Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Ladies and gentlemen, it is 6 o'clock, so we'll go ahead and get this call meeting up and running, call it to order. First, thank you all for being here with us. We do have a short agenda, but we do have some information that we want to make sure gets that are up here that are working with the school system and they've started to graduate so we want to make sure we keep all our students, teachers, families, all in our thoughts and prayers, especially the families that now finally get some freedom and realize that they appreciate their teachers because their kids are no longer at the house all day. We also received some great news on Friday. who's our airport manager, attended the Georgia Department of Transportation conference. At the conference, they recognized the Pickens County I was going to take the seal down and hang it on the wall behind us, but it's kind of small. But we're very, very proud. Stacey and Lionel and the whole team over there and the hard work that they've been doing trying to keep things going. So we're excited that the state and the FAA both have reached out recognizing that. So we're looking forward to sharing that information with the public. One more thing, just kind of as an update, our regular meeting will be August the 17th. We kind of had a time sensitive thing on trying to get bids out. It's the reason we're having a call meeting in between the two, which will make sense when we get through the presentation. But at our regular meeting, one thing that we're working to try to have ready and I feel fairly confident will be the engineers with DCCM and Chris Quigley and Associates that have been working with the county on the prior meeting that we had as a joint meeting with the city of Jasper, we've had an informed decision on what needs to be done. We've asked could he be prepared at our work session on the 17th to give us an update as to the progress and the recommendations that he's had. So we hope to be able to get a lot better information from the engineering firm at that meeting. We're trying to get that finalized now. So we'll make sure it's on the agenda and anybody that looks for the agenda will be able to see that. That will be an item that will get a good solid update on what's going on next. So those are just kind of the updates overall. I know we finished the paving projects that have been running. The summer paving projects were completed just this week or yesterday. So Big Ridge Road was the last road on that list that they finalized it. in good time there's a lot of work I think they've still got a little more striking stuff that they're finishing up on so we'll see that and some improvements but with that we'll go ahead and move on into our agenda and we're going to launch like we always do

Please, Lord, go with these proceedings. Put your hand on them.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. So the one primary item that we do have on the agenda for discussion and consideration tonight is, as it deals I've asked Bill Wood, our Director of External Operations, if he

So the item for BOC consideration is to authorize the chairman to undertake a request for proposal process to evaluate the merits of utilizing a construction manager at-risk construction management approach on major SPLOST projects and to identify and evaluate at-risk construction managers to potentially retain, provide the services on those projects. And these projects would be the three main SPLOST projects the Roper Park improvements, including the aquatic center, public safety complex, and the tax commissioner building. This approach has never been used, at least since we've been here. So we're using the process, if you authorize it, to evaluate the process, as well as to select potential contractors to do it. So it will not be utilized unless there's a favorable evaluation of it in the process. We're considering this and putting it before you for consideration because this management approach has been highly recommended for the county to undertake on this by DCCM infrastructure. DCCM infrastructure are the county's, as you know, are the county's primary engineers with regard to just about every matter that we deal with across the broad front. The advantages, we'll get to this a little bit in another slide, but the advantages that we understand that this will do is improve construction output, it will make the project timeline easier to manage, it may accelerate the completion of the project, and then there are economic advantages as well. So in any kind of situation like this, very simple at 100,000 feet, there's the design of it, the bidding process, and the building of it. Any approach that's utilized involves all of that. So if we look at the difference between the approach that the county has used, which is the traditional approach, which gets the contractor at the end of the process to start building, versus this, just walk through these six things as the difference in the comparison. In the approach that's up for your consideration, the contractor starts in the design stage. In the traditional, it starts in the build stage. So starting earlier allows for the contractor to provide input and gain an understanding of the situation that they normally wouldn't. And that basically is sort of a foundational basis for all of the three advantages that we talked about before. So the contractor provides input on design. In the traditional approach, the contractor does not provide input on design. And three, the contractor executes the bid stage themselves. They put all the bids out to the subcontractors and other firms that they would use on construction. In the traditional process, the county would execute the bid stage. The contractor commits to a guaranteed maximum price. If there is any kind of excess over a guaranteed maximum price, the contractor will have to pay that themselves. as opposed to the county. It takes change orders out of the equation, basically, in a very, very substantial way. And in the traditional, the contractor does not commit to a guaranteed maximum price. The contractor in this approach, the CMA approach, the contractor commits to a guaranteed delivery date. The contractor does not in the traditional approach. And the contractors paid a percentage of the project cost These change orders are not applicable to the county, and the contractor in the traditional approach is paid a bid price, and any COs are then applicable to the county to be paid by the county. This really is, in its essence, changes the time that this involves, and it shifts the risk in the project. And again, this comes highly recommended by our engineers. They say that we should really consider

