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[Economic Development Committee]
I'M COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS, PRESIDING CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, AND I'M PLEASED TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.WELCOME TO ALL COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF AND GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE.
HERE IN THE CHAMBER WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER PECK AND COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON.
UH, WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX'S OFFICE.
UH, AND THEN, UH, ONLINE WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE, AS WELL AS COUNT STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CIRO'S OFFICE.
UH, THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD IN HYBRID MODE, IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL, AND IT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
THE CHAIR AS PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE COMMITTEE WILL BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CHAMBER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 51 0.127 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION AND OUR PRESIDENT IN THE CHAMBER REQUEST TO SPEAK, OR IF YOU ARE JOINING VIRTUALLY, TYPE REQUEST TO SPEAK IN THE CHAT POD AND IF YOU WILL BE, AND YOU WILL BE RECOGNIZED IN ORDER WHEN YOU ARE RECOGNIZED.
PLEASE REMEMBER, BEFORE YOU BEGIN SPEAKING TO UNMUTE YOUR MICROPHONE AND ENSURE YOUR CAMERA IS ON.
YOU WILL BE ADVISED WHEN THE TWO MINUTES HAVE EXPIRED.
PLEASE USE THE CHAT POD IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS. THIS IS ONE PUB.
THERE, THERE IS ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER WHO HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY.
IF THERE ARE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS IN THE CHAMBER OR HAVE JOINED US VIRTUALLY AND YOU WISH TO SPEAK, PLEASE SIGN IN OR INDICATE YOU WISH TO SPEAK IN THE CHAT POD AND THE CHAIR WILL RECOGNIZE YOU.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESENTATIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS CAN BE EMAILED TO DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV.
THAT'S DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV AND WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENTS.
THEN THE RESPONSES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED.
PLEASE USE THE CHAT POD TO POST YOUR QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS.
UH, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER K'S OFFICE HERE IN THE CHAMBERS.
STAFF OF CAYMAN'S OFFICE ONLINE AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE IS ONLINE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AS WELL.
AND, UH, SEE HERE, UH, UH, ALSO STAFF FROM, UH, MAYOR, UH, MAYOR PRAM MARTIN'S OFFICE.
UH, ON THE AGENDA TODAY, DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, MARSHA MARSHA E MURRAY WILL PRESENT THE PROGRESS REPORT ON STAFF AUGMENTATION OF CONTRACT COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND SERVICES.
UH, DIRECTOR MURRAY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UH, AND PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS AND CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TODAY.
THIS AFTERNOON, I'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON OBOS ENGAGEMENT OF TWO VENDORS TO ASSIST WITH OUR CONTRACT COMPLIANCE MONITORING FUNCTIONS.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN JUNE LAST YEAR, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED TWO CONTRACTS ALLOW AN OBO TO ENGAGE VENDORS TO PROVIDE COMPLIANCE MONITORING SUPPORT.
FOR NINE MONTHS, THIS ASSISTANCE WAS NEEDED IN LIGHT OF STAFFING CHALLENGES AND THE NEED TO PRIORITIZE COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS, PROTECT THE INTEREST OF WORKERS ON CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, AND ENSURE CERTIFIED FIRMS LISTED FOR GOALS ARE BEING UTILIZED AT THE LEVELS COMMITTED CONTRACTUALLY.
AS A REMINDER, THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING APPROXIMATELY 1200 CONTRACTS ON AVERAGE.
THIS EXCLUDES THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM AND HOUSING CONTRACTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COMPLIANCE TEAMS AS REFLECTED ON THIS SLIDE.
OBOS MONITORING RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE MONITOR THE UTILIZATION OF CERTIFIED FIRMS ON CONTRACTS TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE BEING USED FOR WORK THAT'S ACTUALLY NEEDED ON THE PROJECT, THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UH, CERTIFIED TO DO THAT SPECIFIC WORK, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY BEING USED FOR THE LEVELS COMMITTED FOR THE GOALS.
