COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

DAN DUNWODY, JR.
DAN FISCHER
OLA MAE FORD
EARL PACE


        
OTHERS PRESENT:

 

STEPHEN DUVAL

VAN ETHERIDGE

DAVID FORTSON

SHERRIE SAWYER

MICHEL WANNA

 

MR. DUNWODY:     Let’s go ahead and get started, ladies and gentlemen, if we may.  Everyone take a look at the minutes and let’s have your desire on the minutes.  They were sent out earlier.  Are there any additions or deletions to the minutes?  If no one has any additions or deletions, then by acclimation we’ll consider them approved as published.  However, we do have, we don’t have a quorum here and we’ll have to approve all this the next time we have a quorum, a meeting. 


Anybody in the audience have any comments to make?  (No response).

Steve, do you want to give your report on the MBE.

 

MR. DUVAL:       Yes.  It’s going to be pretty brief.  I’ll call your attention to the last three pages of the agenda packet.  And this is the Minority Business Enterprise Report as of January 1st, 2004, so I don’t think it’s a whole lot of change since the last time you got together.  I will call your attention to a couple of projects that are going on that are just about complete now.

 

One is Project 5A-2, Forsyth Street.  Northeast Concrete is a minority firm and they are, they are the prime contractors on this particular project.  And also Project 54-B, Millerfield Road, Kemi Construction, as you can see is also a minority firm.  And they are the prime contractors on that particular project there.  And both of those projects are moving along quite a bit. 

 

And we’re still operating at about 20 percent of minority participation on all our projects.  And our figures have changed a little bit on our bottom line.  The amount has exceeded 20,000,000 now even though this report doesn’t reflect that.  But we are over $20,000,000 in our minority participants so far on the projects. 

 

And I’ll entertain any kind of questions anybody has about the report.



MR. DUNWODY:     Does anyone have any questions of Steve?  (No response).  If not, we’ll move on to the Program Manager’s Report.  Van.

 

MR. ETHERIDGE:   Good afternoon.  Since you all have last met in January there’s been two projects let to contract.  The first is by Bibb County, and that’s phase three on the Intown Historic District Sidewalk Repairs.  There are six streets in the Historic area on College, Orange, Bond, Walnut, Hill and Franklin Streets.  The bids were taken February 25th.  There were three bidders.  The low bidder was Northeast Concrete, another MBE firm, for some $678,000.  The project has been awarded to him, but he has not started construction on those yet.

 

And then the second project was let last Friday by Georgia DOT, and it’s Project Number 14, Mercer University Drive. It starts at Log Cabin and goes out to I-475.  The low bid was submitted by Shepherd Construction Company.  That’s some 11.7 million dollars.  And this work should be starting in a couple of months.

 

It’s also anticipated that we’re going to let a few more contracts.  The first is our Project 20, Wesleyan Drive, from Rivoli out to Northside.  And from a section on Tharpe that starts at Wesleyan and goes around to Northside.  And Bibb County is going to take bids on the 28th of this month to do that work.

 

And then the second project is Project 23, the Tucker Road project, from Forsyth Road around to Foster, which has the multi-use path.  Right-of-way acquisition has been completed.  I think there was only one condemnation filed.  And the project will be let to contract next month, in May, with work starting in June or July.

 

And then Project 15, Zebulon Road at I-475 Interchange, and also the Lamar Road relocation, the DOT is still on schedule to take bids in July of this year for that work.  And they’re still acquiring right-of-way for that project.

 



On our Project 36, Houston Avenue, we’ve run into some serious underground utility conflicts out there with BellSouth.  They have two large underground utility conduits that run almost the entire length of the project.  And they have been contemplating since last October what to do with those lines.  And they’ve finally decided to relocate them off of Houston Avenue over to Broadway.  But the time frame for doing that work is about eighteen months, so we are not going to be able to work on Houston Avenue south of Eisenhower until that work is done.  So the priority has been changed to do the section north of Eisenhower first.  We’re working on that section now buying the right-of-way.  We’re about 60 percent complete on the right-of-way.  There’s some 67 parcels out there I think.  And we’re trying to change the priority to work on that section.

 

We’re also buying right-of-way out on Bloomfield/Log Cabin from Eisenhower back to the south down to Rocky Creek Road.  There are some 143 parcels being purchased out there.  We have deeds on 96 of them and 15 options and we’re negotiating on 32 parcels.  Construction funds are in Fiscal ‘05 to do that work which starts in July of this year and runs to July of next year.

