Legislature(2013 - 2014)Anch Temporary LIO

08/07/2014 10:00 AM Senate LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

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Audio Topic
10:07:46 AM Start
10:34:09 AM Adjourn
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
-- Teleconference --
Location: Anchorage Temporary LIO, Large Conf Rm.
Agenda:
+ Alaska State Capitol Seismic Retrofit and TELECONFERENCED
Exterior Renovation
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
**Streamed live on AKL.TV**
                        AUGUST 7, 2014                                                                                        
                           10:07 AM                                                                                           
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Mike Hawker, Chair                                                                                               
Representative Mike Chenault                                                                                                    
Representative Max Gruenberg                                                                                                    
Representative Craig Johnson                                                                                                    
Representative Lance Pruitt                                                                                                     
Representative Peggy Wilson                                                                                                     
Senator John Coghill                                                                                                            
Senator Kevin Meyer                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ON TELECONFERENCE                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative Mike Chenault                                                                                                    
Representative Peggy Wilson                                                                                                     
Senator Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                           
Senator Dennis Egan                                                                                                             
Senator Gary Stevens                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                              
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Senator Peter Micciche, Vice Chair                                                                                              
Representative Bill Stoltze                                                                                                     
Senator Charlie Huggins                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                              
AGENDA                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CONTRACT APPROVALS                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SPEAKER REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Wayne Jensen, Jensen Yorba Lott, Inc. and Project Architect on                                                                  
 the Capitol Building Restoration                                                                                               
Pam Varni, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency                                                                       
Doug Gardner, Legal Services Director, Legislative Affairs Agency                                                               
   10:07:46 AM                                                                                                                
 I. CHAIR MIKE HAWKER called the Legislative Council meeting to order                                                         
      at 9:08  a.m. in room  105 of  the Anchorage  Legislative Office                                                          
                                  th                                                                                            
      Building located at 733  W 4   Avenue. Present at the  call were                                                          
      Representatives Hawker, Johnson, and Pruitt,  and Senator Meyer;                                                          
      available via teleconference were  Representatives Gruenberg and                                                          
      P. Wilson,  and Senators  Coghill, Dunleavy,  Egan  and Stevens.                                                          
      Representative Chenault joined the meeting via teleconference in                                                          
      order to vote on  the Alaska State Capitol  Seismic Retrofit and                                                          
      Exterior Renovation.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
II. CONTRACT APPROVALS                                                                                                        
      a. Alaska State Capitol Seismic Retrofit and Exterior Renovation                                                        
                                                                                                                                
      CHAIR HAWKER said this  meeting was to discuss  expansion on the                                                          
      current year's work on the Capitol Building Seismic Retrofit and                                                          
      Exterior Renovation.  He  confirmed  that  Wayne Jensen  was  on                                                          
      teleconference and asked that he give  committee members a short                                                          
      brief on what has  been accomplished on the project  to date and                                                          
      the request for consideration today.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
      WAYNE JENSEN,  Architect with  Jensen Yorba  Lott  Architects in                                                          
      Juneau and the architect  for the renovation  project, said that                                                          
      the work scheduled and being completed in 2014 is under contract                                                          
      with  Dawson  Construction  Company  who   is  the  construction                                                          
      manager/general  contractor   (CM/GC).   The  project   involves                                                          
      primarily the demolition and  structural work on the  west side,                                                          
      the Main Street  side, of the  Capitol, as well  as construction                                                          
      work on the in-fills, the alcoves in the courtyard. That work is                                                          
      going well and on schedule; most of the demolition work is done;                                                          
      they're doing the structural  work in the  alcoves and preparing                                                          
      for structural work on the west side. The request before Council                                                          
      today, prepared by Dawson Construction, is to increase the amount                                                         
      of work for this year by including the north end of the west wing                                                         
      in this year's project. It was  not initially scheduled for this                                                          
      year, but  because things  are going  along well,  there is  the                                                          
      opportunity to include that work this year.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
      Mr. Jensen  said there  were a  couple of  the reasons  for this                                                          
      proposal: (1) it decreases the amount of work yet  to be done on                                                          
      the project, and there is a lot of work  slated in 2015 and 2016                                                          
      and anything that can be done to accelerate the schedule lessens                                                          
      the amount of work yet to be done; (2) the masonry contractor who                                                         
      will be installing all the brick and the finish work on the west                                                          