us loss projects were on the referendum so we were operating on estimates they now have gotten to the 60 to 70 percent if they bring the contractor into the stage they can make adjustments to to the rest of what's material so that we can try to keep that within the range of the price if you wait you go out to bid you realize that it's come in higher than the project you've got to go rework it and then go back out to bid a second time so by doing it this way public safety we have the drawing side but we've still been working on trying to close the property so there's going to be some work that will be finished that we kind of keep those where they're staggered where they won't all be exactly at the same time there will be one two then three we'd be able to get through that process to where they're they're they're not uh going and that way we can see that we're staying within the same estimate ranges that we put out on the local option sales tax, and to identify and evaluate at-risk construction managers to be potentially retained thereon. Next item is, should that produce a favorable result, it has to come back before a public vote for approval to select it. So it's the same in the bid process as what that would be issued. So should said request for proposal process confirm the said construction management approach will likely be advantageous on the mayor's Pickens County That's kind of giving you a bunch, but I think that staff had tried to provide you a copy just so you could be able to be familiar with anything prior to coming in. So at this time, I will entertain a motion for the approval of the resolution as presented. That way we can get it on the floor for discussion if we get a motion and a second. I'll make a motion to approve.

I'll second one of your motions. No, I said I'll be in charge of the motion.

I'm sorry. I got to change the way I worded it. I think I confused you a little bit. So I have a motion and I have a second, which brings us to the floor for any discussion or questions that you guys have for myself or for Scott.

So I have one. I'm assuming with the at-risk approach, there's a price premium that comes with that. If we're asking a builder to take that risk,

is not necessarily the case. The percentage, they'll take a percentage of the project cost. It'll be up to them to basically figure out the economics and what they can charge. If you go back and use the traditional approach in the build piece, they're going to be building a lot of that into the pricing also. So the engineers don't think, and the best that I can It really wouldn't be a premium in this if we do our job and the engineers do their job to evaluate this. It should actually flip the other way.

And ultimately, we'll have a guaranteed maximum price that will not exceed. Cannot exceed it. The only other question I have is change orders are paid for by the contractor. So I imagine there's a limit to that. We consistently say, I want to change, I want to change, I want to change.

There'll be no limit to it. to the extent that it exceeds the guaranteed maximum price. The kind of people that will be proposing on this will be the same kinds of firms that would propose on the traditional approach. So they're going to know what they're doing. And so the engineers have told us that a lot of these firms actually this way primarily. Not because of the economics directly, that might be secondary, but they get involved earlier and they can do their job easier and manage economies of scale better. Do we know if other counties do

And I don't want to say the beauty of it, but really the reality of it is if we go out for proposals, the proposals don't match up with what we're in line with and we don't feel comfortable with. There's no obligation that we have to stay locked into the proposal. We can then come in and make a recommendation that we go the traditional route and take it to a bid from a traditional route at that point. We just have to give them the amount of time for those proposals to come in.

And I would just add to that, Chris, that that if that were to be the case, then you would have more or less the same firms that would be proposing then on the additional process. They will already be deeply familiar with these projects and what we're trying to do so it would greatly accelerate

While they're signing, I'll go ahead and kind of explain the next item on our agenda is the public comments. So we'll open up the four public comments, the rules and such. We try to keep it as simple as can be. There's a two-minute time limit on the public comment. We will start the time after you give your name and your address, so you provide your name and address. We'll then kick off the timer to go. You won't hear me say it this time. You'll hear the actual article, but I'll wait until after anybody's introduced themselves before we do. We ask any comment to stay directed

Jasper address below them to take community to the elected county commissioners pickens County, Georgia I make the following motion with the county commissioners Contact the appropriate state authorities request that they investigate the charges I have made against the Piggins County tax assessors Board of equalization members and the district attorney or grand jury and correct their actions in the appropriate manner these are violations of the civil rights granted to all citizens of Pickens County and under the laws of the state of Georgia, and as such, the importance of correcting those violations cannot be overstated. Along with this motion, I've got the appropriate laws that are referenced in the charges and the charges themselves. I'd like to present this to the commissioners.

