Item 4CCity of Southlake, Texas
M E M O R A N D U M
January 8, 2007
TO:Shana Yelverton, City Manager
FROM: Greg Last,Director of Economic Development
Authorize a Professional Services Agreement with Lewis McLain for
SUBJECT:
financial analysis associated with updating impact fees.
______________________________________________________________________________
Action Requested:
Authorize the agreement noted above.
Background
Information:
Chapter 395 of the Local GovernmentCode requires that impact fees be
updated every five (5) years and we are in the process of updating our
studies and analysis supporting impact fees. Consultants are typically
used in these updates to provide professional services. The scope of work
for this component will basically be the financial analyses components of
the water, wastewater and roadway impact fees.
Financial
Considerations:
The attached McLain agreement estimates a fee range of $15,000 –
$22,500 which is within the policy range for City Manager approval. The
fees will be funded through current impact fees.
Citizen Input/
Board Review:
None required related to the agreement. There will be public hearings held
during the impact fee update process.
Legal Review:
The City Attorney’s office has reviewed this agreement and has been
engaged in the impact fee update process from the beginning.
Alternatives:
Supporting
Documents:
Professional Services agreement from Lewis McLain dated December 18,
2006 as noted above.
Staff
Recommendation:
Authorize the services agreement as it relates to the impact fee update.
Lewis F. McLain, Jr.
President, CityBase.Net, Inc.
4906 Morning Glory Way
McKinney, TX 75070-5273
972-562-7075 / Fax 972-562-7097
December 18, 2006
Greg Last, Director of Economic Development
City of Southlake
1400 Main Street
Southlake, Texas 76092
Dear Greg:
Thank you for this opportunity to provide assistance to the City of Southlake
regarding the updating of the impact fee calculations. It is my understanding that you
would like for me to be available to participate as a member of the Impact Fee Study
Team to review all of the assumptions and to evaluate any needed changes in impact
fees. Since I am familiar with the Southlake data from previous utility work and from
the review of the last report completed in 2000, I feel sure that I can accomplish your
objectives within a reasonable time, effort and budget.
With the assistance of City staff and external participants with planning and
engineering expertise, I will construct a computer model with past data and
assumptions. The model can be updated for revised land use assumptions and for a
reaffirmation of the City's capital project list, including the time period designation in
which the projects will be needed. While I can provide the computer modeling,
professional decisions will need to be supplied by the City's consulting engineers and
you as staff land use planners.
In the prior impact fee studies I have provided a supporting role in the planning,
coordinating, scheduling and expediting of players and events that will lead to the
successful meeting of deadlines and requirements in conformance with the Impact
Fee Legislation. It is my understanding that you will be taking the lead on these
coordination responsibilities. However, I will participate to the extent I can be helpful
to you in any aspect of this important task. The fee for this service was based on 40
hours in previous studies. I am including only 5 hours in this proposal.
My involvement is expected to be focused more on the water and sewer impact fee
rather than the roadway impact fee. However, I will be prepared to assist the
roadway engineers in any financial area and, of course, to be prepared to assist in
the establishment of a recommended roadway impact fee to adopt as well as a
recommended water and sewer impact fee. I will prepare a narrative water and
sewer impact fee report with the consulting engineer.
The effort to prepare an update of the previously written report describing the
process and findings could take additional hours if there are numerous revisions
after the first drafting. However, I will focus on a concise executive summary which
will explain the process and results to the reader.
I will limit my effort to the of accounting data rather than the development of
this data to the degree I need to integrate existing impact fee funds and interest
earnings into the financial model. As you have indicated, the recent audit of the
impact fees should provide me the necessary information to satisfy my data analysis
scope outlined in this proposal.
As a total estimate, I believe that I can attend up to 20 hours of meetings, assist with
the reconcilement of fees collected and spent, update the assumptions provided by
others and update the narrative of those portions of the report which describe the
process for 100 hours or $15,000. Additional meeting hours, extensive
communications with other participants, additional time to analyze incomplete data
or numerous iterations of this model or of the written report could raise the cost, but
it is my expectation that the project can be completed within the budget in
accordance with the work plan and responsibilities assumed by you as we have
discussed previously.
I would like to stress that I see this entire project as a team effort with each team
member (Staff, Consultants, Engineer and Attorney) dedicated to the review and
completion of the total project. The project manager will be you in this leadership
capacity. Each of the outside professional service providers should be committed to
satisfying your objectives. I pledge to fulfill my responsibilities to you and to the other
team members. I will agree that you will be the sole judge of the completion of my part
of the assignment.
Recap of Cost Estimate
My billing rate will be at my current level of $150 per hour.
The estimated cost of this project is based on a level of commitment ranging from 100
to 150 hours or $15,000 to $22,500. The prior level of effort in 1999 was
approximately 275 hours. However, it is expected that there will not be as many
meetings with the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee nor as much work
involved in coordination efforts.
I would like to propose a payment arrangement as follows:
Payment #1: $7,500 due upon approval of this contract.
Payment #2: $7,500 due upon first presentation to CIAC.
Final: Upon completion of public hearing depending on total effort.
It would be my goal to keep my level of commitment to 100 hours. This effort fits well
into my other obligations. However, as you know, much of the time and effort is
dependent on factors that are difficult to control regarding the number of meetings
and quality of data that minimizes the number of recalculations and alternatives. I
want to express my keen interest in this assignment and my great appreciation to be
able to serve the City of Southlake.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Lewis F. McLain, Jr.
President, CityBase.Net, Inc.
APPROVED:
_________________________________
Shana Yelverton, City Manager