CONTACTS 
0201 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020101 - Mr. Max R. Blodgett, II, P.E., L.S.
020102 - Chief =415 977 8444; Construction Operations Division =415 977 8480
0202 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020201 - Mr. Marc McGovern; Construction Manager =415 977 8467
020202 - Construction Operations Division   =415 977 8480

SUBJECTS
Welch Closeout Contract, 970111
Port of Richmond
COE Staffing
Port of Oakland Says Not Needed
Welch - Communication Managers
Benkevich, Bill
Leadership

1209 -    ..
1210 - Summary/Objective
1211 -
121101 - Follow up ref SDS 12 0000, ref SDS 11 0000.
121102 -
121103 - Considered approaches to introducing Bill Benkavitch.  Max advised of
121104 - status on procurement of Communication Metrics.  Reviewed staffing
121105 - needs with Marc.  He advised that meeting with UPRR and Dutra on NSL
121106 - has been delayed a week.
121107 -
121108 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0001 to Max with copy to Marc, including this
121109 - record.  Included under separate cover following documents on prior
121110 - procurement, per Marc's request.
121111 -
121112 -      1.  Unique Character of Welch services, ref DIP 2 line 27.
121113 -
121114 -      2.  COE requirements for support on Oakland Harbor project, ref
121115 -          DIP 1 line 33.
121116 -          ..
121117 -      3.  Welch estimate for prior procurement, ref DIP 3 line
121118 -          33.
121119 -
121120 - Hand delivered ref DIP 2 line 27 and ref DIP 3 line 33 to Marc under
121121 - separate cover, per ref DIT 1 line 25, and sent a copy of ref DIT 1
121122 - line 25 to Bill Benkavitch and to Bill DeHart to support their meeting
121123 - this evening at PMI.
121124 -
121125 - Prepared ref DIT 2 line 30 and ref OF 1 line 10 which provides a draft
121126 - of a scope of services for Communication Metrics procurement, and
121127 - issued via Internet.
121128 -
121129 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 20 line 115.]
121130 -
121131 -
121132 -
1212 -
1213 -
1214 - ëSN48 Discussion
1215 -    ..
1216 -
121601 - PMI Meeting; Max Cannot Attend This Evening
121602 -
121603 - I asked Max if he would like to attend the PMI dinner this evening as
121604 - my guest.  Explained the opportunity to meet in a social setting away
121605 - from the office, Bill Benkavitch, whose resume Max reviewed the other
121606 - day, ref SDS 5 line 103.
121607 -
121608 - Max said that is a good idea, but today is not good because he has
121609 - leave early.  His wife has been ill and today he needs to leave early
121610 - to assist her.
121611 -
121612 -
121613 -  ..
121614 - Bill Benkavitch, Introduction Meeting Seems Feasible
121615 -
121616 - I suggested a meeting later this week or first part of next week to
121617 - introduce Bill.  Max said that would be okay.
121618 -
121619 - I explained my sense that Bill could be an excellent replacement for
121620 - Tom Keesling, and noted his experience in the "Communication Agent"
121621 - role in the Navy which Bill mentioned yesterday, ref SDS 14 line 106.
121622 -
121623 - Max advised he plans to advertise for a replacement for Tom.  He asked
121624 - if Bill would be part of the Welch Company or an employee of COE?  I
121625 - explained it could be done however Max chooses.  In the near term, the
121626 - support could be provided immediately under Contract to Welch, while
121627 - Max performs standard personnel procedures to advertise for a
121628 - permanent person for the next month or so.  If Bill works out, and Max
121629 - wants him on staff, Bill could respond to the advertisement.  If
121630 - someone else is ultimately selected, and if Max approves, then Bill
121631 - might be used on one of the other support roles in the Welch letter to
121632 - Max setting out Communication Metrics applications at COE dated
121633 - 970108, ref DIP 4 line 32.
121634 -
121635 -
121636 -  ..
