September 6, 2018 - Finance & Facilities Committee - Meeting Minutes 

Committee Members Present:

Ms. Trish Fulton (Chair)
Ms. Tino Kasi
Mr. Marcel Meyer
Ms. Joanne Vanderheyden

Regrets:

Mr. Jesse Helmer

Others Present:

Dr. Christopher Mackie, Secretary-Treasurer
Dr. Alexander Summers, Associate Medical Officer of Health
Ms. Elizabeth Milne, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health and Communications Coordinator (Recorder)
Ms. Laura Di Cesare, Director, Healthy Organization
Mr. Brian Glasspoole, Manager, Finance
Mr. Joe Belancic, Manager, Procurement and Operations
Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Strategic Projects
Mr. Stephen Turner, Director, Environmental Health and Infectious Diseases

Chair Fulton called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m., and welcomed Dr. Summers to his first FFC meeting.

Disclosure of Conflict(s) of Interest

Chair Fulton inquired if there were any disclosures of conflicts of interest. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Vanderheyden, that the AGENDA for the September 6, 2018 Finance & Facilities Committee meeting be approved. Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Vanderheyden, that the MINUTES of the July 5, 2017 Finance & Facilities Committee meeting be approved. Carried

New Business

4.1 Q2 Financial Update and Factual Certificate (Report No. 033-18FFC)

Mr. Glasspoole introduced the report and provided context, noting the increase in one-time funding the Health Unit received from the Ministry (totalling $480,000 for 2018). Mr. Glasspoole noted that there are no significant variances, and advised that MLHU is tracking according to budget, with $476,000 of the expected gapping identified, compared with the $466,000 predicted for Q1 and Q2.

Discussion ensued on the following items:
• Fluctuating variances throughout the year, what factors contribute to gapping, and how to forecast and prepare for anticipated gapping in the future.
• How anticipated gapping is currently built into the forecast.
• That the source of gapping is often related to nursing positions, and that the strategy brought forward in June to consider the judicious over-hiring of Public Health Nurses would assist with addressing this issue.
• Whether a budget summary paragraph could be included with the budget, why gapping continues to occur, and what it means in terms of the budget.
• Reallocation of funds accrued through variance and gapping to other areas.
• That most public sector organizations reallocate through a quarterly variance process, and that MLHU will continue to find additional examples to support the process of reallocating variance funds.

Ms. Vanderheyden declared a potential perceived conflict of interest with regard to item 10 of the Factual Certificate, as she currently sits on the Western Fair board of directors. She abstained from the vote.

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Mr. Meyer, that the Finance & Facilities Committee receive and recommend that the Board of Health approve Report No. 033-18FFC re: “Q2 Financial Update and Factual Certificate.” Carried

4.2 Middlesex-London Health Unit – March 31 Draft Financial Statements (Report No. 034-18FFC)

Mr. Glasspoole introduced the report and provided context, walking the Committee through the Consolidated Financial Statements (attached as Appendix A). On the audit report, Mr. Glasspoole flagged the note regarding tangible assets and how they are effectively capitalized, and noted that MLHU will conform to the auditor’s recommendation on reporting of capitalized assets.

Discussion ensued on how large an item has to be in order to be considered a tangible capital asset, the equipment in question regarding the Health Unit’s reporting of tangible capital assets, and how conforming to the auditor’s recommendations for 2019 will also help with compliance in filing financial statements with the Ministry.

It was moved by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Vanderheyden, that the Finance & Facilities Committee receive report No. 034-18FFC, and recommend that the Board of Health approve the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the Middlesex-London Health Unit, March 31, 2018. Carried

4.3 Location Project – Status Update (Report No. 035-18FFC)

Ms. Ramer introduced the report and summarized the four main deliverables outlined in it.

Discussion ensued on the following items:
• That the build schedule will not be expedited, due to increased costs.
• The timeline for the move: currently about 14–15 months, based on the architectural projections.
• That the Health Unit’s current landlord will be notified about timeline estimates throughout the process.

It was moved by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the Finance & Facilities Committee receive Report 035-18FFC re: “Location Project – Status Update” be received for information. Carried

4.4 Location Project – Architectural Services (Report No. 036-18FFC)

Mr. Belancic introduced the report and provided background on the discussions that helped inform it, including negotiations with the architect regarding the cost of the contract, and ensuring that architectural work performed aligns with previously completed space needs assessments, budgets, and the scope of services required by MLHU.

Discussion ensued on the following items:
• The cost of retrofit versus new-build architectural services, and that MLHU was able to negotiate retrofit costs associated with this work to a favourable level.
• That, in requesting a single source for architectural services, MLHU is not in a position of conflict because the lease agreement specifically indicates the scope of work required for Citi Plaza; therefore, there is no overlapping work.
• The third-party review, which was completed to ensure that moving forward with a single-source contract was fiscally responsible.
• Clarification that the landlord has not asked MLHU to use their architect, but rather provided this as an option when MLHU was exploring opportunities to reduce costs and timelines.
• That this architect was selected to mitigate future financial risk should the Health Unit be required to vacate 50 King Street before the new location is ready for move-in.
• That the cost of the single-source contract is favourable given current market conditions and the third-party confirmed that the contract was lower than industry standards.
• That the single-source contract is in line with the Health Unit’s non-competitive procurement policy, which indicates that if MLHU seeks specific expertise, a recommendation to single-source the work required may be made to the Board.
• That, given the architect’s expertise and experience with the facility, it may be possible to commence and complete the work faster.
• The approximate overall cost of the build: about $5 million.
• That staff will include further information in a revised version of this report, before it is brought to the Board of Health on September 20.

It was moved by Ms. Vanderheyden, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the Finance & Facilities Committee:
1) Receive Report 036-18FFC re: “Location Project – Architectural Services” for information; and
2) Seek approval from the Board of Health to enter into a single-source contract with Endri Poletti Architect Inc. for the purpose of providing architectural services at Citi Plaza.
Carried

4.5 Location Project – Project Management Services (Report No. 037-18FFC)

Mr. Belancic introduced the report and provided context, explaining the competitive process, and the justification for entering into a contract with BES Project Management.

Discussion ensued on the following item:
• How many quotes the Health Unit received for this work, and that the Committee would like to see additional information included in future reports (such as the fact that three tenders were issued before arriving at a recommendation to contract with BES Project Consulting).

It was noted that staff would revise this report to reflect the points raised by Mr. Meyer before it is brought to the Board for consideration on September 20.

It was moved by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the Finance & Facilities Committee:
1) Receive Report No. 037-18FFC: “Location Project – Project Management Services” for information; and
2) Recommend that the Board of Health approve entering into a contract with BES Project Consulting for the purpose of providing construction project management services at Citi Plaza.
Carried

Other Business

Dr. Mackie provided the Committee with a verbal update regarding workload distribution on Board of Health standing committees. He also advised that staff will be bringing forward, via the Governance Committee in September, a recommendation to develop an ad hoc Facilities Committee, which would see the location project through to completion and help to convey information appropriately to the Board of Health throughout the process.

The next Finance & Facilities Committee meeting will take place on October 4, at 9:00 a.m.

The Board of Health meeting will take place on September 20.

Adjournment

At 10:03 a.m., it was moved by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the meeting be adjourned. Carried

At 10:03 a.m., Chair Fulton adjourned the meeting.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRISH FULTON
Chair

CHRISTOPHER MACKIE
Secretary-Treasurer