BOROUGH OF KENILWORTH

FACILITIES COMMITTEE

MEETING OF JUNE 12, 2006

Present were Committee Members: Mayor Gregg David, Councilman Frederick Soos, Ed Galasso, Police Chief William Dowd, and Borough Clerk Hedy Lipke. Also present were George Wittman and Walter Spendley from Schering-Plough and Attorney Gina Bilangi of UCIA.

Mayor David stated we are here tonight to interview two firms to serve as Construction Manager. The firms are Imperial and Jingola.

Gina Bilangi reported she is still waiting on information regarding the Methodist Church agent. She stated she contacted principals from the two companies to be interviewed tonight, Imperial and Jingola and forwarded the questions drawn up by George Wittmann and a preliminary drawing to them so that maybe they can give an estimated cost. She stated that Imperial will be interviewed first.

Councilman Soos asked Gina if perhaps we should start PR for the project since election season is beginning the opposition is already throwing up objections.

Gina responded that we really cannot do PR at this time since we have no costs. She stated she has been getting some calls from architects who are interested – so when we get a construction manager we can move ahead on that.

Mayor David stated it is essential that we get an answer on the Methodist Church property since that would be our site of choice. He asked Gina about the auction of the Girl Scout property.

Gina replied that she thought to wait until a construction manager is on board before we do an auction.  When we are ready she will coordinate with Borough Attorney Cohen.

INTERVIEW – IMPERIAL – Luis Fernandez, Executive Vice President and William Rudeau, Senior Project Manager.

Mr. Fernandez passed out an information packet about the company to all. He stated that the company was incorporated in 1986, starting as an electrical contractor and grew to a general construction company and now specializing as construction managers. The company has a very experienced staff. They have done varied projects including the Perth Amboy Public Safety Building; the Hudson County Correctional Facility; East Orange Police Facility and work at Union County College.

Mr. Rudeau stated that this Committee is right to get a construction manager on board right away.

Mr. Fernandez stated the company also did the Union County Facility in Scotch Plains and have been involved in projects for the military, courts and municipal buildings.

Councilman Soos asked if it would be possible to look at some of these projects.

Mr. Fernandez replied, of course.

Ed Galasso asked if Imperial realizes that this project is two phases – a new police facility and renovation of the present municipal building.

Mr. Rudeau replied, he did not know that, however, it is no problem, it is part of what they do. He stated he would work directly with the architect and will do all the work. Imperial has an in-house estimated team and he will take care of all aspects of the job.

Mr. Fernandez stated they have a huge data base of contractors and when they are authorized to put out the bid he will call the data base companies. That way we will know how many companies are interested.

Mr. Rudeau added they also have a data base of bonding companies to give them a heads up that bids are going out. He mentioned a good construction manager will have a hand in hiring the architect.  He stated he will personally do pre-construction meetings and will analyze all received bids and take care of all paperwork and then move on to the construction phase where he will give the Borough all construction manuals.

Mayor David stated the Committee wants a hand in choosing the architect.

Mr. Rudeau stated he could check the qualifications of architects and see what similar projects they have done.

George Wittmann asked for a step-by-step procedure that they will follow.

Mr. Rudeau replied we will set parameters of the building (size), do schematic plans and estimate of schematic design; will manage the architect.  His job is to oversee everything – Imperial will be the lead and will coordinate everything.

Mr. Fernandez stated it is very important to have a construction manager on board early – before bids go out.

Mr. Rudeau handed out a schedule for the project and a Budget estimate on the approximate cost.

Gina Bilangi mentioned that these numbers are not complete since we will have demolition and acquisition costs – so the cost will go up.

Mer. Fernandez stated Imperial is very safety conscious and has training sessions with workers. They are very experienced in Union County and working with the UCIA. It is important that they are a local company, based in Elizabeth, and are very accessible.

Mr. Rudeau stated that the actual construction time would be about 13 to 15 months.

