City Council

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS May 12, 2015 A meeting of the Committee on Ways and Means was held this date at 4:47 p.m. PRESENT (12) The Honorable Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Mayor Councilmember Waring – arrived at 4:54 Councilmember White District 1 District 7 p.m. Councilmember Williams – excused at District 2 Councilmember Seekings District 8 5:36 p.m. Councilmember Lewis District 3 Councilmember Alexander District 9 Councilmember Mitchell – arrived at 5:36 p.m. District 4 Councilmember Riegel District 10 Councilmember Wagner District 5 Councilmember Moody District 11 Councilmember Gregorie -- absent District 6 Councilmember Wilson District 12 1. INVOCATION: The meeting was opened with a moment of silence provided by Councilmember Seekings. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: On a motion of Councilmember Riegel, seconded by Councilmember Alexander, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve the April 28, 2015 Committee on Ways and Means minutes. 3. BIDS AND PURCHASES: On a motion of Councilmember White, seconded by Councilmember Alexander, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve the Bids and Purchases as follows: FIRE DEPARTMENT: ACCOUNT: 210000/211000-52008 APPROPRIATION: $130,000.00 1 Approval to establish a contract for Fire Station Gear with North America Fire Equipment Company, 1515 West Moulton Street, Decatur, AL 35601; Solicitation #15-B010R BFRC: ACCOUNT: 051385-58005/58240: APPROPRIATION: $362,735.33 Approval to purchase Furniture (FFE) Items for 75 Calhoun Street from Herald Office Solutions, 3250 Tile Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405; SC State Contracts BFRC: ACCOUNT: 051346-58005: APPROPRIATION: $53,750.86 Approval to purchase Folding Tables and Table Carts for the Gaillard Performance Center & Exhibition Hall from Caprice Electronics, Inc., Brooklyn, NY; GSA Contract #GS-21F-0083Y 4. RESOLUTION TO AMEND PARAGRAPHS C AND F OF THE PROCUREMENT POLICY OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON TO ESTABLISH A GOOD-FAITH GOAL TO PROVIDE ENTRY-LEVEL JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS BY CONTRACTORS, NOT BIDDERS, OF CERTAIN CITY CONTRACTS. Mayor Riley moved for approval. Councilmember Wilson seconded the motion. Councilmember Waring arrived at 4:54 p.m. Councilmember Williams said that there were many different ways to try to solve the issue of high unemployment of African-American males between the ages of 18 and 27. He said they needed to try to do something, but they have to work within the system that makes it fair to everybody. He said he has had the opportunity to work on contract projects. He said it was a difficult situation, to reach out to those who have been acutely unemployed, but have skills and are trying to get into the workforce. He said he wanted an explanation what the difference between a cap at $3,000,000 and $1,000,000. Would it have an adverse effect on their current situation with their contractors if the cap was at $1,000,000 as opposed to $3,000,000. Mayor Riley explained that the Charleston Area Justice Ministry stated this as a goal last year at their annual assembly. City staff worked on this for quite some time to include the Procurement Director, Director of Capital Projects, Stephen Bedard, CFO, and others to accomplish to two things. First, was to create an effort to help those that have been unemployed for some time and give them a chance to get back into work and receive job experience, but not chill the City’s ability to get competitive bids for its contracts of which they had a duty to get competitive bids for their taxpayers. The thought was that many construction contracts under $3,000,000 have a fair amount of equipment in them. If the contract is $2,000,000, and there is $500,000 worth of equipment and materials, or if there are certain trades that were required, there perhaps may be hardly any entry-level jobs. Staff recommended the cap at $3,000,000, which should normally contain ample entry-level positions. There was no quota. If the City received a low bidder for a project, they would contact Theron Snype, Minority Business Enterprise Manager, and let him know how many entry-level positions they would have. Mr. Snype would then put them in touch with SC Works, which is a County-managed State employment activity. SC Works has a list of unemployed people who are looking for work. Their process now is if the contractor puts in a requisition, they have to wait a day because they give veterans first priority. Mayor Riley stressed that this would be 2 voluntary. If the contact is below $3,000,000, the City ran the risk of contractors not competing. They thought that $3,000,000 was a good, competitive level for the City where they could still get competitive prices for their contracts, but also have the opportunity to have some entry level positions to give people who are unemployed a chance to get back into the workforce. Councilmember Waring asked how it would hurt to go to a lower number