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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-04-2007 CAPE FEAR PUBLIC UTILITY AUTHORITY BOARD MEETING SEPTEMBER 4, 2007 MEMBERS PRESENT:MEMBERS ABSENT: Matt Hunter, Chairman Jason Thompson Gene Renzaglia Burrows Smith Kathryn Johnston Rod Andrew Robert Greer Charles Wells Steve Thomas Bill Caster Jim Quinn Guest: Ed Donuhue, Municipal & Financial Services Group (MFSG) David Hyder, Municipal & Financial Services Group (MFSG) Chairman Hunter called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. 1. Opening Comments Chairman Matt Hunter a. Determination of Quorum: A total of ten Authority members were in attendance. A quorum was present. The various committees have met and there are several items that are being worked on in each of the committees. Items 1b (Update Summary of Operating Authority Committees) and 1f (Communications Recommendations for Members) are handouts from Matt Hunter and will not be discussed. Item 1d (Roberts Rules of Order on Main Motions) is a handout from Steve Thomas and will not be discussed. b. Handout Update Summary of Operating Authority Committees: Chairman Hunter distributed an updated copy of the Summary of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Committees to Authority members. Please refer to the handout for more detail. No discussion was held on the item. c. Recent Officer Guidance to MFSG: The item will be addressed later on during the meeting. It was noted that the consultants have been giving the Authority very good service, all their work and help is very much appreciated. d. Handout Roberts Rules of Order on Main Motions: Steve Please refer to the handout for more detail. No discussion was held on the item. e. Appointment of Communications Committee Chair: Matt Hunter is the Chairman of the Communications Committee. A meeting was held and it was very productive. The Public Information Officers from New Hanover County and the City Î of Wilmington were some of the members present. Lisa Zitomer, MFSG, was the facilitor for the meeting. Î The minutes are available from the meeting if Authority members are Î interested in reading them. All committee minutes should be directed to Steve Thomas for record keeping. f. Handout Communications Recommendations for Members: Chairman Hunter distributed a copy of Communications Recommendations for Members. Please refer to the handout for more detail. No discussion was held on the item. 2. Approval of Minutes Steve Thomas a. Minutes Corrections & Approval: Bill Caster noted under New Business, Section A, Accelerated Meeting Proposals homas made a motion that the Authority adopts the alcerated Gene Renzaglia made a motion to approve the August 7, 2007 minutes as modified. The motion was seconded by Kathryn Johnston. Motion passed with the modification noted. b. Recommendation of Sec. Future Authority Meeting Dates: Steve Thomas Currently, Authority members meet the first Tuesday of every month at 8:00 a.m. This is creating a challenge for some Authority members to be present at the regularly scheduled meetings. Steve Thomas made a motion to move the regular scheduled Authority board meetings to the second Wednesday of each month and move the time from 8:00 2 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Gene Renzaglia seconded the motion. A discussion followed on the topic. It was stated that two Authority members (Robert Greer and Bill Caster) Î would not be present for the October meeting if the date was changed to a Wednesday. Rod Andrew stated that it would be a major adjustment changing the date Î and time and suggested that Authority members should have more time to think about it before voting on the proposed change today. He stated that he was not aware that the Authority was considering changing the date and time at the meeting today. Rod Andrew and Bill Caster did not receive the e-mails informing Î Authority members of the proposed change. Steve Thomas noted that he received limited response back to the Î proposed change and assumed that there were no problems with the suggestion. The information was e-mailed to Authority members prior to the meeting. Rod Andrew suggested tabling the item until the October meeting, so Î Authority members could review their calendars and commitments. Rod Andrew made a motion to table the proposed meeting change until the Î October meeting. The motion was not seconded. A discussion followed on the item. Chairman Hunter stated that if the item is tabled, the meeting in October Î would be held on the first Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. until a decision is made. He also stated that the Authority does not like to meet routinely without one or more City Council members being present. There were seven Authority members in favor of tabling the motion and Î three Authority members against tabling the motion. The item has been tabled until the October meeting. The e-mail issue will be addressed by the Information Technology staff to resolve the problem, since e-mail is the major method of communications between Authority members. c. Recommendation of Sec. Goals & Clarifications for Authority Committees: Steve Thomas distributed a handout for Goals and Clarifications for Authority Committees. Please refer to the handout for more details. The schedule was designed by MFSG and Steve Thomas to be a functional tool for the Authority. It will be used as a tracking device to track the progress of each task, who is involved in the task and provide an estimated completion date for a specific project. Each of the committee chairmen were asked to establish a similar schedule for their own committees with the following information: what items need to be addressed, how long will they take, who is responsible for making the items happen, and what items are needed to take place before those items can be completed, etc. 3 Once a schedule has been established for each of the committees, the Chairman of that committee will submit the schedule to Steve Thomas, so that they can be incorporated into the overall schedule and be used as a building tool that will be used by the Authority for future agenda items. It was stated that the Information Technology Committee has already started this process. 