Our View: Wellness center process looks like real mess

Opinion

Discussion

November 7, 2009

Anonymous The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Nov 07, 2009, 01:54 PM CST

An unusual process in Monroe County came to an end Tuesday, but the winner might have been the company with the best ability to draw and not the best construction experience.

Monroe Fiscal Court has awarded the bid to construct the second section of the Monroe County Family Wellness Center to J&S; Construction. J&S; Construction may be the best firm, and it may avoid some of the pratfalls that occurred with the initial segment of this project, but it doesn’t excuse the initial confusion and odd nature of the process to find a construction manager for the second section.

Instead of basing the bid on the lowest cost for building the project, Monroe County officials based their decision on a presentation that most accurately showed the firm’s graphic design skill and not its construction abilities.

When design build was first discussed even the Monroe County magistrates didn’t appear to know what the term meant. If the elected officials didn’t know what they were going to see, then how could the idea have been clearly put forth to the bidding companies. The construction companies who did presentations had to work quickly after the county went away from the idea of low bid that meets qualifications for doing the project.

Daryl Wheeler, president of Venture Management in Glasgow, has become so upset over the process he told the court they were not following proper procedures and has even threatened legal action. As someone in construction it doesn’t provide any benefit to sue a government agency that could provide work in a down economy without a real issue. The problem here is not with J&S; Construction, they simply played by the rules they were given and did so to the best of their ability.

After problems with leaks and other issues with the first building at the wellness center, it appeared some county officials were attempting to get a more detailed analysis of what different ideas were out there for the second building. Their goal was to have a better idea of what they would get for the money by seeing a more detailed plan.

It’s important with public buildings to ensure that taxpayer money is used wisely.

Whether money comes from state or federal grants or is collected from local taxes, all the money spent did come from tax dollars.

Never in this situation is it appropriate to take cost equation out of the picture and simply rely on the project’s budget. If building the best building requires all of the money set aside for the project, then it does.

Public officials looking through bid specifications allow them to control costs up front by picking the lowest and best bid. That means they pick the bid the meets the specifications for the project at the lowest cost.

If companies are handed a budget and told to prepare a proposal for what can be built within that budget, they will likely use the entire budget. Not that they shouldn’t, because it is possible — and that appears to be the case here — that is what they assume they should be proposing.

It appears the only reason the process was changed in Monroe County this time was because of the pressure that had come upon fiscal court members and judge-executive Wilbur Graves over the problems with the initial phase of the wellness center.

If the change in the way the fiscal court decides how public buildings will be let to be built in Monroe County was to lessen the heat on them, it was done for the wrong reason. If those county officials believe the proposal process will lead to better buildings in the future for the money spent, then they made the change for the right reasons.

Hopefully, when all is built and seen, J&S; delivers a wellness center for which all Monroe Countians are proud.

Text Only

Opinion

Americans need to change attitudes
There’s something inherently wrong with this country’s societal standards when a mother is harassed and humiliated for breastfeeding her child in public, while any partial or complete display of the same woman’s breasts in the media or on the street for the purpose of sexual objectification would seem acceptable to many Americans, male and female alike.

February 10, 2012
Near miss on super prediction
Let’s take a step into the past my seven faithful readers and review some predictions made in this space in early September. (Too bad it wasn’t late September and we could borrow the line “should be back in school.”)

February 4, 2012
Redistricting plans equally indefensible
I don’t know how Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd will rule in the re-districting case. Nor am I a constitutional attorney, so I can’t say with any authority the maps drawn by the Democratic controlled House to benefit Democrats or the one drawn by the Republican Senate to benefit Republicans are constitutional.

February 4, 2012
Comer sets good example
Newly elected Ag Commissioner Jamie Comer, a Gamaliel Republican, requested an audit of the department upon his taking the position earlier this month.

January 14, 2012
Fortis will be good partner
I put shoulder to the wheel in search of photos Thursday morning. First, there was an ancient bread van parked amongst some saplings on the side of which there was a woman’s name painted in white, puffy letters. Whose van might that be and I wonder if it comes with the for sale property?

January 7, 2012
Farewell to Gatewood
As word spread of Gatewood Galbraith’s passing, the same phrase was heard repeatedly: “Gatewood was a colorful character.”

January 7, 2012
Computers should make records easier to get
The digital revolution was supposed to make record-keeping easier and less costly for companies. Therefore it should make things simpler for the public or news outlets seeking open records to find them.

December 31, 2011
Resolutions for the new year
New Year’s is the time for resolutions, a lot of which won’t last until spring.

December 31, 2011
Things to rejoice this Christmas
The year that will soon lapse has been tough. It has been a year of immovable politics; a year of contentious state elections; a year of absurd gesticulations by certain fiscal court members.

December 24, 2011
YOUR VIEWS: Remember Christ’s birth
December 23, 2011
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Discussion

Our View: Wellness center process looks like real mess

Site Map