[0:00] [music]

[0:10] Heat.

[0:15] [music]

[0:24] » [music]

[0:36] » Oh,

[0:41] [music]

[0:45] heat, heat.

[0:51] » [music]

[1:02] » Heat. Heat.

[1:08] [music]

[1:10] Heat. Heat. N.

[1:17] [music]

[1:21] » [music]

[1:33] » Heat. Heat.

[1:35] [music]

[1:42] » [music]

[2:07] » Heat.

[2:10] [music]

[2:20] Heat.

[2:24] [music]

[2:31] » [music]

[2:42] >> Heat. Heat.

[2:47] [music]

[2:55] » [music]

[3:04] >> Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat.

[3:07] [music]

[3:13] Oh,

[3:17] [music]

[3:30] heat, heat.

[3:32] [music]

[3:36] Heat. Heat.

[3:40] [music]

[4:03] » [music]

[4:09] » Heat. Heat.

[4:16] [music]

[4:22] » [music]

[4:44] >> Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey.

[4:46] Heat. Heat.

[4:48] [music]

[5:17] » [music]

[5:23] » Heat. Heat. N. [music]

[5:32] Oh,

[5:38] [music]

[5:49] heat. Hey. [music] Heat. Heat. N.

[6:03] [music]

[6:08] » [music]

[6:20] » Heat. Heat.

[6:23] [music]

[6:29] » [music]

[6:41] » Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat.

[6:59] [music]

[7:22] » [music]

[7:33] >> Heat.

[7:37] N.

[7:41] [music] Heat. Heat. N.

[7:45] [music]

[7:52] Heat. Heat. [music]

[8:30] » [music]

[8:47] » Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey.

[8:52] Heat. Heat. [music]

[9:15] Heat. Heat.

[9:21] [music]

[9:44] » [music]

[10:01] » Heat. Heat.

[10:03] [music]

[10:08] » [music]

[10:18] >> Heat. Heat.

[10:26] [music]

[10:27] Heat. Heat.

[10:31] [music]

[10:54] » [music]

[11:16] » Welcome to the board of works meeting.

[11:18] Will you please stand and join me for

[11:19] the pledge of allegiance?

[11:23] To the flag of the United States of

[11:25] America and to the

[11:28] stands, one nation under God,

[11:31] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[11:34] for all.

[11:40] » All right, if we could do our uh roll

[11:42] call.

[11:43] >> Mayor Bont

[11:45] >> here.

[11:46] >> Member Newell. Member Lewis

[11:48] >> here. Member Farcus, member Mleta

[11:52] >> here.

[11:54] >> All right. Did everyone have a chance to

[11:55] look at the minutes? Is there any uh

[11:58] comments on the minutes or a motion to

[11:59] approve?

[12:00] >> Make a motion to approve the minutes.

[12:02] >> I'll second the motion.

[12:03] >> We have a motion and a second. All in

[12:05] favor, please signify by saying I.

[12:07] >> I.

[12:09] >> All right. Now, we have uh no unfinished

[12:11] business. We get to new business. We

[12:12] have solicitors permit for Great Lakes

[12:14] Contracting LLC. Would you like to come

[12:18] up?

[12:19] You don't have to, but it's up to you.

[12:27] » Good morning.

[12:29] Um,

[12:31] I know the solicitor's permit thing has

[12:33] been something that's come up on uh some

[12:35] social media and stuff like that, but we

[12:37] are requesting a solicitor's permit. Um,

[12:40] we are a portage business. Um, we're

[12:44] located right here on Mcool Road. Um,

[12:47] and I guess there's a lot of things that

[12:50] I can go over, but I guess the biggest

[12:53] thing is are there specific like

[12:55] questions that the board needs answered

[12:57] other than the application that we

[12:59] already provided as to what our business

[13:02] is and how it conducts those business

[13:04] practices.

[13:06] >> I think my only question just for

[13:07] clarification because a solicitor's

[13:10] permit is about going just doortodoor.

[13:12] Um, I don't know if the right word is

[13:13] indiscriminately, but it's basically

[13:15] just going to a neighborhood, knocking

[13:17] on every door, and offering somebody the

[13:19] services. I know that something that you

[13:21] guys do, and I mean this because it's

[13:22] part of what you do, is like if

[13:24] somebody's had a fire or they've had

[13:25] damage to the home, you going to a house

[13:28] that's had a fire or damage as you do

[13:30] now, just to clarify, is not in

[13:32] violation of anything, nor has it ever

[13:34] been, because you're coming to a

[13:35] specific property to address a specific

[13:37] thing. I just want to make sure that you

[13:39] know that because what you're asking for

[13:41] is the ability to just go doortodoor

[13:43] offering services. Is that correct?

