07/06/1993 - City Council Special t
AGENDA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday
July 6, 1993
5:00 p.m.
Eagan Municipal Center Building
I. ROLL CALL & ADOPTION OF AGENDA
II. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER SELECTION
III. TREE PRESERVATION GUIDELINES
IV. WESCOTT SQUARE COMMONS
V. OTHER BUSINESS
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MEMO TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
FROM: CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES
DATE: JULY 2, 1993
SUBJECT: SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING/JULY 6, 1993
A Special City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 6, 1993 at 5:00 p.m. Pizza
and soda will be provided for the Council and staff.
Construction Manager Selection
At its meeting of June 15, 1993, the City Council received the screening committee
recommendation and selected E & V Inc. to be the City's construction manager on the
public safety/municipal center expansion project. Subsequent to that selection, but prior to
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the execution of the contract with the firm, the City was informed that E& V had been the
construction manager for the Burnsville Municipal Center and Police Department
construction. This reference had been omitted from E & V's list of references and list of
representative projects. As a consequence, staff contacted representatives of the City of
Burnsville requesting a reference and were told .the circumstances about Burnsville's
relationship with E & V which led them to conclude that they would not hire the firm again
in the future.
As a consequence of this information, staff and the City Attorney met with a representative
of E & V to discuss the omission and the reasons behind the reference. Bob Struve, on
behalf of E & V, apologized for not highlighting the Burnsville experience and noted that
while the Burnsville project did not appear in the body of the firm's proposal,Burnsville was
one of the clients listed on the back of one of the brochures submitted with the proposal.
In addition, Mr. Struve has submitted correspondence, which is enclosed on pages it
through L5" for your review. In it, he outlines the firm's perceptions of the Burnsville
experience and their response to the concerns raised by staff.
Before moving forward with execution of the contract, staff felt it appropriate to return this
issue to the Council in light of the additional information. In general terms, the City of
Burnsville indicated that it would not hire the firm again although the only member of the
team who worked on the Burnsville project who is also committed to the Eagan project was
recognized by Burnsville for his ability. In addition, Burnsville indicated that the project
team had difficulty in working together and that E & V personnel were not effective in
resolving those issues. The City of Burnsville did acknowledge that the project was
completed on time and under budget, but felt that the scope of their project was modified
significantly in order to accomplish the outcome.
In the meeting with staff, E& V responded to certain of these concerns and has represented
some of their perceptions of the circumstances in the attached letter.
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July 6, 1993 Special City Council Meeting
Page Two
While the Request for Proposal did not require proposers to submit all previous municipal
experience for consideration, it did indicate that the selection would be based in P art on
"demonstrated previous experience in construction management with other municipal
centers/law enforcement/public safety facilities"and"the demonstrated ability to effectively
and efficiently manage the project within the owner's stated requirements." The choice of
E & V to not emphasis a substantially similar project in a City immediately adjacent to
Eagan caused sufficient concern for staff to bring the item before the City Council.
It is anticipated at the present time that a representative of E & V will be present to
respond to Council questions directly. Legal Counsel has advised the City that it is under
no obligation to execute a contract or exercise a selection if the Council feels that omission
of the information relative to the Burnsville project is sufficient to consider selection of
another construction management firm.
If the Council feels satisfied that E & V's responses in this regard are sufficient, staff will
move forward with negotiations and execution of the consultant contract in this regard. If
not, staff would request direction from the Council with respect to second interviews for two
or more of the other finalist firms.
Tree Preservation Guidelines
The draft tree preservation guidelines are included in the regular Council packets for
consideration as part of the regular meeting. Parks & Recreation Director Vraa, Parks
Superintendent VonDeLinde and Acting Community Development Director Hohenstein will
be present at Tuesday's meeting to answer questions the Council may have and discuss
applications of the Guidelines to the development process.
This opportunity for discussion is being provided to permit the Council to address its
questions in an informal workshop setting which may be more conducive to understanding
portions of the policy than would be the case in a formal Council presentation. It is not
intended to limit Council discussion at the time it is formally considered on the agenda and
staff will remain present for the regular meeting if additional questions should arise.
Wescott Square Commons
Parks & Recreation Director Vraa and Acting Community Development Director
Hohenstein will also be present to discuss progress on the Wescott Square Park property
acquisition and guidelines and expectations with respect to the Wescott Square Park
planning and development. One of the concepts currently being considered is naming the
facility Wescott Square Commons to underscore the identification of the area with its open
space and recreational opportunities. Other design aspects relative to the facility will focus
on the needs identified by the residents themselves in light of the area's unique
circumstances.
July 6, 1993 Special City Council Meeting
Page Three
Other Business
There is no other business at this time.
/S/ Thomas L. Hedges
City Administrator
my/ RECEEVED
June 29, 1993 M, u 1 i993
Construction Services
Holland•r r neopolis•Sacramento
Mr. Jon Hohenstein
City of Eagan
3830 Pilot Knob Road
Eagan, MN 55122-1897
Dear Jon:
As Tom said today, the thing that he dislikes most as an administrator is a "surprise". I couldn't
agree with his statement more. I'm both surprised and disappointed because this is not only
difficult to know how to deal with, but also hard to keep in perspective.
I do appreciate your forthrightness and know that this matter can be positively resolved. For my
part I will work to provide you the information you need to reaffirm your choice of E&V as
your Construction Manager.
I have reviewed your request for proposal and our proposal to you dated June 2, 1993. The
representative projects listed in our proposal section 1 and the references given in our proposal
section 5 are current. Exceptions to this are the Anoka County project and the IDS Learning
Center which reach back into the late 80's but have special significance because Michael Stowe
was the project manager.
The City of Burnsville project was not highlighted because Michael Stowe was not the project
manager. This does not mean that it was omitted. The City of Burnsville is noted as a client in
E&V's brochure presented in the Exhibits section of the proposal and was prominently •
mentioned in E&V's previous proposals to you dated June 20, 1988 and January 6, 1989.
My research into this issue makes it more complex than what apparently has been suggested.
E&V was given the specific task of moving the City. of Burnsville project to completion after it
had stalled. E&V completed all of it's contractual and professional obligations fully. In fact,
the project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. At the time that the project was
dedicated, Mayor McElroy had nothing but compliments for E&V.
I do understand that there was a personality conflict among the team members before and after
E&V joined the team. This is certainly unfortunate because I understand how cooperative
relationships benefit a project.
"Building Relationships Through Performance"
E &V INCORPORATED 12800 Industrial Park Blvd.•Suite 210•Minneapolis,MN 55441-3900•612/559-4111
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Page 2
City of Eagan
June 29, 1993
Last year Michael Stowe talked with Greg Konat of the City of Burnsville. He reported to me
that Greg had a favorable opinion of Mike Stowe and could recommend him to prospective
E&V clients.
As the facts are examined, I see E&V's ability to perform for you still intact and we look
forward to doing just that. I trust that this letter answers your questions and concerns but I
remain available if needed.
Very truly yours,
E&V, INCORPORATED
Robert
2ef- '). Struve, P.E.
Vice President
RJS/rjr .
cc: Mr. Thomas Hedges
City Administrator
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