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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-09-20 Minutes1 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SELECTION COMMIITTEE LAND APPLICATION STUDY A special meting of the Board of Directors was held on Monday, September 20, 1982, at 12:00 Noon, to consider the selection of three (3) firms to interview in conjunction with the Study of the Land Application of Municipal Wastewater. PRESENT: Directors Btmmpass, Johnson, Lancaster, Todd, Osborne, Sharp and Noland; City Manager Grimes, Assistant City Manager McWethy, CO and City Clerk Kelly; members of the press and audience. Also present were. Mr..J.E. McClelland, Mr. Carl Yates, and Mr. U Vernon Rowe, Engineers. [Q Director Todd served as chairman of this meeting. He stated that they would review the proposals submitted by six engineering firms, and it was determined that each of the six firms would be considered separately, and each person on the Evaluation Committee would make their comments relative to each individual firm. FIRMS BEING CONSIDERED FOR SFTFCEION CDM (Camp Dresser & McKee, Dallas, Texas) City Engineer Don Bunn stated that in the RFPs the City had requested that the individual firms evaluate land application in terms of the flows that have been developed in the Facility Plan, based on the 7 million gallons per day present flow, and the 11 million gallons per day projected design figures. CDM had indicated that they would use their own figures in making their determinations. Mr. Bunn felt that they did not have the experience that some of the other firms have in the way of investigation. Overall, he felt that they were insistent upon using the numbers that they had developed in their evaluation, and he felt that they were not responsive to the questions placed before the firm in our RFPs. They had made note of projects in Dallas/Ft. Worth and San Angelo, but City Engineer Don Bunn discounted the Dallas/Ft. Worth project because it wasn't completed through to construction. Director Noland reiterated that most of their experience had been design work, with no specific experience implementing the land application. Director Sharp thought that the proposal was worded in a juvenile manner, and that the reference to dealings with the farmers was tactless. He also noted that they stated that "land treatment lends itself readily to stretching out capital expenditures " They stated that it was a "people problem," which Director Sharp agreed with. Director Johnson stated that she was impressed with the technical aspects of this project, and she agreed that it was a people problem. She was troubled by the fact that they said they could finish within 100 days, but that they would prefer having 130 days to complete the project. 229 230 Director Osborne felt that they should possibly be given the additional time to complete the project if it would mean the project would be handled in a more competent manner. City Engineer Bunn felt that once the project was underway they could give them some leeway on the timeframe for completion, but not necessarily state those time adjustments at this point. He said that getting access to the farms, for the purpose of digging test pits, might take sane time. Director Osborne reiterated that the Water & Sewer Committee had proposed doing test projects, to see if the rehabilitation would work. City Engineer Bunn felt that this was what CDM had in mind in their comments regarding the utilization of the Soil Conservation Service for rehabilitation work. That is, to go slowly and be certain what is being done is cost effective. He felt these results would be helpful to put before the EPA. Director Todd wondered what our experience has been in the past with 014 and wondered if they had been responsive to our requests. Don Bunn, City Engineer, indicated that they had com- pleted the work asked for, in a timely manner. Regarding this particular request, he felt that they were not entirely responsive. They did show, however, that they were able to deliver under time constraints. Director Osborne stated that it is their prerogative to change the "flow" data and the fact that they had based their entire approach on the data they had developed seemed appropriate in that they would be hired precisely because of this expertise. With regard to the statement made by CDM that "land treatment is economically competitive; implementation may be difficult," Director Todd stated that they had concluded in their study that there was enough indication of a need to study the cost effectiveness of the project more thoroughly, and Director Osborne felt that they may have been referring to the economic competitiveness in the nation es a whole. Director Osborne stated that he hoped the selected firm would make contact with the local farmers, with a representative of the City who was technically aware of the particulars of the project. Director Todd noted that CDM was proposing to work in conjunction with McClelland Engineers on this project, and that the City has record of the credentials of McClelland Engineers. Director Todd noted that steps in their project before Bunn said they had emphasized this could delay their actual on-site testing to take place this might be a reflection of the technical approach. CDM had planned to complete several they did any drilling. City Engineer meeting with