[13:46] >> That is correct. Obviously, we're in a

[13:48] unique situation that's come upon our

[13:50] city right now, which makes it so that

[13:53] we have vast amounts of damages

[13:56] throughout a lot of areas, right? Um so,

[13:59] um would I say going to every single

[14:02] door? No. it would be identifying ones

[14:04] that um appear that

[14:07] something would need to be done. Um with

[14:11] that um being said, I know it's been

[14:13] kind of brought up on like other types

[14:15] of solicitation efforts other than going

[14:18] to someone's door, right?

[14:21] Um,

[14:23] so the biggest thing for us is, you

[14:25] know, when we're doing social media um,

[14:27] advertising, it's essentially impossible

[14:29] to sit in front of a homeowner and

[14:31] explain to them, you know, what is

[14:33] necessary for temporary protection of a

[14:35] home and what kind of would be required

[14:39] um, from your insurance company for that

[14:41] type of action. Also, it's hard to

[14:44] explain to them, you know, how do you

[14:47] explain to a homeowner on a on a

[14:51] platform of like, hey, these are the

[14:53] requirements to document personal

[14:55] property correctly. These are the

[14:57] requirements on how to um you know,

[15:00] mitigate water damages or mitigate

[15:03] microbial growth damages. Those things

[15:05] are very hard to explain to people

[15:06] without being in front of them. Um,

[15:09] furthermore, the uh I brought the packet

[15:12] that we literally give to homeowners

[15:13] when we walk away from them, but about

[15:16] 80% of the information that we give to

[15:18] homeowners is actually just general

[15:20] information. Um, even to the extent of

[15:24] one of the documents that we give

[15:26] homeowners is actually a document that

[15:29] says their right to choose a contractor

[15:31] after a loss. Right? So, even if they

[15:34] don't choose our company, we don't

[15:36] really care as long as they're informed

[15:39] about this is what's going to happen

[15:41] afterwards. And that's kind of the

[15:43] biggest thing because most people don't

[15:44] know. Um, and what Portage is going to

[15:47] find out, like I've been to several

[15:50] disaster areas. What we're going to find

[15:52] out here in about the 60 to 90 day

[15:55] period is that's when homeowners are

[15:58] going to start getting frustrated and

[16:00] they're not going to know what to do.

[16:02] having information like this really

[16:04] helps them with that.

[16:07] >> So

[16:09] my problem with with with it is first

[16:12] off I commend you for coming in and

[16:14] wanting to do it legally because right

[16:15] now we're going through a problem.

[16:17] There's a lot of companies coming from

[16:18] all over the place that are out knocking

[16:20] on doors that are not doing it legally.

[16:22] Um but we've been very consistent in the

[16:24] last couple of years unless it's a

[16:26] school organization

[16:28] um raising money for you know some

[16:30] sports team or something. We've not

[16:32] allowed door-to-door solicitation

[16:34] because that's the people of Portage

[16:37] don't want it. Um, which is why we've

[16:40] not done it. And again, I think what

[16:42] you're I think what you're offering is a

[16:43] good service. Um, but I think you're

[16:46] going to be mixed in there with a bunch

[16:47] of the others that are out there that

[16:49] maybe are some of them might even

[16:51] unscrupulous that are knocking on doors

[16:53] and I think it's just going to frustrate

[16:54] people. So for that reason I I

[16:57] unfortunately I'd have to say no from my

[17:00] standpoint to to this.

[17:02] >> Yeah. Essentially though what is the

[17:03] alternative?

[17:06] >> So you have a you have a permitting.

[17:08] >> You're an independent business. I'm sure

[17:09] you don't understand that you can

[17:11] advertise, you can through social media,

[17:13] you can do mailers, and I know all those

[17:14] things are expensive, but

[17:17] um you know, we've denied this multiple

[17:20] times to other companies, and I I think

[17:22] it would

[17:24] I I I don't I just doesn't make sense to

[17:26] me. I we've been very consistent with

[17:27] it, and we if we start making exceptions

[17:29] in there, and then I'm not sure we'll be

[17:31] able to deny anybody legally.