3. Committee Reports a. Human Resources Committee: Kathryn Johnston The Human Resources Committee has established sub-committees for various items. The Committee is trying to keep the rates comparable to what they would have been had there not been an Authority while providing the employees with the same salary and comparable benefits. The County and the City of Wilmington have different benefit packages, so to keep the benefits comparable for both entities it might mean a slight increase to the employees. The Committee is in the final stages of the benefit package. The Î recommended benefit package will be put back through the rate model to see the sensitivity of what the small increase in benefit costs might be and to ensure the Human Resources Committee that before the benefit package is presented to the Authority that they know what the costs are and what impact it will have on the financial model. b. Inter-Local Agreements Committee: Rod Andrew Rod Andrew requested that his five minutes on this item be added to Item 6a on the agenda (Interim General Counsel Contract Approval). Chairman Hunter granted Rod Andrew the extra time for 6a. Î c. [Temporary] Search Committee: Jim Quinn The Authority determined that there is a need for an executive secretary, preferably someone internally who is familiar with the situation and has the skills and interest to do the job. Gene Renzaglia suggested looking for an interim communications person or Public Information Officer for the Authority, because as the Authority grows, contacts with the media and public will increase. There is no job description for a Public Information Officer. Î The Committee has hired an attorney to take care of legal matters for the Authority. The main objective of the Committee was to find a qualified attorney. Î 4 Since an attorney has been found, Jim Quinn made a motion to disband Î the Temporary Search Committee. Seconded by Gene Renzaglia. Motion carried. d. Facilities Committee: Burrows Smith Ten different facilities have been reviewed and looked at in all different price ranges including a renovated school building in Onslow County. The facility should be large enough to accommodate 30 people Î (administrative offices, CEO, General Manager, department heads and their support personnel) and their vehicles plus have available additional parking spaces for visitors when meeting or events are held at the facility. Ground floor facilities are more desirable than second story facilities. Î Another concern was, if the accounts receivable and accounts payable Î staff would be housed in the same facility as the administrative support staff or would they be located in a separate building? The majority of the customer service-oriented people will remain in place Î for now. It was stated that it was the intention of the Advisory and Planning Î Committee to keep a customer service function in the downtown area and at the Government Center, so the citizens would have access to either one depending on where they lived. The Authority could attempt to lease some space from the County, so that Î citizens could do one-stop shopping for permits and a variety of other things at one time. The customer service function should be located in conjunction with the other permitting and planning functions in one location. The main objective is to not get locked into a long-term lease, since space Î requirements might change. The idea is to find a short-term lease without spending a lot of money on Î retro fitting or other permanent fixtures until the Authority gets established. The Authority needs to decide what they want and how much they are Î willing to spend on rent. Steve Thomas suggested to Burrows Smith that he write down all the Î questions he has concerning the facility and who he thinks would be the best person to answer them. Most agencies would like to have a three-year lease, but one-year leases are available. One-year leases are not desirable, since it would acquire the Authority to Î be constantly be moving furniture, computers, etc. Jim Quinn asked the following question: Has a search of City or County buildings been done to see if excess space might be available? He also asked if there was a key person with either entity that could look into the vacant properties. 