DeKalb Times

Dekalb County Public Building Commission met April 7.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

Due to COVID-19, this Meeting was held as a Virtual Public Meeting

The Board of Commissioners of the DeKalb County Public Building Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) met virtually in regular session through a cloud-based, peer-to-peer software platform called Zoom at 8:30 a.m. pursuant to written notice to each Commissioner as required by the By-Laws.

ROLL CALL

Chairman Swanson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. and requested the Secretary to call the roll. Those Commissioners virtually present were Vice-Chairman Larry Lundgren, Ms. Cheryl Nicholson, Mr. Chuck Shepard, and Chairman Matt Swanson. Mr. Mike Larson was absent. A quorum was established with four Commissioners virtually present and one absent.

Others present via Zoom included: Commission Treasurer Gary Hanson, Mr. John Heimbach with Larson & Darby Group, Ms. Megan Simon with Ringland-Johnson Construction, County Facilities Management Office Director Jim Scheffers, Vice President of Management Performance Associates Scott Gima, Rehab & Nursing Center Maintenance Supervisor Steve O’Bryan, Rehab & Nursing Center Administrator Steve Duchene, County Board Member Steve Faivre, and Commission Secretary Tasha Sims.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Ms. Nicholson moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Shepard seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Commissioner Mr. Mike Larson arrived at 8:35 a.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Ms. Nicholson moved to approve the minutes of the Tuesday, March 3, 2020 meeting with corrections. Mr. Shepard seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Mr. Jeff Whelan inquired about postponing renovations to the “480” Wing and whether doing so would incur additional costs. Mr. Hanson noted that at this point they don’t know what the cost affect will be and suggested Mr. Whelan comment during that item on the agenda if the Chairman would allow. Chairman Swanson agreed.

NURSING HOME EXPANSION PROJECT Project Update

Ms. Megan Simon, Project Manager from Ringland-Johnson Construction, reported that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ringland-Johnson has been taking extra precautions to protect the health of its employees and all subcontractors. Their daily procedures include the following:

 Daily sign-in of health affirmation that address the following:

o Travel to CDC Level 2 or 3 areas

o Family members or people in close contact whom have traveled to CDC Level 2 or 3 areas

o Exhibiting symptoms of illness

o Family members or people in close contact whom exhibit symptoms of illness

RJC is following strict rules on their projects in alignment with the most up-to-date CDC guidance, and have the authority to remove anyone who fits the aforementioned criteria. In addition, social distancing with a recommended 6-ft distance – specifically at break areas, hand washing stations, trailers, etc. is happening. Environmental cleaning consists of hand washing, break areas, shared tools. They are utilizing web or phone-based, virtual meetings with clients and subcontractors, in lieu of in-person meetings whenever possible. These procedures were implemented at the same time that the DCRNC implemented the same procedures and implemented a no-visitor policy. Only employees and essential outside personnel are allowed in the building. The DCRNC also screens its’ staff before every shift with one additional measure – taking the temperature of all personnel before entering the building.

Ms. Simon continued to report that work is progressing through the TCU and the Activity Center with MEP rough-ins. Med Gas and chiller piping are being installed. Drywall window returns (tracked on a T&M basis) within the TCU are continuing and corridor wall protection is starting within the Activity Center.

At this time, interior work is not being performed.

Change Order Request

Mr. Heimbach shared that they have reached a conclusion on another issue raised by the Regional Plumbing Inspector. The inspector was saying that the showers in new resident rooms in the TCU Addition did not meet ADA guidelines or Illinois Accessibility Code because of the size and shape of the showers. Plans for the TCU, which include these resident room showers, were reviewed and accepted for construction by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Health Facilities Design and Construction and the City of DeKalb prior to beginning work.

Because these rooms are designed to address bariatric recommendations, there are several conditions that the inspector thought were inconsistent with the accessibility codes, and he was advising the plumbing contractor to stop work in the areas affected. Even though DeKalb does not contemplate a bariatric program, the need to address these issues is growing over time. It was always the intention that these rooms and toilet rooms (including showers) meet the accessibility codes and address the bariatric standards as well. To that end, the project has a shower compartment that is wider and longer than the accessibility standards, and there is an angled wall at the entry end to help with access into the shower. Bariatric considerations are more recent design issues in health care facilities and the accessibility codes have not yet incorporated bariatric considerations into their requirements.

The larger shower compartments exceed the minimum requirements defined by the Illinois Accessibility Code. The accessibility requirements for these showers are minimum standards, and by exceeding those standards they are not diminishing the accessibility of the spaces. The Illinois Accessibility Code matters are the responsibility of the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB). The CDB was contacted and a CDB Accessibility Specialist offered an interpretation that confirms the project is in compliance on this issue.

