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Minutes for the special called City Council meeting on August 27, 2002
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SPECIAL CALLED MEETING CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - AUGUST 27, 2002
The Special Called Meeting of the Jonesboro City Council met Tuesday, August 27, 2002, at 4:30 p.m. for the purpose of waiving bids, reviewing specifications and authorizing negotiations to clean out ditches. A full quorum was in attendance. Present were: Mayor Brodell, City Attorney, Phillip Crego, City Clerk, Donna K. Jackson, and ten council members. Those members were: Kelton, Tate, Rorex, Crockett, Rega, Moore, Young, Perrin, and Roddy. Councilmen Province and Copeland were unable to attend.
Councilman Tate addressed the Council stating the ordinance, specifications, and contract were acceptable with the exception that a clause needed to be added stating the contract could be terminated at any time if the City Engineer determines the work to be unsatisfactory, and the work being hourly, could be terminated by the City of Jonesboro at any time.
Mayor Brodell asked City Attorney, Crego about amending the documents to allow the City Engineer to be able to terminate the contract at his discretion. Attorney Crego stated it was his understanding that this was a temporary emergency situation and if so they should adopt the ordinance to waive competitive bidding, however for a long-term agreement he recommended following the bidding process.
Councilman Perrin suggested the “Contract” be amended in Article 1 to add the wording “See Exhibit A - Specifications”, and to include certain details as the furnishing of tools, equipment, General Liability Insurance, Workman’s Compensation, and require a contractors’ license. He also recommended adding an Article 3 to include a termination clause and work being done on an hourly basis.
Mr. Claude Martin, City Engineer questioned the Council’s expectations of the engineering department pertaining to the ditch work. He stressed he was concerned with approving work hours for labors when he did not have the resources to properly supervise their time and work. Mayor Brodell responded saying if additional personnel were needed for the Engineering Department they would be provided.
Mr. Mike Cameron of Cameron Construction questioned the intent of the Council as to whether they were going to waive competitive bidding and hire an individual for $80.00 an hour, or were they going to follow the bidding process and allow individuals to bid on the Schedule of different sizes of machinery needed for the job. He emphasized the difference between getting quotes compared to following the bidding process as mandated by law. Mayor Brodell stated when he met with Mr. George King they only discussed a bush-hog and to the Mayor’s knowledge he was the only person with that particular piece of equipment. He explained that Mr. King during their meeting mentioned he had other equipment available. Mr. Cameron pointed out the purpose of advertising was to allow other vendors an opportunity to participate and to know about the job. Mr. Cameron stated he hoped to participate in the bidding process if that was the Council’s intent. He explained he has sent information to appropriate city departments, and has asked to be included when bidding jobs.
Councilman Tate stated the intent was to waive competitive bidding so the Mayor could negotiate with whoever has the needed equipment. Councilman Tate recommended striking the $80.00 an hour from the ordinance because the hourly rate will depend on the size of equipment. Mr. Cameron questioned why competitive bidding was being waived. Councilman Tate explained it was an emergency and to go through the advertising process would delay work until the end of September, when fall rains begin. Mr. Cameron explained the law allows a shorter advertising period when an emergency situation exists. Mr. Cameron did not disagree an emergency existed, but contributed the flooding to improper planning when paving the ditches, rather than the cleaning of the ditches. Mr. Cameron stated since it is an emergency, it is worth doing the job right, at the right price.
Councilman Tate stated Mr. Cameron could take the contract and submit a bid based on his equipment. Mr. Cameron responded saying there were no quantities to give him an idea as to how long the job would take and objected to the City Engineer having the authority to terminate the contract at will. He stated the contract has no terms and nothing to define a lack of performance. Mayor Brodell questioned if Mr. Cameron was advocating bidding by project rather than an hourly wage. Mr. Cameron stated the City of Jonesboro was going about the process incorrectly, and would cost taxpayers more money, without getting the results needed. He also advocated the hiring of licensed contractors.
Mayor Brodell recognized Mr. Alec Farmer who stated he had served as a volunteer administrator for the Buffalo Island Drainage District. Mr. Farmer stated if people feel they are being excluded from the process it would be wise to take an extra three to five days to find qualified contractors to do the work. He pointed out that even with additional time taken to advertise for ditch work, the work could be done more quickly by using numerous qualified contractors.
Mr. Cameron again questioned the process to be followed. Mayor Brodell responded saying the contract form, not the ordinance was on the table. Mr. Cameron questioned the procedure for dirt work. He stated there were four different cases where dirt work was done at the landfill, and he would have liked to bid on the jobs. He stated despite the fact he has notified the city about his business he has not been included. He pointed out with four different jobs for dirt work at $10,000.00 a job, it adds up to $40,000.00 worth of work and Council could possibly get a lower bid if managed as one job. Questions followed as to who took bids for that job. Mayor Brodell stated it was either Steve Kent or Royce Leonard. Mr. Cameron again pointed out that taking two or three quotes was not the State mandated sealed bidding procedure. Mayor Brodell responded saying he has now asked that Mr. Cameron be included on every bid.
City Attorney, Crego stated Council needs to decide the scope of work to be done. He asked if the work was for just eight ditches, was it to include just mowing for three weeks, or was it for more aggressive labor. He explained it had gone beyond what he understood what the Council wanted from yesterday’s meeting, and suggest the Council needs to determine if it is a temporary emergency measure or if it’s going to be a long term high dollar project.
Mr. Jim Hargis addressed Council saying the work needed to be prioritized so it can be broken down and contracted. He stated what was being asked was open-ended, but if the work was broken down and prioritized the Council could assess what is being spend of the publics’ money. Councilman Moore suggested again to get a price and mow the ditches for the first seven days then assess what needs to be done. Councilman Young recommended the contract go back to the committee and be redrafted.
Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Roddy to accept the contract form including Councilman Perrin’s amendment recommendations. A roll call vote was taken resulting in a six to four vote in favor of the motion. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, Rorex, Crockett, Rega, and Roddy. Those members voting nay were: McCall, Moore, Young, and Perrin. The motion failed for lack of a majority of the elected body.
Councilman Tate offered the following ordinance for first reading:
ORDINANCE TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND PROCEED WITH HIRING EQUIPMENT AND MANPOWER TO CLEAR, DREDGE, MOW AND/OR SHRED DRAINGE DITCHES
Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Crocket to suspend the rules and place on second reading. A roll call vote was taken resulting in a seven to two vote in favor of suspending the rules. The motion failed for lack of two-thirds majority vote of the elected body. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, Rorex, Crockett, McCall, Rega, and Roddy. Those members voting nay were: Moore and Perrin. Councilman Young had left the meeting early and did not cast a vote. The motion was denied.