because there may be special circumstances where the threshold isn’t $3,000,000. He said when he looked at it, he wasn’t part of the staff discussions, so questions came up. He said that when companies located in enterprise zones hire, the companies receive a tax credit for hiring someone who has been unemployed. He said part of the screening will already be done by the company which locates them for tax benefits. If a company in an enterprise zone hires an unemployed veteran, and the company bids for a contract with the City for $1,000,000 to $3,000,000, could the company get extra credit? Mr. Snype said that one of the items which came up during staff discussion was the idea of being able to help an unemployed person gain employment. They figured that on smaller jobs, there are smaller companies bidding for work. They may get hired for two to three weeks, and it may be another couple of weeks or month before this company has another opportunity where they would need entry level employees. Staff thought there would be a better chance for steady employment with a larger company. Larger companies tended to bid on the larger projects, and there would be more opportunity for continuous workflow for any person that is hired for an entry level job, train, and on the next job, possibly move up to a more skilled position or begin to learn a skill or trade. Councilmember Waring said he was not trying to negate the good work that Mayor Riley and staff had done. He was wondering if there was a way that they could add to it. He said this still did not answer how the City would help a company that locates an enterprise zone and does hire someone who has been unemployed. He asked how this company would receive extra consideration. Mr. Snype explained that none of their discussions included the enterprise zone or renewal zone factors. He said that it would take some research regarding what advantages there might be. Mr. Bedard said that the City has MWBE goals, and they were doing a very good job of meeting these goals. These were goals, and not requirements, so he did not think that they could legally be required to issue a contract to someone located in an enterprise zone. What they tried to work on was the amount that would not cause the City to lose people to bid on contracts, but at the same time create the opportunity for people through Mr. Snype’s office. He said they encouraged contractors to do this, and he thought they went out of their way to do this. He explained that they spend a lot of money on landscaping, and the piece that was being overlooked was their contracts for landscaping. He said if they were saying they would do this for everything that was $2,500 or more. They spend over $500,000 on these types of contracts, and they think they can generate a lot of jobs this way. He thought they had done a good job. They have to draw a line where they think they are going to maintain the competition and be able to handle the administrative work required to do this. Whether or not $3,000,000 was the right number or six months from now say it is working so well, that they change it to $2,500,000, whatever they do, they should do it right. This is why they suggested starting at this point. 3 Their goal is to get companies that hire people that they are going to keep employed. If they come down too much, this might not be the case. This was just a starting point and a recommendation, just like they had a starting point for their MWBE goals, and they were increased over time. There is a possibility that they could bring this number down, but hesitated doing this not knowing what it would do to the competitive climate on their projects and not knowing whether they could handle this administratively. Councilmember Waring said he knew the length to which City staff goes to reach their goals. He said he thought the City led the area, and he took pride in this. The City was a shining example for the State with the Gaillard Center Project. He asked how long staff had been working on the Resolution. Mayor Riley said they had been working on it for about ten months. They hadn’t worked on it every day, but there was no boiler plate for this. He said he sent a memo to staff that was busy with many things. Staff recommended a level of $5,000,000, and they worked it down to $3,000,000, which he thought was responsible. They then worked on how to do it and worked with SC Works. He said he was very proud of this, and he did not know of anyone else who was doing this. Charleston Area Justice Ministry gave examples of this work in the Country, but they really weren’t correct examples. He called the Mayor of Milwaukee and another Mayor, and it wasn’t exactly like this. He said they might be trying to do something that does not have an exact model, but he thought it was a good effort. His hope was that the City proceed with these levels and set a date to see how the policy was working and consult with staff to see if reducing the contract amount would be recommended. Councilmember Waring said he agreed, and if it was going to