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Minutes 06/14/2016 PELICAN BAY SERVICES DIVISION By IPV AD HOC COST SAVING STRATEGIES COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 14,2016 The Ad Hoc Cost Saving Strategies Committee of the Pelican Bay Services Division met on Tuesday, June 14 at 2:00 p.m. at the SunTrust Bank Building, 801 Laurel Oak Drive, Suite 302, Naples, Florida 34108. The following members attended. Ad Hoc Cost Saving Strategies Committee Bohdan Hirniak Mike Shepherd, Chairman Gary Ventress Pelican Bay Services Division Staff Mary McCaughtry, Operations Analyst Neil Dorrill, Administrator Lisa Jacob, Associate Project Manager Marion Bolick, Operations Manager Barbara Shea, Recording Secretary Also Present Joe Chicurel, PBSD Board Brandon Reed, County Legislative Affairs Ken Dawson, PBSD Board Dave Trecker,PBSD Board APPROVED AGENDA (AS PRESENTED) 1. Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll call 3. Agenda approval 4. Approval of May 10 meeting minutes 5. Audience comments 6. Review running list of identified cost-reduction/performance improvement options 7. Report on comparative community visits and conclusions a. Bonita Bay b. Pelican Marsh 8. Signage maintenance 9. Scope of work considerations a. In-house generation of mulch b. Right of way maintenance 10. The overtime argument 11. Subcontracting options—possible trial 12. Forward plan: contrast"dependent"vs. "independent" district organization 13. Adjournment ROLL CALL All members were present and a quorum was established 1 Pelican Bay Services Division Ad Hoc Cost Saving Strategies Committee Meeting June 14, 2016 AGENDA APPROVAL Mr. Ventress motioned, Mr. Hirniak seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MAY 10 MEETING MINUTES Mr. Ventress motioned,Mr. Hirniak seconded to approve the 05/10/16 meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Dr. Chicurel commented on the original purpose of the formation of the PBSD which was to provide better and more enhanced services beyond those provided by the County, and how it was recognized and agreed to increase cost to the residents in the form of an additional self- imposed assessment. He commented on how the two consecutive annual budget increases were a direct result of the failure of previous PBSD boards to properly fund operations. Dr. Chicurel urged the PBSD Chairman to further vet any recommendations coming out of this CSS Committee through the other standing PBSD committees, before any consideration by the full board. REVIEW RUNNING LIST OF IDENTIFIED COST REDUCTION/PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS Mr. Shepherd reviewed the running list of identified cost reduction/performance improvement options resulting from the last committee meeting discussions. REPORT ON BONITA BAY COMMUNITY VISIT AND CONCLUSIONS Mr. Shepherd reviewed his report on visits with Mr. Bolick to the Bonita Bay community on 5/12/16 and 5/26/16. The report included pertinent information on their landscaping budget/operations including policies, annual budget, employees, compensation, benefits, funding, and equipment. REPORT ON PELICAN MARSH COMMUNITY VISIT AND CONCLUSIONS Mr. Ventress reviewed his report on his visit with Ms. Jacob and Mr. Dorrill to the Pelican Marsh community. The report included pertinent information on their landscaping budget/operations including policies, annual budget, employees, compensation, benefits, funding, and equipment. Mr. Shepherd provided and reviewed a comparison chart of comparable community characteristics of Pelican Bay, Bonita Bay, and Pelican Marsh. He concluded that the PBSD is the low cost provider of landscape services. SIGNAGE MAINTENANCE Mr. Shepherd reported on Bonita Bay's sign maintenance policy. This community has an ongoing contract with a contractor to routinely maintain all signs at a contracted price of$250 per sign. This ongoing process is repeated with sufficient frequency that all signs appeared to be in nearly perfect condition. Mr. Shepherd suggested that the PBSD explore a similar contract for on-going sign maintenance, rather than the historical "batch"processing for possible cost 2 Pelican Bay Services Division Ad Hoc Cost Saving Strategies Committee Meeting June 14,2016 savings. A design change to a single process black finish(like Bonita Bay uses) on community signs may result in additional on-going maintenance cost savings to Pelican Bay. Mr. Shepherd suggested a discussion between the PBSD and PBF regarding takeover of single family home mailboxes to enhance beautification of the Pelican Bay community. SCOPE OF WORK CONSIDERATIONS—IN-HOUSE GENERATION OF MULCH Mr. Shepherd reviewed the benefits of in-house mulch generation. Mr. Bolick summarized the roadblocks to beginning this process as being, (1) some board members have expressed preference of the look of pine straw, and (2)the board removed the funds for maho clearing in the FY17 budget; these funds were requested to provide a space to store the mulch produced in-house. The general consensus of the committee was that this option should be brought forward for future consideration. SCOPE OF WORK CONSIDERATIONS—RIGHT OF WAY MAINTENANCE Mr. Shepherd discussed the possibility of adopting a requirement throughout Pelican Bay that owners/associations maintain landscaping to the curb. He indicated that Foundation Covenant Enforcement(Frank Laney) has done preliminary research which found no covenant restrictions preventing a transfer of this maintenance responsibility. Mr. Shepherd indicated that sample responses from affected associations were neutral to positive. He suggested that such a transfer may save the PBSD landscape budget 10-11%. Dr. Chicurel spoke against giving up control of these landscape areas. Mr. Dorrill commented on the loss of a"uniform look" on Pelican Bay major roadways if the mowing responsibilities were transferred to different associations. The general consensus of the committee was that this option should be brought forward for future consideration. THE OVERTIME ARGUMENT Mr. Shepherd summarized and compared the use of guaranteed overtime by private landscape contractors, other large communities (such as Bonita Bay and Pelican Marsh), and the PBSD. He provided pro-forma budgets under two different scenarios of reduced work weeks for PBSD landscape employees along with estimated savings. Mr. Bolick suggested that any change to the work week for his County employees would be a shock to them, as they have had guaranteed overtime in their work week for over 20 years. He suggested that the elimination of overtime for temporary employees would result in some seeking employment elsewhere; replacement employees would be difficult to obtain. Quality and quantity of work would suffer. Mr. Dawson stated that any cost savings achieved should be applied to other areas of the PBSD budget which are underfunded. The general consensus of the committee was to not pursue this issue until the independent/dependent district organizational issue is resolved. SUBCONTRACTING OPTIONS—POSSIBLE TRIAL Not discussed 3 Pelican Bay Services Division Ad Hoc Cost Saving Strategies Committee Meeting June 14,2016 FORWARD PLAN: CONTRAST "DEPENDENT" VS. "INDEPENDENT DISTRICT ORGANIZATION Not discussed. Mr. Shepherd requested that Mr. Hirniak develop an informational document providing a comparison of major differences between a dependent district and an independent district. Dr. Trecker spoke on the importance of educating the PBSD Board on these differences. ADJOURNMENT Fhe meeting was adjourned at 3:36 p.m. 111L.._ Mike ShepherdCh Chairman Minutes approved F 1 as presented OR [ las amended ON F date 4