HomeMy WebLinkAbout(4)SERVICE ZONEOSCAR G. ORTIZ, MAYOR
THOMAS J. HENDERSON, MAYOR PRO-TEM
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
CRAIG HANNAH
FELIX A. BARKER
TOM GILLAM, I1~
REV. RONNIE LINDEN
BOB BOWERS
ROSE MITCHELL CHAISSON
MICHAEL "SHANE" SiNEGAL
C~ty of
Texas
MARK t. SOKOLOW
CITY ATTORNEY
December 13, 2002
VIA FACSIMILE (409) 984-7101
Roger Shillow
SERVICE ZONE
365 Highway 365
Port Arthur, TX
77640
Dear Mr. shillow:
As previously discussed, the City is concerned about the
confidentiality agreement that you have asked your employees to sign.
The Mayor has asked that you attend the Tuesday, December 17, 2002,
Council Meeting, 5:30 p.m., to address this matter.
MTS/ts
cc: Mayor
City Council
City Manager
Sincerely,
Mark T. Sokolow
City Attorney
RO. BOX 1089 · PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS 77641-1089 · 409/983-8126 · FAX 409/983-8124
Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation
P. O. Box 1089 · Port Arthur, Texas 77641-1089
409/983-8195 · 409/983-8222 fax
Emaih portarthuredc@eonet.net · http://www, portarthur, com/edc
Memo
Date: December 9, 2002
To: Mayor and City CounciF
From: Ike Mills, Executive Director,~JZ¢.,,,,¢.
RE: Service Zone Project
Attached is information from Roger Shillow, Service Zone Site Manager, and a letter
from Jose Pastrana, County Engineer regarding the Service Zone Project. Also
included is a letter sent to Hal Ross from our EDC Attomey regarding this project.
If you have any question ptease contact me at 983-8195.
cc: EDC Board
attachments
mayor & council - advisory
Port Arthur Economic Devetopment Corporanon
P. O. Box 1089 · Port ^rthur, Texas 7764]-1089
409/98%$195 ° 409/983-8222 fax
Email: po~tarthuredc@eonet, net · http://www.portarthur, com/edc
December 9, 2002
Mr. Jose A. Pastrana
Jefferson County Engineer
1149 Pearl, 5th Floor
Beaumont, TX 77701
RE: Service Zone Project
Dear Mr. Patstrana:
I appreciate your letter dated November 13, 2002 regarding the status of the "Service
Zone Project". It is my understanding that the 10% retainage amount was reduced to
5% so the roof of this new facility can be repaired. I would hope the construction
company, Timberlake Construction, provide written guarantees on every aspect of this
building.
Please provide a copy of the "Punch List" for our records so this can be forwarded to our
appropriate city departments. In the event the Port Arthur Economic Development
Corporation take possession of this facility, I want to make sure this process has been
reviewed and approved by the County, City of Port Arthur and the Port Arthur Economic
Development Corporation. Before final payment is made, please coordinate this with
Leslie McMahen, City of Port Arthur Public Works Director. It is my understanding Mr.
McMahen was to have been involved in this entire process. I'm concerned [his
involvement has not taken place.
Thank you for providing a brief updated summary of the project and look forward to
receiving the requested information.
Ike Mills
Executive Director of
Port Arthur Economic Development
CC;
EDC Board
Jim Wimbedy, EDC Attorney
Mayor and City Council
Mark Sokolow, City Attorney
Leslie McMahen, Director of Public Works
Hal Ross
JOSE A. PASTRANA, P.E.
County Engineer
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Engineering Department
November 13, 2002
MELISSA GUYNES
Assistant County Engineer
RECEIWEO
Mr. Ike Mills, Executive Director
Port Arthur Economic Development Council
?. O. Box 1089
Port Arthur, Texas 77641-1089
Re: Retainage of payments to Timberlake Construction
(Service Zone Building)
Dear Ike;
As you requested, we have looked at the Service Zone Project to determine the
status of the "Punch List" for the project. The "Punch List" is a list of final things to do
by the contractor before he can receive final payment. This is usually determined after
beneficial 6ccupancy by the owner has taken place. The only remaining item we had on
the list was a roof problem. The contractor has had the roofing subcontractor fixing the
problem and has sent us a written statement indicating the roof has been repaired. We
will send someone to check before final payment is made.
