HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES
COMMISSION OF
10400 Detrick Avenue
(240) 773-9025
SPECIAL SESSION OPEN MEETING
M I N U T E S
September 23, 2003
03 - 11
A special session meeting of the Housing
Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County was conducted on
Present
Richard Y. Nelson, Jr.,
Chair
Norman Cohen, Vice Chair
Y. Monroe Galloway, Chair
Pro Tem
Ralph D. Bennett, Jr.
Michael J. Kator
Absent
LaKeyia L. Thompson
Also
Attending
Scott Minton, Executive Director Ken
Tecler
Peter Engel
Bill
Murphy
Scott Ewart Susan
Yancy
Lillian
Lembit Jogi Jane
Harrah
Dana Miller, Special Assistant to the Commission
Guests
none
Chair Nelson convened the meeting of
the Housing Opportunities Commission at
I. DELIBERATION
A.
Approval of Contract for Rehabilitation of
Vice-Chair Cohen expressed
his concern about C.M. Parker’s bid being significantly lower than the other
four companies that submitted bids. Mr.
Jogi explained that C.M. Parker has lower management overhead than the other
companies because it will only assign one site manager to the project. He informed the Commission that C.M. Parker
supplied references from the Montgomery Housing Partnership and the Arlington
Housing Authority.
Chair Pro Tem Galloway
stated that a new fire alarm might be required for the building. She asked if the total cost of the
rehabilitation would exceed $3.2 million if it needs to be replaced. Staff confirmed that it is possible that the
costs associated with replacing the fire alarm may bring the total costs over
$3.2 million.
Vice-Chair Cohen asked for
clarification about the 5% contingency that is built into the contract. Mr. Jogi explained that the contingency would
allow staff to authorize work up to $3,360,000 without further Commission
approval. Vice-Chair Cohen expressed his
concerns that the contract would be amended and that the costs would escalate
especially because their bid was significantly lower than the other
bidders. Mr. Jogi stated that his
reference checks have indicated that Parker is a reputable firm and that it is
the smallest firm that bid on the project.
He stated that it is family run and located in the County. He went on to state that the architect, the
construction manager and DHCA are pleased Parker submitted the lowest bid.
Commissioner Bennett moved
to adopt the revised resolution.
Commissioner Kator seconded the motion.
Affirmative votes were cast by Commissioners Galloway, Cohen, Nelson,
Bennett and Kator. Commissioner Thompson
was necessarily absent and did not participate in the vote.
RESOLUTION:03-96 RE: Approval of Contract for
Rehabilitation
of Seneca Heights
WHEREAS, the Housing Opportunities
Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) is acting as the Development Coordinator
for Montgomery County Government in the renovation and conversion of the Seneca
Heights (formerly the Econo Lodge) for Special Needs Housing; and
WHEREAS, the renovation and conversion
of Seneca Heights to Special Needs Housing requires the services of a qualified
general contractor to work with the design team and complete the renovation;
and
WHEREAS, HOC staff has issued an RFP
and selected C.M. Parker, a qualified general contractor, to perform the
renovation and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA),
representing the County in this undertaking, has approved the contractor; and
WHEREAS, the terms of the contract are
substantially complete, however, a few line items in the budget and several
provisions in the contract have not been finalized; and
WHEREAS, DHCA desires to complete the
project on an expedited time frame; and
WHEREAS, in order to meet the time
frame, the contract with the general contractor must be executed as soon as
possible; and
WHEREAS, staff has recommended that the
contract be approved with a guaranteed maximum price and on terms substantially
similar to those presented to the Commission; and
WHEREAS, DHCA desires to have the authority to expend the
contingency amount of five percent of the contract amount if necessary.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the
Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County that the Executive
Director is authorized execute a contract with C.M. Parker for the
rehabilitation of
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
Executive Director is authorized to expend the full amount of the contingency
fund, which shall not exceed five percent of the final contract amount.
There being no further
business to come before this session of the Commission, a motion was made,
seconded and unanimously adopted to adjourn.
The
meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
D. Scott Minton
Secretary-Treasurer
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