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[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.