WE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT WORKERS ON CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS ARE BEING PAID THE CORRECT WAGES, AND THAT THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY REQUIREMENTS ARE ENFORCED.
WE ALSO, UM, ENSURE THAT, UM, THAT THE, THAT SUBCONTRACTORS ARE PAID ON A TIMELY BASIS AS STATE LAW REQUIRES PAYMENT TO SUBS BY PRIMES WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THEIR RECEIPT OF PAYMENT.
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SO, OUR ENGAGEMENT OF THE TWO VENDORS WAS INTENDED TO COMPLIMENT AND ENHANCE OUR INTERNAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING CAPABILITIES.EACH VENDOR HAS DISTINCT RESPONSIBILITIES AS REFLECTED ON THIS SLIDE.
SO, UM, IMPACT STRATEGIC CONSULTING, UH, THEY MONITOR CONSTRUCTION CON OUR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.
THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR M-W-S-D-B-E COMPLIANCE, EEO DAVIS BACON PREVAILING WAGE MONITORING AND PROMPT PAYMENT, UH, MONITORING.
HILL DAY, UH, INDUSTRIES, UM, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING OUR NON-CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
SO THOSE ARE OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND GOODS AND SERVICES CONTRACTS.
AND SO THEY ALSO MONITOR MWBE COMPLIANCE, EEO, AND THEY ALSO, AND THEY MONITOR PROMPT, UH, PAYMENT, UH, REQUIREMENTS.
BOTH CON CONTRACTORS ARE ENGAGED TO IDENTIFY PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS AND EFFICIENCIES AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES WITH THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.
UH, SO WE AS ON THIS, UH, SLIDE I DESCRIBED THE PLAN, UH, THAT WE HAD WHEN WE INITIATED, UH, THESE ENGAGEMENTS LAST YEAR.
SO WE DEVISED A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE NINE MONTH PLAN TO ENGAGE, UH, THE VENDORS.
WE HAD TO MODIFY THE SCHEDULE A BIT AS THERE WERE SOME UNKNOWNS THAT WE DID NOT NECESSARILY FACTOR INTO THIS TIMELINE, WHICH INFLUENCED THEIR ABILITY TO BEGIN MONITORING UNASSIGNED CONTRACTS AT THE ORIGINALLY TARGETED TIMELINES.
AND I'LL DISCUSS THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL IN A FEW MINUTES.
SO, ON THIS SLIDE, I'VE INCLUDED THE BREAKDOWN OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS ASSIGNED TO IMPACT.
I'VE INTENTIONALLY HIGHLIGHTED THE NUMBER OF SUBCONTRACTORS ON THE 330 CONTRACTS ASSIGNED TO THEM BECAUSE IT ILLUSTRATES THE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE WORK NEEDED ON EACH CONTRACT, BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO THEIR REGULAR COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CONTRACT AND DEPARTMENTS IMPACT INTERFACES WITH BOTH THE PRIMES AND SUBCONTRACTORS ON THESE PROJECTS, THEY ENGAGE BOTH THE PRIME AND SUBCONTRACTORS ON MWBE COMPLIANCE.
THEY ENGAGE THEM, UM, UM, ON PROMPT PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS ON ALL LEVELS OF SUBS.
THEY ADDRESS PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIME LEVEL AND ALL TIER SUBCONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES.
AND THEIR ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES DOING SITE VISITS, WORKER INTERVIEWS, DEVIATION, UH, DEVI PROCESS AND DEVIATION REQUESTS AS RELEASED TO MWB REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL USEFUL FUNCTION AUDITS.
I WILL NOTE THAT IMPACT INITIALLY BUDGETED, UM, TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT, THREE EMPLOYEES CON COMPLIANCE OFFICERS.
BUT IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THIS ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CITY, THEY HAVE DEPLOYED AN ADDITIONAL FOUR EMPLOYEES.