After confirmation was reached that the showers met the size requirements, the inspector questioned the shower control locations. He indicated the location did not meet ADA standards and suggested that the code would be met by relocating the controls to the end opposite the location shown on the drawings and on the angled wall where you would enter the shower (the same angled wall he was not approving with his earlier question). Locating the controls at the end of the shower creates considerable added work and cost during construction, it is not defendable by the codes, and the shower would not be very functional as it would spray into the remainder of the toilet room. Additionally, since this recommended control location is contrary to the code, there would have to be an interpretation from the CDB that would allow this suggested location to occur.

Mr. Heimbach was able to determine that the original design was consistent with the Federal ADA guidelines regarding the control location, but the Illinois Accessibility Code does not provide clear guidance on the issue. The CDB was not willing to offer an interpretation on the designed location for the controls and forwarded the response to this code for review to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office who relayed the question on to the Federal Department of Justice who make interpretations to the ADA guidelines. Because the issue was transferred to other agencies for review, Mr. Heimbach has become concerned that this issue would get bogged down and not be answered in the time to help the project. While working with the CDB on this issue, they suggested a different approach for the facility to meet the accessibility requirements. These resident rooms and their associated toilet rooms might not be required to meet the Illinois Accessibility Code as long as we met the overall facility requirements of 50% accessible rooms of each type. In the case of the Nursing Home, there are two types of rooms, single occupancy and double occupancy. There is a similar requirement in the Illinois Administrative Code for Intermediate and Skilled Care Nursing Facilities (IDPH Health Care Regulations). This rule describes a requirement that each nursing facility must provide at least 50% of the rooms of each type that meet the requirement of the Illinois Accessibility Code. Once it has been determined that the 50% rule has been achieved, the remaining rooms are not required to meet these accessibility requirements. This rule allows them to count the existing rooms in the nursing facility of each type to determine if they have enough rooms to balance against the new rooms of the addition in order to meet the 50% rules and allow those rooms to be constructed as designed whether they are in conformance or not.

In order to determine if the 50% rule was met, Mr. Heimbach reviewed the design of the rooms in the existing facility. Prior to this project, there were 14 rooms that were designed and furnished as single occupancy rooms in the existing nursing facility. In order to meet the 50% rule, they would need an additional 4 rooms designed as single occupancy to balance against the 18 new rooms in the addition. The original design had looked at the renovated rooms in Building B that are being upgraded to become Medicare rooms and discussed options to use these rooms as single occupancy. There are 13 total rooms in this wing and 3 rooms are already single occupancy. As part of this project, a 4th room in this wing is being changed to a single occupancy room leaving a need for 3 more rooms to be designated as single occupancy to arrive at the 18 single rooms needed. The remaining 6 rooms would be renovated and available as double occupancy rooms.

Once Mr. Heimbach determined that this approach to satisfying the accessibility requirements was defendable, he presented it to the construction team who relayed it to the plumbing inspector. His interpretation of this rule was based on having each portion of the facility needing to meet this 50% requirement individually, and was unwilling to accept the approach. Again, the Accessibility Specialist from the CDB confirmed the requirements as applying to the entire nursing home as a single facility including the addition. This interpretation has now been accepted by the plumbing inspector and they are proceeding as originally designed.

The Commissioners were provided with the updated Change Order Proposal Log. The items in white are ongoing issues that are under review, the gray rows are items that have been previously discussed and approved, and the items up for discussion were currently in yellow.

The Commissioners were requested to approve the following Potential Change Order requests:

PCO #53: (Item #12) Door 225.2 is the second door in Soiled Utility 225. The original door was removed as part of the reconfiguration and extension of this utility room. The owner requested this

door be reinstalled because it provides direct access from the Nurse Station area without first entering the staff corridor. This work was completed at a cost of $5,122.31 in order to keep the project on schedule.

PCO #62: (Item #67) Based on final tub and shower selections by the owner, there is an added shower valve and modifications to the fittings for a new sit tub in the Tub/Shower Rooms 719 and 721. This work was completed at a cost of $887.63.

PCO #63: (Item #71) As a condition of approval of PCO #44, the PBC Commissioners asked that the costs to install the drywall window surrounds be monitored on a T&M basis. Additionally, the Commissioners asked that the contractor provide a credit for the associated window casings that are not being installed. This work has been eliminated from the project and resulted in ($7,211.00) deduct.

PCO #60: (Item #82) The drawings call for the removal of a floor drain in Existing Dining 251. It was determined that floor drain could remain and the new flooring was installed to incorporate the drain. This resulted in a ($500.00) deduct.

