supplement his income. He is also allowed a fee for restringing of rackets, which is a relatively skilled thing, so the manager and the head pro are paid a fee to do that skilled service. Ms. D'Alessio: We wanted to be able to look at this question of paying him on a salary basis for some hours of the week and on a commission the other hours of the week. But, as Tom says, apparently Augusta State has been doing that for sometime and we do know that Rome, Ga., is doing that at their public facility. So I don't know that it's not something that we could work out, but we did have some questions that we wanted to be able to follow up on and look at. Mr. Oliver: The other thing that is of concern to me, is to maintain control from the standpoint of, and correct me Tom to make sure I understand this right, but during the time that he or she is manager, they can provide lessons and do restringing, or they can I not? Mr. Beck: No, they would not. Mr. Oliver: How do you control that to insure that they only give lessons before or after if you will our hours and do restringing activities, cause there is obviously a temptation there, perhaps. Mr. Beck: Could be, I guess my reply to that would be, that it would be up to us to monitor that, and it would have to be in an agreement with the manager. Mr. Kuhlke: Why can't you have the manager on a contract basis, rather than an employee. Mr. Oliver: I would like to have them on a percentage of the bottom line. Mr. Kuhlke: It is probably customary for the head pro, not necessarily the manager, to give lessons and to do stringing rackets and so forth. So that you don't have a problem Lori, what is the difficulty in having the manager under contract and the others as employees? I Ms. D'Alessio: I don't think that there would be if we can work it out with him, that he would be agreeable to doing that. I I I The only thing I can think of is the independent contract status, depends on how much you control and influence the way he does his job, and we need to be sure again, that that's something we can negotiate with him, that would be acceptable to us legally and acceptable to him, considering his salary history. Mr. Kuhlke: If that worked out Tom, would you have a problem with that. Mr. Beck: That would be fine. In doing the research around, especially the state and centers in Columbus, Savannah, Macon, Rome, and Rome is the only place that I actually got a contract from, but it's a very similar setup. Actually, it wasn't a contract, it was an employment agreement, but their setup is very similar to what he is being paid now at Augusta State. And what you are talking about is going one step farther with a contract. If I could just mention the other positions; the head professional, the way it's being done now, he is paid as an employee for 20 hours a week, to be there, to perform actual employment services in the Pro Shop. His other income, outside those 20 hours is derived from teaching tennis lessons, which is on a an 80/20 contract. 80% goes to the instructor, 20% stays with the Center. Very similar to the way we do tennis lessons now in other centers around or other instructional programs. Mr. Kuhlke: I move approval, subj ect to working out the agreement with the manager. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Recreation Director to approve professional services supplement at Belle Terrace Swim Center for $6,500 to Precision Planning Inc. Mr. Beck: Actually you have already approved this once. This is really a houskeeping bill. Back in November when we enlarged the building, if you all will remember, part of our package was $6,500 for the engineering and architectural and that was in the budget package and this just actually approves their addition to the contract. Mr. Kuhlke: Move approval. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A request to a Approve work Plan for Phase I renovations to Julian Smith/Lake Olmstead Park in the amount of $689,431, and to approve the transfer of Augusta Canal Master Plan funds in the amount of $100,000 in SPLOST Phase III, to be added to the Julian Smith/ Lake Olmstead project. A request from the Interim Transit Manager for a Memorandum of Understanding between Augusta-Richmond County and Gregory Szymik to I approve a contract for professional services related to transit planning activities at an hourly rate of $30.00, not to exceed $7,500. Mr. McCauley: These services will be instrumental as far as transit planning. We are getting ready to do a triunal review, which suggest that the Federal Government will send down investigators to review the entire transit process. Mr. Szymik's expertise is essential in this process, because he has worked with the transit system before and provides the expertise that we really need at this time. He has helped Mr. Johnson in the past on a number of transit planning concerns. What he actually does is when grants are let to the Federal Government, there is a concern about some of the language and terminology and the DOT and Federal Administration adds concerning the way money is spent, the way items are purchased through these grants. And right now we don't have anyone aboard with the expertise to make sure these things are done righ. I'm beginning to see that there are so many restrictions as to how these monies are spent, and we want to make sure we are doing it in the right way. And Mr. Syzmik is very familiar with the transit system and this is a budgeted item. Mr. Zetterberg: So move. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. I Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Director of Bush Field to approve a $25.000 increase to the capital budget for architectural and construction costs related to roof replacement of the "old tower" electrical vault building. Mr. McDill: This "old tower" building which now serves as the electrical vault services the air field lighting equipment at the airport for the runway and taxi way system. We have had the architects look at this already and I would suggest to you that this is a firm figure. The monies do come out of operating revenues that are on hand. The Airport Commission has approved this. Mr. Zetterberg: So move. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. Mr. Oliver: I think for the sake of expediency, because it is in the recommendation, you wanted the work order to the architect to do it, do you know the amount, because if they approve this all it's going to do is transfer the money and it won't approve the work order. And I'm thinking for the sake of expediency it may be better if you could tell them how it is and just say approve issuance of work order to so and in the amount of such and such for I I I I this work, and approve architectural fees to this firm not to exceed 10%. Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Director of Bush Field to approve $120,000 increase to the capital budget for architectural and contruction services related to the demolition of the old hotel wings, along with a work order for the architect to proceed. Mr. McDill: The removal of these wings is essential in order to complete the short term parking lot that was presented to you in a previous meeting that was approved. For whatever reason, the cost was not put into the airports budget, previously, it was not recognized as being a necessary part of the budget, it's not a part of the LPA Group contract that was put before you previously. We do have an architect that is under contract presently, we would need a work order for Cheatham, Fulcher, Scott & Sears. Mr. Zetterberg: So move. Mr. Oliver: And you want to approve architectural fees to that firm not to exceed $4,500. Mr. Kuhlke: When you get into this, I'm almost certain you will have some abestos in those old buildings. My experience is when you get into that, sometimes that cost will double, from a demolition standpoint, so are you suggesting that what you are doing is putting in a contingency at this point, and you actually don't know what that will cost until you get into it. Mr. McDill: We don not know. We have had a couple of contractors look at it, and they were not able to determine if there was abestos there, but the construction was done in that period, the pipes and what have you are going to be, I'm sure insulated with abestos material. There will be some, I don't have a clue as to how much, but $35,000 is a contingency. Mr. Kuhlke: Second. Motion carried unanimously. A request from the Director of Recreation to Approve work Plan for Phase I renovations to Julian Smith/Lake Olmstead Park in the amount of $689,431, and to approve the transfer of Augusta Canal Master Plan funds in the amount of $100,000 in SPLOST Phase III, to be added to the Julian Smith/Lake Olmstead project. Mr. Beck: Back in March, Mr. Roger Davis with Roger Davis and Associates, presented to you the master plan, and you approved this plan in concept, for Lake Olmstead and all of it's property there. What you did ask us to do, when you approved the master plan was, because the plan was actually presented to you in phases and potential proposes as to how it could be implemented, you did ask us to come back to you when we were ready and have done our recommendation and our estimating and our initial design for what I we are recommending to be the first phase of construction for the renovations to Lake olmstead. At this time Roger Davis presents the master plan for Julian Smith/Lake Olmstead Park. After further discussion; Mr. Kuhlke: I move approval subject to a formal dedication of $100,000 from the Canal Authority and also the coordination of the sales tax funds being available to fund the project within the time frame. Mr. Zetterberg: Second. Motion carried unanimously. With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission bjb I I