 

Of course, we have some projects under construction.  Steven mentioned one, Forsyth Street from College down to City Hall.  It’s 92 percent complete now, and has a completion date of the first of next month.  We have some remaining work.  The traffic signals aren’t working yet.  The pedestrian lighting is not finished and some of the landscaping is not finished. 

 

And then our Project 22, which is the intersection out on Bass Road at Rivoli and Forsyth Road, the contractor had said he was going to start back work this week, but he hadn’t started as of last, or rather as of yesterday when I went by there.  The project is about 18 percent complete and it’s supposed to be complete by the end of July.  He could still complete it on time if he’d get started. 



And out on Millerfield Road, our Project 54-B, from Bristol Drive up to Shurling Drive, it’s another one that Steve mentioned that’s being done by one of our minority contractors.  He’s 61 percent complete.  He has until June 30th to finish that.  He still has some curb and gutter work to do with some sidewalks.  Also he’s got to install a signal at Shurling Drive at Millerfield.  And then of course resurface the entire roadway.

 

And out on Hartley Bridge Road at I-75, the phase one is underway out there.  It’s some 25 percent complete now.  They’re supposed to be through next June of 2005.  Traffic on Skipper Road has been relocated to the new section which comes in at the Kroger driveway.  And the new traffic signal is operating now and it seems to be working well.

 

MR. PACE:        That’s a great improvement there really, that traffic light. 

 

MR. ETHERIDGE:   And the phase two part of that work, at the 75/475 interchange is still scheduled for Fiscal 2006. 

 

And then our Project 12 out on Log Cabin between Eisenhower and Mercer, you mentioned that, Mr. Chairman, the project is about 35 percent complete.  It’s been plagued with utility problems and so far it’s delayed the completion date about a year.  It’s scheduled for March of 2005 being completed now. 

 

And the new project just getting started out on Poplar Street from City Hall down to MLK, Site Technologies from Roswell is doing that work, and they have until March of next year to complete it.  They’re working in the first block, from First down to Second Street, and they’re about five and a half percent complete.  But they should be through with that first block by August and then they’ll start the second block.  And hopefully they’ll be through in November.  And then the third block will be completed in March of next year.  So they’re tackling one block at a time. 

 



Also our other project downtown is at Mulberry and Second Street in front of the Courthouse.  Earthscapes from Phoenix City, Alabama, is doing that.  They’re presently replacing sidewalks around the County Courthouse  there.  That work is being done at night and on the weekends.  He has until June 15th to finish that.

 

We’ve got quite a few projects that are still waiting on environmental documents to be approved by Georgia DOT and Federal Highway, and no progress much can be made on those until this is accomplished.  These are projects out on Jeffersonville Road, Projects 6, 7 and 54-A; and then on Forest Hill and the Northwest Parkway/Log Cabin project; and, of course, the Sardis Church interchange project at I-75, and the Connector over to 247.  All of these are in the environmental process.  We have to get approval on those documents before any work can progress on those. 

 

Our project out on Bass Road, Bass, Foster, Tucker and Fulton Mill, is still in concept development phase.  The project is in the long range construction program now with right-of-way out in Fiscal 2009.  Kimley-Horne is still employed to put together a concept for the project. 

 

That’s about all I have, Mr. Chairman, unless somebody has got some question on some specific projects they’d like to ask about. 

 

MR. DUNWODY:     Anybody have any questions?  (Hand raised).  Dan?

 

MR. FISCHER:      I think it’s really good that they’re phasing Poplar.  I suggested it earlier at the meetings that we do that to minimize the impact.  Having all three blocks torn up at once for two years would be a mess.  So doing one at a time certainly helps.  I think that’s an excellent strategy.  I hope it continues on other projects. 

 



I’d also like to comment on the sidewalks.  I’ll walk different routes from Mercer downtown just to get the exercise at Noon sometimes, and it’s been a tremendous improvement to be able to walk safely.  It really does enhance the quality and accessibility of downtown. 

 

MR. ETHERIDGE:   I think we’ve spent about $2,000,000 so far on repairing the sidewalks.

 

MR. FISCHER:      It’s money well spent.

 

MR. ETHERIDGE:   We’ve still got about maybe a million to go.

 

MR. DUNWODY:     How do we stand on Forest Hill?

