HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-12-16 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 6 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321
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December 12, 1980
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
PLEASE BE ADVISED OF A SPECtiTAL MEETING OF THE
CITY COUNCIL TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER
16, 1980 at 10:00 A.M. in the West Conference
Room of City Hall.
The matters to be discussed are:
1. Slurry Seal Paving Mainlands 1 thru 5 --
Discussion and possible action concerning
payment to contractor for this work.
(tabled from previous Regular Meetings)
2. Finance Department Computer - Discussion and
possible action concerning professional services
for survey of software for new computer.
The City Council may consider such other business
as may come before it.
Ma ilyn e tholf
City Clerk
CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
December 16, 1980
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Falck called the meeting to order on Tuesday,
December 16, 1980 at 10:00 A.M., West Conference Room, City Hall.
PRESENT:
ALSO PRESENT:
Mayor Walter W. Falck
Vice -Mayor Helen Massaro
C/M Irving M. Disraelly
C/M Irving Zemel
C/W Marjorie Kelch
City Manager, Edward A. Gross
City Attorney, Arthur M. Birken
Clerk/Steno, Mimi Reiter
Mayor Falck read the notice of the special meeting stating the
items to be discussed.
3. Bid for Mini -Attack Pumper - Fire Department
Discussion anya possible ac'tlo n.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Agendized by
Consent. (See Pages 5 < nd 6)
- Bid Authorization -
C/M Zemel MOVED to Agendize by Consent the subject of authorizing
the City Manager to go for bid for Mini -Attack Pumper.
C/W Kelch SECONDED the motion.
VOTE: C/1V1 Zemel Aye V/i,,i massaro Aye (C/M DISRAELLY ABSENT.)
C/W Kelch Aye Mayor Falck Aye
4. Tractor for Tamarac ITtilities - Riri, Authorization - Discussion and
Possible action.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Agendized by
Consent. (See Page 2 )
Mr. Gross asked to agendize by consent for discussion and possible
action to go out for bid for a tractor/truck for the utility company
to replace the tractor we now have.
C/W Kelch MOVED to AGENDIZE BY CONSENT for discussion and possible
action to go out for bid for a tractor/truck for the utility company
to replace the tractor we now have.
V/M Massaro said she didn't think this item should be included in the
Special Nteeting.
Mr. Gross indicated that this is an emergency item, as the truck is
down and we are spending a lot of money per day to rent a truck;
tnis truck has been down for a week.
C/M Zemel SECONDED the motion.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE.
1. Slurr Seal Paving - Main,lands 1 thru 5 - Discussion and possible
action concerning payment to contractor for this work. (Tabled
from previous Regular Meetings)
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: $50,000.00 to be
paid now and balance paid upon report
from City Engineer that street vacuuming
is completed.
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Mr. Gross stated that Council had received a report from Mr. Larry
Keating regarding this item.
C/W Kelch asked about the vacuuming and Mr. Gross indicated that this
had not been done yet. Mr. Gross mentioned that if we pay him, he
will guarantee that the vacuuming will be done by the end of this
week; we have held up all of his money. The contract was to give
him money as needed, but he has not received any at this point and
the City is holding up $67,000.00; he is afraid that we are not
going to give him anything.
Mayor Falck indicated that he has no objection to a partial payment
and he agrees with C/M Disraelly's idea that we ought to pay him
$50,000.00 and hold back whatever the balance is until whatever needs
to be done is completed.
C/M Disraelly approved payment of $50,000.00 for Slurry Seal Paving
with the balance to be paid upon report from the City Engineer that
the vacuuming of the street is completed, and so MOVED.
C/M Zemel SECONDED the motion.
C/M Disraelly said that C/W Kelch should report to the City Engineer
when she is satisfied that the vacuuming has been done.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE.
4. Tractor for Tamarac Utilities - Bid Authorization - Discussion and
possible action.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Tabled to 12/24/80
meeting and report requested.(See Page 1)
Mr. Gross indicated that Mr. Keating had given Council a memorandum
regarding this item; at the beginning of this year about $7,000.00
was spent fixing the truck which amount included the rental of a
truck while the truck was down and the truck is now down again. The
cost to repair the truck and put it back into good condition would be
up to $19,000.00; perhaps $15,000 or $16,000.00 because work has
already been done on the cab itself. Mr. Gross said it is Mr. Keating's
feeling after discussing this with other companies, that we can possibly
buy a good used truck for between $15,000.00 and $20,000.00 and we would
like to go out for bid as it will cost approximately $80.00 a day to
rent a truck.
V/M Massaro asked how much a new truck is worth and Mr. Gross replied
that it would be about $60,000.00 and since the City will be out of
the sludge business in two years, doesn't think it warrants buying a
new vehicle.
C/M Zemel asked what the mileage was on the truck, indicating that
these trucks can be in service for a half million miles.
Mr. Gross stated that this truck was bought in 1977 by Tamarac
Utilities and is a 1965 vehicle having a substantial amount of miles
on it.
