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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-04-2021 Clerical Committee Meeting Minutes CLERICAL COMMITTEE Monday, January 4, 2021—5:30pm City Hall 2 North Main Street, Canton IL 61520 VIA ZOOM ID# 860 7467 9689 Aldermen in attendance: Alderman Andra Chamberlin,Justin Nelson,John Lovell, Craig West Aldermen absent: None Staff in attendance: Mayor Kent McDowell, City Clerk Diana Pavley Rock, Attorney Chris Jump, City Treasurer Crystal Wilkinson,Comptroller Beka Schultz,Administrative Assistant Carol Kohler, Utility Director Joe Carruthers In the audience: Missy Towery and Rudy Hadsell from Mid Century Communications News Media- FINANCE ALDERWOMAN ANDRA CHAMBERLIN, CHAIRMAN DISCUSS, CONSIDER AND VOTE ON A RECOMMENDATION TO SEND TO COUNCIL THE PROPOSAL FROM MID CENTURY COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE LOCAL TELEPHONE SERVICES. Missy Towery from Mid Century Communication distributed a packet of material that outlined the bid proposal for the City. The proposal includes 75 hosted phones. This amount was generated from the site visit that Rudy Hadsell did with each department. The installation charge was quoted fairly high due to the nature of the work that will need to be done at each location. This number can fluctuate based upon the difficulty/problems that are encountered during the installation. The shipping charges could be less depending on how the phones are actually shipped. The monthly recurring charges are included in the bid. The total initial equipment investment includes the phones,the horn equipment,the installation,shipping and taxes. These items make up the$20,968.18. A review took place of the estimate taxes since the 911 and taxes are not included in the bid. An estimate was provided in the amount of$464.64. This amount added to the$1937.74 gives a total amount of$2402.38 which is the monthly recurring amount. The Call One bill from August 15th was in the amount of$4755.80. There are some services being provided to the City from Call One that Mid Century simply can't do because there is no internet service. The type of phones included in the bid are Polycom VVX450. Alderman Lovell questioned the type of phone and if this would be needed by all staff. Rudy explained that the Polycom VVX450 is the new line that is out. This is a business class phone that has a lot of features on it and the screen is a little bigger. It has 4 pages-which each page can hold 10 extensions. The price point is cheaper than some of the older Polycom phones that has less features. The older versions are being phased out and are very limited-and would cost a little more. Comptroller Beka Schultz asked if any of the staff could actually use soft phones instead of having a physical phone. If staff will be working remotely-soft phones may be a better option for them. Rudy explained that with this particular phone, it can be taken anywhere as long as you have internet. Sometime the soft phones can be a little more complicated to use. Treasurer Wilkinson said it is important for Mid Century to remember that the City is tax exempt from sales tax costs. This amount can be removed from the bid and would provide some additional savings to the City. Alderman Lovell asked how the installation price is estimated. Missy explained that Mid Century is estimating three hours at the WTP at$75.00/hour. Extra's for incidentals are included as well. Rudy further explained that they would try to have everything configured ahead of time, but there would still be items such as setting up the voice mail,training on the phones etc.that would be needed. Mayor McDowell said that the system that we have now has continued to skyrocket in price and the City has recently had numerous problems with the phones. Mid Century is a local company and the City would like to keep the business with a local company. Treasurer Wilkinson said that there will be approximately$1000.00 per month savings. Treasurer Wilkinson also agrees that it would be best to keep the money with a local business within our community, but it's also important to know the people within the business for better customer service. Rudy further explained that there is a system in place in the event the internet goes down. If the internet is down,the system will automatically forward to different number. This provides a layer of safety. Missy explained that they will do everything possible to prevent any interruptions and would work with each department during the install. Carol Kohler said that none of the phones at City Hall has been able to place long distance calls. Many people are currently working at home and they have been able to forward calls from the office to their cell phones, however starting around Christmas day this stopped working properly. The City is still struggling between Call One, Heart Technology and US Cellular. Carol said that it is very hard to deal with the current company that is out of Chicago. Carol said that if the City is going to go away from Call One,that contract was signed March 4, 2020, and the City would need to give them a 30-day notice—which would be February 5th. The City only has 2 council meetings left before this date. Further discussion took place regarding the police department dispatch being separate and completely independent of this. Rudy said that the bid was based on the exact replica on what the City currently has, but this can be modified if needed. Mayor McDowell said the bottom line is the fact that the current phone system is not financially feasible. The City has a local business that the City could use and have better customer service. This proposal will save the taxpayers money. Motion and second were made by Alderman Nelson/Lovell to send to council with the recommendation for approval. Roll Call: Ayes: Aldermen Chamberlin, West, Lovell, Nelson Nays: None Absent: None The motion carried. Legal &Ordinance Alderman Craig West, Chairman Community&Industrial Development Alderman John Lovell Negotiations, Grievance& Personnel Alderman Justin Nelson, Chairman Attorney Jump said the City will need to coordinate a committee meeting relatively soon for contract negotiations before the next Council meeting. Adjournment Motion and second were made by Alderwoman Chamberlin/Nelson to adjourn. Roll Call: Ayes: Aldermen Chamberlin, West, Lovell, Nelson Nays: None Absent: None The motion carried. Diana Pavley Rock, City Clerk