121637 - COE and Port of Oakland Compromise on Communication Metrics
121638 -
121639 - I suggested that COE consider contacting Rick Ferrin and Len Cardoza
121640 - to request a letter from the Port saying they want Communication
121641 - Metrics to continue using the Welch Company, and that there be a
121642 - single management meeting each week with the Contractor which the Port
121643 - can attend as an observer.  This would be consistent with the Port's
121644 - requests to attend these meetings, reduce the meeting work load on COE
121645 - management, and eliminate any confusion that might exist about the
121646 - Port's position on Communication Metrics, as discussed by Tom Benero
121647 - last Friday, ref SDS 12 line 566.
121648 -
121649 -      [See follow up where Tom Benero asked Len Cardoza about this
121650 -      point at a recent meeting. ref SDS 20 6288]
121651 -
121652 -  ..
121653 - Max noted that COE does not need permission from the Port to use
121654 - particular procedures for contract meetings on the project, including
121655 - Communication Metrics. We did not review recent history of initiatives
121656 - that are still being worked through by both COE and the Port, ref SDS
121657 - 15 line 138.  A major concern is to conduct productive business
121658 - meetings and to get on with managing the work. What does it take to
121659 - get organized to do this, per Marc's report on the results of the
121660 - Contract Administration meeting on Monday, ref SDS 15 line 109 and ref
121661 - SDS 14 line 143.
121662 -
121663 -  ..
121664 -
121665 - Max recalled again that Rick Ferrin told him that the Port does not
121666 - object to Communication Metrics nor to the Welch Company, ref SDS 12
121667 - line 873. There was brief consideration of the advantage to obtaining
121668 - a written document to confirm this understanding.
121669 -
121670 -      [See follow up - Port confirms objections, ref SDS 20 6288]
121671 -
121672 -
121673 -  ..
121674 - Legal Opinion Distinguishing Comm Metrics from Litigation Support
121675 -
121676 - Discussed getting a memo from John Eft based on discussions with Jim
121677 - Stout, addressing the objections entered in the record to the prior
121678 - procurement on Communication Metrics, per Tom Benero's comment at our
121679 - meeting last Friday, ref SDS 12 line 537, and Max's report of his
121680 - meeting with Jim yesterday, ref SDS 15 line 145.  Another approach
121681 - would be to get Jim to write a memo to CON OPS so there would be
121682 - something in the record to use on this point.
121683 -
121684 -      [See follow up where Max indicated he got legal opinion that
121685 -      Communication Metrics qualifies for sole source procurement, ref
121686 -      SDS 25 line 115.]
121687 -
121688 -
121689 -
121690 -  ..
121691 - New Procurement for Communication Metrics Has Begun
121692 -
121693 - Max advised that Marc is initiating a procurement for Communication
121694 - Metrics, and that he (Max) discussed with Marc yesterday a procedure
121695 - for Marc to visit with Jim Stout about language to differentiate the
121696 - scope of services from ordinary litigation support.  Previously, I
121697 - discussed with Marc getting the prior scope of services to review with
121698 - Jim, ref SDS 15 line 161.
121699 -
121700 - There was brief discussion about the advantage of obtaining a memo
121701 - from counsel to address the prior concerns, since in a few days/weeks
121702 - people will not remember these issues.  Therefore, a new memo on the
121703 - prior memo could be helpful.
121704 -
121705 -      [See follow up where Max indicated he got legal opinion that
121706 -      Communication Metrics qualifies for sole source procurement, ref
121707 -      SDS 25 line 115.]
121708 -
121709 -
121710 -
1218 -
1219 -
1220 - 0850 called Marc
1221 -   ..
122101 - He advised that he intends to visit with Jim and/or John Eft on
122102 - the language for the Welch procurement.
122103 -
122104 -
122105 -  ..
122106 - Use Previous Scope of Service for Communication Metrics
122107 -
122108 - We reviewed the discussion yesterday about Marc getting from Tom
122109 - Benero and/or Ofell the documents for the recent Communication Metrics
122110 - procurement that was rejected, to obtain the language developed by Tom
122111 - Keesling to define the scope of services for Communication Metrics.
122112 -
122113 - Marc asked if he can get this from me?  I explained that I have never
122114 - seen the actual procurement documents Tom Keesling prepared, although
122115 - I understand it included the Welch letter that describes scope of
122116 - services for Communication Metrics and the estimate of hours/cost, ref
122117 - DIP 3 line 33, plus there is another letter addressed to Tom Benero
122118 - that describes the unique character of Communication Metrics services
122119 - dated 961119, ref DIP 2 line 27.