      side of the building has  said that it would be  better if there                                                          
      wasn't demolition work  going on  immediately adjacent  to their                                                          
      work  next year.  This  request  would  prevent  that  potential                                                          
      adjacency problem  by  moving  the  demolition and  construction                                                          
seismic  work around  to the  courtyard rather  than  immediately                                                               
adjacent to the west side of the building.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
He said that  after reviewing the costs, he  believes it to be a                                                                
reasonable  cost proposal  to  do  this work;  it's  a  proactive                                                               
proposal  by  the  construction  manager/general  contractor  to                                                                
accelerate the work which may make things smoother for next year.                                                               
He said they  recommend this proposal and made himself  available                                                               
for questions.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT said  that before construction started, we                                                                
did not know what  to expect. He asked what has been learned, is                                                                
it better than what we feared and what has been the experience so                                                               
far.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
NOTE: There were technical difficulties with the audio due to Mr.                                                               
Jensen  using a  cell  phone during  his testimony.  The  written                                                               
record reflects  only the clearly  identifiable testimony of Mr.                                                                
Jensen.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  JENSEN   said  that  they  have   found  that  the   general                                                               
construction is in  pretty good shape. He  said all of the  brick                                                               
and  stone  was  removed from  one  side  of  the  building.  The                                                               
demolition work  has gone  very  well this  summer. The  concrete                                                               
frame that was exposed is  in good shape, so the concrete in the                                                                
building is  in good shape.  They found some  discrepancy in  the                                                               
plumbness of the building, that  the concrete was out of plumb a                                                                
little bit, but not beyond reason and they were able to deal with                                                               
that.  All in  all, things  have  gone well.  That's one  of  the                                                               
reasons for the proposal to increase the amount of work for  this                                                               
year.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Jensen,  in  response to  a  question  from  Senator  Meyer,                                                               
confirmed that  the  work scheduled for  next  year includes  the                                                               
courtyard work  and as  much of the  east wing  as possible.  The                                                               
following year  (2016) would  include the remainder  of the  east                                                               
                                               th                                                                               
wing and all of the front of the building, the 4 Street side.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR EGAN,  at the  request of  both Senator  Meyer and  Chair                                                               
Hawker  for an  "on-site inspection  report", said  he  commended                                                               
Wayne  Jensen,   Building  Manager  Jeff   Goodell,  and   Dawson                                                               
Construction. He said  they have been great  people to work  with                                                               
and the  contractors work  really well. They  are doing  yeoman's                                                               
work, trying  to keep  noise to a  minimum, and  there are  still                                                               
public tours  of the  building every day.  Everything has  worked                                                               
very, very  well and he said  he was very  impressed. He said he                                                                
recommends Wayne's suggestion.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
      REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he just wanted on record that we are                                                          
      still within the procurement code and wanted  to make sure there                                                          
      didn't need to be another RFP issued for this proposal.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
      PAM VARNI, Executive Director for the Legislative Affairs Agency,                                                         
      said that  the  Agency just  needs  to do  an  amendment to  the                                                          
      contract to do this additional work. Legal Services has looked at                                                         
      it and has fully vetted this proposed amendment, which is in each                                                         
      member's packet.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
      REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON followed up to say that if he understands                                                          
      the scope of the work, Council is  basically being asked to move                                                          
      money from the  future to today  in order  to get a  head start;                                                          
      they're really not adding  any money to the  project, we're just                                                          
      shifting the  year  in  which it  would  be  used. Chair  Hawker                                                          
      confirmed that was correct.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
      CHAIR HAWKER asked that Doug Gardner please put himself on record                                                         
      and provide  a  response  to  Representative Johnson's  question                                                          
      related to procurement procedures.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
      DOUG GARDNER, Director of Legal Services, said Legal participated                                                         
      extensively in the drafting of the proposed  contract and, as an                                                          
      update, the original  contract contemplated at  the end  of this                                                          
      construction season that  Dawson would  provide numbers  for the                                                          
      rest of the project. This construction season  would see work on                                                          
      the Main Street side  primarily and the  rest of the  project as                                                          
      it's scheduled. The entire job was done with the way point in the                                                         
      middle for  better  pricing  once  site conditions  were  better                                                          
      understood. This contract  always contemplated the  remainder of                                                          