Larry Keating reported that the engine and transmission are in good
shape, but that the other equipment is in poor condition and the
operator is afraid to drive it; it has been re -welded but is now
corroding and parts are difficult to obtain and this vehicle can't
even be used for a trade-in.
V/M Massaro asked when this vehicle was over -hauled last and Mr.
Keating stated that some work was done at the beginning of the year;
the engine over -hauling took place in 1978.
V/M Massaro asked why so much money was spent on this vehicle if it
was in such bad condition?
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Mr. Keating said that these are questions that should and could be
answered, but he believes that regardless of what has happened in
the past, there is an existing problem that must be dealt with.
V/M Massaro indicated that she would like to see a report on how this
money was spent, what it was spent for and who authorized these kind
of payments for this work. She further indicated that we do have to
go for bid being that this is an emergency, but Council also needs
an explanation as to what has taken place.
C/W Kelch asked if this cab is something that we can appropriate at
the end of two years for some other service within the City.
Mr. Gross stated that this was a possibility.
C/M Zemel said it is his opinion that we could not possibly go out
for bid for the item that we are discussing, as this is unique and
would be difficult to locate.
Mayor Falck stated that information should be accumulated on this
item and presented to Council at the meeting next Wednesday.
V/M Massaro said if there is a possibility of availability, it should
be brought to Council next Wednesday so that a judgment can be made
as to what should be done.
V/M Massaro MOVED that this item be tabled until the Wednesday morn-
ing meeting and that the City Manager and City Engineer bring in any
information that they have as to availability of a used truck if
condition is such that it is reasonable to consider its purchase and
any other information that they think we may need so that a judgement
can be made by Council, including a complete report on what occurred
in the past regarding repairs to this truck.
C/W Kelch SECONDED the motion.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE.
Mr. Keating indicated that one of these vehicles could possibly be
located in the northern part of the state and perhaps the City could
have someone broker it for them; someone who is knowledgeable in
that type of equipment.
2. Finance Dept. Computer - Professional Services for Survey of
Software - Discussion and possible action.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Special Meeting to be
scheduled after Steve Wood returns.
Mr. Gross stated that the evaluation has been finished by both
Alexander Grant and the Finance Department of the hardware; there
are a couple of firms which are pretty close together and at this
point it is very important for us to analyze the software product
of these firms, what they have available in public domain in these
areas, because anything in the State of Florida is public domain and
we can get some of this information very inexpensively. Mr. Wood and
a member of Alexander Grant are up in Clearwater todayolooking at the
public domain programs that are part of the Burroughs Computer System
which Clearwater has. Mr. Gross indicated that we do not have anybody
on Staff to evaluate the software and that is the reason we have dis-
cussed this with Alexander Grant and Mr. Bert P-mmer �-Tho is here to�ay.
Mr. Bert Emmer explained that basically this involves evaluating the
City's requirements and making sure that the computer programs which
we call computer software would be suitable for the City's needs.
He said that this is probably the area that most organizations are
deficient in doin_-g when they ,go out and get a computer; they don't
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decide what they want and do not have a set of specifications and
they let the computer market dictate to them what they will have,
putting them in a position where they get the computer programs
and then find out later on that they are not suitable for the City.
He further stated that we are looking at a computer system that is
hopefully going to last for the City anywhere from 7 to 10 years,
so there is a very long range decision that is going to be made; we
must make sure that both the computer equipment, the hardware and
the computer programs and software are suitable for the City. He
said they are already looking at for evaluation purposes, one set of
software at the City of Clearwater which has been runninq fora period of
time.. He went on to say that there is a great deal of other soft-
ware available also; in addition to just evaluating the software,
they have to come up with the specific use or requirements in the
various areas of the City -- this will mainly involve applications
in the Finance Department and Police Department, these being the
main applications that are made with the computer system.
He also mentioned that equipment can be obtained from any two of
10 companies and they are all well -engineered, but the software
programs make the difference and this determines how good the
installation will be in the future.
V/M Massaro asked if we have definitely determined that we are going
to purchase a computer for this amount of money and to what extent
we are going?
Mr. Emmer said the main thing is that the service company that is
doing the billing for the utility has changed and it was about 60
days ago that it looked like the relationship between the City and
service bureau would have to be terminated at that time and it would
have put the City in a very difficult position in terms of doing the
utility billing. He thinks the feasibility of the computer really
came about as a result of the acquisition of TU .
Mr. Gross stated that we have budgeted for the acquisition of this
item.
V/M Massaro said that the fact that you can't get the billing done
by this company doesn't necessarily mean that the City has to spend
$100,000 for a computer because it doesn't take that kind of money
to get a computer to do our billing in TU . She further indicated
that we haven't made that determination on how $4000 is spent on
something before finding out what type of computer is needed.
C/M Disraelly stated that we have to decide what we will do with the
hardware before looking into the software; the two have to be.
compatible. He said that Mr. Wood has written to the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce regarding the programs available; we must have input as
to whether we are going to buy it or rent it, as we have nothing to
put the software in.
