Finance Committee - 2/21/2018 Page 3
From: Dan Kooken, Purchasing Manager
Re: Lawson Consulting Services (Value: $10,000)
MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN KELLY TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND APPROVE THE PURCHASE
FROM SURETY SYSTEMS IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,000. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT
111, HUMAN RESOURCES; GENERAL FUND
ON THE QUESTION
Larry Budreau, Human Resources Director
Lawson is the name of the software that the city uses for its financial, human resources and payroll work. The
payroll work is very complicated for the city. We are administering the 17 union contracts and 3 non-union
agreements. Those continually have changes as contracts are amended. We don’t have the in-house
expertise to always configure those changes or to debug problems. Last fiscal year the payroll and human
resources department, for one reason or another, turned over 100 percent. We spent $156,000 with this
company. Surety Systems is a very specialized temporary staffing agency. They have consultants with
Lawson expertise with whom we contract to work with mostly over the telephone who sign onto our systems.
We have spent $7500 this year fiscal year. We are seeking to increase that purchase order by $10,000 so we
have the elbow room as we go through the balance of this fiscal year to seek help when we need it.
Alderman O’Brien
Does this also include training for these particular upgrades with these people or is that done in-house?
Mr. Budreau
Every time we get a consultant, we learn so much. We spent a $150,000; we budgeted $30,000 this year.
Many of the things that are repetitive we can now do ourselves.
MOTION CARRIED
From: Dan Kooken, Purchasing Manager
Re: Engineering Study for East Hollis Street/Bridge Street Improvements (Value: $256,503)
MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN KELLY TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AWARD THE CONTRACT TO
MCFARLAND-JOHNSON IN THE AMOUNT OF $256,503. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT
183, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EAST HOLLIS STREET INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT GRANT
James Vayo, Downtown Specialist
This is a contract for design services from McFarland-Johnson for studying various alternatives and selecting a
preferred alternative for improvements to the intersection of Bridge Street and East Hollis Street adjacent to the
pair of bridges known as Taylor Falls that go into Hudson, adjacent to the former skate park area. The total
budget and federal dollars that’s been allocate to this project is $3.6 million and some change. This is 100
percent matched funds from DOT so none of this money is money that is procured on a municipal or a city
level.
Over the next several months, McFarland-Johnson will engage in a design process followed by community
input session that will result in a final design that will be put forth to DOT for approval to move onto the next
phase which will result in a construction project 18-24 months down the road.
