We're on top of the mind.

Okay.

So I call this work study meeting of the common council of the town of Payson to order.

March 26, 2025.

Roll call again, please, Megan.

Let the record show that council members are present.

Councilmember Jen Ferris is appearing electronically.

Thank you.

Work studies are intended for council to discuss business.

No action can be taken.

As a result, public comment will not be taken during this meeting.

Purpose of the meeting is a presentation discussion regarding commonly used procurement methods for construction projects.

Sheila, would you give us the presentation, please?

You don't want me to give the presentation, but I'll tell you who is.

Okay.

Introduce the presenters, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um, a few meetings back, we had some discussion about why we don't put every single project out to bid and what are some of the alternatives, and what are the circumstances under which we would use those alternatives versus some of uh methods that you might be more familiar with?

And so we brought in someone that has uh quite a bit of knowledge, skills, and experience in that area to answer questions.

In fact, um Mr.

Kramer with CEI, I think not only has the experience living that side of it, but now teaches these methods at ASU.

And so he'll give you a little bit of his background and uh share with council some of those other types of procurement and why we would use them.

Can we turn is the air still up or down or whatever?

Phrase us out.

Yeah.

Okay, I'm not the only one.

Good.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members.

Uh thank you for inviting me to come spend a little time with you tonight and talk about uh one of my favorite subjects design and construction procurement.

Uh my name's Jeff Kramer, uh, as uh you were just told, and I've been doing this for almost 40 years.

Um first uh design and construction procurement experiences as far back as 1989 when I first started procuring design professionals for my employer, and uh continued ever uh since that time being involved in this area.

Uh and as you heard, not only do I uh lead the program and project management division for CEI, where we assist public agencies and school districts with procurements as well as project delivery.

I do teach in the master's program in the Del Webb School of Construction at ASU on this topic, uh, and also teach private clients around the state uh how to deliver their projects better and uh to compete more effectively in the procurement process.

So uh and uh I do also participate in an industry-wide stakeholders committee that deals with these issues and talks about uh changes to Arizona statute uh and frequently consulted by agencies all over the state on the topic.

So just to establish that this is my foremost area of uh of expertise uh within the design and construction world.

So we're gonna talk a little bit about how do you procure design and construction services, and uh really it's it's pretty strictly governed by Arizona revised statutes.

Uh it does grant the authority to procure these services under three different statutes.

Uh Title 28 applies to ADOT, Title 41 applies to vertical state governments and schools.

The title that applies to you is Title 34.

And Title 34, which is called public buildings and improvements actually uh should be called cities, towns, counties, and special districts because that's who that particular title governs.

And those titles are very similar, slight differences for each, but they're all very prescriptive when it comes to how you do your procurement processes.

So, what do I mean by that?

Well, it tells you how you have to advertise how many times and where it tells you what you have to include in your RFQs and what you can't include in your RFQs.

Uh it tells you how you have to negotiate the selection process you have to follow, who has to be on your selection panel, and then it tells you what you can and can't share in terms of information during the process and when you can share it during the process.

So it is very prescriptive and very specific as far as procuring design and construction services, and then there are some very uh specific rules that apply to each of the different types of procurement types of project delivery that differ a little bit from each of the other methods.

And then there are some very uh specific rules that apply to each of the different types of procurement types of project delivery that differ a little bit from each of the other methods.

So I what I really want to focus on tonight are three main topics.

The first one is what can you or can't you do with your own staff with town forces?

Uh then I want to talk to you about procuring professional services, designers, and then last procuring construction services.

Can I can I ask a question?

Absolutely, any time.

So is is our policy here in the town based upon the state?

Uh policy, and can and if it's so, can we deviate from what the state says and can we develop some of our own procurement policy?

Mr.

Mayor, uh, Councilmember Bell, great question, and the answer to that is statute specifically says that you can deviate to be more strict, but not to be less strict.

There are a couple areas where there is a small differentiation from that, and I'll talk about one of those toward the end of the presentation, has to do with job order contracting, or it allows you to be less strict on one specific topic.

But for the most part, you have to be equal to or more strict than what the Title 34 requirement is, but you can develop your own policies and procedures on how you implement those statutory requirements.

Does it have to follow the statute exactly?

Uh yes, council member, you have to follow the statute exactly, or you could be found in violation.