get done right and be the first in the nation, he thought it would happen here and would happen with Mayor Riley. He asked what would be wrong with delaying the Resolution for two weeks until they could find out more about incentives for companies working in enterprise zones since they worked on it for ten months. Mr. Bedard said they needed to set goals and not quotas. Councilmember Waring explained that he did not mention quotas. He was just trying to see if they could improve the process. Mayor Riley asked Councilmember Waring if he was asking whether or not there was a tax advantage. Councilmember Waring confirmed and said if a company located in an enterprise zone and the company hires an unemployed veteran, and the company places a bid on one of the goals the City is trying to achieve, was there a way, legally, to give the company an extra benefit? He thought they may already have companies that are hiring unemployed who can hire additional people that will also be in underserved areas. He asked why they couldn’t vet this out to see if this could be accomplished as part of this policy. Mr. Bedard said he would leave this up to the Legal Department. He said he thought the City’s bids were responsive to the responsible bidders as part of the process in their pre-bid discussions, they indicate what their goals are, and if this is adopted by City Council it would become a part of their Procurement Policy, so it would be some of their goals. He thought they had done a very good job of bringing contracts to City Council that match their goals. They strongly encourage companies to do this, but he did not believe they could give them extra credit for doing it. Mayor Riley asked Councilmember Waring if he meant points with the City’s process, and Councilmember Waring confirmed. He said he wondered if they could delay it for 4 two weeks to make the policy a little better. He said their primary policy was to award the responsible bidders to save the taxpayers money. Within this policy, they try to do other things, but if he was asking whether or not they would award a contract to someone who is going to cost the City more money in order to do that, he did not think they would do that. Councilmember Waring said that it is being assumed that a smaller company has lower overhead, lower costs, and could potentially have a more competitive bid, so if he was making the argument that the smaller companies were higher, he could make the economic argument that the bid would be lower. He wanted to know why they couldn’t see if they could make this a little better. Mayor Riley explained that what they were proposing for their Procurement Policy would not in any way affect the practice of picking the low bidder. The City picks the low bidder. However, the contract contains the City’s good faith policy that whoever receives the contract agrees to make a good faith effort in working with the City for entry level positions to try to hire those who have been unemployed for three months. The City is not proposing to give any points. Just as they have MWBE goals, this would be a good faith effort. He thought something like this could be done in a good faith manner, and they would receive reports, so they would know how the contractor is doing, and they will be working with Theron. This was about making an extra effort through the City’s Procurement Policy and construction projects to give those who have not been in the workforce for the last three months a chance to gain work experience at an entry-level job. Councilmember Alexander thanked Adelaide Andrews for going through different scenarios with him earlier in the day. He said one question he failed to ask. He said he heard that staff had worked on this for ten months, and they had a sponsor for the bill. He asked where the representation was from the business community. He asked if the Chamber of Commerce, small businesses, or business associations had been engaged. It seemed to him that when the City takes action that impacts a segment of the community, and they have not been invited to the table, then they have not accomplished their mission. He said they took a great amount of pride in being inclusive and bringing all shareholders to the table. He said that recently it seemed they were leaving people out and not giving them the opportunity to speak. He said if business has not been a part of this and they haven’t heard from the Chamber and did not have small business engaged in this, then he did not see how Council could move forward on it. He said he wants to make sure everyone is engaged in the discussion, and if they have, he wanted to hear from them prior to voting. Mr. Snype said that in discussions he has had with Ms. Williams and Ms. Hardie from the Charleston Area Justice Ministry, this was a recommendation he had made to them. He said if they were going to make this effective locally, they needed to get the construction community involved, and they would need to have meetings, so that it is not only City of Charleston projects that this is meaningful to, but even a private developer. If you have the private construction community involved in this, everyone would then come into play because the construction community would then behind it. The City of Charleston, itself, if one looked at the number of projects that they do, they do not do enough projects to effect hundreds of unemployed people. The way to get to that level would be for them to reach out to the construction community to have them behind this, rather than just the City of Charleston. Councilmember Alexander asked if the business community was engaged in the design of the policy and were they a part of the decision making. Mayor Riley said no and explained that 5 the City staff who handle construction projects were engaged in creating the policy and have experience working with construction companies and have an understanding of how this would work with them. Mayor Riley said that, with all due respect, they were very busy and staff with a lot of work to do, and they worked on this and did the best job they could. It was not complicated and was a good faith effort. He thought they should give it a try and the Committee could look at it in six months. It did not merit a major, community-wide conference. The City felt that bids of this number would likely contain entry level jobs that did not need refined skills like a brick layer or an electrician that could help in some ways and give people a chance who had not been fortunate enough to have work recently have a chance at a job. Councilmember Wagner asked how many million dollar contracts they issued every year and what would be the City’s potential reach and touch. Mayor Riley said that in the next few months, they had two drainage projects. One was around $8,000,000, and Phase III was probably going to be $30,000,000 or $40,000,000. They have at least one fire station, which will probably be $5,000,000 or so. They have the West Ashley Senior Center, which would be around $10,000,000, and there might be more. This was a fair amount of money and a fair amount of opportunity. Councilmember Wagner asked if this was predominantly in construction, and Mayor Riley confirmed. Mr. Bedard added that there was also a paragraph related to landscaping, which had a much lower threshold. He said they were just trying to set a program up, get it working, set some goals in place, and as the Mayor indicated, staff recommended a higher number, and the Mayor asked to look at the lower number. The reason why they have this number is so that they do not put a burden on contractors that are bidding with the City. They don’t think they are going to do that. This would be a good faith effort on their part, so they would bid, and the City would sit down with them and try to create some of these jobs, just like they do with the MWBE percentages. He emphasized that he thought this was a positive thing, and he hoped the Committee would allow them to move forward with it the way it is. Councilmember Wagner said he did not want to draw the wrong picture about the kind of workers they were trying to help. Mr. Bedard explained that through SC Works, they hoped to get as many skilled unemployed people as unskilled, unemployed people, and unskilled people that will be able to develop skills and stay employed. The City is working with Theron, and at the very least, they would know the bidder had made a commitment to contact SC Works and get a list of people who haven’t been working for the last three months and see if there are people that fit the needs of your contractors. Chairman Lewis said that it was just a Resolution. This was just asking City Council to do something. SC Works had a database full of a lot of people in the Charleston County area that were always looking for jobs. Maybe they could use this as a pilot program to help unemployed people find jobs. There would be no commitment from contractors to do it. He thought it was worth giving it a try. Councilmember Williams said this would be more than just a Resolution. It would be amended into the Procurement Policy. Mayor Riley affirmed. Councilmember Williams said he thought it was a great effort, but he thought people might think they are trying to make people employ people who are unemployable, and that’s not what this was bout. This was about 1 in 5 million African-American men across the country having the absence of jobs and the absence of ability to get into particular work. No one was doing this to make someone employ an unemployed person. He thought they were on the right track, and no one was trying to make 6 someone employ an unemployed, unskilled person. Those who want to enter will enter, and those who won’t, won’t work. Councilmember Wilson said she thought they could split this half way. She thought it would be beneficial to put this on hold and go to the Chamber, several of the large construction companies in the area, and solicit an opinion from them to see whether or not this was something that was palatable. Councilmember Moody said he was not sure what they we’re trying to do here. We’ve got