SO THEY HAVE SEVEN EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED TO THIS PROJECT.
THEY HAVE ARTICULATED, AND I QUOTE, THAT THEIR COMMITMENT TO SUCCESS HAS BEEN IN THE UNBUDGETED RESOURCES ADDED TO THE PROJECT TO MEET THE BUSINESS AND QUALITY REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR OBO COMPLIANCE.
I ALSO WANNA NOTE THAT ONE OF THE PROJECTS THEY MONITOR UNDER THIS NINE MONTH CONTRACT IS THE NORTHEAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT PROJECT, WHICH IS VALUED AT OVER $1.5 BILLION AND HAS A LITTLE BIT UNDER A THOUSAND SUBCONTRACTORS.
UM, AND ON THIS PROJECT, THEY, THEY PERFORM, UM, CERTIFIED PAYROLL REVIEW.
SO, I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, WHICH IMPACT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAJORITY OF THE MONITORING EFFORTS IS FOCUSED ON LABOR STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS, SPECIFICALLY PAYROLL COMPLIANCE, REVIEWING PAYROLLS TO ENSURE THE PROPER WAGES ARE BEING PAID AND THE PROPERTY DEDUCTIONS ARE BEING MADE.
CONSTRUCTION SITE VISITS COMPLIMENT THIS PROCESS, UH, TO PERFORM INTERVIEWS OF WORKERS ABOUT THE TYPE OF WORK ACTUALLY PERFORMED, ENSURING CONSISTENCY WITH THE TYPE, WITH THE RATES LISTED ON THE SUBMITTED, UH, PAYROLLS BY THE CONTRACTORS.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, THE NEW PROJECT HAS THOUSANDS OF PAYROLLS THAT NEED TO BE REVIEWED BY THIS VENDOR.
SO HILL DAY HAS BEEN ASSIGNED ALMOST 500 CONTRACTS.
UM, AGAIN, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR MWB COMPLIANCE, EEO, AND PROMPT PAYMENT MONITORING LIKE IMPACT.
THE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE EXTENDS BEYOND PRIME LEVEL, UM, AND AND INCLUDES INTERACTIONS WITH ALMOST 1500 SUBCONTRACTORS.
UM, THIS PROJECT IS STAFFED WITH FOUR, UH, COMP, UH, CONTRACT COMPLIANCE OFFICERS BY HILL DAY.
UM, BUT THE PRESIDENT AND THE VICE PRESIDENT OF HILL DAY ARE VERY HANDS-ON WITH THIS PROJECT, AND THEY, THEY PERSONALLY TROUBLESHOOT, UM, ISSUES THAT THEY IDENT, UH, COMPLIANCE ISSUES THAT THEY IDENTIFY.
SO I MENTIONED, UM, EARLIER, UM, THAT WHILE ONBOARDING TOOK PLACE IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS, THE FULL COMPLIANCE ACTIVITY TOOK PLACE AT A SLOWER RATE THAN EXPECTED FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
THE VENDORS, UH, NOTED, BOTH VENDORS NOTED THAT THE OBO STAFF TURNOVER THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS RESULTED IN INCOMPLETE MONITORING AND OR NO, NO MONITORING ON NUMEROUS CONTRACTS ASSIGNED.
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UH, VARIOUS PROCESSES THAT WERE STARTED COMPLIANT PROCESSES THAT WERE STARTED ON PROJECTS THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN, THAT WERE NOT, UH, COMPLETED.AND SO THE VENDORS NEEDED TO ACTUALLY DO AN EXTENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE HEALTH OF THE PROJECTS BEFORE THEY COULD ACTUALLY EMBARK UPON, UH, FULL, FULL COMPLIANCE.
I I DO WANNA, UH, POINT OUT A REALLY PROJECTS THAT WERE, THAT WERE, UM, EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT PRO PROGRESS THAT MAYBE 60 YEAR PERCENT COMPLETE.