PCO #58: (Item #83) During a review of costs for PCO #41 (Finishes in 251K), it was discovered that there was an error in the number for carpentry. This error caused an overcharge of $202.00. The ($202.00) deduct will be credited back into contingency.

PCO #57: (Item #84) Due to the final design of the roof truss system, there are several places in the TCU where piping and ductwork would have to pass between conditioned and unconditioned space to serve areas on the west side of the TCU Addition. In order to ensure that these piping and duct systems are more serviceable, two additional soffits will allow all of the ducts and piping to remain within the conditioned space above the ceiling and below the roof structure. Ductwork and piping above the Dining Room need to run from above the Dining Room ceiling down to the ceiling space above the service passage west of the Dining Room. There is currently a soffit that runs along the east side of the Dining Room that provides a ceiling definition between the Dining Rom and the adjacent Lounge. The change order is adding two soffits on the south and west ends of the Dining Room so they can provide a better path for the ductwork across the Dining Room. Continuing a soffit along the west side of the Dining Room will conceal the necessary piping transitions. The work associated with these soffits has not begun, but it is critical to the project schedule. The cost of the change is $11,557.20.

PCO #61: (Item #85) In order to provide a simpler and more accessible route for the chilled water piping, the decision was made to penetrate an existing door header. This location allowed direct access between the ceiling space above Corridor 308 and Corridor 327. The work has been completed for a cost of $1,014.44 in order to maintain the project schedule.

PCO #59: (Item #87) As a condition of approval of PCO #40 (Mechanical Registers), the PBC Commissioners requested that costs be monitored on a T&M basis. This work has been complete. The actual time required for this work was less than originally anticipated, resulting in a ($1,155.00) deduct that will be credited back to contingency.

PCO #64: (Item #90) Monthly costs to provide heat to the construction areas totaled $4,157.06 for March.

Item #80: Current Issue: Mr. Heimbach reported that IDPH requires hot water to reach all hand sinks within 1 minute of turning on the faucet. The owner is concerned that there are handwashing sinks located in each of the Serving Kitchens that might not meet the 1- minute requirement, and is asking if a hot water recirculating loop needs to be extended to each of the hand sinks to ensure IDPH regulatory compliance. Due to the distance between the sinks and the existing hot water recirculating system, calculations indicate the owner’s concerns are valid and recommend extending a recirculating loop to each of the three hand sinks. Costs are being reviewed to install a hot water recirculating system.

Additional open items of the Expansion Project are:

Item #24: Extend New Finishes Beyond Current Project Scope. The new wall finishes are limited to only new renovated areas around the Nurse Stations. Extending these finishes down the corridors to cross-corridor door locations will provide a cohesive appearance to the renovation of the Nurse Stations. The owner has requested pricing to extend corridor impact panel wainscot and handrails as well as wall paint going down corridors from the Nurse Stations to cross-corridor doors. This work represents approximately 180 lineal feet of wall at each Nurse Station. Status: Drawings are in progress to provide the basis of pricing for this work.

Item #59: Demolition of Existing Finishes on the Boiler Room Walls. The construction drawings do not show the demolition of the existing finishes at the Boiler Room Addition. The owner has requested that these existing exterior finishes be removed as well as the relocation of two doors in this area. Status: The Architect has prepared drawings showing demolition of these surfaces and subsequent new finishes along with the relocation of two doors as requested. These drawings were sent to the contractor for pricing. There are also some additional questions related to this work and pricing for this work.

POSTPONING RENOVATIONS TO THE 480 ROOMS DUE TO A COVID-19 OPERATIONAL NEED

Scott Gima, Vice President of Management Performance Associates (management company that has overseen operations of the Nursing Home for over 20 years) explained that the interior work component of the project includes renovations to the Nurses’ Stations in both the A and B Building, new finishes to the Dining Rooms, new finishes within the corridors, as well as new finishes to 13 rooms off of the B Nurses’ Station. These rooms are designated within the project as the “480” patient rooms. The work covers 13 rooms or 23 beds as some of the rooms are licensed as semi-private rooms. Upon completion of the renovations, these rooms will be used as private rooms for short-term Medicare stays to support any patient overflow from the new Transitional Care Unit (TCU).

Renovations to one side of the “480” hallway, or half of the rooms, has been completed. Work on the other side is scheduled to start in mid-April. The pre-COVID operational plan was to keep this hallway closed until completion of the renovation and/or the entire project.

COVID-19 has changed the Nursing Home’s operational needs because of a need to have isolation beds. These 13 rooms are located in a hallway that can be closed off to all other areas of the building. Right now, there are no residents with COVID-19. Per CDC, Federal and State recommendations, a resident that tests positive for COVID-19 will only be transferred to a hospital if the clinical condition require hospital-level services. If the patient is stable, he/she will remain at DCRNC. The facilities preference is to transfer these patients to a bed away from non-COVID residents.