5 One governmental property was looked at, but it was not what the Î Authority wanted. It was noted that one of goals is to keep the cost down. Bobby Greer stated that there is County space available at the other end of Î the Government Center building and that it is being utilized, but at some time, the County will need to acquire the additional space. Bruce Shell stated that there was some space available and if need be, it Î could be freed up. Burrows Smith stated that he would be glad to meet again with Bruce Shell, County Manager, and MaryAnn Hinshaw, Assistant City Manager, to discuss the issue further. e. Information Technology Committee: Gene Renzaglia distributed a two-page summary describing what the Information Technology Committee discussed. Please refer to the handout for more detail. Tasks were assigned to other committees. The majority of the meeting was spent discussing the various items of the proposed contract with SunGard and what will need to be completed. The date of March 30, 2008, Î SunGard has begun the initial process of moving forward with the project; Î however, the initial start date would not be until the contract is signed. The contract is scheduled to be signed and executed on September 15, Î 2007. The target date for SunGard to receive the City of Wilmington data is Î before the contract is signed on September 15, 2007. The County data will be easy to obtain, since the County is currently using Î SunGard services. The Committee has identified specific needs with the development of various modules that will make up an integrated system that will allow the Authority to operate as a full-integrated business. There are seven modules that were developed they are as following: Î Financial Payroll Purchasing/Inventory Accounts Receivable Cash Receipts Land Management Work Orders An Information Technology Manager is a key position to the Î implementation of the modules. The Information Technology manager would be the liaison between the Î Authority and SunGard. The Information Technology Manager would be accountable to the Authority to coordinate and ensure that in the long run there would be a working integrated system that would provide all the necessary information that the Authority would need to operate efficiently. 6 One of the major components will be the development of the financial charter accounts. The chart of accounts is necessary for the development of the financial module. The land management sector of this particular program will require a tremendous amount of work; SunGard will need the data as quickly as possible, so that they can start processing the information needed for the sector. The Committee has asked SunGard to tell them specifically what it is that they need to have in order to put the software programs together; the whole process is very complicated. Finalizing the rate structure will be difficult since there are sufficient differences between the County and the City of Wilmington. The rate structure is extremely important because it becomes the revenue Î source stream for the organization and until the rate structure is established, a billing module cannot be generated. The Authority is scheduled to review and finalize the rate structure by Î October 31, 2007, so that a module can be put together. Gene Renzaglia made a motion to direct MSFG to finalize the job description for an IT manager and then to move forward with the recruitment process for the express intent of hiring an IT manager. The motion was seconded by Rod Andrew. A discussion incurred on the execution of the final contract signing. Motion carried. Ed Donuhue suggested that a stipulation be added to the contract stating to the availability from the County and the City of Wilmington will not be available until after September 24, 2007. The contract signing with SunGard is scheduled for September 15, 2007. Chairman Hunter determined that the Executive Committee will handle the details of the contract. Gene Renzaglia stated that would be fine since the Authority has not identified who has signatory authority at this point in time. Bill Lynch will need to review the contract and present his findings to the Authority at the October meeting. Kathryn Johnston stated that number seven of the IT Action Plan relates to the Human Resources Committee finalizing the payroll policies by October 31, 2007. She informed Authority members that the Human Resources Committee has a very detailed schedule and will not begin reviewing the policy and procedures until October 29, 2007. f. : Brent McAbee and Greg Thompson Chairman Hunter has requested that Brent McAbee and Greg Thompson provide a monthly update to Authority members at every meeting. A meeting was held with the City of Wilmington and County Managers to discuss the inter-local agreement. The inter-local agreement should be convened to the Authority on Î September 18, 2007. 7 Gene Renzaglia stated that it was his understanding that on September 18, Î 2007, the inter-local agreement would be presented to the City of Wilmington and County for their approval. Brent McAbee corrected Gene Renzaglia and stated that the inter-local Î agreement would not be approved on that date, but that major points would be presented and if all parties involved agreed on the substance issues, it would be taken back to the Board of County Commissioners and City Council for their approval at their first meeting in October. It was stated that as the Authority begins to commit monies to SunGard Î for an integrated system or tries to hire individuals without the inter-local agreement in place, it could create delays in the process. The inter-local agreement is a major component that needs to be addressed Î immediately. Ed Donuhue stated that Greg Thompson and Brent McAbee are capable of Î reaching the Board of County Commissioner and City Council. He also suggested that MSFG could help them put together a simple briefing document with all the key points to present to both entities. Several staff members, the City of Wilmington and the County participated in establishing the agreement and it is presumed that the document contains information that all parties are familiar with and that their understanding of the policy decisions and their wishes are reflected in the draft agreement. Everybody needs to understand what activities they should be doing and Î should not be doing. Chairman Hunter asked Jim Quinn if he had any input on the upcoming items on the agenda, since he will be leaving to attend another meeting. Jim Quinn stated he had two things he would like to discuss on 5a. Hire from within the organizations, I assume that there are individuals Î within the City of Wilmington and County that would be applying for these positions. Chairman Hunter replied only if they choose to apply. Î Jim Quinn asked the question: What is the progress on the applicant search? Gene Renzaglia replied there were approximately 75 applications. David Hyder stated that MFSG has received 147 inquires, including people asking for brochures. Seventy resumes were received and approximately ten people filled out the questionnaire. Some really good resumes have been received and a number of executives from other authorities from around the country have applied. 4. BREAK: Authority members took a five minute break from 9:15 to 9:20 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:20 a.m. 5. Decision Briefings: 8 a. Job Descriptions & Recruiting Plan for Direct Reports: Kathyrn Johnston A copy of all the job descriptions that were developed and reviewed by the Human Resources Committee was sent to Authority members. Also included in the packet were the plans to announce the job Î descriptions and to include the announcement information in three key web-based advertising places, as well as two key newspapers, the local . Wilmington Star News and the Raleigh News and Observer Job applicants are being referred to the website for a detailed explanation Î on each of the advertised jobs. The web site is a cost effective tool. The marketing plan is to move forward with preparing the job announcements and to begin a candidate search immediately. If the Authority approves the recommendation today, the job applications Î will be accepted until October 19, 2007. Telephone interviews for the key director reports would be scheduled between October 22 and November 11, 2007. The interviews would be held in December. The General Manager should be in place prior to December 10, 2007, so that he/she can make the final decision on the key direct reports. The Human Resources Committee will not be involved in the interview Î selection of the candidates. Gene Renzaglia suggested that a sub-committee be formed from the Î Authority members in conjunction with the General Manager when the final interviews are scheduled. The Authority could chose three or four individuals which may vary based on the position that is being interviewed. Certain certifications will be required for each job depending on the position. Rod Andrew stated that the Chief Engineering position requires a PE for Î licensing purposes. He would like to suggest that be changed as a requirement and secondly Î some experience in the private sector would be very helpful since the Chief Engineer will be involved in interviewing engineering firms for various projects. Ed Donuhue advised the Authority members not to go into all the details Î of each job description; the Human Resources Committee has done a good job and has spent a lot of time into researching the requirements for each position. He suggested that the Authority look at the whole package. Kathryn Johnston stated that the Human Resources Committee will be happy to leave the job descriptions open for some flexibility. The Committee was hoping that the motion would be to go forward with what the Human Resources Committee has studied and filtered. The Human Resources Committee will take the suggestions that have been expressed here today and incorporate them into the motion. Bobby Greer noted that experience is not always a good indicator of the Î person being interviewed. There are several qualified candidates that 9 might not have a lot of experience in the field. The Authority needs to be flexible in its decision making. Kathryn Johnston made a motion that the Authority approve the key direct report job descriptions, the announcement and the marketing plan as it is written with some flexibility for the changes that have been globalized by the Authority today. The motion was seconded by Gene Renzaglia. Motion carried unamously. Advertising is the most expensive piece of the recruitment process. Ed Donuhue stated that MSFG received approximately 12 responses from Î the newspaper advertisement. It was suggested that to decrease the advertising cost, a more condensed job description could be inserted in the advertisement and several job descriptions could be put together in one advertisement. The advertisement would refer the job applicants to the web site for more information. The size of the advertisement would be smaller; therefore, the cost of the advertisement would be more cost effective. It was stated that the reason for advertising in the newspapers was because local government agencies or authorities are required to advertise their meetings and/or events in the local newspapers. More responses were received from the web sites then from the newspaper Î advertisements. The American Water Work Association (AWWA) web site received the majority of the General Manager applications and it was the most cost effective way to advertise. Ed Donuhue stated that the next advertisement will be