      the pricing and  the job  being completed. He  said he  was very                                                          
      comfortable that the procurement procedures in AS 36.30 are being                                                         
      complied with. As Ms. Varni said, Council needs to decide whether                                                         
      they want to jump on the opportunity right now and spend some of                                                          
      that money now and get ahead. He said Council needs to authorize                                                          
      or not  authorize an  amendment at  this time,  but  either way,                                                          
      Council will be within their authority.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
      REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he also wanted  to know about timing                                                          
      and that  we're  not  getting into  the  legislative session  by                                                          
      extending this. He wanted to know if this would be done prior to                                                          
      the start of the legislative session.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
      NOTE: There were technical difficulties with the audio due to Mr.                                                         
      Jensen using  a cell  phone  during his  testimony. The  written                                                          
      record reflects only the  clearly identifiable testimony  of Mr.                                                          
      Jensen.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. JENSEN said that the  intent is for the work to be  completed                                                               
this year in October or early November as originally anticipated.                                                               
It will  all be  completed and  everything removed  prior to the                                                                
legislative  session; then  gear  up  again at  the  end  of the                                                                
legislative  session for  work  in  2015. In  response  to  Chair                                                               
Hawker's  efforts  to   get  an  answer  despite  the   technical                                                               
difficulties, Mr. Jensen  confirmed the answer to  Representative                                                               
Johnson's question was yes.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON asked if there was a possible cost savings                                                               
in this proposal.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. JENSEN said the biggest advantage is that it will save  time.                                                               
It may save some money,  but he can't say that for sure; but  the                                                               
potential is there.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEVENS  said he had a  chance to be  in Juneau and  Jeff                                                               
Goodell took  him on  a  tour of  the construction. He  said the                                                                
skeleton of the  building is amazing; they  built it so long  ago                                                               
and it's just  slightly out of plumb.  He asked if he  understood                                                               
Mr. Jensen to  be saying that there  would be no demolition  next                                                               
year.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. JENSEN responded that there would be demolition next year, it                                                               
just wouldn't be  immediately adjacent to the new brickwork  that                                                               
will be going on next year.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  asked Mr. Jensen if  this proposal was                                                                
approved,  was there  any reasonable  possibility that  it  would                                                               
yield additional exposure of the interior construction during the                                                               
winter and that might weaken the structure.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. JENSEN said the interior of the building would not be exposed                                                               
to the elements. The areas will be repaired to the same level as                                                                
they are on the west side or there will be temporary construction                                                               
in a small area that will prevent exposure to the elements.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG  then  asked  about  the  appropriation                                                               
process and  whether this  proposal would  require an  additional                                                               
appropriation in FY 15.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. VARNI  responded that the Legislature  has capital money  set                                                               
aside and there are sufficient funds for this project.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  HAWKER asked  if there  were any  dissenters. Hearing  and                                                               
seeing none, he asked for a motion.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
   10:27:15 AM                                                                                                                
      SENATOR MEYER moved that Legislative Council authorize the Chair                                                          
      to amend  the contract  entered into  on April  24, 2014  by the                                                          
      Legislative Affairs  Agency and  Dawson  Construction, Inc.  for                                                          
      Alaska State  Capitol Seismic  Retrofit and  Exterior Renovation                                                          
      Phase II to expand  the scope of work and  increase the contract                                                          
      amount in the amount of $650,000.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
      CHAIR HAWKER requested a brief at  ease to ensure Representative                                                          
      Chenault would be on teleconference for the vote, at his request.                                                         
                                                                                                                                
   10:32:01 AM                                                                                                                
      CHAIR HAWKER noted that Representative Chenault was  on line and                                                          
      that Council took the "at ease" to ensure Representative Chenault                                                         
      would be present for the  vote, at his request.  He repeated the                                                          
      motion for members.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
      A roll call vote was taken.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
      YEAS:  Chenault,  Gruenberg,  Johnson,  Pruitt,  Coghill,  Egan,                                                          
             Meyer, Stevens, Hawker                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
      NAYS: None                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
      The motion passed 9-0.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
      There  being no  further  business  before  the  committee,  the                                                          
      Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 10:34 a.m.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
   10:34:09 AM                                                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
2014.08.07 Agenda.pdf JLEC 8/7/2014 10:00:00 AM
Capitol Seismic and Retrofit 2014 Proposed Amendment.pdf JLEC 8/7/2014 10:00:00 AM
Alaska Capitol Seismic Retrofit and Exterior Renovation