the land owners and that work in the field. They foresaw in Weeks 6, 7, 8 and 9. He felt that their "people" approach, as well as 1 1 1 CH2M-Hill (Montgomery, Alabama) City Manager Grimes stated that his primary concern with all firms has been their experience in completion of a project. He felt that on-the-job experience was the most useful, and he feels strongly that CH2M has a vast amount of experience with on-line facilities, from construction to operation. He ranked them highly. Director Bass thought that their experience level was excellent. As a follow up, he would like to see some independent surveys on how their plans are currently performing, and if those'clients are satis- fied. CO Director Johnson stated that CH2M seemed to emphasize the technical CO rather than the "people" approach. She was impressed that they were prepared to produce a finished product which would pull together all N existing information for comparison, so that the City could make a 0 timely decision, and they plan to give a final report which could be CO amended to suit the Facility Plan. a Director Sharp stated that they were leaders in land application projects, having had 40 of them, and leaders in the planning and design of large irrigation districts, but he noted that their project leader is a forester. He liked their Work Plan which called for an interim report to the City on their progress. Director Noland indicated that they had referred to having worked on 9 irrigation operation systems, and it was determined that those were located in California, Nevada and Nebraska. Director Noland also indicated that the association with McClelland Engineers was somewhat unclear in the proposal. With regard to commercial, industrial and institutional engineering, Director Sharp noted that CH2M had listed the top ten engineering firms with regard to dollar volume for this type of engineering service, and CH2M was listed as number 3, and Metcalf & Eddy, Inc was listed as nuMber 4. City Engineer Bunn stated that he liked their technical approach and he added that they seemed to have gone beyond what was requested, in that they referred at length to Step III, the construction. CH2M had referred to an overall "slaw rate" concept, and it was determined that CH2M would discuss the feasibility of an overland flow option with the City if it were to occur. ERM (Environmental Resources Management, Int.,West Cheater; Pa.) Don Bunn, City Engineer, indicated that their experience has been a great deal of involvement in overland flow, rather than slow rate irrigation. They presented an alternate approach where they would look at overland flow in addition to rapid rate infiltration. He felt that they considered that their best experience was in overland flow. He was impressed with their personnel, in that they would be working on the job. 231 232 Mr. Bunn stated that he was glad they had made a proposal on what had been specifically requested, and made their suggestions on overland flow separate from that proposal. However, he didn't agree that overland flow needed to be looked at. Director Noland was impressed by their proposal, but felt that their municipal projects had been done on a small scale basis. Director Sharp said that they didn't seem to be willing to take on the work of the land acquisition, as much as other firms had been willing to do so. They implied that they would complete the tests and then leave the acquisition of the land to the City. Director Noland also stated that they implied that the land to the south of Fayetteville was better suited than the land to the north of Fayetteville. City Manager Grimes stated that most of their work had been industrial and he felt they were more concerned with keeping down costs, than they were in the effectiveness of the treatment process. Director Sharp and City Manager Grimes felt that their alter- nate study plan to do the overland flow was interesting, but that this could only be done with EPA approval. LAW, INC. (Marietta, Georgia) City Manager Grimes rated this firm highly and noted that they had quite a lot of involvement in slow rate land application projects, but much of it had been subcontracted. He mentioned that they had some people on their staff who were heavily involved in the Georgia project. Director Bianpass stated that he also liked this proposal. He said that Law, Inc. had identified a smaller portion of acreage, probably to keep costs down, as being able to handle the effluent. Director Johnson said she noted that they felt that land application would work, and they could find a system that would fit any difficult situation, which Director Lancaster felt was a good philosophy, but might not prove to be cost effective Director Sharp stated that Law, Inc.'s Project Manager, Dr. Wade Nutter, is an hydrologist, and that their land application had been in forestry, and he felt he would prefer that the Project Manager be someone involved in either engineering or agricultural. Director Todd said that they had had many projects, but none similar to our project, in non -forest land. He stated further that they had listed several people on staff who had done overland flow projects, but the company as a whole had not been involved in these projects. Director Osborne stated that most of the firms had included experience of various personnel who had worked on a variety of projects. 