[17:34] I think that you can have some written

[17:36] standards and that's something that I

[17:37] think we might want to explore. We used

[17:40] to have vigorous debates about sidewalk

[17:41] waivers and eventually we kind of came

[17:43] around to a uniform policy on sidewalk

[17:46] waivers. When I review the idea of like

[17:48] what would it be to be a solicitor who'd

[17:51] be approved? I mean to me my first

[17:53] questions are is it a local company

[17:55] which you are so that's like a check

[17:56] mark you know for you. Um is advertising

[17:59] a particular issue? Um, I don't mean any

[18:01] offense to some of the companies we've

[18:03] turned down, but it's been like Surf,

[18:04] Internet, Frontier, Comcast, companies

[18:07] with like million-dollar budgets and

[18:08] everyone's familiar with the product. To

[18:10] your point, the different things offered

[18:12] are often something that's easier

[18:14] understood in person. I am a bit

[18:16] concerned about though because of the

[18:17] nature of the business. This is not

[18:18] about you or the company. How many

[18:21] people like you that maybe aren't local

[18:22] could make the case of this is hard to

[18:25] explain and now we've got a question of

[18:27] what companies within the industry are

[18:28] we approving and not? The other thing

[18:30] I've always thought about too is is it a

[18:32] new company, which I don't know if

[18:33] that's fair, but it's always been on the

[18:35] mind. That's why for me, I just wanted

[18:37] to kind of make sure that you you guys

[18:39] asking for this is not based on a

[18:41] concern of not being able to reach

[18:44] people who are damaged because certainly

[18:45] if there's a damaged home in the area

[18:47] right now, you do. And to be fair,

[18:49] everyone has the ability to knock on the

[18:51] door and say, "Hey, I see that your home

[18:52] is damaged. My company does that." And

[18:55] by doing that, you're not in violation

[18:57] of any solicitor rules. as as ironic or

[18:59] weird as it might sound, it's when

[19:01] you're knocking on doortodoor going to

[19:02] every place, but that's what falls under

[19:04] the realm of doortodoor solicitation. I

[19:07] guess I'm trying to get at is individual

[19:09] solicitation is not against the city

[19:11] ordinance. Similar to man, I don't even

[19:14] know if uh I guess hypothetically the

[19:16] Comcast guy could be driving around and

[19:18] someone could be kicking his TV or

[19:20] throwing it out and say, "Hey, I saw you

[19:21] throwing your TV out. Are you mad about

[19:23] your TV service?" I happen to be the

[19:25] Comcast guy.

[19:27] He's not breaking our rules in in that

[19:29] very not probably going to happen

[19:32] example because he's introducing himself

[19:34] and he's identifying that there's

[19:35] somebody needing something. That's why I

[19:38] wanted to ask if you felt that there was

[19:39] a concern that your rules don't allow

[19:41] you currently to go to damaged homes

[19:43] because I mean they certainly do.

[19:45] >> Well, I guess that's definitely

[19:47] something that I didn't perceive within

[19:49] the policy was that like I'm not looking

[19:53] to go to every single house in Portage,

[19:55] right? If there's places that are not

[19:58] damaged, I wouldn't go there.

[20:00] >> Yeah. So, that's that's the that's the

[20:02] doortodoor. And again, I'm I'm in a spot

[20:04] where on one hand, I absolutely get what

[20:06] you're saying and about some of the

[20:07] uniqueness of your company and on the

[20:09] other hand, I get Andy's point, but

[20:10] that's why I want to check to make sure,

[20:12] let's say that it was a bright sunny day

[20:14] and there appear to be no homes damaged

[20:16] in a neighborhood. you uh with your

[20:18] information knocking on doors just to

[20:21] tell people that your company exists and

[20:23] these are the services you offer.

[20:25] >> That's door-to-door solicitation. You

[20:28] going to a home that you think is in

[20:29] need? And again, I you ask me like whose

[20:32] definition is a home in need? Really,

[20:35] the only thing we can go by is two

[20:36] things, of course. One, if you're

[20:38] knocking on every door and somebody's

[20:40] concerned because you're knocking on

[20:41] every door, you know, going around a

[20:42] whole neighborhood. And to be fair, if

[20:44] every house has holes in it or damage on

[20:46] it, that's still not door-to-door

[20:48] solicitation. The other thing, of

[20:50] course, is just it allows somebody to

[20:52] say, "Hey, this person won't leave my

[20:53] property or I'd like this person to go

[20:55] when they're not, which there's a

[20:57] threshold for that, even without

[20:58] solicitation."

[21:00] I guess my question, yeah, to you is is

[21:02] um if you're concerned that our current

[21:05] rules don't allow you to go to homes

[21:06] that are damaged after the storm, it

[21:08] does. You're within your right to go to

[21:10] homes that are damaged by the storm

[21:12] right now. The issue would be just going

[21:14] indiscriminately to homes just to let

[21:16] them know what you offer. And if you

[21:18] still want that, then you're still in

[21:20] the right place to apply for the

[21:21] petition. I just want to make sure that

[21:22] you understood the difference.