An additional operational matter that impacts the facility’s bed demand is the requirement to quarantine or isolate all new admissions to the Nursing Home for 14 days to reduce or eliminate the introduction of COVID into the facility. In discussions with Steve Duchene, Administrator and Amy Larson, Director Nursing, there is an operational need to have the “480” rooms available immediately for use as an isolation unit. The facility simply does not have any other beds in the building that can be closed off from the other residents in the building. Mr. Gima clarified that this will require the postponement of the renovation of the remaining rooms indefinitely because it is impossible to determine when these beds can be available for renovation.

Based on the current project timeline, the room renovations need to start by April 27th to not have an impact on the project completion date. Mr. Gima did not see any operational scenario that will free up those rooms by April 27th. In his opinion, the best course of action to complete the project with minimal delay and cost escalation is to exclude the remaining “480” room renovations from the project. The renovation work can occur at a later date. The Certificate of Need Consultant believe that the Health Facility and Services Review Board will be supportive of this change in project scope.

The cost implications are unknown at this time. Mr. Gima has asked Ringland-Johnson to estimate any related costs and/or credits if the “480” room renovations are restarted at July 1, September 1, or December 1, 2020. This work will require 21 working days to complete. The July 1st date assumes that the project completion date is delayed until the completion of the renovation work. A September 1st or December 1st date assumes that the renovations occur after the completion of the project work on the Activity Center and TCU Addition. Ringland has stated that there are a lot of variables in estimating the cost impact. Mr. Gima stated that the contemplation of changing the project scope is not being taken lightly and that COVID-19 has a significant impact on clinical operations that require everyone to do everything possible to ensure the safety and health of the residents and staff.

Mr. Shepard inquired what the room renovations entailed. Ms. Simon reported that they would be putting in new Med Gas, new paint, and bathroom floor/tile/paint. The work is primarily finishes but there are some utilities are going through there for headwall system. Ms. Simon shared she is gathering figures from the seven Subs that are affected for July 1, September 1, or December 1, 2020 starts and hopes to have those completed by the end of the week.

The group discussed the possibility of providing negative pressure to these rooms, if cost effective and only as a secondary issue to the renovation schedule.

Mr. Shepard moved to approve PCO #53, PCO #62, PCO #63, PCO #60, PCO #58, PCO #57, PCO #61, PCO #59, and PCO #64 in the total amount of $13,670.64. Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

UPCOMING CHANGE ORDERS

Mr. Heimbach updated the Commission on the following current and ongoing issues:

Item #66: Soft Water Connections to the Serving Kitchens. The owner requests adding cold soft water to each of the four Serving Kitchens to connect to the ice maker. This work was not part of the original bid documents and is being requested as an add-on to the project. Status: Mr. O’Bryan had talked with the City of DeKalb and following that conversation it was determined that this item is no longer necessary or needed to be added to the project.

Pricing is currently being reviewed to add a concrete pad for the chillers. Ms. Simon reached out to the Subs and the initial costs she was provided ($15,000) aren’t going down as much as she had hoped. She is hoping to propose that this project be done on a T&M basis with a not to exceed amount then do a reconciliation change order down the road. She thought that the excavation costs were higher than they should be. It was also noted that this was an urgent and critical item at this point.

The concrete pad is a 5” slab with a thickened edge (with rebar at the thickened edge and the bulk of the pad is wire mesh) and is 45.5’ X 8.5’ (about 400 sq. ft.) in size.

Chairman Swanson and Mr. Shepard agreed that the $15,000 estimate was much higher than either would have anticipated. The Commissioners discussed the price and agreed that tracking the project on a time- and-material basis would be the best course of action.

Mr. Shepard moved to approve the construction of the concrete pad for the chiller with work tracked on a T&M basis in an amount not to exceed $15,000.00 with tremendous oversite by Ringland-Johnson. Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion. Those voting yea were Mr. Larson and Mr. Shepard. Those voting nay were Vice-Chair Lundgren, Ms. Nicholson, and Chairman Swanson. The motion failed.

Mr. Shepard moved to approve the construction of the concrete pad for the chiller with work tracked on a T&M basis in an amount not to exceed $12,000.00 with tremendous oversite by Ringland-Johnson. Mr. Larson seconded the motion. Those voting yea were Mr. Larson, Vice-Chair Lundgren, Ms. Nicholson, Mr. Shepard, and Chairman Swanson. The motion carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS / NEW BUSINESS

None.

NEXT MEETING DATE

The next virtual Public Building Commission Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5th at 8:30 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT

A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Nicholson, seconded by Vice-Chair Lundgren and was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:09 a.m.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pb-min20-apr.pdf