Minutes - Council - 02/14/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Further discussion: Councilmember Elvig explained HSP & Associates is working on specific economic development opportunities, which is something that The Ramsey Foundation would not be working on. This is something that typically City staff or Economic Development Consultant Mulrooney would work on; it specifically relates to bringing business to town. This will include language and cultural barriers that staff would not be familiar with. Mayor Gamec stated the key is to use more consultants to try to save on hiring staff, and to obtain more expertise in a lot of fields. This corporation has the expertise of dealing with Chinese contacts. He explained this type of relationship with Chinese companies is not to take business away from American companies. The key is to help out businesses in the City providing goods to China as well. There are a couple of opportunities now for Ramsey businesses to do business in other countries. City Attorney Goodrich advised with regard to the contract, HSP & Associates, as was discussed earlier this evening in relation to The Ramsey Foundation, is not a recognized entity in the State of Minnesota. The contract needs to reference the corporation or an individual. He advised the contract provides for a fee of $5,000 plus the hourly rate, rather than the discussed amount not-to-exceed $5,000. Also, he would recommend a 30-day termination clause, versus 90 days, as a considerable amount of money could be expended within that 90 days if the City is not satisfied with the services. He advised it seems that the services are vague as to what they will supply; this could be built up a little to clarify better what the City will be receiving for the expenditure; however, this would be a little dangerous because this needs to be an independent contractor situation. Mayor Gamec suggested the motion include a stipulation that the contract be forwarded to the City Attorney for review. City Attorney Goodrich advised the contract would be subject to review and approval by the City Attomey. The motion on the floor was amended as follows: to ratify the recommendation of the Finance Committee in Case No. 2 and to enter into a consulting agreement with HSP & Associates for consulting and advisory services to locate a Chinese commercial interest in Ramsey for a not-to- exceed amount of $5,000, with consideration that there would be itemized billing that staff would review, that there would not be any international travel involved, contingent on the corporation being a legal standing business, that the termination clause in the amendment be amended to 30 days, and with the contract subject to review and approval by the City Attorney. Further discussion: Councilmember Elvig stated the Committee was careful to disseminate what this corporation is doing versus The Ramsey Foundation as a private entity. This can be monitored with the itemized billing, as well as monitoring what the City is receiving from this contract. There are not a lot of people with expertise in this field, and it makes sense to use the same individuals for these issues, but it is important that the money is delineated. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Elvig, Cook, Jeffrey, Olson, and Pearson. Voting No: None. Absent: Councilmember Strommen. Case #12: Report from Public Works Committee Councilmember Elvig suggested the report from the Public Works Committee be moved up to a City Council meeting closer to the Committee meeting in order to bring back the finer points of the discussion to the full Council. City Council / February 14, 2006 Page 19 of 26