[21:23] >> Okay. Yeah,

[21:24] >> it sounds like the mayor might be giving

[21:25] you an out here.

[21:27] >> I think so.

[21:28] >> Close. I just want to make sure that

[21:30] everyone's kind of in agreement with

[21:31] that.

[21:32] >> Definitely my view. Um, and again, just

[21:35] speaking as a board of works member,

[21:36] that's kind of my call. Now, again, in

[21:39] the event that you're Now, to be fair, I

[21:41] I'm trying to think of a neighborhood

[21:42] that doesn't have damage right now.

[21:44] Cardinal Crossings, maybe.

[21:46] Say you were walking around Cardinal

[21:48] Crossings and you're knocking on every

[21:49] door. And every time somebody answers

[21:51] the door, you're just giving them

[21:52] information and the person says, "Well,

[21:54] my house isn't damaged." And you were to

[21:56] say, "Well, I know your house isn't

[21:57] damaged. I just want you to know that

[21:58] we're around." That's solicitation

[22:01] doortodoor, what we regulate. But if

[22:04] you're approaching a home because

[22:06] there's damage on it and you want them

[22:07] to let you know that you're a company

[22:08] that does the damage, that's not

[22:10] door-to-door solicitation that we

[22:12] regulate. Now, if that person still

[22:13] tells you to leave and you don't, then

[22:15] there's a separate issue. But I think

[22:17] you know that already.

[22:18] >> Okay.

[22:19] >> But Dan, he doesn't need the solicitor's

[22:21] permit to do what the mayor suggested he

[22:24] do. So hearing the issue framed, I mean,

[22:27] I think the mayor's articulated that

[22:28] well. The only other caveat I would put

[22:30] on is just make sure that you're not

[22:31] entering like active disaster scenes,

[22:34] active fire scenes, active police

[22:36] scenes. As long as it's, you know, as

[22:38] long as the pathway is clear and there's

[22:40] no tape around it or anything like that,

[22:42] then yes, you're

[22:44] as the mayor outlined, it's this is a

[22:47] different case. So it would be okay.

[22:49] >> You're talking about like an act of fire

[22:51] or like an act of, you know, something

[22:53] going on.

[22:53] >> Yeah. Because like the fire department,

[22:54] the police department have the ability,

[22:56] you know, under law to like to lock down

[22:59] a scene while they're conducting their

[23:00] investigation. But once that is

[23:02] released, then companies can come

[23:04] forward and start talking to homeowners

[23:06] when there is a need for that service.

[23:08] So this is not doortodoor. This is just

[23:11] being there for people to let them know

[23:13] what you do. And we've, you as the mayor

[23:15] articulated, that's what we're allowed.

[23:16] >> That's not what Chris Crayle told me.

[23:19] >> We're not going to get into that right

[23:20] now.

[23:20] >> I'm joking. I'm joking. But yeah, I mean

[23:23] I know you. I know what you guys do. I

[23:25] appreciate what you do. My understanding

[23:27] is that what you guys do as I've seen it

[23:29] would never be a violation of our

[23:31] doortodoor policy. It would be if you

[23:33] were just going on every single door

[23:35] just given information as long as you

[23:37] are, I guess the way I would say it,

[23:39] identifying a home that's in need and

[23:41] offering it. You know, it's not really a

[23:44] door-to-d dooror solicitation. Again,

[23:45] you're welcome to apply for doortodoor.

[23:47] I just don't know if this board's going

[23:48] to pass it or at least Andy doesn't

[23:50] sound like he's going to pass it. But I

[23:52] wanted to make sure you know what you

[23:53] can do regardless.

[23:54] >> Okay. Um, no, that makes sense. I guess

[23:58] that's that's the only reason why we

[24:00] applied for it because we wanted to

[24:01] follow the rules and I don't

[24:03] >> we totally appreciate that.

[24:04] >> Yeah. I didn't I didn't realize that

[24:06] that's how they would be essentially

[24:08] interpreted, I guess. But

[24:10] >> gets a little bit weird because you got

[24:11] to even ask yourself legally speaking

[24:13] what counts as anything, right? But

[24:15] essentially, it's just if there's five

[24:17] houses on a street and you're just

[24:19] knocking on their door to let them know

[24:21] that you exist and here's what you

[24:23] offer. You know, that's doortodoor

[24:24] solicitation.

[24:25] >> Okay?

[24:25] >> If there's five houses on the street and

[24:27] they all have a tree on the roof or they

[24:29] all have been burned down, you going

[24:32] door to door, even if you are going from

[24:33] one to the other, that's not

[24:35] solicitation because you are identifying

[24:37] a particular need.