1 1 1 1 Don Bunn added that they often subcontract to other engineers on these types bf projects. Director Noland suggested contacting some of the clients of past projects to determine their area of expertise. He was disturbed, however, that most of their projects were concerned with forage grass, and dealt with a limited number of agrinomic problems. City Engineer stated that most of their experience had been as a subcontractor, in association with such firms as Associated Engineering Company, Stanley Consultants, and Clark Engineering Service. He added, however, that this might have been their first step in taking on these types of projects on their own. CO He was impressed with their proposal from a technical viewpoint. They didn't address the options that the City might have in land N acquisition, which had specifically been requested in the RFPs. U With regard to their experience in forage grass and forestry, CO Director Osborne stated that there is the possibility that the Q City might be interested in this expertise in the future and they might be a benefit to the City if that would occur. Director Todd stated that even though the primary concern at this point has been agrinomic crops, that forestry could possibly be considered as a supplement in the future. Director Todd mentioned that Law, Inc. had indicated one week would be utilized for meeting in Fayetteville, starting project selection of two sites, and detailed investigation. He wondered if contact could be made with the farmers within one week's time. He also said that they had indicated on-site drilling would be completed by Week 4. With regard to contacts to be made to farmers, all of the Directors agreed that this should be done by a team of people, consisting of engineers and a representative of the City, and possibly a local representative of the Soil Conservation Service. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. (Des Plaines, Illinois) City Engineer Don Bunn thought the proposal from Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. was very good, although it was brief in comparison to others. But it did contain all the necessary technical elements. He mentioned that Metcalf & Eddy would utilize the services of Dr. Ara Demirjian of the Muskegon County Wastewater System project and Dr. William Sopper from the project at Pennsylvania State University, as consultants. Director Noland agreed that it was a good proposal. Director Sharp thought it was a good proposal and that they seemed to have "written the book" on wastewater management. • 233 234 Director Johnson said she was impressed with their projects and their wanting to go one-on-one with the landholders and explain to them the process. They also proposed submitting a progress report to the Board of Directors. City Manager Grimes agreed that the plan was well done. SHFAFFER & ROLAND, INC. (Chicago, Illinois) City Manager Grimes felt that it was entirely too blunt and curt in its presentation. Director Bumpass said it seemed fairly generalized, but he felt the company didn't seriously address the questions raised in the RFP, and he felt they were not very experienced. Director Noland stated that they mentioned that it would be necessary to work with the Citizens Advisory Committee. He added that they had mentioned they would bring in amen from Lubbock, Texas, who had operated an irrigation farm, since 1937. Director Noland felt it might be worthwhile to keep that man in mind for the future, as a possible reference on this project. Don Bunn mentioned that if the Facility Plan were to be amended, it would be subject to another public hearing, but he felt that the CAC would not have to be involved ORAL VOTE BY THE BOARD OF DIRECIORS, CITY MANAGER, AND CITY ENGINEER The results of the oral vote taken by the Selection Committee of the top three firms is listed below: DIRECTOR LANCASIM Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. CH2M-Hill Law, Inc. DIRECTOR NOLAND ERM Law, Inc. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. DIRECTOR SHARP CH2M-Hill Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. ERM DIRECTOR TODD CH2M-Hill Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. CCM DIRECIUR JOHNSON CH2M-Hill Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. Law, Inc. DIRECTOR OSBORNE CH2M-Hill CDM Law, Inc. DIRECTOR BUMPASS Law, Inc. ERM CH2M-Hill CITY MANAGER GRIMES CH2M-Hill Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. Law, Inc. CITY ENGINEER BUNN Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. ERM CH2M-Hill 1 1 1 The three firms selected by oral vote of the Selection Committee were: CH M -Hill (8 votes); Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. (7 votes); and Law, Inc. (6 votes). The date and time scheduled for the interview sessions is Tuesday, September 29, 1982, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The order for interviewing was determined by a drawing. The first interview would be CH2M-Hill, the second would be Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., and the third would be Law, Inc. The companies were to be allotted 30 minutes for their indi- vidual presentations. It was also determined that these three a) firms would be asked to submit their fee proposals in sealed envelopes at the time of the interviews. ADJOURNMENT U CO There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned Q at 2:30 p.m. 235