The meeting was called to order by Chairman Monteleone. A silent roll call was taken and it was determined that a quorum was present.

Mr. Smith moved for the approval of the June 26, 2008, minutes. Motion seconded by Mr. Sprouse. All voted in favor and the minutes were approved.

Lloyd Miller advised the Board that the cost scores for the project were opened on Monday, June 30, 2008. They had two proposals remaining for the cost scores. Carl Walker was disqualified because they disclosed their costs in the qualitative proposal. The other proposal, Mosities Kimble, was not opened because they did not earn a score of greater than 70. The Carl Walker and Mosities Kimble score envelopes were not opened and returned to them. The remaining two proposals were from March Westin/Paradigm and Donley=s/Alpha. March Westin received the highest score of 190 and Donleys received a score of 186.

Mr. Miller requested approval of the board to proceed with negotiating of a contract for the project. Mr. Sprouse moved to approve and the motion was seconded by Mr. Smith. All voted in favor and the motion passed. 　

Don Shorts advised the Board that they opened their cost proposals on Monday, June 30, 2008. They had four proposers on the project. Playground Specialist scored 133, American Ramp scored 166, Spohn Ranch scored 168 and Grindline scored 196. Mr. Shorts requested the approval of the board to negotiate a contract with Grindline for the project. Mr. Krause advised the board that he attended all meetings on the project and everything was fine. The costs were kept sealed until after the scoring of the technical proposals. Mr. Smith moved to approve the project moving forward. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sprouse. All voted in favor and the motion passed.

Barry Rude advised the Board that the Berkeley County Fire Service Board has reissued a new application with some corrections which they have submitted to the Board for consideration. He explained that their prior application did not contain enough information. Mr. Rude went through the new application with the Board.

Mr. Rude advised that the existing fire station is over fifty years old. The area is in great need of a new station. Due to the age of the current building, there are some structural issues such as cracking. They have done repairs but as a result the fire station is not functioning as is should because some areas are no longer usable. They have a need to get the fire station built quickly because it is falling apart.

The project requires close coordination between design and construction because fire stations have special requirements and needs specialized work in practically every discipline. Additionally, they believe that if the fire station can be constructed by the design-build method it will be delivered fully operational to the user on a shorter time frame with fewer conflicts. It is also a prime concern to maintain the project=s budget. The collorbation between the design entities and the contractors will help maintain that budget. Also, the project can be completed sooner and save money by the design-build method because there would be less change orders.

Mr. Rude advised the Board that the fire station will be funded by a combination of fire fees and borrowing from a lending institution. Early cost containment is critical because it is difficult to achieve the project by fees alone and they need to lock in an interest rate for the portion they must borrow. They will be able to realize a savings by locking in a lower interest rate. The design-build delivery method will provide substantial advantage by accelerating the completion time of the project and will allow the early cost containment required.

Chairman Monteleone questioned whether the Fire Service Board had been approved for the loan. Mr. Rude advised that they have already been approved for a $1.5 million dollar loan. Chairman Monteleone asked what they intended to build. Mr. Rude stated that it was an expansion that will double the size of the existing fire station. The building will have four bays. The Fire Service Board has already completed the site work with $600,000 in fire service fees. Mr. Krause advised the Board that he is a little concerned because the facility will be about $75.00 a square foot and that is a little bit low. Mr. Rude indicated that they may have to make compromises with materials. Mr. Smith questioned what type of building it would, metal or something else. Mr. Rude advised that they intend to leave that up to the design-build teams. They would like to get a wide range of materials and costs. Mr. Krause advised that they could include alternatives in the package. Chairman Monteleone expressed concerns that if the package is vague they will not be able to compare apples to apples. Chairman Monteleone asked whether they would have the ability to borrow more money if needed. Donna Cross, with the Fire Service Board, indicated that they would be able to borrow more money but would probably take any additional funding needed from the fire service fees. Mr. Smith stated that he would not like to see a process where a team could low ball just to get the ability to negotiate. Mr. Smith further indicated that if it comes down to having to negotiate, then you could have a tainted process. Chairman Monteleone advised that the statute has some boundaries on negotiation.

Mr. Sprouse questioned the design-build schedule. The design-build completion date is December 2009, and the construction date is October. Mr. Rude stated that this is a typographical error. Mr. Rude stated that the schedule is to have a contract awarded by the end of August with the design in early September. Construction would start in November. The construction completion will be December of 2009. Mr. Krause stated that this is an optimistic schedule but the basic package is done they just need to modify it. Mr. Krause also stressed

the need to give the design builders time to put a good package together. Mr. Rude indicated that the current building is unsafe and not adequate to meet their needs. He also stated that time is a very important issue and they want to lock in the cost and move forward a quickly as possible.

Mr. Smith asked whether they feel comfortable that they know the design-build process and laws. Mr. Rude indicated that he has reviewed all the laws and will work very closely with Mr. Krause throughout the process. Mr. Smith moved to approve the project moving forward as a design-build project. Motion seconded by Mr. Sprouse. All voted in favor and the project was approved. Mr. Smith indicated that they need to narrow down the specifications so there will be less negotiation later. Mr. Krause advised the Board that he would talk to the Technical Review Committee to see what they envision prior to the specifications being done.

There being no other business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.