[24:39] >> Okay? I'm sure eventually some Comcast

[24:41] guy or some company is going to claim it

[24:43] doesn't look like this house has cable.

[24:44] I better knock on the door. But

[24:46] [laughter] yeah, right. Okay.

[24:49] >> Cross that bridge we get there.

[24:51] >> And again, I think we all appreciate the

[24:53] fact that they're coming in to ask to do

[24:54] this legally because most don't.

[24:58] >> Okay. I mean, I think if that's the

[25:00] case, I mean, I think at this time we

[25:02] can rescend our

[25:04] request because it doesn't it doesn't

[25:06] fit our business model if that's how

[25:08] it's defined.

[25:08] >> Gotcha. And again, you've got us, you

[25:10] know, and if you'd like anything like

[25:11] defined, you know, by you I don't even

[25:13] know if you ever need something from us

[25:14] just to clarify, hey, this is not the

[25:16] same thing. Happy to do that, too.

[25:18] >> Okay. Appreciate it.

[25:20] >> Thank you.

[25:24] And that gets us to lifeline collection

[25:27] contract approval.

[25:30] >> Sure. If anyone's speaking on that or if

[25:31] that's just you, Dan,

[25:32] >> I'll uh I'll go ahead and get started

[25:34] and Roy, if you want to head up. Um

[25:37] so a month or two ago the fire

[25:40] department approached me to start

[25:41] discussing um consolidating

[25:44] um the contract for

[25:48] collecting

[25:50] uh delinquent ambulance collections and

[25:53] unifying it with our actual uh existing

[25:56] contract that runs the actual billing

[26:00] software. And so what was presented was

[26:02] that um through the good work of the

[26:04] fire department, they've determined that

[26:06] unifying the two contracts is going to

[26:08] save the city a significant amount of

[26:10] money, be a lot smoother, and so what Royy's going to describe a little

[26:15] bit more in detail is this unification

[26:17] of the contracts. What I have before you

[26:19] is something that we were thinking

[26:21] about. It's a resolution permitting the

[26:24] signing of this contract to unify the

[26:27] two contracts. And then at some point in

[26:30] the future when, you know, I can get

[26:32] with the the fire department to do this,

[26:34] we're going to actually release an RFP

[26:36] for a combined uh billing and collection

[26:40] service. But right now, for the

[26:41] convenience of the city and to save

[26:43] significant amounts of money, we're

[26:45] going to unify the two contracts. So,

[26:47] you know, if you want to go through some

[26:49] of the some of the savings that you've

[26:50] discovered, Roy, and all that, that'd be

[26:51] I think it'd be instructive to the

[26:53] board.

[26:53] >> Sure. So, [clears throat] the the

[26:56] previous contract was under Eagle

[26:58] Collections, which does a lot of uh

[27:00] different government uh collections, and

[27:03] they don't necessarily concentrate on

[27:05] medical collections per se. They can do

[27:07] it. Uh but with our ambulance billing

[27:10] company and the separate collections

[27:14] contract

[27:15] uh there were a lot of different hiccups

[27:17] that that go along. One would be just

[27:20] the fact that the collections company uh

[27:23] and has a 30% fee. Whatever they

[27:26] collect, they get 30% of it currently.

[27:29] Uh where this uh company or the

[27:31] subsidiary of our billing company is

[27:34] only 20%. So, right off the bat, that's

[27:36] 10% uh savings for that. The other thing

[27:39] is if somebody was to say uh they go by

[27:44] ambulance, they don't provide insurance

[27:46] information, the they don't respond to

[27:48] the billing company for whatever reason,

[27:50] and it goes to collections, and then

[27:52] they respond back and they say that

[27:55] we're filing for a hardship because

[27:56] we're we're down our luck. We don't have

[27:58] the money. if we do that to withdraw it

[28:01] from collections is a 15% fee against

[28:05] the city. So by by being generous and

[28:08] waving off that ambulance bill uh we

[28:11] would actually be owing this collections

[28:14] company uh 15% where if we do it through

[28:17] the ambulance billing company we won't

[28:18] have that. The other challenges that you

[28:21] run into with the ambulance billing is

[28:24] people have a certain time to respond

[28:25] with their insurance and they don't

[28:27] respond within a timely manner to the

[28:29] bill itself and it goes to collections.

[28:32] There was no way when it was submitted

[28:35] to the other collections agency to pull

[28:37] it back and then try to resubmit it to

[28:39] insurance. It was like a oneanddone

[28:41] deal. this gives us an avenue to

[28:43] withdraw that and uh try to do what's

[28:47] best for the uh patients on there and

[28:49] also opens up for hardship uh and other

[28:53] potential changes down the line for for

[28:56] uh the community.