a display Î advertisement rather than a classified advertisement. Chairman Hunter advised Authority members that the current employees Î are eligible to apply for any of the positions. It is important that they have the option to apply if they would like to. A notice of the job openings will be sent internally either by paper copy or Î by e-mail to each City of Wilmington and County employee affected by the consolidation, so that they are aware of the job opportunities. The information will also be listed on the web site that was designed for the employees, as well as advertised in the newspaper. b. Interim Authority Funding Resolution: Charles Wells A package was sent to Authority members outlining the interim funding requirements. The funding requirements are broken down into line items. The next thing to be considered by Authority is the resolution. Charles Wells made a recommendation that the Authority adopt to take the Î following resolution to the City of Wilmington and the County and ask them to split the $1,837,820 ($918,910 from the City of Wilmington and $918,910 from the County) in half so that it could be used as seed money to start up the organization. 10 Matt Hunter made a motion to adopt the interim funding resolution Î request that is in the package. The motion was seconded by Steve Thomas. Motion carried unanimously. The Chairman opened the item for discussion. Î Charles Wells explained that the interim funding requirements had not Î been taken through the fiscal year, just to December 31, 2007. He stated it is impossible to make a prediction as to what is going to happen. Ed Donahue stated that the Authority is working with governmental Î accounting; it does not mean the Authority is going to spend that amount of money between now and December, some of the funding is going to be spent, and some of it is going to be committed. Under North Carolina law, government agencies can only spend or Î obligate money that has been approved for funding. The resolution that the Authority is getting to ready to approve is really a budget to commit the funding, not all of the funding will be spent by December 31, 2007. Beginning on January 1, 2008, another interim funding budget will need to Î be developed for the remainder of the fiscal year (January through June). The sooner the Authority revenue begins coming in, the sooner the City of Î Wilmington and the County will not have to continue to fund the Authority. The resolution needs to have a clause specifically indicating that if the funding is not spent then it reverts back to the City of Wilmington and the County. The Authority is basically placing the funding in a trust with the City of Î Wilmington while it is being expended. The County will be paid back on a reimbursement basis and only to the extent that the funding spent would be reimbursed. The funding is not additional money. It is money that has been identified the Authority is using its own money. The resolution was a joint resolution and staff will check on the dates that Î it was initially signed by the City Council and the Board of County Commissioners. Chairman Hunter stated that he liked the resolution format and suggested that future resolutions be prepared in the same manner. c. Detailed Project Schedule Briefing: Chairman Hunter asked that this item be postponed until next month. d. Critical Path Briefing: Chairman Hunter asked that this item be postponed until next month. David Hyder was allowed to discuss the handout that he distributed on scheduling. The latest version of the schedule should have 8.27.07 listed in the left hand corner. The handout is separated into seven tracks. Î The schedule outlines a time frame for each track from the beginning date Î to the completion date. 11 The majority of the tasks extend beyond January 1, 2008, since that is not Î a realistic start date for the Authority. The billing system will not be completed until April 3, 2008, so the majority of the tasks should be completed by April 1, 2008. The project team proposes that April 1, 2008, be the soft start date for the Î Authority. The hard start date that the Authority would become operational would be Î on July 1, 2008 (new fiscal year). This will allow the Authority three- months to address issues that need to be resolved. The Authority should strive to meet the April 1, 2008 deadline. Î Steve Thomas will be managing the Critical Path for MFSG, at each meeting he will provide an update, as to where the Authority is, what dates have to be met, if the Authority is falling behind on certain items, etc. According to the schedule the City of Wilmington and the County should Î not have any sufficient cost impacts. Once the key positions are hired, they will have six months to get familiar with their jobs and not have to depend so heavily on the consultants for guidance. 