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[ NOTICE OF MEETING CITY OF GARLAND, TEXAS Administrative Services Committee Work Session Room of City Hall William E. Dollar Municipal Building 200 N. Fifth Street Garland, Texas NOVEMBER 14, 2024 5pm ]
TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE.TODAY IS NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT FIVE O'CLOCK AND 45 SECONDS.
I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS WRITTEN.
SECOND ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENTS.
I DON'T SEE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE.
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS? AND WE DO NOT.
ALRIGHT, THIRD ON THE AGENDA ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
FIRST, WE HAVE DOWNTOWN SQUARE PROGRAMMING AND USAGE POLICIES.
OH, I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION WE HAVE COUNCILWOMAN BEARD AND COUNCILMAN HEN HEDRICK WITH US TODAY.
PLEASE PROCEED WITH ITEM THREE A.
WELL, GOOD EVENING, AND WE ARE CIRCLING BACK AROUND, UM, FROM THE OCTOBER MEETING EVEN MORE.
OKAY, SO WE ARE CIRCLING BACK AROUND AND MY PRESENTATION, UM, INCLUDES ONE SLIDE
UM, BUT, UM, ON YOUR, UM, REQUEST, UH, TO COME BACK AND, UM, TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CITY PRODUCED AND, UM, CITY CO-PRODUCED.
IS IT NOT WORKING? WELL, IT'S ONE SLIDE.
UM, WE HAD IN OCTOBER, UH, GIVEN THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE SQUARE BE PRESERVED FOR CITY PRODUCED AND CO-PRODUCED AND, UM, WITH THE, UM, REQUEST TO, UH, GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO REVISE OUR VERBIAGE AND RECOMMENDATION TO BE CITY PRODUCED ONLY.
AND, UM, WITH THAT IN MIND AND DIRECTION OF, UM, THIS COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL, WE COULD, UM, INTEGRATE THE HISTORICALLY CO-SPONSORED EVENTS AS CITY PRODUCED EVENTS.
AND THOSE WOULD BE MLK LABOR DAY AND WILLS OF HOPE, AND THAT WOULD ELIMINATE CO-SPONSORS MOVING FORWARD.
ANY COMMENTS COMMITTEE? NO, THAT'S FINE.
I THINK, UH, WE ALL IN FAVOR OF MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT VERBIAGE.
ALRIGHT, ITEM THREE B, ANNUAL CITY COUNCIL APPOINTEE REVIEW PROCESS.
SO, UM, I, I MET WITH OUR CITY ATTORNEY AND CITY MANAGER ABOUT MOVING THIS PROCESS OUT OF THE HR DIRECTOR'S PURVIEW TO COUNSEL AND A CONSULTANT.
SO I CONTACTED, I, I DID GET A LIST FROM MR. REX, UH, ABOUT OF 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 POSSIBLE CONSULTANTS.
I REACHED OUT TO SEVEN AND, UM, ONE OF THOSE THAT WAS ON THE LIST DOES NOT DO THAT KIND OF WORK.
SO, UM, I'VE ASKED FOR, WE HAVE KIND OF A GENERAL TIMELINE, WHICH, UM, I'LL GET THIS SENT OVER TO COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT DECEMBER 29TH AS THE DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS FROM THE CONSULTANTS.
AND, UM, ALL OF THEM WERE GOOD WITH THAT DATE SINCE I DIDN'T REALLY START CONTACTING THEM
UH, THEY DIDN'T, THERE WASN'T MUCH TIME FOR THEM TO GET THEIR PROPOSALS IN SOONER THAN THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MANY OF THE CONSULTANTS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WAS THE TIMELINE.
WE HAVE THEIR, UM, CONSULTANT DEADLINE TO SEND THE REVIEW PACKET TO COUNCIL AS DECEMBER 27TH.
SOME OF THEM WERE A LITTLE HESITANT TO, UH, TO, TO REALLY SAY WE CAN HAVE IT THERE BY THAT TIME.
SO WE MAY NEED TO PUSH THOSE, PUSH THAT REVIEW PROCESS LATER IN JANUARY.
SO, UM, WE, WE MAY HAVE TO LOOK AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT ONCE WE REVIEW THE PROPOSALS AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WHO WE WANT TO CHOOSE, UH, TO PRESENT TO COUNSEL QUESTION.
BECAUSE YOU SAID DECEMBER 29TH WAS THE DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS
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FROM CONSULTANTS.SO NOVEMBER 29TH, THEY'LL GET US THE, ALL OF THE PROPOSALS.
I'LL GET ALL OF THOSE READY TO PRESENT TO YOU ALL AND SEND A PACKET OVER.
AND THEN WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING IN ORDER TO REACH OUR, UH, IN ORDER TO REACH SOME OF OUR DEADLINES.