[28:58] >> So again, as part of the review, you um

[29:01] you Roy and I have personally been

[29:02] working on this for quite a while. Um, I just absolutely have to compliment the

[29:06] fire department for discovering all of

[29:08] this, um, sifting through a lot of

[29:10] complicated collections work, uh,

[29:13] identifying savings, identifying

[29:15] efficiency. And so a a motion uh to

[29:19] approve this resolution would be a

[29:22] motion to allow us to transition to this

[29:25] new contract, unify the two contracts,

[29:28] and then get started on a follow-on

[29:31] request for proposals to see if there's

[29:33] additional savings that we could get by

[29:35] doing a unified uh billing and

[29:37] collections contract. So that's that's

[29:39] what's going on here. But again, a lot

[29:40] of a lot of compliments going out to the

[29:42] fire department for figuring out all of

[29:43] these savings.

[29:45] I I'll second that. Thank you for taking

[29:47] the time, making the effort to find

[29:49] that. And I'll certainly make a motion

[29:51] to approve resolution number 26.

[29:54] >> I'll second.

[29:58] » We have a motion and a second. All in

[29:59] favor, please signify by saying I

[30:01] >> I And uh for the record, um Carrie will

[30:04] have to figure out what what resolution

[30:07] number I just couldn't remember what

[30:08] number we were on, so that's my fault. I

[30:10] apologize.

[30:11] >> That's fine. I just texted uh Liz, too,

[30:13] so maybe I'll get it by the end of the

[30:15] meeting.

[30:15] >> Yeah. Okay, great. Yeah, we'll we'll

[30:17] announce that when we when we get it.

[30:22] » All right, that'll get us to the FEMA

[30:25] reimburseable work contracts. Uh Dan,

[30:27] did you want to explain this one?

[30:29] >> Yes. All right, so um you you may know

[30:33] that uh a rather sign significant storm

[30:36] hit Portage recently. um we are still

[30:39] under a city and state declared

[30:42] emergency and so one of the things we're

[30:44] sorting out is how long these

[30:45] emergencies last and what our

[30:47] flexibility is in terms of procurement.

[30:51] So, uh, one of the things that we have

[30:54] discovered is that there are a lot of folks out there that

[30:59] assist with, uh, with FEMA paperwork,

[31:03] with monitoring services, with tree and

[31:05] debris removal services. And these

[31:08] services kind of create a three-legged

[31:10] stool. And so, what what cities,

[31:13] municipalities, what counties are are

[31:15] looking to do is to put together three

[31:18] companies to do all three legs of the

[31:19] stool. Um, our team has done a whole lot

[31:23] of work and and and collected and

[31:26] reviewed a lot of pamphlets and so we

[31:29] have what we feel are are three very

[31:31] qualified organizations that can do all

[31:34] three legs of this stool. Um, what we're

[31:36] unclear right now is how the FEMA

[31:38] reimbursement is going to work. So what

[31:41] you have before you are three separate

[31:43] contracts that we feel if the FEMA

[31:46] reimbursement comes through like we

[31:48] think and pending some additional

[31:51] research I'd like to do on some

[31:53] procurement procedures during emergency

[31:56] you know operations uh the contracts in

[31:58] front of you we are looking to discuss

[32:01] those and possibly approve today with a

[32:04] caveat. So I will I will state this

[32:06] right now. So, what we're looking to do

[32:08] right now is have a motion to approve

[32:12] the awarding to the three contractors

[32:14] that are that that are in front of you

[32:16] and those contracts pending legal review

[32:18] and clarification of the state and FEMA

[32:22] emergency purchasing procedures and

[32:24] pending clarification of funding

[32:26] reimbursement and payment schedules. So,

[32:29] that's going to be the motion that

[32:31] someone can make. But right now, I'd

[32:32] like to open up to additional questions

[32:35] because this is a this is a confusing um

[32:38] and sometimes uh uh difficult to parse

[32:41] through time because this is new to a

[32:43] whole lot of counties and cities up here

[32:45] in Northwest Indiana.

[32:46] >> Yeah. To put it simply, I mean, this is

[32:48] something I know the team spent a great

[32:49] deal, one vetting the companies

[32:51] involved, and two, we made sure that as

[32:54] far as we know, like legally speaking,

[32:55] we got all ducks in a row. I think it

[32:57] makes sense that we want to do

[32:58] definitely a check to make sure that

[33:00] what we're doing is consistent with the

[33:02] FEMA, you know, policies. And also, I

[33:04] think that it's important that we have a

[33:05] payment schedule that works for the city

[33:07] because even if we get reimbursed by

[33:09] FEMA, we need to make sure that we're

[33:10] negotiating a payment schedule that

[33:12] matches the cash on hand, which is where

[33:14] I think Dan articulated the motion

[33:15] perfectly there.

