MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY
OF THE CITY OF EL PASO, TEXAS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016
Item # 1. Call to Order. The Chairperson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Item # 2. Pledge of Allegiance. Recited Pledge of Allegiance.
Item # 3. Invocation/Moment of Silence. Moment of silence.
Item # 4. Establishment of a Quorum.
PRESENT: Chairperson Burt Blacksher, Presiding; Commissioners Eileen Karlsruher and Lupita Licerio. The Chairperson declared a quorum with three Commissioners present. Commissioners Francisco Ortega and Anna Perez were absent.
ALSO PRESENT: Gerald Cichon, Chief Executive Officer; Bob Blumenfeld, HACEP Attorney; Art Provenghi, Corporate Attorney; Donna Clarke, Chief Operations Officer; Satish Bhaskar, Chief Financial Officer; William Zeigler, Chief Human Resources Officer; Daniel Cantu, Chief Information Technology Officer; Hector Montoya, EP HOME General Manager; Richard Seges, Chief Real Estate Officer; Ed Gill, Director of Construction; Roman Velasquez, Director of Housing Programs; Frank Cota, Director of Strategic Initiatives; Juan Pulido, Procurement Manager; Javier Camacho, Public Information Officer; Oscar Arriaga, Public Information Specialist; Patricia Quintanilla and Aracely Saenz, Executive Secretaries.
Item # 5. Resident Association Presidents to be Heard. None.
Item # 6. Citizens to be Heard. None.
Item # 7. Approval of Minutes of an Annual Board Meeting That Took Place on February 24, 2016. Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to approve item # 7. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously.
Consent Agenda:
Item # 8. Purchasing and Construction Contract and Purchase Order Awards:
A. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Contract Modification for Vacancy Make Ready Services Contract # WH 15-C-0026. This is the First Renewal of Two. This Contract was Procured Through the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / Property ManagementAward to: / High Ridge Construction, Inc.
MFH Environmental / $320,000 Estimated
(Combined)
Funding Source: / Operating Budget
Procurement Type: / Request for Proposal (RFP)
Contract Term: / Renewal
B. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Modification to Contract for Development Consulting Services Contract # TS 15-C-0022. This is for the First Renewal of Four. This Contract was Procured Through the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / DevelopmentAward to: / TAG Associates / $250,000 Estimated
Funding Source: / Development
Procurement Type: / Request for Proposal (RFP)
Contract Term: / Renewal
C. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Modification to Contract for Professional Auditing and Tax Preparation Services Contract # TCP 13-C-0069. This is the Third Renewal of Four. This Contract was Procured Through the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / Property ManagementAward to: / Novogradac & Company / $22,500 Estimated
Funding Source: / COCC
Procurement Type: / Request for Proposal (RFP)
Contract Term: / Renewal
D. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for Contract Award for Strategic Communicating and Consulting Services Contract # PIO 16-R-0015. The Contract Term is Three Years. This Contract was Procured Through the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / ExecutiveAward to: / CultureSpan / $250,000 Estimated
Funding Source: / COCC
Procurement Type: / Request for Proposal (RFP)
Contract Term: / New
E. Request that the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for Contract Award for Property Management and Consulting Services Contract # OPS 16-R-0016. The Contract Term is One Year With Two (2) One Year Options. This Contract was Procured Through the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / Property ManagementAward to: / DU & Associates / $150,000 Estimated
Funding Source: / COCC
Procurement Type: / Request for Proposal (RFP)
Contract Term: / New
F. Request That the Contracting Officer be Authorized to Sign Recommendation for Purchase Order Award for Cooling Tower Replacement Cooperative # 15-7130. The Contract Term is Sixty Days or Upon Completion. This Contract was Procured Through the ESC Region 19 Cooperative. The Recommendation is as Follows:
Department: / ProcurementAward to: / PD Automated Controls / $53,929 Estimated
Funding Source: / COCC
Procurement Type: / Region 19 Cooperative
Contract Term: / New
Mr. Cichon discussed the proposed items under the consent agenda and offered to answer any questions.
Satish Bhaskar, Chief Financial Officer, clarified that the funding source for item # 8-F is CFP funds rather than COCC.
Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to approve consent agenda items # 8 A-F. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously.
REGULAR AGENDA
Item # 9. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Approving the Construction Manager Agreement for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program Conversion at Multiple High Rise Communities. Mr. Cichon said that we are proposing a CM at Risk contract, which is different than the type of construction contracts that we have done before. He asked Mr. Bhaskar to elaborate on the type of procurement that we are recommending.
Satish Bhaskar, Chief Financial Officer, said that we are recommending two CM at Risk contracts under items # 9 and 10. One is for the high rises and the other for the new family developments. He said that we followed the normal procurement process and reached out to different companies in the region. In all of our procurements we have a panel of three staff members. In these cases, being such big contracts, we wanted to make sure that we had expertise evaluating the proposals and added two external experts to the panel. He added that Mr. Cichon was not a participant in any part of the selection process because he is friends with one of the people in that contract.
Mr. Cichon added that he does not believe that there is any conflict, but he wants to be very transparent; he is friends of Joe Riccillo. He met Mr. Riccillo when he was working with Urban he then transferred to Sundt and they kept their friendship. This is the first contract in his eight years with the agency where he has had a personal relationship with somebody that works for the company, but he was not on the review panel. We believe that we did a very fair process and that the interests of the Housing Authority were looked at. This is a CM at Risk contract meaning that this contractor may not get the construction contract. He asked Mr. Seges to discuss the projects before hearing from Sundt.
