Meeting of the State Committee of Vendors Conference Call
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Committee Chairman John Klindtworth called the meeting to order at 4pm.
The following individuals were present:
John Klindtworth, Chairman
District Representatives: Alton Palmore, District 1; Mike Renaud, District 2; Terri Bowen Lindstrom, District 3; Patti Fulda, District 4; Mitzi Tyler, District 5; Jose Quintanilla, District 6; Tom Saunders, District 8; Joel Rose, District 9; Lilian Pemberton, District 10. District 7 was not represented at the meeting.
Bureau of Business Enterprise Staff: Bill Findley, Bureau Chief; Maureen Fink, Operations Manager; Alan Risk, Compliance Officer; Bernie Kaiserian, Region 2 Business Consultant; Janet Chernoff, Administrative Services Consultant.
The meeting was called to discuss and vote on the reorganization of routes in Region 2 and Region 6. The reorganization would impact the upcoming selection cycle and needed to be voted on prior to the meeting in June. Information on the proposed reorganization was sent to the Committee prior to the conference call by email.
Bernie Kaiserian summarized the proposed Region 2 reorganization which would include adding Facility 618, Citizen’s Insurance to Facility 513, Downtown Jacksonville vending route. Ten locations from Facility 513 would be added to Facility 218, US Post Office. The operator of Facility 218 was awarded another facility in the January cycle and will be signing out of that facility on May 1, 2017. Facility 618 is being operated on a Type II and is determined not to be viable as a stand-alone facility. The operator of Facility 218 has agreed to the reorganization which would result in a more compact route. Lilian Pemberton asked how the changes would impact the sales. The changes would result in increased sales for both Facility 513 and 218. Facility 618 would be closed as a result of the restructuring.
Mitzi Tyler made the motion to reorganize the facilities in Region 2 as proposed by the Division. Seconded by Joel Rose. Passed without objection by all Committee members present.
A meeting was held on April 4, 2017 with BBE staff and all interested parties to discuss the reconfiguration of the Miami routes. All the Type I operators agreed with the proposed realignment. Additional locations would be added to Facilities 117, 600 and 614 from Facility 584. Facility 584 has been determined to not be viable as a stand-alone and will be closed. Three locations, the ICE building and two post offices were added to Facility 588.
The District Representative, Lilian Pemberton is opposed to the reorganization of the routes. She feels that sales for Facility 584 have grown and that the facility could be an opportunity for an unassigned vendor. She also feels that the Type I operators agreed to the reorganization without being fully aware of what the reorganization entails. Maureen explained that all the affected vendors would receive additional locations which should improve their sales. Facility 584 has limited sales and is expected to lose a primary location soon. In addition the facility does not include any storage. The facility would not generate enough income for a vendor.
Mike Renaud made a motion to reorganize the Region 6 facilities as recommended by the Division. Seconded by Tom Saunders. Passed with a vote of 7 to 2. Districts 1 and 10 voted no. District 7 was not represented.
The committee members were made aware of a meeting that will be held on Thursday, April 27 between the Division and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The meeting will address issues the program has with the draft agreement. Mike Renaud and Valerie James will attend to represent the interstate vendors. Two issues will be under discussion. The first involves surveillance cameras at rest areas. The agreement does not address the issue even though the program has had an informal agreement that allows vendors to place cameras for a short period when there has been a problem. The second issue is verbiage in the agreement that allows DOT to cancel the agreement with all locations if the DOT Director of Maintenance determines that there is a problem with a vendor at one location. The program feels that any language allowing DOT to cancel the agreement should not be permitted. If issue cannot be resolved at this meeting the Division may not be able to do anything more. Committee members may have to consider what action they should take if this occurs.
The members discussed options including getting the RSA involved. Bill recommended that the committee wait until after the meeting before making a determination on any further actions.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50pm