[33:24] So Dan, I just want to make sure I see

[33:27] you say three contracts.

[33:29] >> Well, there there will be three

[33:31] contracts. Um,

[33:33] >> this was uh the one that Lean just put

[33:35] in front of the one

[33:37] >> the one I got here. Yeah,

[33:41] >> hold on. I'll I'll be right there.

[34:03] repeat.

[34:06] >> No, absolutely. So the the motion I'm

[34:09] suggesting is to pro uh is to approve

[34:12] the award to the three contractors

[34:14] um representing the three contracts in

[34:16] front of the board of works pending

[34:18] legal review and clarification of state

[34:20] and FEMA emergency purchasing procedures

[34:23] and pending clarification of funding

[34:25] reimbursement and payment schedules.

[34:27] Okay, full stop. So, if during

[34:30] additional legal review we discover that

[34:33] um we're not within our emergency

[34:36] purchasing procedures, which typically

[34:38] last about 30 days or depending on if

[34:41] these declarations had an ending date.

[34:43] Also, what we have to consider is is

[34:45] there actually a state of emergency?

[34:48] Because even though the streets are

[34:49] clear, um I believe today is the first

[34:51] day for kids in Portage Township schools

[34:53] to go back to school. Well, how many

[34:55] limbs are still hanging and dangling

[34:57] from wires? How many piles of wood are

[35:00] drying and subject to falling down? And

[35:02] we've got kids walking past. I mean,

[35:04] there's there are many many ways to

[35:06] define emergency. Um, I I I'm not going

[35:10] to offer an opinion, but again, there

[35:12] are there are so many different ways to

[35:14] define an emergency. Um there is a lot

[35:17] of findings here that show that we may

[35:20] still be in such an emergency which

[35:22] opens up different procedures for

[35:24] procurement. So again like I I'm the

[35:27] stuff is fluid. Um we're literally

[35:29] debating this and the team of uh but the

[35:32] team of consultants involved here they

[35:34] absolutely believe we are and they are

[35:36] showing how we are. There's no confusion

[35:38] there on their part and I don't think

[35:39] that there's really confusion on our

[35:41] part. We just want to make sure that our

[35:43] numbers and make sure that our language

[35:46] matches the one that they're providing

[35:48] because I think that as long as what

[35:49] they presented to us holds up

[35:51] completely, we're good with these

[35:53] contracts, but we want to have the

[35:54] ability to hold off if there is a

[35:57] problem presented by the state or the

[36:00] And we also believe

[36:01] >> completely understand. I just wanted to

[36:02] know how to word that.

[36:03] >> Yeah. No, absolutely. Yeah. You I mean,

[36:04] so

[36:05] >> Oh, you could you you could just say so

[36:07] moved because I've already articulated

[36:09] the motion. Um, so that that would be my

[36:11] recommend. But, uh, again, like we there

[36:15] there's so much research and work going

[36:17] into this behind the scenes. We don't

[36:19] want to wait. The last thing we need is

[36:21] to wait two weeks to the next board of

[36:23] works meeting and having all of this

[36:25] debris and, you know, and and things

[36:27] dangling when we could have people

[36:29] starting work within the next day or

[36:31] two.

[36:31] >> So, Dan, I think someone's about to say

[36:32] probably so moved or something to that

[36:34] effect.

[36:37] » So moved.

[36:38] >> Seconded. So, we have a motion and a

[36:40] second. All in favor, please signify by

[36:42] saying I.

[36:43] >> I.

[36:44] >> Thank you.

[36:49] » I lost my agenda. Here it is.

[36:53] Oh, that gets us to the uh board of

[36:55] works claims for 82526. Did everyone

[36:58] have a chance to read? And was there any

[37:00] questions for him?

[37:10] Make a motion we approve the claims in

[37:12] the amount of $525,116.

[37:17] » Second.

[37:18] >> We have a motion and a second. All in

[37:20] favor, please signify by saying I.

[37:22] >> I.

[37:22] Payroll claims for 8726.

[37:33] Make a motion. We approve the payroll

[37:35] claims for 8726

[37:38] in the amount of $2,76,4101.

[37:44] » Second.

[37:45] >> We have a motion in a second. All in

[37:46] favor, please signify by saying I.

[37:48] >> I.

[37:51] Any other uh matters to come before Oh,

[37:53] do we have any bulk appeals?

[37:55] >> No, mayor.

[37:56] >> Okay. Any other matters to come before

[37:57] this board? Mr. Cherry, how

[38:00] >> you're on a roll, Tom? not

[38:02] >> oddly enough.

[38:05] Um, so this was kind of last minute

[38:07] because of ticket sales, but Ready to

[38:10] Live Entertainment, who does the Founder

[38:12] Square, the bigger concerts, um, they're

[38:16] doing a concert Saturday night, August

[38:18] 29th, this coming Saturday. Um because

[38:22] ticket sales have gone well, they'd like

[38:24] to get permission from the board of

[38:26] works to close PFC Steven Circle Way

[38:31] just north of the fire station and just

[38:34] north of South Founder Square. So it'll

[38:37] still be accessible, the square will be

[38:39] accessible from Main Street north of

[38:42] that. So Rolley and everybody, you know,

[38:44] everyone's going to have access to the

[38:45] square. So, just that little strip to

[38:48] the east of Founder Square. Uh, I have

[38:51] verified with police and and fire. Have

[38:54] they Okay, police and fire have been um

[38:58] notified. Everyone's okay with the plans

[39:00] and just need that little road closure

[39:02] for Saturday night.

[39:04] >> I make a motion we approve the road

[39:06] closure for Saturday, August 29th.

[39:11] » Second.

[39:11] >> All in favor, please signify by saying

[39:13] I.

[39:13] >> I.

[39:15] >> Any motion? Oh, Tracy, do you need

[39:17] something?

[39:17] >> Mhm.

[39:18] >> Oh, yes.

[39:22] » Hello. Um, so with the storm that we've

[39:26] all been talking about, there's been um

[39:29] several residents who have been calling

[39:31] the clerk treasures office. Their homes

[39:33] have been destroyed, so trees down on

[39:36] them. They're unlivable.

[39:38] um they're requesting trash um to be

[39:43] stopped and sanitary which is not

[39:46] involved here. That'll be in another

[39:48] meeting. But they're asking for their

[39:50] dash trash to be halted. What we're kind

[39:53] of thinking on this, it's more on the

[39:55] sanitary way than the trash way, is if

[39:58] we can halt them for like the snowbirds,

[40:01] like we what we do with the snowbirds to

[40:04] stop them for four months and then they

[40:06] come back and request show their

[40:08] contractors

[40:10] work and what it's doing because trash

[40:14] is a little easier. Trash starts showing

[40:16] up there. We know people are living

[40:17] there for the sanitary. It's a little

[40:19] more difficult. I can't see through the

[40:21] wall to see if they got a toilet. So,

[40:24] um, that's what I'm asking to be

[40:25] approved, that these residents that call

[40:28] in and we verify that their house is

[40:30] destroyed, they bring in photos, that

[40:32] kind of stuff, that we're allowed to

[40:34] suspend their trash fee for four months

[40:37] and then they have to request it again.

[40:40] >> I think that makes sense to me,

[40:41] especially because I mean, and again,

[40:43] they don't have to be present here just

[40:44] as they're not present here right now.

[40:46] They several of them I spoke to had

[40:48] medical emergencies and stuff they had

[40:49] to do today.

[40:50] >> I think the fourmonth is a good policy

[40:52] because it gives us a way to check.

[40:53] Again, it's like Tracy said, it's

[40:55] important that we have a cut off date

[40:57] even if it's renewed. So that you know,

[40:59] you want to believe of course that

[41:00] everybody and I'm sure almost if not

[41:02] everybody is really in the situation,

[41:04] but in the event somebody, you know,

[41:06] starts, you know, coming back to the

[41:07] house and putting trash out, you want to

[41:09] make sure that we're watching that.

[41:13] >> Is there a motion? one made.

[41:16] >> I make a motion that we approve a

[41:18] fourmonth forgiveness or a delay. What

[41:21] do you want to call that?

[41:22] >> I think it's a vacate.

[41:23] >> It's a vacate. Like vacate.

[41:25] >> I make a motion we approve a four-month

[41:27] vacate like we do for snowbirds. So

[41:30] people whose homes were destroyed um

[41:34] have a reprieve until they get back in

[41:35] their home.

[41:37] >> Second.

[41:38] >> We have a motion and a second. All in

[41:39] favor, please signify by saying I.

[41:42] >> I. Thank you.

[41:42] >> Thank you. Any other matters to bring

[41:44] before the board hearing? None. Is there

[41:47] a motion to adjurnn? A

[41:49] >> motion to adjurnn.

[41:50] >> Second.

[41:51] >> All in favor say I. I.

[41:52] >> I.

COP Board of Works Mtg 08-25-26

Agenda

Transcript