Resource Person(s): Attorney Hayes Hoffler

Receive for informational purposes.

Request for Proposals #99-043 was publicly advertised and mailed to 37 companies on July 1, 1999. A pre-proposal conference was held on July 16, 1999. Proposals were received on August 11, 1999.

The Evaluation Committee comprised of David Sprague, Department of General Services; Bahaa Jizi, Purchasing Department; Priscilla Lewis, Main Library; Joycelyn Dennis, Engineering; Anita Parker, Mental Health; Ian Worthington, County Manager’s Office; Janet Birenbaum, Office of the Sheriff; and Jackie Clay, Main Library, carefully reviewed these responses to:

It is recommended that the following contracts be awarded:
 

Vendor		Not to Exceed		Facility
Madison Cleaning Svc.		$ 39,999.00		Public Health Building
McCullers Maintenance		$ 58,057.92		Administrative Complex, Substance Abuse
SSC Service Solutions		$184,085.16		Judicial Building, Main Library, Criminal Justice Ctr., Cooperative Extension, Parkwood Library, Social Services, Adult Probation, Child & Family Services, Animal Control, North/South/Eastern Satellite Station, Bragtown Library
Beyah’s Cleaning Svc.		$ 47,820.00		Carmichael Building, North Durham Library, Southwest Library, Warren Library, General Services Complex, Law Building, Jail Annex
Total Amount		$329,962.08

Two of these firms are located in Durham and one in Chapel Hill. The fourth, SSC Service Solutions, maintains an office in Durham employing 130 people in the Triangle area and 450 people in NC; however, its home office is located in Knoxville, TN.

Reference checks conducted on these firms were positive providing the County with sufficient confidence that work will be appropriately performed.

Resource Person(s): Mike Turner, General Services Director; Sandra W. Phillips, Director of Purchasing; and Bahaa Jizi, Buyer, will present this recommendation.

County Manager’s Recommendation: Authorize staff to prepare final awards of the recommended contracts and bring forward for Board action on the next consent agenda.

The purpose of the Facility Master Plan project is to identify the space needs of Durham County Government for the next 20 years and develop an implementation plan to meet the needs of the involved departments and agencies. On September 1, 1999, the project consultant, O’Brien/Atkins Associates, PA in conjunction with GSA, Ltd., provided an update to the BOCC prior to development of the facility plan component. The update reviewed the data collection, interviews, projections, and determination of future needs. This update will focus on four facility configuration concepts which have been developed to meet Durham County’s facility needs. Following input and direction from the BOCC, a final plan will be prepared for adoption by the BOCC.

Resource Person(s): Glen Whisler, County Engineer, Sandra Phillips, Director of Purchasing, Kevin Montgomery, O’Brien/Atkins Associates, PA, Howard Geisler, GSA, Ltd.

County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager’s recommendation is that the BOCC receive the project update and provide comments and direction to the staff and consultant regarding the four scenarios for facility configurations. Staff understands that adoption of a plan will be a major policy statement by this Board of County Commissioners and will attempt to finalize the plan quickly after Board deliberations are finished. This will allow needed facility projects identified in the Master Plan to be incorporated into the Durham County Capital Improvement Plan that is also being discussed at this meeting.

Ms. Odom will be asking for Board deliberation and input on the following CIP issues:

County Manager’s Recommendation: This presentation is the beginning of the process for Board input into the creation of the Capital Improvement Plan. Staff has worked diligently behind the scenes to complete summaries of projects that will be brought forward to the Board for deliberations. The County Facilities Plan, which you will hear about at this meeting, will be completed rapidly after today’s session. This plan will then be formatted into the CIP. The Durham Public School’s Board is also finishing up their CIP which will also be placed in our format. The NC Museum of Life and Sciences and Durham Technical College’s requests will also be brought forward. In summary, final preparations are being made to provide the Board with the information that is needed to make solid decisions. It is now time to work on the Board’s review and outreach processes.

Durham County Government has received its renewal rates for calendar year 2000. Increases for health benefits range from 6 percent to 48 percent. Even with anticipated migration from one health plan to another in search of the lowest rates, most employees will experience an average increase of 11 percent. Dental rates will also increase an average of 31 percent (actual increases fall between $2.21 and $8.71).

The County has held steady with its flexible spending amount of $138 per pay period for seven years. Although 700 employees do not spend the entire $138 credit, the remaining 977 employees will see a significant erosion in their benefits buying power. Fund 150 has a cash reserve which is fed by the reversion of unused benefit dollars. This fund is designed to provide for the continued payment of retiree benefits without any annual budgetary allocations, and to provide a revenue source for any increases in the benefit credit (currently $138).

County Manager’s Recommendation: Durham County Government is considered to have one of the best benefit packages in the state of North Carolina. To my knowledge, no other local municipality has a true cafeteria plan. This plan has been virtually inflation proof for the past seven years; however, this year’s double digit inflation in the health arena has been felt by the entire nation. The recommended move from $138 to $150 reflects a 10 percent increase. This increase, in addition to the automatic pre-tax status of health premiums, will ensure the minimum impact to the take home pay for the majority of our employees. It is my recommendation that this item be moved to the consent agenda of the next regular meeting of the Board (November 8, 1999).