122120 - ..
122121 - Marc advised that he intends to include in the scope of services
122122 - support for the following on the Oakland Project Claim Team:
122123 -
122124 -                  Construction Management
122125 -                  Claims Support
122126 -
122127 - We did not discuss the potential to accomplish these particular needs
122128 - through Communication Metrics, as discussed with Tom Keesling in
122129 - formulating the initial Welch contract, ref SDS 1 line 100. Therefore
122130 - the next paragraph explains this idea.
122131 -
122132 -      [See follow up at ref SDS 20 line 94.]
122133 -
122134 - Construction Management and Claims Analysis are standard expressions
122135 - of management support which nominally draw significant response in the
122136 - market place.  Adding, as Marc intends, these needs to a scope for
122137 - Communication Metrics may create confusion, questions and possibly
122138 - objections among potential bidders.  Since Communication Metrics, per
122139 - se, supports Construction Management and Claims work, as discussed
122140 - with Tom Keesling in the meeting on 960906, ref SDS 1 line 100, and
122141 - with Tom and Max Blodgett on 960920, ref SDS 2 line 266, plus a wider
122142 - range of tasks for general decision support, as Tom Keesling described
122143 - at the 960920 meeting, ref SDS 2 line 299, as described in the
122144 - procurement documents for the recently rejected Welch procurement, it
122145 - may be adequate call solely for Communication Metrics in the call for
122146 - bids, and to include in the description tasks that fall under the
122147 - umbrella of CM and Claims work, as the present scope of services for
122148 - Communication Metrics does.
122149 -
122150 -
122151 -
122152 -  ..
122153 - COE Staffing Requirements
122154 -
122155 - Marc said he is meeting with Herb Cheong this morning to discuss how
122156 - COE will meet the management needs for the Oakland Harbor project in
122157 - the near term with the loss of...
122158 -
122159 -        Tom Keesling from Max and Chair of Claim Team
122160 -        Welch Company Communication Metrics Support
122161 -        Jim Stout Contract Legal Support
122162 -        Marc McGovern Construction Management
122163 -
122164 - Marc said that as, president of the employees Union, he has Union
122165 - activities in the next number of weeks to negotiate a new contract.
122166 - This will diminish his availability to support the Oakland Harbor
122167 - project.
122168 - ..
122169 - These conditions exacerbate the needs identified in the
122170 - discussion with Max for COE staffing support.
122171 -
122172 -
122173 -
122174 -  ..
1222 -
1223 -
1224 - 1043 Visited Marc
1225 -
122501 - Delivered copies of the documents sent by email.
122502 -
122503 -      1.  Unique Character of Welch services, ref DIP 2 line 27.
122504 -
122505 -      2.  COE requirements for support on Oakland Harbor project, ref
122506 -          DIP 1 line 33.
122507 -
122508 -      3.  Welch estimate for prior procurement, ref DIP 3 line 33.
122509 -
122510 - Marc had already received the email, and was successful in loading it
122511 - into a wordprocessing program.  Marc printed these documents again
122512 - while I was there, as practice.
122513 - ..
122514 - He asked me to highlight the parts of the documents that
122515 - describe the scope of service.
122516 -
122517 - Marc reported the results of his meeting with Herb Cheong this
122518 - morning. They want to include the procurement for Communication
122519 - Metrics on the Oakland Project office.  Marc advised they plan to
122520 - advertise separately for contracts to use Jim Stout and the Welch
122521 - Company.
122522 -
122523 -     [See follow up where Port of Oakland objects to COE's procurement
122524 -     plans for Communication Metrics and legal support on Oakland
122525 -     Harbor project, ref SDS 21 line 126.]
122526 -
122527 -     [See later report by Herb Cheong that Port does not object to
122528 -     using Communication Metrics, ref SDS 25 line 98.]
122529 - ..
122530 - I later explained my understanding from the meeting with Max and
122531 - Tom Benero last Friday that DE does not want to use Communication
122532 - Metrics on the Oakland Harbor project, but rather wants to use it on
122533 - the Richmond project, ref SDS 12 line 555.  Marc advised that he and
122534 - Herb determined this morning that the Oakland Harbor project requires
122535 - Communication Metrics support.