Mayor David stated we want to stress that we want continuity. If Mr. Rudeau is the construction manager we want to see him as that throughout the project.

Mr. Fernandez assured the Committee that Mr. Rudeau will be involved along the project manager appointed by the company.

Mayor David thanked Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Rudeau for coming this evening.

After the two men from Imperial left, the Committee discussed their merits. The consensus of the Committee is that they were very impressed with the company, their work and the projects they have done.

Gina stated she can attest to Imperial’s excellent work. They are very proactive.

INTERVIEW – JINGOLI – David Del Vecchio and Lonny Kirk of Jingoli.

Mr. DelVecchio handed out an information packet about the company to all. He stated the firm is 85 years old and has been involved in Union County for 9 or 10 years. They have worked on the U.C.Police Facility, they were construction manager on that, did the Atrium in the Elizabeth Courthouse; the Elizabeth Public Works Building. They are experienced in public safety buildings as they have done police and court facilities in Monmouth County. They are confident in their expertise.

George Wittman asked that they give a general overview of the company.

Mr. Kirk stated that their maximum value is if they are involved early in the process – they help pick out the architect and engineer. Then prepare a Budget Baseline form for the architect to complete and owner to review – that is the basis of a schematic design so that we can get a better idea of the cost. Jingoli has professional estimators, engineers and architects in the company so they do not have to outsource. The company is very safety minded and has an excellent safety rating. The bottom line is that they are involved in every phase of the project and constantly checking.

George Wittman stated the town is concerned about selecting an architect - they want a hand in the selection as they want the right one – how would you help?

Mr. Del Vecchio replied that the firm gets prospects and collectively makes a choice with the other parties concerned.

Mr. Kirk emphasized that Jingoli manages and controls the architect and hold him accountable.

Ed Galasso mentioned that this is a two-phase project – build a new public safety building and renovate the present Municipal Building.

Mr. Kirk replied that both phases have to be coordinated. He feels we should get the same architect and construction manager for both projects.

Mayor David asked if Mr. Kirk is the main contact for the whole job. He also asked why Jingoli is interested in a file million dollar job when they are doing jobs worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr. Del Vecchio replied there is no such thing as a small job. They would like the opportunity to do the project for their resume.

Mr. Kirk stated they have several teams for every job and he is on each. He is accessible 24/7 on the project and has final say on all contacts and is the one to call if there is a problem or question.

Walter Spendley asked about their experience with police facilities.

Mr. Kirk replied they have built a lot of similar facilities and are very experienced.

Councilman Soos asked how involved will our borough engineer be?

Mr. Kirk replied, as much as he wants to be involved and since the town’s engineer is PMK they are very familiar with them and have worked with them a lot.

Chief Dowd asked about construction time.

Mr. Kirk replied that in the public sector is would be about 14 months for construction completion.

Mayor David thanked the gentlemen from Jingoli for coming this evening.

After Jingoli left, the Committee discussed and the consensus was that Jingoli is too big a firm and their presentation was tedious.

Ed Galasso stated he feels Jingoli is too big and feels that we would get better service from Imperial.

George Wittman stated he felt that Jingoli did not give direct answers to questions and they went on and on.

The Committee discussed the pros and cons of both companies interviewed and felt there is no need to interview any other companies – they would all be too big and would not give the service.

The unanimous decision of the Committee is that Imperial would be the choice.

Mayor David stated he will make the recommendation to hire Imperial as Construction Manager to Council tomorrow night for their approval.

George Wittman suggested asked Imperial for a list of recommendations for architects and then visit buildings they have designed.

Gina Bilangi stated that if Council approves the Committee’s recommendation tomorrow, she can call Imperial and ask them for a list of architects.

Mayor David stated that would be the next order of business – the architect.

A date was set for the next Facilities Committee Meeting for Monday, July 10^th, 2006 at 7:00 P.M.