You also requested the logic behind reducing the retainage mount from 10% to
5%. The logic is an issue of fairness. The average retainage for construction projects is
5%. We were retaining 10% because we wanted to allow ourselves an extra level of
comfort, should things go wrong. However, once beneficial occupancy was established
for the Service Zone Facility, we did not see the need for a 10% retainage and reduced it
to the more customary 5% (based on a request from Timberlake Construction). The
amount we retained is still in keeping with industry practices and is enough to cover any
repa/r expenses we may have in completing the "Punch List".
I hope this is of help to you. Please let me know if you have any questions at all.
can be reached at (409) 835-8584.
Sincerel~y,
/Jlse A. Pastrana
~efferson County Engineer
JAP/mn
Jefferson County Courthouse · 1149 Pearl, 5~h floor, Beaumont, Texas 77701
Beaumont 409-835-8584 · Mid-County ,409-727-2191, ext. 8584 · Facsimile 409-835-8718 · E-mail jefcoeng~co.jefferson.tx.us
· Perry R. McPherson
Bob K. Monk
Richard D. Hughes*
Lance E Bradley**
James E. Wimberley
*Board Certified: Family Law
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
3120 Central Mall Drive
Port Arthur, Tx 77642
409-724-6644
1-800-830-6785
Fax 724-7585
www. Mc-LAW. net
Mr. Hal Ross
County Judge's Office
P.O. Box 4025
Beaumont, TX 77704
November 18, 2002
RECEIVED
CORP.
RE: SERVICE ZONE PROJECT
Dear Hal:
In reviewing the above referenced matter incident to an ongoing audit of PAEDC's prior
incentive contracts, I noticed that we have not yet finalized any proposed "intedocal agreement"
between JeffersSn County and the PAEDC related to the above referenced project. The only
reason for an interlocal agreement would be to define the relative rights and obligations of the
PAEDC and'Jefferson County in the event that Service Zone defaults under its obligations
under the terms and conditions of the pending agreement, or in the event Service Zone
eventually elects not to "purchase" the subject property through its employment credits and/or
- other purchase .consideration. In either of those events, the property would revert to 'the
PAEDC and Jefferson County. It is my understanding that the property would then be owned
jointly by the par[les, with said ownership interest being defined by the pro-rata contributions
toward construction of the project. In light of same, the PAEDC would own 70% of the project
· and Jefferson County would own 30%. It is my opinion tha~ we probably need an interlocal
agreement to define the rights and obligations of the parties in the event of any future default by
Service Zone and/or reversion of the property. If you agree, please advise and I will prepare a
draft of an interlocal agreement for your review and consideration. ~ look forward-to hearing
from you regarding this at your convenience.
Sincerely,
James (Jim)~ mb;rley~
JW/gmg
c: Mr. Ike Mills, Executive Director
Port Arthur EDC
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Shillow, Roger [Roger. Shillow@SERVICEZONE.com]
Monday, October 28, 2002 12:27 PM
'portarthuredc@eonet.net'
Service Zone Update
Ike Mills,
I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with a brief Service Zone update. As the
Port Arthur EDC Director, I understand how important it is for you to have the most
current knowledge and information on local business and
industry. Currently, at Service Zone we have nearly 500 employees. Recently, we have
experienced call volumes
less than the volumes anticipated by our partners. While we are still quickly approaching
our busiest time of the year,
the upswing curve is at best a little behind schedule.
As a result, on Friday, Oct. 18, we dismissed 37 agents from our two new hire classes. We
do anticipate additional hiring prior to year end but because the volume increases are
coming a lot slower than anticipated, we were slightly
overstaffed. The only other agents dismissed have been due to performance shortfalls,
i.e. metrics, poor attendance,
etc. Obviously during ~imes of slower volume.the most vulnerable employees are those who
are either less than reliable or performing below desired performance levels.
We are very encouraged by the fact that one of our vendors has recently regained their
standing as ~1 in the entire PC industry according to number of boxes sold. In fact, they
recently acknowledged their largest shipping day for PCs in
their history. As a result, we do anticipate volumes getEing back to or even potehtially
exceeding anticipated patterns
in the future. I will do my best to keep you apprised and updated as I am able.
As I have said time and time again, being from Lake Charles, LA., I consider Southeast
Texas home. I am personally thrilled to have the opportunity to live and work in this
area and look forward to working with you and your colleagues for a long time to come.
Sincerely,
Roger D. Shillow
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