Contract and Compliance Board forms working group to draft construction safety contract language for Metro Council

The Contract and Compliance Board agreed on Oct. (date not specified) to form a working subcommittee to draft recommended construction-safety language to send to the Metro Council and the Metro purchasing agent by January.

The subcommittee decision follows a presentation from the board—s executive director, Trey (Executive Director, General Services), who reviewed a packet containing current procurement language, excerpts from the Metro Code and proposed revisions. "This first page kinda summarize the council recommendations outlined by the functions of this board just to bring that, to fruition here," Trey said, introducing options that include adding contractual safety requirements, replacing scattered provisions and creating a standalone "exhibit S" that would attach the city—s safety requirements to any construction contract.

Why it matters: The board is charged with recommending changes that could be adopted by the purchasing agent and, if required, enacted by Metro Council. Several members emphasized the need for thorough review and legal coordination before any proposal is routed to council. Derek (legal staff) told the board that recommendations should be presented to both the purchasing agent and Metro Council and that the council may route proposals to committee for further work.

Most important facts: Trey described three approaches in the packet: add specific safety language where missing, replace certain contract provisions and create an exhibit consolidating safety requirements. He noted existing procurement language already references training and OSHA-related criteria (for example, a Metro Code procurement snippet identified in the packet as section 4.20.105). "One of the things that I've spoke[n] with our contract administrator, Ava, ... is totally creating a separate exhibit, like an exhibit s, okay, for safety, to where that exhibit primarily outlines all of our safety requirements and can be attached to any and all of our contracts regardless of the type of contracts," Trey said.

Board members asked for concrete redlines showing current language alongside proposed additions and substitutions. "If you could just redline, like, what the current document is and what you wanna take out and substitute or add, you know, just so that we could see what this is gonna look or what you vision the whole complete document to be," one board member said. Ava (Contract Administrator) and Trey agreed to provide comparisons and the full contract forms where possible.

Process and schedule: Board members agreed a smaller working group can move faster given the January timeline. The chair directed Trey to convene the working subcommittee and to schedule a 5:00 p.m. work session immediately before a 6:00 p.m. special-called board meeting that will be noticed as a rescheduled November meeting to avoid the Thanksgiving week calendar conflict. Derek advised that whether the recommendations become mandatory will depend on the purchasing agent—s and Metro Council—s review and the existing purchasing code.

Outstanding details: The board asked staff to confirm which Metro Code sections would be affected and requested a legal review of proposed language and potential conflicts with existing purchasing rules. Trey said he would prepare redlines, gather full contract forms for review and coordinate with the purchasing office and legal staff.

What happens next: The working subcommittee will draft language and present recommendations to the full board for review. If the board approves recommendations, staff will forward them to the purchasing agent and Metro Council for their consideration and any required legal or legislative steps.

Provenance: The board discussed the procurement language and the three-option approach beginning at 00:28:55 into the meeting and continued debate about legal review, the purchasing agent and the January submission deadline through 00:43:54.