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3/23/2021 - City Council - Special - Minutes CITY OF SPRING PARK SPECIAL WORK SESSION MINUTES MARCH 23, 2021 – 6:00 PM SPRING PARK CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER Present: Jerome P. Rockvam, Mark Chase, Jeff Hoffman, Pamela Horton, and Gary Hughes Mayor Rockvam chaired the meeting. Others in attendance: City Administrator Dan Tolsma; Chris McMillen, Greg Stang, and Shawn Wilson from PeopleService; Mike Mason. 6:00 –PeopleService Public Works proposal discussion A. Introductions B. PeopleService Overview Chris McMillen, Director of Sales for PeopleService reviewed their organizational structure. He discussed staff and responsibilities. McMillen highlighted what has been done for the City of Spring Park and reviewed updates to the GIS software currently taking place. C. Proposal Review McMillen discussed all the benefits of the GIS mapping and how it would benefit the City. McMillen also discussed standard operating procedures, hydrant flushing, their “deep bench”, and their resources to service the City of Spring Park. He stated the City will have transparency and maintain control. The City will gain more control with the deep bench, Spring Park is the priority for PeopleService and there is no conflict of interest with another client. If there is a dual emergency, it is Greg’s job to ensure that he has the operators on standby or if Shawn needs help there are other resources to get the job done. McMillen reviewed a cost analysis and broke down everything in the fee so the City can see full disclosure in costs. He reviewed utility billing costs if the City wanted PeopleService to process utility bills, further discus- sion can be had if that was an option the City of Spring Park is wanting. In conclusion, McMillen stated he has reviewed the diamond mapping, work orders, streamlined reporting and being transparent so the City knows what is getting done and when it is going to be done. A copy of the agreement was included for review and McMillen opened the discussion for questions. D. Questions Rockvam inquired to how much time Shawn has spent in Spring Park on average. Wilson stated he spends 30 to 35 hours maybe even more. He stated in the summer it is a lot more. Hours and scope of services were discussed. Tolsma stated it depends on the projects but agreed on average it is around 30-40 hours a week. Rockvam and Hughes inquired to fire hydrant inventory and operations and discussion was had. Tolsma stated hydrants and jetting/televising were two of the biggest priorities when looking at the contract with PeopleService initially. When the contract started five years ago the City was split into four differ quadrants and they do one quadrant a year and preventative maintenance was discussed. Discussion was had on other cities that PeopleService services and they discussed the benefit having other cities and expanding on their employees’ responsibilities. They become familiar with other systems and they can grow and learn or get higher certifications and build a career. McMillen described the benefit of their deep bench and staff experience. Mason inquired if the contract was a five-year contact and asked about lift station condition. Discussion was had on lift station maintenance. Tolsma reviewed the six lift stations and their condition. Further discussion was had on lift stations and the City of Spring Parks’ needs. The benefits of PeopleService were discussed and how the sanitary sewer system is in a much better place than it was five years ago. Workflow, accountability, and the paper trail were reviewed. Rockvam inquired to when Shawn started with PeopleService and asked what problems he has seen with the City. Wilson stated his biggest difficulty has been in locating curb stops. He explained how the City needs to raise and exercise the curb stops and update the tie cards. Further discussion was had on curb stops and the issues with them in the City. Tolsma stated it needs to be a priority in the next year to the locate the curb stops and get them into the GIS system. Discussion was had on locating curb stops, road improvements and other city issues. PeopleService left the meeting. E. Timeline / Next Steps Cost comparison was discussed on the two options, PeopleService or the City of Orono. Equipment needs and services were discussed. Tolsma stated his biggest question with PeopleService has been personnel. If they can keep a good worker on staff it works well for the City but is PeopleService doing enough in their organization to keep their people. It would be difficult if Wilson left, and they would have to train another individual. Rockvam stated he does not have an issue with PeopleService or the people, he wanted to look at the equipment and then the backup. He is pleased with their documentation and reports to the Council that PeopleService provides. Discussion was had on the mapping and who owns the rights. Tolsma stated that would need to be addressed in the contract. Further discussion was had on the contract term and the purpose of a five-year contract, along with further cost comparisons. Tolsma inquired as to if the Council wanted another work session just to discuss public works or if they could reach a consensus and the next regular work session meeting. Discussion was had and Tolsma stated he will come up with a pros and cons list. Further discussion was had on the benefit of Orono versus PeopleService. Hoffman stated there is a fifty-two percent increase in cost with the City of Orono and discussion was had on if their services were worth that much of an increase. Rockvam feels it is worth it because of the equipment they have and their backup capa- bilities. Discussion was had on instances where the City would need the heavy equipment that Orono could provide and if it is worth a fifty-two percent increase. Tolsma stated again his biggest concern is staffing. If we knew Wilson was going to be employed for ten years, there is a real benefit in staying with PeopleService. Otherwise Orono would have the advantage because they would not lose experienced employees all at once. Discussion was had on the yearly cost increases in the contract and cost increases in general if the City went with Orono. Tolsma will bring back a pros and cons list to the next work session meeting for further discus- sion. Adjourn There being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned.