Mayor Frank Melton pulled his recommendation for a new, multi-million dollar wastewater contract Thursday, saying the bidding process was tainted with “inappropriate behavior.”
Melton alleges that people involved with the bids violated the process by contacting city leaders and that the city set up a review committee that was not qualified to do the job.
The city has until Sept. 30 to work out any problems and sign a new contract.
“We are going to do business on top of the table,” Melton said.
The current contract with Pennsylvania-based Severn Trent Services expires at the end of the month. The company is paid about $7 million a year to run Jackson’s three wastewater treatment plants and manage its 93 sewage pump stations.
The city has not hired a new wastewater contractor since 1985.
The city advertised for the new five-year contract in March and received bids from three companies. It then set up a committee of city employees to review the offers.
Melton received a recommendation in early August. He had planned to send that choice to the Jackson City Council for a vote on Thursday. Instead, he called on the city to start over with a new bid process. Then he later changed his mind, saying the city would save time by reviewing the existing bids with a new committee made up of engineers and wastewater experts that are not city employees.
He said he hopes to complete that review within days and have a recommendation for council next week.
Councilman Charles Tillman told the mayor that he needs to prevent problems like this from happening in the future.
“Bringing the council to a situation like this, to me, is not good business practice, is not good city government practice and it’s a little embarrassing,” he said.
Melton told council members that he was particularly concerned with committee members appointed by Chief Administrative Officer Robert Walker.
He said there is an appearance of a conflict of interest because Walker’s son-in-law works for a company that is vying for a piece of the contract.
Among other people, Walker appointed his staff assistant to the review committee. Melton said he did not think an assistant was qualified to serve.
Walker said everyone he appointed was capable of doing the job and that he did not know that his son-in-law would have connections to the process. Walker said he did not work with the committee.
“I have not violated anything,” Walker said. “Everything I do is a matter of personal integrity and I am not going to abandon that.”
Councilman Jeff Weill told the mayor that there is no need to rush through the new review process. He said the current wastewater contract allows for an extension of up to 90 days.
City officials had thought a 2007 attorney general’s opinion prevented the city from getting an extension.
But Melton said he did not want to wait.
“This is a really tight situation,” Councilman Frank Bluntson said. “This is going to have to be a fast-moving pace.”
Clarion Ledger
9/19/8
Magnolia Tribune