THEY REALLY HAD TO KIND OF REBUILD THE RECORD FOR SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TOUCHED, UM, BY PREVIOUS STAFF MEMBERS, OR BECAUSE WE HAD, UH, GAPS IN TIME WHERE WE HAD LIMITED STAFFING.
UM, THEY, THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ACTUALLY JUST KIND OF BROUGHT, BROUGHT THE PROJECTS INTO HEALTH TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE, UH, COMPLIANCE.
SO THEY ALSO OBSERVED THAT, UM, CONTRACTORS NEEDED A BIT MORE, UM, ONE-ON-ONE GUIDANCE TO COMPLY TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS, UM, SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT WAS NEEDED.
WE NEEDED A BIT MORE TOUCH POINTS WITH THEM.
UH, THEY OBSERVED THAT THERE WAS OUTDATED CONTACT INFORMATION FOR CONTRACTORS ON FILE THAT NEEDED TO BE UPDATED.
UM, THERE WERE SOME CHALLENGES IN PERFORMING SITE VISITS, UM, BY, UH, IMPACT BECAUSE, UM, A LOT OF OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE MOBILE.
UM, SO ASCERTAINING THE EXACT LOCATION OF THEM, SUCH AS POTHOLE PROJECTS OR SEWER REHAB CONSTRUCTION, CAN BE CHALLENGING AT A TIME.
NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IT TAKES JUST A LOT MORE WORK TO, TO FIND OUT, TO SET UP A SCHEDULE IN WHICH TO ACTUALLY DO, UH, SITE VISITS.
AND THEY ALSO NOTICED THAT THERE REALLY NEEDED TO BE SOME AUTOMATION, UM, AND THE COMPLETION OF A LOT OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT, THAT WE NEEDED.
AND ALSO WE JUST NEEDED TO PROVIDE A, A MORE CLEAR GUIDANCE TO CONTRACTORS ON ON PRECISELY WHAT NEEDED TO BE, UM, NEEDED TO BE NEEDED TO BE DONE.
SO, THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT OF HILL DAY AND IMPACT, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR PROCESSES IN THIS SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, HILL DAY, UM, IN PARTICULAR HAS LEVERAGED TECHNOLOGY TO AUTOMATE PROCESSES AND STREAMLINE WORKFLOWS.
THEY'VE ACTUALLY, UM, DEVELOPED THREE TECHNOLOGY, UH, SOLUTIONS.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS A COMPLIANCE MONITORING TOOL, WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT, ASSESSMENT OF OUR PROJECTS TO DETERMINE WHAT COMPLIANCE HAS ALREADY BEEN PERFORMED.
UM, OUR EXISTING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, UM, HAS DIS HAS BASICALLY DISPARATE PLACES WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE STATUS OF COMPLIANCE ACTION, BUT THEIR TOOL ACTUALLY ALLOWS US TO SEE ALL ACTIONS IN ONE PLACE.
THIS RESULTS IN BEING ABLE TO HAVE COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENTATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON ON EACH PROJECT, AND THAT THAT INFORMATION CAN BE APPENDED TO OUR EXISTING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF RECORD.
UH, THEY'VE ALSO PROVIDED SOME AUTOMATION TO OUR DEVIATION REQUESTS AND COMMERCIAL USE OF FUNCTION AUDIT PROCESSES USED IN DOCUSIGN, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE INCLUDED ELEMENTS TO THIS PROCESS THAT TRACKS AND TIMESTAMPS THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THESE PROCESSES, UM, UH, INCLUDING ALERTS OF OUTSTANDING, UM, ITEMS. SO THAT'S REALLY INVALIDATE IN TERMS OF JUST KIND OF MOVING THESE PROCESSES ALONG.
SO AS WE, AS WE CONTINUE TO STAFF UP WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE, EXCUSE ME FOR A MOMENT, SORRY.
