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Minutes 07-03-01 CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING TOW SERVICES CONTRACT RENEWAL CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ~IULY 3, 2001, 5:30 P.M. PRESENT Gerald Broening, Mayor Ron Weiland, Vice Mayor Mike Ferguson, Commissioner Charlie Fisher, Commissioner Mack McCray, Commissioner Kurt Bressner, City Manager ]ames Cherof, City Attorney Janet Prainito, City Clerk The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Mayor Broening. Assistant City Manager Wilfred Hawkins stated that he wanted to 1) discuss contract tow rates, 2) rates for City vehicles, 3) get City Commission direction regarding the option of a franchise fee and 4) move forward with the Request For Quote (RFQ) process for the towing contract. He stated that the current towing contract began May 20, 1997 and has been in effect for four years. Towing is done on a rotation basis among six companies. Prior to this time, the City was served by one company. The reason for a towing contract is to provide the ability to tow City owned vehicles, wrecked cars and junked or abandoned vehicles. He explained the RFQ process and the timetable. The process would begin approximately July 13 and the new contract would become effective October 1, 2001. iVlr. Hawkins said that he needed direction from the City Commission regarding two issues - rates to be charged in the new contract and rates for City owned vehicles and Code Compliance tows. Current rates have been in effect since 1997. The proposed rates were presented by local tow companies. According to a Finance Department survey of eight cities, Boynton Beach would have the highest rates. Mr. Hawkins asked the City Commission to make a determination whether they want to maintain the current rates, adopt the rates proposed by the industry or set rates somewhere in between. Meeting Minutes Tow Services Contract Renewal Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida .luly 3, 2001 According to the survey, most municipalities have reduced rates or no charge for City owned vehicles. Prior to 1997, the City was not charged for City owned vehicles. The City is charged 50% of the contract price in the current contract. Staff recommends that this remain. The proposed contract says that abandoned, unregistered or wrecked vehicles are to be towed at no cost to the City. Other changes to the current contract came from local towing companies and are language clarifications and procedural adjustments. Most of these changes are either in bold or underlined and staff agrees with these changes. David Katz, 742 NW 11 Street - Respectfully corrected Mr. Hawkins. This contract has been in effect since 1993 and not since 1997. Since 1993, towing has been on a rotation basis. He is glad to see that the charge for City owned vehicles would remain at 50%. He suggested that we need a second workshop between the City Commission and the tow companies. He does not think this survey is a fair representation and he does not think it is fair to charge a franchise fee. Mr. Bressner commented that he believes it is a staff function to get together with the towing companies. ]:t is the City Commission's responsibility to give direction. Mr. Katz agreed. Steve Beck, Beck's Towinq - He believes the proposed rates are fair considering that the cost of a tow truck went up $7,000 in one year and his rent went up $800 in the past two years. Other cities in the survey are served by a single tow company and some are much larger cities with many more tows. One third of vehicles that he tows for the City of Boynton Beach never get picked up so no money is made on them. He believes an increase in rates is needed. Mr. Bressner stated that a question had come up whether it was equitable for the tow companies to open up their impound area after hours at no additional charge. He suggested that language should be included in the contract to charge for this occurrence for individuals. However, there should not be a charge to the City. Vice Mayor Weiland stated that he agrees with most of the contract. However, there needs to be a labor rate for C vehicles because these vehicles need to have the drive shaft removed before they are towed. He recommended $25 to $35 an hour. He also recommended some slight increases for class B and C towed vehicles as well as increases for extra time at the scene. 2 Meeting Minutes Tow Services Contract Renewal Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida 3uly 3, 2001 Mayor Broening asked when the last increase occurred and was told there have been no rate increases since 1993. Commission McCray agreed that the tow companies need an increase. Mr. Hawkins merely wanted to get general direction from the Commission. Staff wants something economical for the City and fair to the people. Commissioner Ferguson stated that the rates look fair to him. Vice Mayor Weiland said that Code Compliance vehicles were not nearly as lucrative as other tows so some tow companies do not pick them up. There should be something in the contract for a penalty when this happens. Also, the tow companies must do better on cleaning up after accidents. He would like language in the contract relative to the above. Mayor Broening stated that he believed the consensus of the Commission was that there needs to be a rate adjustment. City staff and tow companies should sit down and discuss the issues before this comes back for a formal decision from the Commission. The Mayor questioned the franchise fee. Mr. Bressner stated that there are administrative costs involved. Mayor Broening is not in favor of a franchise fee. Commissioner Fisher asked how we would cover our administrative cost. Mayor Broening stated that it is the City's responsibility to clean up after accidents, etc. He thought recovery of the administrative costs was a good negotiable item when the City staff works with the tow companies on the contract prices. Vice Mayor Weiland stated that we should figure administrative costs and what the City would pay at 100% rather than 50% and see how they compare. Commissioner McCray suggested that staff should do an evaluation on companies regarding complaints for next renewal time. Mr. Bressner wants to avoid having the highest rates in Palm Beach County. He wants an equitable rate structure that provides true costs and he would expect the tow companies to provide that documentation. There are some administrative costs. 3 Meeting Minutes Tow Services Contract Renewal Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida .luly 3, 2001 There was a consensus of the Commission that they do not want a franchise fee or an administrative fee. IVlr. Hawkins asked who he should contact for negotiations with the tow companies and was told to contact Mr. Katz. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. C[-I-Y ~ BOY/,NTON ~EACH erk Recording Secretary (one tape) Vice~Ca.~or~ .¢C/ommission~r Commissioner S:\CC\WP\MINUTES\COMM\Workshop - Towing 07030:L.doc 4