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April 2, 2012 Minutes CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 2, 2012 After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Work Session on Monday, April 2, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall. PRESENT: Council Member Watts, Council Member Gregory, Council Member Engelbrecht, Council Member Roden, Mayor Pro Tem Kamp, and Mayor Burroughs ABSENT: Council Member King 1. Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the Texas Department of Transportation Comprehensive Development Agreement process for the Interstate 35 East Managed Lane Project and the SB 1420 Committee. Mark Nelson, Transportation Director, stated that this discussion would be a follow up to the final SB 1420 Committee deliberations. John Polster, ITS and member of the SB 1420 Committee, stated that the SB 1420 Committee was formed for the purpose of making determinations with respect to the delivery method of the IH 35E Managed Lanes Project in Dallas and Denton Counties and to allocate the risk and set the tolling policy for the project. The baseline option for the project would provide two reversible Managed Lanes between IH 635 and Loop 288. General purpose and frontage roads would re- use existing pavement where possible, and add one general purpose lane from IH 635 to US 380. Lake Lewisville lanes would have pedestrian and service road lanes for full access. Some areas such as bridges would require the purchase of right-of-way; some areas would not require the purchase of right-of-way unless absolutely necessary. Polster indicated that approximately $1.1 billion was available for the project with the baseline project currently estimated at $1.5 billion utilizing the design-build methods. If costs added up over that, some options would be removed. A design build method would be used instead of a concession method. He reviewed the funding options in terms of design build versus concession methods. The current scenario was to have the project under procurement by the end of the year and open to traffic in 2017. The revenue stream on the managed lanes would go forward. Mayor Pro Tem Kamp stated that the Committee reserved the right on Phase 2 to have concession management if necessary. Polster reviewed Segment 14 of the project which was from Post Oak Drive to Loop 288. That segment was proposing to add a third lane in each direction and a reversible lane in each direction. The intent was to minimize the purchase of right-of-way as much as possible. Phase Two would include four managed lanes. Council Member Gregory asked about lane distance in Phase 1. Polster stated that it would be a constrained minimal design with smaller lanes in the same area. Council Member Gregory asked about Phase 2 separation. Polster stated there would be proper distance between the lanes with proper shoulders. Council Member Gregory asked about the timing of Phase 2. City of Denton City Council Minutes April 2, 2012 Page 2 Mayor Pro Tem Kamp stated that upon completion of Phase 1 and as revenue on the managed lanes allowed, Phase 2 would be done. Polster discussed Segment 15 which was Loop 288 to IH 35W. There would be four general purpose lanes and four frontage lanes with substandard ramping. The proposal also included adding a sixth general purpose lane and fixing the ramps. Segment 16 from IH 35W to US 380 was proposed to go from four general purpose lanes to six general purpose lanes plus working on the ramping which was a key to development in the area. He indicated that the project could not go any further north of US 380 as the environmental study was not approved any further north and no project was cleared past US 380. Council Member Engelbrecht stated that there might be problems coming around curve and the bottle neck between IH 35W and US 380. Polster replied that braided ramps would help with the impact to get some traffic off the main road to the service road quicker. He indicated that the committee had completed its work and voted for a design build. It was silent on Phase 2 at this time and included a description of the project. Five firms were interested in a design build project and four for a concession build. The intent was to short list those in April and get a request for proposal drafted in May. A final request for proposal would be completed in July with the proposals due October and the Commission to act in November. Mayor Burroughs questioned if the Committee would be reconstituted when Phase 2 was being considered. Polster stated that might be a possibility but that in April 2015 the concession authority would sunset so there would be the necessity to continue to keep the Legislature going on that tool to be able to use it in 2017. Council Member Roden asked about the toll rate. Polster stated that $.75 was the fixed rate for the toll lane. The price for the managed lanes would change as the congestion changed. The soft cap at was at $.75 but on off peak periods would be about $.14 per mile. 2. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the development of a Local Preference Purchasing Policy. Tony Puente, Assistant Director of Finance, stated that an internal working group of staff was created to review local preference for procurement. The current policy was based on Local Government Code, Chapter 271 and involved competitive bid contracts of less than $100,000. It provided a local preference was (1) the local bidder was within 5% of the low bidder, and (2) the local bidder offered the best combination of price and economic development opportunities. Local bidders must meet all specifications and minimum requirements in the bids. It did not apply to requests for quotes, requests for proposals or bids involving Federal funds. The proposed policy applied only to two types of competitive bids. The first was the lowest responsible bid where price was the single determinant factor. The second was the best value bid where price was one of several weighted factors. Local bidders had to meet all specifications and City of Denton City Council Minutes April 2, 2012 Page 3 minimum requirements in the bids. The policy also proposed the implementation of a local bidder reference consideration application. Mayor Burroughs asked if the location of a local office was used as a factor in the weighted valuation. Puente stated that geography was not allowed and was limited to just competitive bids. Mayor Burroughs questioned if the city's process, independent of the State process, could provide for a geographical location. City Attorney Burgess stated that a qualifier might be rapid responsiveness to needs or proximity to the service provider. The proximity of the provider and rapid service provider was allowed. Mayor Burroughs stated that in the past, the city worked with providers with a principle office within 50 miles of city and weighted for those responses. City Attorney Burgess stated that in that regard, care was needed as the statute was dealing with the bid process. There was a need to look at the difference between the bid process and the contract process. The request for proposal process was soft as the city could weigh the proposal. Puente stated that Sections 271.9051 and 271.905 of the Local Government Code contained provisions dealing with local preference. Section 271.9051 provided for a 5% price differential on construction bids less than $100,000 and all other bids, including services, less than $500,000. Section 271.905 provided for a 3% differential on all other bids, excluding construction and services greater than $500,000. Best value bids included weighted factors of 5% or 3% based on the above criteria. Council Member Roden questioned why not go with the local bidder as a matter of policy. Puente stated that the working group discussed evaluating on a bid by bid basis in situations with a low bid and a local bid. If the using department went with the low bid versus the local bid, it would have to show why. Puente stated the proposal included an application and that there might be a situation where there were minimal economic opportunities and the bid might be rejected. Council Member Engelbrecht asked if the application would be kept on file or if a bidder would have to complete one for each bid. Puente stated that it would have to be done with each bid as it would be part of the specific bid process. City Attorney Burgess stated that the application would assist the bidders in regards to those provisions regarding economic analysis. Puente continued that with the proposed policy, the City could award a competitively bid contract to the lowest responsible bidder, the local bidder or reject all bids. For cooperative programs and interlocal agreements, staff would periodically complete a pricing comparison of select purchases to verify that the best price was being obtained. Vendor education was City of Denton City Council Minutes April 2, 2012 Page 4 important with this process and staff was proposing prospective vendor information on the city website, coordination with Denton County Purchasing Department on their annual vendor information seminar, periodic participation with the Chamber of Commerce, and the implementation of a vendor registration system to provide notice of bids/proposals. Council Member Gregory suggesting finding out how bidders learned about an upcoming bid. Puente stated that staff would be bringing forward an ordinance adopting this proposal for Council consideration. Following the completion of the Work Session, the City Council convened in a Closed Session at 12:45 p.m. to consider the following: A. Consultation with Attorney - Under Texas Government Code, Section 551.071. 1. Consultation, discussion, deliberation, and receipt of legal information and legal advice from the City’s attorneys regarding a Local Preference Purchasing Policy, where the duty of the City’s attorneys to the City Council under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. This item was not discussed. B. Consultation with Attorney - Under Texas Government Code Section 551.071, Deliberations regarding Economic Development Negotiations - Under Texas Government Code Section 551.087. 1. Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding legal issues on matters regarding the leasing of land and financing of a City facility on University of North Texas property located at I-35 and North Texas Boulevard where such discussion presents a conflict between the duty of the City’s attorneys to the governmental body under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas and the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. Also hold a discussion regarding the leasing of land and financing of a City facility on University of North Texas property located at I-35 and North Texas Boulevard, including financial information related to such activities from a business prospect. Council ended the Closed Session at 1:50 p.m., went back into Open Session and with no further business, the meeting was adjourned. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ MARK A. BURROUGHS JENNIFER WALTERS MAYOR CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS