At the Monday, April 3rd, 2017, Commission meeting you gave the direction to take the next step in the process, to negotiate an agreement for the NMB Water operations, maintenance and program management services with the number one ranked firm of CH2M. We are grateful for the leadership and courage you have exhibited as you have challenged the status quo allowing your professional management Team to explore the possibilities of delivering the best municipal services in the most financially responsible manner following the guidelines set forth by your adopted strategic plan.
The terms conditions and benefits attached hereto clearly represent the success achieved by the relentless efforts of the negotiation committee. I witnessed and participated in much of the hundreds of hours dedicated to the NMB Water negotiations, research, assessments and overall steadfast commitment to this most critical endeavor. More than three weeks of negotiations that included late nights and weekends were dedicated in order to achieve what we set out to do and that is to bring you a management agreement that addresses a multitude of special criteria aligned with best practices, industry standards, government regulations and public benefits for our community. The negotiation Team consisted of NMB Water Director Jeffrey Thompson PE, outside Counsel Bryant Miller & Olive, represented by Attorney Thomas Constantine who specializes in procurement and engineering contracts. Additionally, our key and essential senior staff included Deputy Manager Candido-Sosa Cruz, Deputy City Attorney Sarah Johnston, Procurement Manager Joel Wasserman, Human Resources Director, Attorney Elsa Jaramillo-Velez, Finance Director Jan Smith, CPA and a Team of engineers from Jacobs. We had specific goals we wanted realized that addressed a series of key items from solid professional staffing to ensuring every single deficiency identified in the Eisenhardt report, (56 to be exact) would be addressed expeditiously. We wanted to save millions of dollars ensuring we would not have to raise water rates in the near future while at the same time yielding key deliverables aligned with enhancement of our infrastructure through significant capital investment by CH2M. Additionally, we wanted the implementation of an immediate plan establishing the structure of a high performing utility capable of achieving best in class status, as well we sought to significantly transfer risk from NMB to CH2M in the areas of compliance, staffing, cost, management, safety, etc. We also requested of CH2M to pay for all fees associated with negotiation of the contract, up to $200,000 to be reimbursed to the City. All the aforementioned goals and a great deal more has been accomplished and agreed upon with CH2M as the attached documents clearly indicate.
CH2M is a world class company that is based in the United States with nearly 70 years of experience serving clients in Florida. CH2M is an integrated program delivery company that specializes in capital program management, engineering, and operations. As the industry’s only truly integrated program management and operations firm, CH2M offers all the required services through their in-house resources, providing North Miami Beach a true single source accountability for the term of the proposed agreement. With CH2M we will have one company to partner with that we can hold accountable. The effectiveness of this integrated program management delivery model has been has been demonstrated by CH2M’S industry leading contract renewal rate of more than 99%. Partnering with CH2M allows access to a deep pool of subject matter experts capable of quickly addressing emergencies, trouble shooting issues and mentoring/training the onsite staff.
I want to reiterate that the City of North Miami Beach remains in full ownership and control of our Water Utility! Our Public Utilities Committee (PUC) will continue to recommend the Water Rates that will be set by our Mayor and Commissioners. The City’s Utilities Director Jeffrey Thompson PE will maintain oversight over CH2M. North Miami Beach will save an average 3.5 million dollars per year on the operations and maintenance of our Utility. Additionally, the proposed agreement with CH2M addresses and requires key focus on the areas of conservation and resiliency. The agreement also requires that all Union employees currently employed with the City of North Miami Beach who are successful in passing pre-employment physicals and drug test and possess the skill set needed to perform their duties will be employed by CH2M with zero reduction to their current rate of pay. There are a multitude of benefits depicted in greater details and they are included in this package for your perusal. The City Attorney and I welcome the opportunity to meet with you prior to the upcoming Commission meeting for we are convinced that you will be extremely excited and pleased with the, benefits, deliverable and multi-million dollar savings achieved in the negotiations that came about per your leadership and courageous directive. |