SO AS WE CONTINUE TO STAFF UP, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE, OUR CURRENT COMPLIANCE OFFICERS ARE NEW EMPLOYEES, UM, AND OUR DIVISION MANAGER FOR CONTRACT COMPLIANCE IS RELATIVELY NEW AS WELL.
SO TRAINING BY EXPERTS AND THE FIELD IS REALLY INVALUABLE.
UM, IMPACT WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE US WITH IN-DEPTH TRAINING ON PERFORMING, UH, PREVAILING WAGE MONITORING, AND BOTH VENDORS HAVE APPROACHED COMPLIANCE AS A SERVICE TO CONTRACTORS, NOT JUST AS AN ENFORCEMENT REC, UH, MECHANISM, UM, PROVIDING THEM WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS AND INFORMATION, UM, IN WHICH TO TO COMPLY.
THEY'VE ALSO JUST KIND OF RE REOPENED THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH CONTRACTORS AND REVIVED THE COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP RE RESULTING IN A REALLY MORE, MORE OF A PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE APPROACH, UH, TO COMPLIANCE.
SHIFTING THE, THE CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, WE ALSO NOW REALIZE THAT WE SHOULD INCREASE OUR TOUCH POINTS, UM, AS AN OFFICE WITH CONTRACTORS INCREASING THEIR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS, SUCCESSFUL COMPLIANCE.
SO LIKE WE DO WITH OUR CERTIFICATION PROCESS WHERE WE'VE ACTUALLY RECORDED VIDEOS THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE 24 7, UM, BY BUSINESS OWNERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROCESS IS, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE, WE ARE ACTUALLY, UH, RECORDING, UH, VIDEOS FOR THE DIFFERENT COMPLIANCE PROCESSES IN, UM, AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE VARIOUS COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.
SO, SO THAT CONTRACTORS, THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY CAN ACTUALLY ACCESS THAT INFORMATION 24 7 AS WELL.
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SO WE DO, WE DO STILL REQUIRE, WE DO REQUIRE STAFF ABOVE OUR CURRENT AND BUDGETED LEVELS IN ORDER TO PERFORM CONSISTENTLY EFFECTIVE, UH, COMPLIANCE.UH, WE'VE BEEN AWARE OF THAT THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE MADE THIS CLEAR SEE OF THE LEVEL OF, UH, AND QUALITY OF COMPLIANCE POSSIBLE WITH ENHANCEMENTS.
WHILE WE CONTINUE TO ADDRESS OUR STAFF AND NEED, THERE DOES CONTINUE TO BE A NEED TO CONTINUE TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE THESE TWO VENDORS.
THE EXISTING CONTRACTS DO PROVIDE FOR TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS IF OUR FUNDING, UM, ALLOWS.
AND I PLAN ON RECOMMENDING TO MAYOR TURNER THAT WE EXTEND HILL DAY AND IMPACTS, UH, CURRENT CONTRACTS FOR ONE YEAR.
UM, AND EXTENSION WILL ALLOW US TO ENSURE CONTINUITY OF THE QUALITY OF MONITORING, UH, SERVICES, MITIGATING THE RISK OF LOSS OF STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS, PROTECTION OF WORKERS, AND MAXIMIZING THE ENGAGEMENT OF CERTIFIED FIRMS ON CONTRACTS.
UM, IT ALSO WILL ASSURE, UH, ALLOW US TO ENSURE ALL CONTRACTS ARE BROUGHT INTO COMPLIANCE.
UM, ALLOW US TO MAINTAIN THE INCREASED LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE US ADDITIONAL TIME TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES TO ESTABLISH EFFECTIVE, UH, MONITORING PROCESSES FOR OUR INTERNAL, UH, COMPLIANCE STAFF.
AND THAT IS THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL AT THE CHAMBER OR STAFF AND ONLINE? BUT I ALSO, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO FOR JOINING US.
AND, UH, ALSO STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD POLLARD'S OFFICE THAT'S JOINING US ONLINE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON, YOU'RE IN THE QUEUE.
UM, MR. MURRAY, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATIONS.
I JUST HAVE A BIT OF A QUESTION FROM, UM, BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH DAVIS BACON AND SOME OF THE PREVAILING WAGES AND, UM, PERHAPS DATING THAT TIME IN MY LIFE, I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS A LIST THAT WE GO BY FOR THOSE HOURLY RATES FOR, UH, SERVICES WITH THE PROFESSIONALS THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE TO US, UM, IF IT'S PUBLISHED FEDERALLY OR IF IT'S LOCALIZED FOR, UM, ECONOMIES LIKE OURS IN HOUSTON OR TEXAS BROADLY, AND HOW, HOW THAT'S CATEGORIZED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL FOR, FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE ACT.
SO WE ACTUALLY, UM, DO, UH, PUBLISH, UM, AND THEY SHOULD BE ON OUR WEBSITE NOW, UPDATED RATES FOR OUR VARIOUS PROJECTS.
THESE ARE FOR OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
WE ARE REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE TO ACTUALLY UPDATE THOSE WAGE RATES ON AN ANNUAL BASIS BY FEBRUARY 1ST.
SO THOSE ARE, ARE, ARE PUBLISHED.
UH, WE PROBABLY NEED TO JUST LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE CLOSELY AT, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
I SUPPOSE PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE TIME IT'S BEEN SINCE I WAS WORKING WITH THOSE REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO IN CONSIDERATION OF RECENT, UM, INFLATION ESCALATION COSTS IN THE INDUSTRY, CONTRACTING IN GENERAL.
I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW WE AS A CITY HAVE ADJUSTED OUR NUMBERS MM-HMM
UM, AND MAYBE YOU COULD PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF A NARRATIVE TO THAT IF, UH, IF WE'VE HAD TO DO ANYTHING TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR SOME OF THE CONTRACTORS' TIME AND HOW THAT IS COMING TO BEAR ON OUR, UH, CONTRACTS ACROSS A VARIETY OF DEPARTMENTS.
COUNCILOR ROBINSON, I'D BE HAPPY TO ACTUALLY, UH, SHARE THE, THE PROCESS THAT WE USE TO ACTUALLY UPDATE THE WAGE RATES AND HOW, ANSWER SOME OF YOUR OTHER QUESTIONS.
MAYBE WE CAN CIRCULATE IT AROUND TOO, THROUGH THE COMMITTEE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF? OKAY.
UH, WE HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER WHO HAS SIGNED UP TODAY.
IF THERE ARE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS PRESENT HERE IN THE CHAMBER, PLEASE SIGN UP TO SPEAK.
THERE'S A SIGN UP SHEET SHEET, UH, AT THE FRONT TABLE.
UH, THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES MS. ROCHELLE JOHNSON, WHO IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY.
UH, MS. JOHNSON, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICROPHONE OR HIT STAR SIX TO SPEAK.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ACKNOWLEDGING ME.
MY QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED THROUGH THE FIVE, UM, WANTING TO THANK YOU.
THAT MAY HAVE JUST BEEN A THANK YOU.
I WAS JUST, UM, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT MY QUESTION THAT I WAS GONNA ADDRESS HAS BEEN ANSWERED IN SLIDE ONE AND TWO, AND THANK
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YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE.THANK YOU FOR, UH, HOLDING ON THERE TO LET US KNOW THAT.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS, I THANK EVERYONE FOR JOINING US TODAY, AND THANK YOU AGAIN, DIRECTOR FOR JOINING US AS WELL.
UH, BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THE NEXT SCHEDULED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29TH AT 2:00 PM ALSO, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING INFORMATION ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, PLEASE CONTACT THE DISTRICT.
DO DISTRICT K OFFICE AT DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV.
THAT'S DISTRICT K AT HOUSTON TX DOT COV.
THE UH, TIME IS 2 21 AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.