unemployment problems without regard to race. They were putting something out there that they wanted people to try. What they were really doing was telling the business community that they should spend more of their time and profit trying something without any benefit. If there was a benefit here, the Federal Government has already given them credits. The City wasn’t giving anyone incentive to do this. They were just throwing it out there, and it was feel-good type of ordinance in his opinion. They were asking the business community to spend their time and capital that if it were beneficial to them, they would do it anyway. If there was some credit out there that they could get, they would be more than happy to do it. There is going to be some cost involved just in looking at it and trying to comply with it. Councilmember Waring said that somehow in trying to see if there was a way to improve upon it, something had come off negatively in the conversation. He said he did not want that at all. That was not his goal, but by the same token, he asked if there was a way they could go forward with this and still meet with the business community, small business people, and some of the businesses in the enterprise zone to see if they could improve upon it. He said they got the business community involved with bar closings, and they would be coming back with some ideas that he did not think of. Tonight, they would be updating the Tourism Management Plan. He said they had some wonderful people from the community, business community, and staff. He said that some of the other community leaders did not attend the meeting because they did not have an answer. They didn’t even show up a couple of weeks ago. He said Mayor Riley had a policy, and he said he took an amount of pride in explaining the police. There were certainly questions, but to have walked away with no policy would have been a failure. If they were to pass this, why couldn’t they pass it with the amendment that they would reach out to the business community and the Chamber of Commerce to see if there were ways to make the policy better. Mayor Riley said he would be happy to offer an amendment to the policy that the City pass the Resolution, but that the City’s Procurement staff reach out to the Chamber of Commerce and ask them to gain any input from the construction community on how to improve this. Councilmember Waring seconded the motion. Mayor Riley said this was not a mandate on anyone. This was for companies that wanted to bid on something that the City was building, and all the City was asking them was if they want to build the Senior Citizen Center for $10,000,000, that they agree to make a good faith effort for the entry level positions they have, to work with SC Works to see if there are some people who have been unemployed that might be able to benefit the company. It’s a modest request for a business. If in the process of this and the course of a year, only ten people who just for reason or another had a hard life and were out of work, not because they were on drugs or anything, and they went to SC Works and were able to work for a construction company that hired them for an additional job, it would not negatively impact the taxpayers. They were trying to do something worthwhile. Reaching out to the 7 business community might have the effect of getting more organizations and governments engaged in the same thing. Councilmember Riegel said he had sat through many bidding processes and had looked at minority and women-owned business entities. He said to Mr. Snype that he was only one man, and it was his understanding that it was almost a self-reporting system for the contractors to submit reports, as the Mayor said, on the composition of their workforce. He said he knew that Mr. Snype did not have time to go out to all of the job sites and do a spot audit like OSHA or just show-up and check employment records and those types of things. He said he heard Mayor Riley say it was not a mandate, but he was concerned that it would become part of their procurement policy because it sounded like a mandate if someone wanted to do business with the City. He said he did not think he could support anything tonight short of a deferral. He said that social policies were wonderful, and he was 100 percent for them, but if not done properly, there would be consequences that would make things more expensive because of companies walking away from the City or the jobs costing more. He asked what mechanism was in place for existing contractors to monitor their minority/women employment. Mr. Snype explained that they did not do this. Their program is the Minority Women Business Program. They don’t monitor their workforce at all. Councilmember Riegel said it was hard for him to understand how they would monitor this. He wanted to vote for deferral. Councilmember Alexander asked for clarification on the current motion and asked if it meant they would be passing it and then go back to the business community to ask for their input. Mayor Riley said this was correct, so