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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Special Meeting_11/14/2007MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING LEGAL SERVICES RFP REVIEW Wednesday, November 14, 2007 2:30 p.m. Council Chambers 345 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, FL Call to Order and Roll Call The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jim Humpage at 2:36 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Pat Watkins, Council Member Dan Amero, Council Member Tom Paterno, and Council Member Calvin Turnquest. Also in attendance were: Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., and Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. 1. Review of Submitted Leaal Services RFP's • Baird and Roselli (Karen Roselli) • Corbett and White (Keith Davis) • Doran, Wolfe, Ansay and Kundid (Ansay) • Kraft, Mitchell • Torcivia and Associates, Glen • Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske (Lynn Dannheisser) • Joint Proposal by: Doran, Wolfe, Ansay 8~ Kundid and Glen Torcivia ~ Associates In disclosing exparte communications all Council Members noted speaking with at least one of the applicants. Council Member Paterno stated he had spoken to Ms. Roselli. Mayor Humpage suggested Council eliminating two firms, leaving three firms to choose from. Vice Mayor Watkins stated she could bring her selection down to three. Council Member Turnquest confirmed he could do the same. Council Member Paterno commented he understood the firms would be in attendance today for interviewing purposes and felt there were positives and negatives about all the firms. Council Member Amero expressed his opinion was the same and felt he would like to hear from the firms before he could make an educated decision. Manager Couzzo stated Council had not specified a particular interviewing process. Village Council Special Meeting-Legal Service RFP Review November 14, 2007 Page 2 Council Member Turnquest stated he was impressed first by the firms that put time into their bid packages; he stated along with other criteria the fee was important. Vice Mayor Watkins agreed the presentation and fee were important. She stated she was not familiar with firms offering a joint proposal and did not have a good feeling for that procedure. Council Member Paterno agreed and questioned if Torcivia and Associates, could be focused enough for Tequesta when the firm was planning jobs with other firms and presently representing North Palm Beach. Vice Mayor Watkins felt Corbett and White had municipal background; but she was concerned with their availability since they were such a large firm and were representing the Florida League of Cities. Council Member Paterno noted the distance of some of the firms and was concerned with the travel time and availability. Vice Mayor Watkins commented that Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske did not charge for mileage. Council Member Turnquest noted he liked that the firm had the highest liability coverage and that they would not charge Manager Couzzo for calls; but their rates were ten dollars higher than the rest. Vice Mayor Watkins felt the firm had a wealth of knowledge. Council Member Paterno did not get a good vibe from the firm and felt they would not be fair with the Village if a request for a document was made and as he understood the firm had previous templates, but would charge an outrageous amount for them. He stated Ms. Roselli mentioned their firm would discount previously created documents to the Village. Mayor Humpage stated he had narrowed his list to two or three; and stated he had concerns with Baird &Roselli because they represented Jupiter and he felt there could be problems if an issue arose concerning the water interconnection agreement between Jupiter and the Village; he also stated Community Development was not using Karen Roselli at present because they were not pleased with her past performance. He also agreed with Council on the positives of Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske and felt encouraged that they handled labor issues and had municipal background. He also felt Mr. Carson was still available to represent the Village if need be. Mayor Humpage also did not like the idea of a joint venture; and was interested to know how the firms intended to monitor six people while keeping the billing under control. He also stated he would prefer interviewing two or three but would be willing to interview all if that was what the majority decided was best. Manager Couzzo suggested Council focus on the firms qualifications first, then the financial aspect second; he felt once the decision was narrowed Council could negotiate the particulars. He stated he would like to see Council Member's given a monthly allowance from the chosen firm to assist with their inquiries'. Vice Mayor Watkins commented she would like to see the candidates narrowed to make the interviewing procedure easier on everyone. Council Member Amero stated he knew who his top three would be and agreed with Council Member Turnquest when referring to first Village Council Special Meeting-Legal Service RFP Review November 14, 2007 Page 3 impressions. He noted that after speaking with the representative from Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske he felt the firm was well qualified and he liked that they were willing to negotiate with the Village and could offer a paralegal which would save the Village money. He also liked that the firm was familiar with taking direction from Council and would be willing to give Council complimentary time as well. He also expressed interest and admiration for the firm of Corbett and White. Mayor Humpage asked Council if they would like to bring the choice down to two. He suggested eliminating Mitch Kraft and Council agreed. Council Member Paterno indicated he would eliminate the two firms proposing the joint endeavor and Consensus of Council agreed. Mayor Humpage confirmed Torcivia and Doran, Wolfe, Ansay & Kundid was eliminated from the group. Council Member Amero confirmed that the three firms left to be interviewed were Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske, Corbett and White, and Baird &Roselli. Vice Mayor Watkins confirmed two out of three remaining were top on her list but she was concerned as well with Baird &Roselli being affiliated with Jupiter and Council Member Paterno agreed. Mayor Humpage recalled a recent situation with Mr. Baird and the emergency interconnect with Jupiter and believed Baird &Roselli would not be good candidates for Tequesta. Council Member Turnquest commented he would narrow his choice to two Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske and Corbett and White. Council Member Paterno questioned why the Village would be getting Mr. Davis instead of Ms. White. Manager Couzzo replied it would be the same with Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske; the Village would not be getting the firm they would get an appointed individual. Council Member Amero stated this was a good change for the Village and felt any one of the remaining firms would do a great job. Manager Couzzo recommended shortening the list from three to two for further consideration. MOTION: Vice Mayor Watkins motioned to shorten the list to two firms Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole &Boniske and Corbett and White. Council Member Amero seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. 2. Selection of RFP's for Interview Village Clerk McWilliams suggested interviewing one firm at a time. Council consensus agreed to an estimated hour per interview. Council Member Paterno noted that after interviewing Village Council Special Meeting-Legal Service RFP Review November 14, 2007 Page 4 Council was not obligated and could still decide not to hire either one. Council Member Amero responded he believed Council would get one out of the two remaining. Mayor Humpage indicated he would like to have the same firm handle all matters in the Village including Community Development. Council Member Paterno asked if there were any questions Council could ask the firms in advance to help with the interviewing process. Manager Couzzo suggested giving two or three questions and have the firm put their answers into essay form for Council to have prior to the interviews. Mayor Humpage stated he would like each Council member to have their own set of questions and all members to listen to all the responses. Adjournment MOTION: Upon motion by Mayor Humpage, seconded by Vice Mayor Watkins, the meeting was adjourned at 3:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lori McWilliams, CMC Village Clerk