6. OLD BUSINESS a. Interim General Counsel Contract Approval: Rod Andrew Chairman Hunter stated that Rod Andrew reserved his five minutes from the first half of the meeting so he has ten minutes to speak. At the last meeting, the Authority approved retaining the firm of Hogue, Hill, Jones, Nash & Lynch as its general counsel with Bill Lynch as its attorney. Rod Andrew distributed to Authority members a copy of a letter dated Î September 4, 2007 that outlines legal services, the original copy was given to the chairman for his use and execution. Rod Andrew made the motion that the Authority accepts the contract from Î Hogue, Hill, Jones, Nash & Lynch as their interim legal council. Charles Wells seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Ed Donahue suggested that a stipulation be added to the contract stating Î fundingsince the City Council and the Board of County Commissioners will not approve the funding until mid- September. Rod Andrew introduced Bill Lynch to the Authority members. Bill Lynch stated that he is looking forward to working with the Authority Î on legal matters, and that he and his firm has several years of experience in this type of work. Since there are several rules and regulations for operating an Authority, Î the amount of experience that the firm has will provide quicker turnaround time. 12 The first item that needs to be addressed is to review the inter-local agreement and the existing liabilities of the City of Wilmington and the County. There will also be some revenue or GEO bonds that will need to be addressed. The revenue bonds are very detailed there is no set rate for them. Î Authority members were informed that the Labor Government Commission in the North Carolina State Treasurers Office approves the fee based on the complexity of the transaction and the fee varies from situation to situation. The second item that needs to be addressed is identifying a rate structure, the rate structure needs to be projected out 10 or 12 years and take into consideration the capital needs over that period of time, so in one year the Authority will have the right stabilization program. It was stated if Bill Lynch sees any potential conflict of interest since he is involved with other authorities on similar projects. Bill Lynch stated only one, and it is a paper conflict, it is Cape Fear Public Î Water and Sewer Authority, they have a water supply and they sell their water to the City of Wilmington. Their contract has been in place for 15 years and there has never been a single issue on it. They (Cape Fear Public Water and Sewer Authority) are aware of the situation. Mr. Lynch also represents Onslow Water Sewer Authority (they have just Î finished going through the same process), he also represents the Sanitary District of Brunswick County and has done a lot of the developing work for them like he will be doing for the Authority. It was stated that often times when a company has multiple attorneys, things will get farmed out which can save money for the client, how much of the work will you personally be doing? Mr. Lynch will be doing the majority of the work, except for personnel Î issues, he will let his partner handle that aspect, since he is more experienced in that field. His staff will be available for attendance at Authority meetings or committee meetings when needed. The Authority will not be charged for travel expenses. Î He would like to review the current inter-local agreement so that he can communicate items that need to be addressed back to the Authority; he would also like to have contact information so if there are internal questions they can be addressed. He was informed that Brent McAbee is the City of Wilmington contact Î person and Greg Thompson is the contact person for New Hanover County. MaryAnn Hinshaw stated that there are some issues that the City of Wilmington and the County need to resolve before sitting down with the Authority, the plan is to resolve our issues and then sit down with the Authority to negotiate the agreement, so that the Authority is not caught up in an issue that is strictly between the City of Wilmington and the County. The sooner the Authority gets involved the better. 13 The Authority is not being left out; the attorneys from both entities are Î working through the inter-local agreement. There are several issues that need to be resolved. Once the document has been revised, it will be submitted to Bill Lynch and Rod Andrew. Bruce Shell stated that the document should be ready by the end of the Î week. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. CFPUA Meeting Schedule Change: The meeting schedule has already been discussed and was tabled until the October meeting. Brent McAbee stated that if Authority members are to be compensated for their services they will need to fill out certain forms required by the IRS. Any Authority member who does not want to receive compensation for Î their services will need to fill out a special form. The Authority members will be treated as employees according to IRS Î regulations. He also stated that if Authority members do want to mail the information Î back to him, they can return it at the October meeting. 8. Authority Members or Public Comments: Bill Caster stated that the work the Authority is doing is starting to attract attention from the candidates who are running for elected official positions. Bill Caster will be out of the country for two weeks and will not be accessible for communications purposes. Kathryn Johnston reminded Authority members that as the job candidate information begins to filter in for the various positions, it is to remain confidential. It was stated that the date that the Authority goes live is on July 1, 2008. MSFG will inform employees of the decision by whatever mechanism is the fastest and will inform the media through a press release that will come from both entities. The next regular scheduled meeting of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will be held on Tuesday, October 2, 2007, at 8:00 a.m. in Conference Room 601, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. ADJOURNMENT Burrows Smith made a motion for adjournment. The motion was seconded by Rod Andrew. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m. 14