AND IT WILL PROBABLY INCLUDE PUSHING THE APPOINTEE PROCESS TO THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF CROSS THAT BRIDGE ONCE IT COMES REGARDING THE OFFICIAL TIMELINE.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT SOME OF THE CONSULTANTS WANT TO DO IS REACH OUT TO COUNCIL MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY AND THEN KIND OF HAVE OUR, OUR APPOINTEE REVIEW PROCESS WITH THE WHOLE BODY.
UM, AFTER EACH COUNCIL MEMBER HAS MET WITH THE CONSULTANT SEPARATELY, THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT DO IT THAT WAY.
THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT DON'T DO IT THAT WAY.
AND THEN I'M, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY JUST WAITING ON THE PROPOSALS TO SEE HOW EACH CONSULTANT WILL KIND OF GUIDE THAT PROCESS.
AND, UM, IT'S MY INTENTION TO SEND TO FIND THE BEST ONE AND SEND THAT TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
I THINK IF WE BRING MORE THAN ONE CONSULTANT TO COUNCIL, IT'S GOING TO BE A MUCH LONGER PROCESS.
AND, AND SINCE WE'RE ON SUCH A STRICT TIMELINE, IT WILL, I THINK IT WILL BE BETTER TO JUST BRING THEM THE, THE ONE THAT WE FEEL IS BEST.
I THINK THAT WE CAN HANDLE THAT
UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER THING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, SOME OF THE CONSULTANTS ARE IN TEXAS AND THERE ARE A COUPLE BOUTIQUE FIRMS THAT ARE KIND OF LED AND, AND WERE STARTED BY FORMER CITY MANAGERS.
SOME OF THEM HAVE FORMER POLICE CHIEFS IN THEM, SO THEY'RE, I I FEEL LIKE THOSE WILL PROBABLY BE THE BETTER CONSULTANTS FOR US.
THEY'RE USED TO WORKING IN THAT ARE USED TO WORKING IN TEXAS AND ACTUALLY HAVE MUNICIPAL, UH, CAREER KNOWLEDGE.
AND THEN ALSO PRICE WILL BE A CONSIDERATION AS WELL.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYTHING IS KIND OF MOVING ALONG AND I THINK SEVEN IS ENOUGH.
IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER CONSULTANT THAT YOU WOULD, UM, LIKE TO RECOMMEND, I'M HAPPY TO REACH OUT TO THEM.
I HAVE A LITTLE, LIKE, I HAVE A, A PRELOADED EMAIL THAT HAS ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS.
UH, THE, THE LAST PACKET THAT WE RECEIVED FROM HR AND A TIMELINE AND, UH, SCOPE OF WORK THAT I'VE BEEN SENDING OUT TO THEM.
UM, I WILL SEND THAT TO YOU ALL AS WELL.
UH, SO THIS, THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN, THAT I'VE BEEN SENDING TO THEM IS, UH, IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY JUST THE SAME AS THE PACKET THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING.
UM, WE ARE, THE CITY ATTORNEY RECOMMENDED THAT WE ADDED LUBBOCK TO THE CITIES THAT WE ASK THEM TO GATHER MARKET COMPARISONS FOR.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME MUNICIPAL UTILITIES THAT WE DO.
AND IT KIND OF GIVES A, A GOOD PERSPECTIVE OF, BECAUSE THEY'RE REALLY SPECIALIZED.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY SPECIALIZED, UH, POSITIONS WITHIN THOSE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE CITIES THAT MATCH WHAT WE HAVE.
SO I BELIEVE THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE A LANDFILL.
YEAH, THEY'RE THE ONLY MID-SIZE CITY IN TEXAS LIKE GARLAND.
UM, THAT HAS, THAT'S FULL SERVICE.
THEY HAVE A LANDFILL, THEY HAVE A, UM, SOLID WASTE.
UM, UM, AND THEY ALSO HAVE AN ELECTRIC UTILITY.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY MIDSIZE CITY.
THAT'S A, THAT'S IT, IN MY OPINION, A TRUE COMPARISON FOR WHAT GARLAND IS.
IT'S CLOSE TO A COMPARISON FOR WHAT GARLAND DOES.
UM, OTHER CITIES LIKE PLANO HAVE SOME OF THOSE, BUT NOT ALL OF THOSE.
AND, UM, UM, JUST A RECOMMENDATION THOUGH.
I KNOW THAT HASN'T STOPPED OUR COMPARISONS IN THE PAST.
WE'VE USED SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN THAT HAVE THOSE AS WELL, BUT YEP.
UM, CURRENTLY THE CITIES I'M ASKING FOR ARE DALLAS-FORT WORTH, IRVING, ARLINGTON, PLANO, FRISCO, MCKINNEY, CARROLLTON, LEWISVILLE, GRAND PRAIRIE, RICHARDSON, MESQUITE, AND LUBBOCK.
UM, SO THE SCOPE OF WORK IS BASICALLY ONE, GATHER MARKET DATA COMP, UH, MARKET COMPENSATION DATA.
