04/18/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Disclosures and Assurances Conflict of Interest SEH has hundreds of public clients across the State of Minnesota and the surrounding area. We do not serve the City of Hugo, North Oaks, Circle Pines, or Columbus, and we occasionally do some specific project related work for the Cities of Blaine and Shoreview. Any work done in those two cities that affected the City of Lino Lakes would be done by separate staff from the Lino Lakes team and the work would be discussed with the City of Lino Lakes ahead of time to ensure no potential conflict of interest exists. We therefore do not see any conflicts of interest in serving the City of Lino Lakes. As your City Engineer we will become an effective and flexible part of your staff. Ethics and Insurance Claims We have had one ethics complaint within the last five years. When a developer failed to pay for our services, we filed a mechanic's lien against the fee owners of the subject property, one of them being a seller to the developer. The seller responded by filing an ethics charge with the state licensing board. The board found no violations of any statutes or rules and the charge was dismissed. As with any large firm operating out of almost 30 offices between Denver and Indiana, there are from time to time claims filed against the firm. A good share of the claims are nuisance or third party claims. We involve our insurance carrier early to assist in resolution of claims well before any court appearance might become necessary. Most issues are resolved through negotiation or mediation, rarely by the courts. We are unable to share any information on most of our claims because they are settled confidentially through mediation. However, one example of a potential claim relates to the permeable pavers installed on the Lino Lakes Town Center project. Settlement occurred unexpectedly in the newly place street paver bricks, SEH and the contractor worked out a solution and shared in the cost of the repair without involving the city or even our insurance carrier. It is our practice to take responsibility for our actions, and correct issues that do not meet expectations before they escalate to claims. Overall, our insurance agent contends that our claims history is better than average, which is reflected in reduced insurance premiums again this year. page 25 1 Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.