122536 -
122537 - I talked to Max about meeting Bill Benkavitch tomorrow.  Max indicated
122538 - he wants the admin support for Communication Metrics, which Bill
122539 - Benkavitch can provide, to be included in the scope of services being
122540 - prepared by Marc.
122541 -
122542 -      [See where I introduced Bill to Tom Keesling, Marc an Tom White
122543 -      at ref SDS 24 line 103.]
122544 - ..
122545 - Marc explained an assignment he has given to Tom White and Enoch
122546 - to develop an inventory of all project documents at the Oakland
122547 - Project Office.  We discussed briefly the Welch recommendation to Max
122548 - on this point, ref SDS 12 line 152 and at ref SDS 11 line 163.
122549 -
122550 -
122551 - There seems to be two issues:
122552 -
122553 -      Defining Communication Metrics
122554 -
122555 -         This comes from the letter to Tom Benero, ref DIP 2 line 29.
122556 -
122557 -      Application of the service to COE needs
122558 -
122559 -         Should this advertisement set out the level of effort for
122560 -         bidders to provide, and they in turn provide hourly rates; or
122561 -         should it describe deliverables?
122562 -         ..
122563 -         The source for the application is the letter to Max
122564 -         ref DIP 4 line 32, and the letter to Tom Keesling on the
122565 -         contract modification, ref DIP 3 line 215.
122566 -
122567 - There are actually two other considerations:
122568 -
122569 -      Advertisement soliciting a proposal
122570 -
122571 -      Request for Bids
122572 -
122573 -         This can contain more detail, including examples of SDS
122574 -         records to illustrate format, content, writing skill, and
122575 -         backward and forward links.
122576 -
122577 - We need a sample of a prior procurement to see how they look.
122578 -    ..
122579 -    Asked Marc for this and he thinks he can get one tomorrow or
122580 -    on Friday.
122581 -
122582 -
122583 -
1226 -

SUBJECTS
Scope Services Next Phase Comm Metrics
Port of Richmond
Unique Character of Welch Services
Corps of Engineers, 970115
Submit Plan Integrate Comm Metrics and CCA Guide
Decision Support, Communication Agent

2109 - 2219 Continued Work on Scope of Services
2110 -
211001 -  ..
211002 - Issued First Draft Scope of Services
211003 -
211004 - Prepared ref OF 1 0001 and submitted to Marc via email, with cc to Max
211005 - under ref DIT 2 0001
211006 -
211007 - It provides Communication Metrics for several of the assignments Max
211008 - asked about on 961206 and which are set out in the Welch letter to Max
211009 - on 970108, ref DIP 4 0001, issued at ref SDS 10 line 110 and at
211010 - ref SDS 10 line 365.  It also reflects the scope submitted to Herb
211011 - Cheong for the Project Management Plan on the Oakland Harbor project,
211012 - ref SDS 4 line 57.
211013 -
211014 -     [See follow up getting input from Bill Benkavitch at PMI dinner
211015 -     meeting, ref SDS 17 line 78; revisions to scope at ref SDS 18 line
211016 -     89.]
211017 -
211018 -     [See later review by Morris Jones ref SDS 19 line 804.]
211019 -
211020 -     [See apparent preliminary approval by Marc, ref SDS 20 line 140
211021 -     and by Max, ref SDS 20 line 164.]
211022 - ..
211023 - I used Bill's idea from our discussion at the PMI meeting this
211024 - evening to give greater prominence to "decision support" by placing it
211025 - at the beginning of the scope description, ref SDS 16 line 78, per ref
211026 - OF 1 line 12.  Also used "Communication Agent" which he advised
211027 - yesterday was used to describe his job in the Navy, ref SDS 13 line
211028 - 117.
211029 -
211030 -     [On 990207 Bill inquired about this opportunity. ref SDS 27 3946]
211031 - ..