TWO, FACILITATE ANNUAL REVIEW, FACILITATE THE ANNUAL REVIEW PROCESS.
SO I REALLY WANT TO ENSURE THAT
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SOMEONE WILL BE THERE IN PERSON WITH US THE ENTIRE TIME.UM, MUCH LIKE, UH, OUR HR DIRECTOR WAS IN THE PAST, JUST SO ONE, THEY HAVE A, A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THAT MARKET, OF THOSE MARKET COMPARISONS.
BUT TWO, THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR US.
UM, I, I FEEL THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOMEONE IN PERSON THE DAY THAT WE DO THE, THE, THE COUNCIL REVIEW, THE FULL COUNCIL REVIEW.
UM, AND THEN THREE PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT.
EVENTUALLY WE WILL BE, THIS YEAR WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONTRACTS TO RENEW, BUT EVENTUALLY WE WILL.
AND IT, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THERE TO GUIDE US THROUGH THAT ENTIRE PROCESS.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY, ANYTHING SO FAR? SO, AS FAR AS TIMELINE GOES, THEIR PROPOSALS ARE DUE BACK TO US TODAY AFTER THANKSGIVING.
I ASSUME WE WOULD HAVE A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES MEETING TO APPROVE ONE ON DECEMBER 5TH.
AND THEN THAT WOULD LEAVE THEM WITH ROUGHLY THREE WEEKS TO FINISH THEIR SCOPE OF WORK WITH A HOLIDAY INCLUDED IN THERE.
WHICH IS WHY I'M SAYING IT'S, IT, IT'S MORE THAN LIKELY THAT WE WILL PUSH THAT, UH, COUNCIL REVIEW PROCESS A LITTLE FURTHER OUT THAN NORMAL THIS YEAR.
NEXT YEAR WE WILL FOLLOW THE SAME TIMELINE WE NORMALLY DO, BUT I, I DO THINK THAT IT'LL HAVE TO BE PUSHED OUT A LITTLE BIT.
WELL, THE TIMELINE'S NEVER BEEN NORMAL FOR THESE.
THERE'VE BEEN, I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN PUSHED BACK AND BACK AND BACK JUST BECAUSE WE THOUGHT THAT THE WORK SESSION MEETING WAS QUITE LOADED FOR THAT NIGHT, BUT, MM-HMM.
UM, I SPOKE WITH THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT THAT AND THEY, UH, AND CITY ATTORNEY AND THEY SEEMED TO THINK THAT THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
SO, OR I, I WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN RETROACTIVE TO WHATEVER DATE IN THE PAST, SO.
DOES ANY, ARE THERE ANY STAFF QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS PROCESS? ONE THING FOR THE COMMITTEE, CONSIDER FULL COUNCIL AS YOU MOVE FORWARD AND YOU'VE, YOU'VE REALLY ALREADY HIT ON IT.
UH, ONE, IT DOESN'T INVOLVE ME, SO THAT'S GREAT.
BUT TWO, I MEAN, GARLAND HAS SOME UNIQUE ENTITIES AND YOU'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE GPNL, NOT VERY MANY CITIES HAVE THEIR OWN UTILITY.
WE PROVIDE OUR OWN SANITATION SERVICES.
MOST CITIES CONTRACT THAT OUT.
WE HAVE OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
MOST CITIES CONTRACT THAT OUT.
JUST MAKING SURE THE CONSULTANT IS UP TO SPEED ON THOSE KIND OF THINGS AND UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCES IN THE UNIQUE PIECES THAT GARLAND DOES IN HOUSE THAT MOST CITIES CONTRACT OUT.
'CAUSE IT'S A DIFFERENT PIECE, UH, FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT, FROM A CITY MANAGER STANDPOINT TO MANAGE ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT SERVICES AND THINGS.
AND MOST CITIES DON'T DO THAT.
SO JUST MAKE SURE YOUR CONSULTANT IS AWARE OF THAT.
WHOEVER YOU END UP SELECTING AND GOING THROUGH THAT THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
'CAUSE IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN, IN A SKILLSET IN WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
ATTORNEYS FROM OTHER CITIES DON'T DEAL WITH THE GPNL ISSUES OR SOME OF THE, THEY ALL HAVE WATER ISSUES.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE A WATER WASTE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLAN OR THEY, AGAIN, SANITATION WHERE WE DO PROVIDE OUR OWN SERVICES.
JUST MAKE SURE THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT KIND OF THING AS THEY GO THROUGH.
AND IT'S NOT JUST A BOILERPLATE OF ALL CITIES ARE EQUAL 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT.
UM, SO THAT'S THE BASIC, NO, THE BASIC WAY THAT WE, WE WILL BE HANDLING THIS PROCESS IN OUR SEARCH FOR A CONSULTANT AND, UM, REALLY EXCITED TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
AND AS WE HIT OUR FOURTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA, THAT IS TO ADJOURN.
AND I CALL THIS MEETING ADJOURNED AT FIVE 14.