Richard Seges, Chief Real Estate Officer, said this is a different type of contract called Construction Manager at Risk (“CMR”). The Construction Manager works with the owner and A/E team prior to the construction contract award. In this case, the CMR will help us with estimates using subcontractor input, value engineering proposals, constructability reviews and market advice, and they will put together a detailed construction schedule. They will then compare a competitively bid construction cost as a Guaranteed Maximum Price (“GMP”). The owner does not have to accept the GMP. If we cannot agree we pay them their fee, which in the case of the high rises is $123,000 and $76,000 for the two new construction projects. If we agree we will enter into a separate GMP contract. That contract for the full construction cost will come back to the Board as a separate item at a later time. There are two different bids, one is for the four high rise properties: Father Pinto, Chelsea, Sun Plaza, and Pooley. These are probably the most complex projects we will do in RAD because we will be renovating the units with residents in place. The other contract is for new construction for Sherman North and Westfall. These are our 2015 9% tax-credit awards; it involves demolition of the existing improvements. Mr. Seges described the process followed to select the proposed company. The criteria was based on 60% experience and 40% fee. He discussed the process followed by the committee. The final recommendation was based on the committee’s determination of the best qualified candidate. Sundt Construction is the recommended company for both projects. He said that the things that set out include their estimating and schedule planning system. They are a large contractor with a great network of subcontractor relationships throughout the area. They have a good history of resident safety during high rise construction. Mr. Seges invited representatives from Sundt to make their presentation.
Marty Hedlung, Senior Vice President of Sundt, thanked the Housing Authority for the opportunity to compete and create value for this organization. He said that this is Sundt’s 126th year in business. They are 100% employee-owned company with over 1,300 employee owners. Their values include: integrity, safety, quality, customer focus, community and industry services, and personal responsibility. They were founded by Mauritz Martinsen Sundt in 1890 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. In 1929 they opened an office in Tucson and built the First United Methodist Church there. He provided pictures of some of their major projects. Mr. Hedlung added that some of their Texas projects include the Reunion Tower in Dallas, the 7th Street Bridge in Downtown Fort Worth, the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, and the Rio Grande Border Patrol in Edinburg, Texas. He said that over the past 15 years they have done several housing projects. One of the more unique and parallel to our projects was a six neighborhoods project of military housing in Fort Lewis where they did over 1,000 units in six different neighborhoods in 24 months. He introduced Joe Riccillo to talk about our projects.
Joe Riccillo, Regional Director, said that they have built over $1 billion in El Paso since 2008. They are currently registered under the hire El Paso 1st Program, they have over 163 El Paso area workers, and they have a network of over 3,000 subcontractors in the region. Some of the local work thay they have done includes Chamisa Village in Las Cruces, Las Cruces High School, which they finished four months early, 24 two-story housing at Fort Bliss, and Socorro Combo School in 2013. They are working on the Transmountain Freeway, the Union Pacific Rail Yard, and the I-10 CD Lanes improvement. Mr. Riccillo said that they use a lot of the latest technology allowing them to produce real time estimates. They have quick turn arounds and coordinate things ahead of time rather than allowing problems to escalate. They have the resources to allocate to the projects to make sure that they happen in a timely fashion. He added that they are in the top 30 green contractors. They practice sustainability and have a background that they carry into the projects even when they are not listed as sustainable projects. That background carries a social responsibility on how they built and design projects. Mr. Riccillo offered to answer any questions.
Commissioner Karlsruher asked if their subcontractor network includes a large majority in El Paso and if there is a commitment to get as much pricing as they can from the local subcontractors.
Mr. Riccillo said they will, but will not put the Housing Authority in a situation where they would put an unqualified contractor to do the work. They do a pre-qualification process and if there is a choice they choose local first.
Commissioner Karlsruher asked that if they get the construction contract, how much percentage they anticipate would be subcontracted out.
Mr. Hedlund said that they will go with what provides the best value for the Housing Authority.
Commissioner Licerio made a motion to approve Resolution 2078 under item # 9. It was seconded by Commissioner Karlsruher. Motion carried unanimously.
Item # 10. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Approving the Construction Manager Agreement for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program Conversion at Two Low-Rise Communities. Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to approve Resolution 2079 under item # 10. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to take a recess. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously. The Board went into recess at 6:00 p.m.
Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to come out of recess. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously. The Board reconvened at 6:12 p.m.
Item # 11. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to Submit a Grant Application to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the FY2015 Supportive Services Demonstration for Elderly Households in HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing Funding. Mr. Cichon said that this is a grant application for $250,000 for three 12-month periods. It is an aging in place grant that will benefit our aging families in multifamily housing communities. He said that this is an application and there is no guarantee that we will be funded.
Commissioner Karlsruher made a motion to approve Resolution 2080 under item # 11. It was seconded by Commissioner Licerio. Motion carried unanimously.
Item # 12. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to Enter Into an Agreement With the University of Texas at El Paso for the Annual Youth Career Exploration HOT Youth Conferences. Mr. Cichon said that this is an MOA with UTEP to get public housing kids to go to the University for a week. The emphasis of the conference is on career exploration and college preparation. This will be the 7th year of the conference at a cost of $100,000.
Commissioner Licerio made a motion to approve Resolution 2081 under item # 12. It was seconded by Commissioner Karlsruher. Motion carried unanimously.
Item # 13. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution Approving and Authorizing Submission of the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, Texas’ Annual and Five-Year Plans for FY2016 – FY2020. Commissioner Licerio made a motion to approve Resolution 2082 under item # 13. It was seconded by Commissioner Karlsruher. Motion carried unanimously.
Item # 14. Discussion and Action Regarding Resolution on Litigation/Intervention Regarding Application of El Paso Electric Company to Change Rates Pending Before the State Office of Administrative Hearings SOAH Docket No. 473-15-5257 PUC Docket No. 44941. Item deferred until after executive session.