211032 - Decided not to use "Communication Director" suggested by Bill
211033 - this evening at the PMI meeting, ref SDS 16 line 79, because I am not
211034 - sure we are at that stage.  In effect I am the "Director" but until
211035 - more Communication Managers are trained and fielded, I am a "worker
211036 - bee." COE expects Welch to fulfill the commitment to provide
211037 - Communication Metrics, so I have to perform most of the work until
211038 - others can do it. We could of course accomplish a lot without using
211039 - SDS, because Bill Benkavitch has been doing this stuff for a long
211040 - time, and so can be effective; however, it seems to me that our aim
211041 - needs to be on training people to do the work with SDS, as set out in
211042 - the proposal, ref DIT 2 line 79. Meeting that objective requires SDS
211043 - skills that have to be learned. If we put too great a demand on people
211044 - too early, then everybody gets discouraged by poor results.  I want
211045 - people to be encouraged by building on success.  This will generate
211046 - desire to learn and use the technology, which is the point of the
211047 - exercise.
211048 - ..
211049 - Possibly this analysis is incorrect.  Another view would be that
211050 - COE wants a responsible bid that provides the supervision required to
211051 - accomplish the mission.  Actually, it might be feasible just to name
211052 - Bill as the Communication Director and I report to him as a
211053 - Communication Manager on the COE contract.  Would that make the
211054 - assignment entirely overhead?  I am not sure a single project can
211055 - afford that, or alternatively the Communication Director's time could
211056 - be charged to the project only on a limited basis, and in that case I
211057 - am not sure Welch can afford that scenario.  My initial sense is that
211058 - Bill would provide backup support for the Communication Manager and
211059 - the two Communication Aides, while learning to use SDS to become a
211060 - Communication Manager.
211061 -
211062 -     [See discussion with Morris on need for product development time,
211063 -     ref SDS 19 line 192; see also ideas submitted by Bill Benkavitch
211064 -     on allocation of Communication Director's time, ref SDS 22 line
211065 -     40.]
211066 -
211067 -
211068 -
211069 -
2111 -

SUBJECTS
Sewer Line Installation

2204 -
220401 -  ..
220402 - UPRR Meeting Delayed, Pending Review of Documents
220403 -
220404 - Follow up ref SDS 9 0000, ref SDS 8 6399.
220405 -
220406 - Marc advised that the meeting with UPRR and Dutra has been delayed a
220407 - week, because Kevin Ehrenreich called and advised that UPRR wants all
220408 - of the documents to review for a week before the meeting, as agreed in
220409 - our meeting on 961212. ref SDS 3 7382
220410 -
220411 - Marc said that it came out in Contract Admin meeting on Monday with
220412 - Dutra and the Port, that Bob Johnston evidently lobbied Leonard to
220413 - withhold submission of the Contract design transmittal for the UPRR
220414 - track crossing, and as a result Dutra did not send to UPRR all of the
220415 - documents agreed upon.  Marc said that at the meeting on Monday, he
220416 - directed that Dutra submit all of the design transmittals to UPRR, as
220417 - agreed.  So evidently this step has now been accomplished.
220418 - ..
220419 - This record shows the need for constant oversight of daily
220420 - details.
220421 -
220422 - Marc seemed to indicate that he and Kevin have scheduled the meeting
220423 - for next Wednesday, but it is not clear that this has actually
220424 - occurred.  A confirmation letter would be helpful to establish this
220425 - understanding and to head the machinery of COE, Dutra and UPRR in a
220426 - commonly agreed upon direction.
220427 -
220428 -
220429 -  ..
2205 -
2206 -
2207 - 1115 Visited Marc
2208 -
220801 - Open Cut Design Drawing Seems Satisfactory
220802 -
220803 - Examined Dutra's Open Cut design drawing which Marc has pinned to the
220804 - wall of his office cubicle.  It seems to be a big improvement over
220805 - their initial submission.  They have identified connection points A, B
220806 - and C.  I have not seen their revised Work Operations Plan, but it
220807 - likely relates to these connection points, which improves upon the
220808 - first operations plan they submitted on 961230. ref SDS 6 9693
220809 -
220810 - My sense is though that the side slopes need rip rap protection
220811 - during construction to provide slope stability.
220812 -
220813 -     [On 970206 UPRR endorses Open Cut solution. ref SDS 23 9705]
220814 -
220815 -
2209 -
2210 -