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change mid -year. <br />2. Request new proposals as soon as reasonably possible in 2014 (base professional services policy) <br />1. Under this scenario, Staff would suggest requesting proposals as soon as possible in order to have a <br />decision made and contract in place by May 1. <br />3. Eliminate the use of contracted services for building code administration and rely on internal Staff only <br />1. Regardless of future recruitment, Staff sees value in a balance of internal Staff and contracted services <br />to deliver these services. <br />Electrical Code Administration <br />The City contracts with Tokle Inspections, Inc. for Electrical Code administration. The contract is auto - renewed, <br />with cancelation provisions included in the contract (30 days) with no minimum number of hours guaranteed by the <br />City. The contract was executed in July, 2010, so a decision does need to be made soon on this contract, as the <br />building season for 2013 has closed out. Communities can choose to defer to the State of Minnesota to administer <br />the Electrical Code or administer the Electrical Code locally. While a majority of communities defer to the State of <br />Minnesota to administer the program within their municipality (contractors would apply for permits and schedule <br />inspections through the State), Ramsey elected in administer the program locally in 2011, as a number of other <br />municipalities do the same. The City has generally found good success in this approach, and falls in line with the <br />City's Strategic Goal to have a centralized permitting center. <br />Tokle Inspections collects 75% of the revenue collected for electrical inspections in exchange for these services. <br />The remaining 25% is retained by the City to cover costs to administer the program (permit entry, scheduling, etc.). <br />Tokle Inspections had previously requested (informally) consideration of an 80 %/20% split (this split appears <br />closer to the industry standard for the area). However, Tokle Inspections has noted that the current revenue split is <br />acceptable at this time, and is not requesting formal consideration for this amendment. The fiscal impact to the City <br />of this amendment would be made would be approximately $2,000 to $4,000 in reduce revenue annually (which is <br />used to cover administrative costs) depending on permit levels and types. <br />Staff is aware of at least one (1) other firm interested in submitting a proposal for these services if the City <br />requested new proposals. <br />Alternatives related to this contract include: <br />1. Continue the contract in its current form and request new proposals at the end of 2015 (extended professional <br />services policy) <br />1. Staff suggests the end of 2015 in order to be ready for the 2016 building season rather than making a <br />change mid -year. <br />2. Request new proposals as soon as reasonably possible in 2014 (base professional services policy) <br />1. Under this scenario, Staff would suggest requesting proposals as soon as possible in order to have a <br />decision made and contract in place by May 1. <br />3. Return administration of this service to the State of Minnesota <br />1. This would not seem the preferred alternative given the strategic goal to establish a centralized permit <br />center, although it would reduce a portion of current administrative workload. <br />Long Range Planning and Zoning Administration <br />The City contracts with Stantec, Inc. (formerly Bonestroo) for long range planning and zoning administration <br />supplemental professional services. The contract is auto - renewed, with cancelation provisions provided within the <br />contract (30 days) with no minimum number of hours guaranteed by the City. Stantec provides plan review services <br />for land use applications as needed. Additionally, Stantec provides policy analysis and development (zoning <br />amendment and policy document preparation) on an as- needed basis in order to balance service level demands and <br />City Council priorities. <br />Stantec charges the City a rate of $93 per hour for these services, but is requesting a 3% increase. The requested <br />rate for 2014 would then be $96. Staff finds this rate fairly competitive, with a wide range of rates and <br />individual /specific services provided. It is possible that a firm may propose a lower rate; however, other factors <br />