Mr. Emmer said it is usually a package decision because most soft-
ware will only run on a certain type of computer system; you can
back into the hardware, but design of the software is needed. He
also said that software doesn't run on any computer; there are only
very few situations where you can find a software package that will
run on any hardware.
Mr. Emmer stated that there are usually three main decisions to be
made; 1) that you first must determine what is to be done with
it, 2) what is available in terms of software and hardware to
satisfy those needs, 3) to make the economic decisions which will
determine whether you will buy, lease or what the ultimate arrange-
ment will be and whether it is feasible when the numbers are placed
before you. He said this expenditure must be looked at as to how
this will provide the City with benefits for a number of years; if
you are paying a service bill of $30,000 per year and the new system
will function for 7 years, then it is really an off -set against
$210,000. Mr. Emmer further stated that he has a consultant who
has been working on this and he is with Mr. Wood in Clearwater.
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V/M Massaro said she thinks a computer can do that billing and
it is not necessary to spend $100,000 to do it; it is her opinion
that a decision has to be made as to what our real needs are now.
Mr. Gross said the Council has received all the information that
is being asked for now sometime ago. He stated that the City used
the Coral Springs system as a model including our billing department,
engineering and all other areas of Police, Fire, etc. He further
said the needs of the City were predicated on a city no larger than
Tamarac.
C/M Disraelly asked how much we were paying for the service and
Mr. Gross replied that he thinks it was in the neighborhood of
$24,000 per month.
C/M Disraelly then asked how much it would cost to generate the
TUW software and Mr. Emmer replied that from his prior experience
with a lot of cities, he does not know of any computer that would be
available to do the volume of billing that is done in TUI now in a
main frame computer.
There was a discussion by Council and Mr. Emmer regarding proposals
from Sperry Univac and Burroughs, and as to the feasibility of pro-
ceeding with the entire project.
(Tapeside
#2) Mayor Falck suggested to Council that when Mr. Wood returns from
Clearwater he can then give us input at a later meeting.
Mr. Gross further suggested that when Mr. Wood returns, he can dis-
cuss what he has learned with each member of Council and then set up
a separate meeting just for this item.
Mayor Falck said he would like to have a Special Meeting so that
Council can take action.
V/M Massaro MOVED that this item be scheduled far a Special Meeting
after Mr. Wood returns so Council can have a full report and a final
decision can be made.
Mayor Falck asked if Mr. Emmer would be available and Mr. Emmer
replied that his consultant will probably be there.
C/M Zemel SECONDED the motion.
3..
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE.
Bid Authorization for Mini --Attack
Discussion and possible action.
r - Fire De t. -
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Tabled until Chief
Simon presents information requested.
(See Page 1)
C/M Zemel mentioned that the City Manager is asking that he be
authorized to go to bid for a Mini -Attack Pumper which can be used
for many more purposes than just an engine. He indicated that the
money is available because there is $16,000 budgeted in the Federal
Revenue Sharing and $89,000 was left from Station No. 2 Building
Fund and he thinks we can use that.
C/M Zemel MOVED that the City Manager be authorized to go for bid
for a Mini -Attack Pumper and C/W Kelch SECONDED the motion.
There was a discussion by Council as to whether the money could be
used for this purpose.
Mr. Gross stated that this money was borrowed from one of the banks
and all of the money was not used.
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Mayor Falck indicated that the referendum specifically referred to
the building and equipment.
Mr. Gross stated that there is $16,000 in the Revenue Sharing Fund
which would be a down payment on the equipment.
V/M Massaro asked what a Mini -Attack Pumper would cost and Mr. Gross
replied, "About$65,000.00."
V/M Massaro asked if Council was sure that there wasn't a sufficient
amount of equipment on hand already? She further felt that this was
not investigated fully.
Mr. Gross said there is a very large area to cover in this City and
we need two good pumpers in each station.
C/M Disraelly asked Chief Simon if he can give Council an inventory
of the vehicles the Fire Department owns, what they are, what they
do and date of purchase.
V/M Massaro said she would like the Chief's comments as to where
they are used and for what purposes to give us a good, clear picture
so a proper evaluation can be made.
Mayor Falck stated that Council should clear up the matter of
financing.
C/M Zemel mentioned that the City Manager can still go out for bid
and V/M Massaro replied that we shouldn't spend money to advertise
until we have the information as this isn't an emergency.
C/M Zemel withdrew his motion and C/W Kelch withdrew her second.
C/M Zemel MOVED to table this item until additional information is
received from Chief Simon and V/M Massaro SECONDED the motion.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE.
Mayor Falck adjourned the meeting at 11:00 A.M.
ATTEST:
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
This public document was promulgated at a cost of $58.94, or
$2.36 per copy to inform the general public and public officers
and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the
City Council of the City of Tamarac, Florida.
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APPROVED BY
CITY COUNCIL ON
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