 

MR. ETHERIDGE:   Forest Hill we recently had a review from Federal Highway and Georgia DOT on the document.  We have answered the inquiries and furnished the information that they needed back on April the 15th so we think once they get this information back they’ll go ahead and turn a-loose of the entire section from Vineville and Forsyth all the way out to  Northside.  We think it should be approved in the next couple of months.  And what that would allow is the project to proceed on maybe into final design and then into right-of-way acquisition. 

 

MR. DUNWODY:     Does anyone have any other questions from Van?  (No response).  Thank you, Van.  Appreciate your report.

 

Anyone want to make any comments at all about the status of the Road Program?

 

Do we have any old business to come up?

 

New business?

 

MS. FORD:        Under old business I guess I want to ask Duval, where is he?

 MR. DUVAL:       I’m right behind you, Ms. Ford.


MS. FORD:        Where are the other members of this committee?  Why don’t they ever come to the meetings?

 
MR. DUVAL:       That’s a good question.  You know, I --

 
MS. FORD:        What do they tell you?

 
MR. DUVAL:       Well, you know, oftentimes I’ll leave, you know, word with the secretaries and that sort of thing and ask them to call me back as to whether or not they can make the meeting.  And most of the time I don’t hear back from them.  Any particular member?

 
MS. FORD:        I mean all of them because it doesn’t matter who.

 MR. DUVAL:       Yes, ma’am.  Trust me, you know, they get the same information that you guys get.  I try to follow up with calls and everything else to see if they’re going to come.  And that’s basically all I can tell you.

 
MS. FORD:        I think I’ll stop by City Hall on my way home to see if our Mayor can’t do something about getting them here that’s not controversial.  It just doesn’t make sense.

 MR. ETHERIDGE:   You did hear from some of them, didn’t you, Steve, like Connie was out of town?

 MR. DUVAL:       Yeah, Connie was out of town.  He was trying to get back from Atlanta but he was, he was stuck up in Atlanta.  But I didn’t hear back from --

 MS. FORD:        What about Reverend Raines?

 MR. DUVAL:       I didn’t hear back from him this time. 

 MR. DUNWODY:     Ebin Shepard, I talked to him.  He already had plans for today. 

 MR. DUVAL:       Right.

MR. DUNWODY:     He’s pretty regularly in attendance though.  It’s unusual for him not to be here.

 MR. DUVAL:       Reverend Gray hadn’t been here in a while.  He’s always out.

 MR. FISCHER:      Aren’t there some attendance requirements, or not?

 MR. ETHERIDGE:   There aren’t any that I know of.  I know on one or two occasions we have provided the attendance to the proper authorities, but they didn’t seem to get much result.

 MR. DUNWODY:     If it would be the wish of the committee to give another report to the City and the County as to the attendance records of the people that are on the committee?

 MR. FISCHER:      I think that would be good, but maybe before we do that send a letter to the members who have missed more than two meetings and ask if they still intend to serve.  And if not, you know, tell the Commissioners or City Council --

 MR. DUNWODY:     Yeah, we could send out a letter of our own and then send a letter to the governing authorities.

 MR. FISCHER:      But I agree totally with you, we come and then we don’t have a quorum.

 MR. DUNWODY:     Can you get a letter out like that, Van?  Can you draft a letter like that and send it out to the members?

 MR. ETHERIDGE:   Yes, sir.

 
MR. DUNWODY:     Any other old or new business?  (No response).  We’re going to set a, for the next meeting date, you know, the last time we talked about not having a meeting every quarter so we’re going to let this meeting date float awhile particularly during the summer because I think everybody is going hither and yonder and things are not changing that rapidly and we’re not having very good attendance, so I think we’ll wait a while before setting the next meeting, maybe toward the end of the summer or something like that, or early in September.  Unless we need a called meeting, and then we’ll call one.  If that’s agreeable with the committee then that’s what we’ll do. 

 

Any other business to come before the committee?  If not, we’ve had a short meeting.  It’s adjourned.

 

(MEETING ADJOURNED)

 


                CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER

 

STATE OF GEORGIA

 

COUNTY OF MONROE.

 

 

 

I hereby certify that the within and foregoing record is a true, complete and correct transcript of the proceeding taken by me on the 22nd day of April, 2004.

 

     This 25th day of April, 2004.

   

 

                                            

        PATRICIA C. USSERY, CCR

    Certificate No. B-1238