Yes, ma'am.

Oh, my God. This is my first time. This is in reference to the Pickens County Road Department.

If you could, just state your name and address. That way they'll get that on the record, and we'll start after you.

My name is Brandy Buchanan, and the address for the issue is 1750 Talker Rock Road, which is where my daughter lives. Yes, and this is in reference to before I went. To meet with the Pickens County Road Department, I reached out to Cherokee County first for their information because the issue at my daughter's house, my husband works for Cherokee County Road Department, Michael Buchanan, and they gave me advice on the site hazard pulling out of my daughter's driveway. So after they gave me advice on what to do, then I reached out to Cherokee County Road Department in January. And asked them, told them that the crew there at Cherokee County said that that was a very big side view, deep curve, that high bank blocking the view of the driveway, and they need to cut back at least two feet or more. And after I got all that information, then is when I went to Pickens County Road Department in January. I went over everything with them about the driveway, the side issue, as well as telling them the information that was given me by Cherokee County. The mirror that is up is the only way that they can look out when we pull out of the driveway. But then, if you see a car coming, if you don't miss it, I've almost got hit twice. And I called out there, reached back out to them about oncoming traffic to see if they could still help. said they were pulling out of the driveway, going to the left side, and cars going way too fast. The mirror also, before I pull out, it gets so close to help cars from hitting. If you're looking at the mirror, that's the only way you can see when you pull out of my daughter's driveway. Later, someone came out to observe the issue. Their last communication was, The internet line has to be removed. This will take a while. So today I called ETC to see if they have anything about this going on being removed. And I gave them my daughter's address. So the lady put me on hold, contacted Ella J to see if any information for help. And then she responded back to me and said that the road department never reached out to them about helping.

We'll follow up. Your time has expired. What was the address again?

1750 Topping Rock Road.

1750, okay.

Yeah, literally, we go right and then we go left. Okay.

After the meeting, I'll get your information so that I can follow up on that.

Yes, thank you.

Yes, sir. I'm Dave Terry, resident of Jasper, Georgia. So I actually have two updates. Miss Mary. So we were running out of scholarships. We applied to Google recently to try to get more scholarships before their funding ran out. We just received 400 more scholarships for Pickett's County. So it's an awesome opportunity for brick and mortar small business owners, operators, students, entrepreneurs to really I am the owner of a building, Hensley Plaza, in the heart of Pickens County in downtown Jasper. So some of you might have seen, there was recently a mural, we're about 95% done on. On that mural, there are to you big invite but I might have to get you to it yeah yeah so just to wrap up the yeah it's August 19th I really like to have a big community showing, and it's a great way to learn about history and education.

Everyone's welcome.

Thank you. What time is it? It's at 11 a.m. on August 19th.

I was trying to let you get to that. I knew it was coming.

I was like, yeah, 11 a.m. until probably 1 or 2 o'clock is when the food truck will be there. The radio station, I think, does 11 a.m.

My name's Chad Martin. I live on a refuge road and I'm gonna say I hope y'all would consider a different person besides DCCM. Having dealing with them in the past resurfacing project that led out, there's a lot of wasted TAC dollars. I think the citizens of Pickens County really need to get more bang for their buck. What you're gonna wind up doing is you're gonna wind up getting more expensive high dollar outfits that are gonna bid that way. Everybody's gonna put 20, 30% to cover their rear end. Okay? Safety issues. There's been days and days without stop bars, skip bars, there's still no barrels on the side of Camp Road in the excess of two and a half inch drop offs. We need somebody to inspect and watch this stuff.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Do I have a motion to adjourn? I'll make a motion.