that they could get moving. Councilmember Wilson said she would like to see it reversed with them going to businesses and the Chamber first before they implement it. Mayor Riley explained that this would be in effect when they have a $3,000,000 construction contract which might be a few months from now, and there would be input before then. He said that he did not think it was this complicated. If he were a construction company and he wanted to bid on a $10,000,000 Senior Citizen Center, there would be people doing entry level work, not masonry, electrical, or HVAC, and he would make a good faith effort to see if there were people at SC Works that could help him. He said he hoped they could move forward and get the input. He hoped that they could be efficient enough to deal with this relatively uncomplicated matter and move forward. Councilmember Riegel moved to defer the item for further study and input from the community. Councilmember Alexander seconded the motion. On a motion of Councilmember Riegel, seconded by Councilmember Alexander, the Committee on Ways and Means voted to defer the Resolution to amend Paragraphs C and F of the Procurement Policy of the City of Charleston to establish a good-faith goal to provide entry-level job opportunities for unemployed individuals by contractors, not bidders, of certain City contracts. The vote was not unanimous. Councilmembers Lewis, Waring, Seekings, and Mayor Riley voted nay. Councilmember Mitchell was not present for the vote. 5. POLICE DEPARTMENT: APPROVAL TO SUBMIT THE FY15 FEMA PORT SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $95,831 FOR THE DIVE RESPONSE TEAM AND EXPLOSIVE DEVICES TEAM EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. A 8 CITY MATCH OF $23,958 IS REQUIRED. THE MATCH WILL BE BUDGETED IN 2016. On a motion of Councilmember Riegel, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve to submit the FY15 FEMA Port Security Grant Program application in the amount of $95,831 for the Dive Response Team and Explosive Devices Team equipment and training. 6. FIRE DEPARTMENT: APPROVAL TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION TO FEMA IN THE AMOUNT OF $462,000 TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT THE PORT OF CHARLESTON. IF THE GRANT IS AWARDED, THE CITY REQUIRED MATCH IN THE AMOUNT OF $115,500 WILL BE BUDGETED IN 2016. On a motion of Councilmember Moody, seconded by Councilmember Riegel, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve to submit a grant application to FEMA in the amount of $462,000 to purchase equipment to protect the Port of Charleston. 7. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL IS REQUESTED TO AWARD A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000 FROM THE TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION GRANT TO P.A.S.T.O.R.S., INC. AND ST. LUKE REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH FOR THE REHABILITATION OF FOUR APARTMENTS, TOTALING SIX BEDROOMS LOCATED AT 60 NASSAU STREET. THE APARTMENTS WILL BE RENTED TO PERSONS EARNING SIXTY PERCENT (60%) OR BELOW THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME. THE APARTMENTS ARE LOCATED IN TWO BUILDINGS ON THE SITE. THE TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AWARDED THE CITY OF CHARLESTON $100,000 TO ASSIST WITH THE REHABILITATION OF RENTAL HOMES FOR LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PERSONS. On a motion of Councilmember Alexander, seconded by Councilmember Waring, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve to award a grant in the amount of $50,000 from the TD Charitable Foundation grant to P.A.S.T.O.R.S., Inc. and St. Luke Reformed Episcopal Church for the rehabilitation of four apartments, totaling six bedrooms located at 60 Nassau Street. 8. OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS: APPROVAL TO ACCEPT A GRANT AWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000 FROM AGSOUTH FARM CREDIT TO DESIGN AND PRINT RACK CARDS TO PROMOTE OUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKET. On a motion of Councilmember Waring, seconded by Councilmember Alexander, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to accept a grant award in the amount of $1,000 from AgSouth Farm Credit to design and print rack cards to promote our local Farmers Market. 9. PARKS-CAPITAL PROJECTS: APPROVAL OF CHANGE ORDER #3 TO THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT WITH WILDWOOD CONTRACTORS, LLC, IN THE AMOUNT OF $219,825.68, WHICH INCLUDES CHANGE DIRECTIVE #3 FOR LINING OF THE STORMWATER MAIN ON RUTLEDGE AVENUE AND POINT REPAIR OF THE STORMWATER MAIN ON ASHLEY AVENUE DUE TO EXISTING DAMAGE OF PIPES. PRICE INCLUDES EXISTING TRAFFIC CONTROL, OVERHEAD AND PROFIT AS 9 ALLOWED PER THE CONTRACT. THIS APPROVAL WILL RESULT IN A BUDGET TRANSFER OF $219,825.68 TO THE WILDWOOD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FROM THE DRAINAGE FUND. THE TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET WILL INCREASE BY $219,825.68. THE CONTRACT TIME WILL INCREASE BY 14 DAYS. THE APPROVAL OF CHANGE ORDER #3 WILL RESULT IN A $219,825.68 INCREASE TO THE WILDWOOD CONTRACTORS, INC. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT. THE FUNDING SOURCES FOR THIS PROJECT ARE: 1997 GO BOND, CHARLESTON PARK CONSERVANCY, MUNICIPAL ACCOMMODATIONS, HOSPITALITY FUND, AND DRAINAGE FUND. On a motion of Councilmember Waring, seconded by Councilmember Moody, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve Change Order #3 to the Construction Contract with Wildwood Contractors, LLC, in the amount of $219,825.68, which includes Change Directive #3 for lining of the stormwater main on Rutledge Avenue and point repair of the stormwater main on Ashley Avenue due to existing damage of pipes. 10. THE COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION: (MEETING WAS HELD THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 AT 9:00 A.M., CITY HALL, 80 BROAD STREET) b.) Approval of 2015 Vendor Spaces c.) Approval of 2015 Bid Specifications for Vendor Spaces d.) Approval of 2015 Franchise Agreement for Vendor Spaces Councilmember Moody, Chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee, explained that the Committee would be taking up the taxi and limo certificates under the regular Council meeting. He was only presenting items ‘b,’ ‘c’, and ‘d,’ which was the approval of the 2015 vendor spaces, bid specifications, and franchise agreement. There were two spaces on Calhoun Street, spaces 16 and 17, that had a lot of restrictions about when they could be used. They took this back to Traffic and Transportation, and they approved to put 16 out. The only restriction it has now is that it cannot be used on New Year’s Eve, but it falls with the rest of them. They still were not happy with 17, and that has gone back to Office of Cultural Affairs to get worked out. The Councilmembers had the bid specifications on their desks and a schedule of the bid process, as well as the franchise agreement. All of the spaces would be included, except for 17, which would be brought back at a later time. On a motion of Councilmember Moody, seconded by Councilmember Waring, the Committee on Ways and Means voted unanimously to approve the report of the Committee on Traffic and Transportation. Councilmember Williams was excused from the meeting at 5:36 p.m. Councilmember Mitchell arrived to the meeting at 5:36 p.m. 11. THE COMMITTEE ON REAL ESTATE: (MEETING WAS HELD MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 AT 4:15 P.M., CITY HALL, 80 BROAD STREET) 10  a.) Request approval of the Mayor to execute the attached lease agreement between the City of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina, for the parking lot located at Fishburne Street (between Hagood and Horizon Streets) Charleston, SC, 29403 [Fishburne Street Parking Lot (Hagood Lot)] b.) Consider the following annexations: (i) 239 Nelliefield Creek Drive (TMS# 269-01-04-045) 0.20 acre, Cainhoy (District 1) (ii) 139 Nelliefield Creek Drive (TMS# 269-01-04-111) 67.72 acres, Cainhoy (District 1) (iii) 252 Nelliefield Creek Drive (TMS# 269-01-04-115) 0.62 acre, Cainhoy (District 1) (iv) 198 Nelliefield Creek Drive (TMS# 269-01-04-112) 0.962 acre, Cainhoy (District 1) (v) 459 Nelliefield Trail (TMS# 269-01-05-198) 0.113 acre, Cainhoy (District 1) (vi)Property known as Nelliefield Trail (TMS# 269-01-04-117) 3.026 acre, Cainhoy (District 1) (vii) Property known as Indigo Marsh Circle (TMS# 269-01-04-116) 6.58 acres, Cainhoy (District 1) c.) Executive Session Councilmember Alexander, Chair of the Real Estate Committee, reported that the Committee had approved a lease with the Medical University of South Carolina for 794 parking spots on Hagood and Horizon Streets. Seven annexations were also approved. There was also an executive session to discuss contractual issues, but no action was taken. On a motion of Councilmember Alexander, seconded by Councilmember Moody, the Committee on Ways and Means voted to approve the report of the Committee on Real Estate and recommended giving first reading to the following bills: An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as 239 Nelliefield Creek Drive (0.20 acre) (TMS# 269-01-04-045), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as 139 Nelliefield Creek Drive (67.72 acres) (TMS# 269-01-04-111), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. 11  An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as 252 Nelliefield Creek Drive (0.62 acre) (TMS# 269-01-04-115), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as 198 Nelliefield Creek Drive (0.962 acre) (TMS# 269-01-04-112), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as 459 Nelliefield Trail (0.113 acre) (TMS# 269-01-05-198), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as Nelliefield Trail (3.026 acres) (TMS# 269-01-04-117), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as Indigo Marsh Circle (6.58 acres) (TMS# 269-01-04-116), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. There being no further business presented, the Committee on Ways and Means adjourned at 5:37 p.m. Jennifer Cook Assistant Clerk of Council 12