Usually the questioning on city council is blunt. Straight forward questions are asked and usually, meandering answers are given by city officials. There was an example of just the opposite last Tuesday.
The question on the table concerned hiring a consulting firm to help the city progress through the $240 million of sewer-storm water separation work we are required to do by the federal government. Liz Brown, usually the bluntest of all council members, read the ordinance and two city officials seated themselves at the table. They gave a superficial overview of three contracts totally around $2 million.
During the questioning by other city council members Tim Pape leaned back in his captain’s chair and narrowed his eyes. He leaned left, then right and waited his turn to question the two administrators. Karen Goldner asked a question about whether the officials had a local office, her reference to her “Buy Evansville” bill that gives priority to contractors from Evansville over those from Hicksville or Antwerp or Van Wert. The administrators smiled that they had pressed the contract winners to locate an office downtown and move three top rank consultants to Fort Wayne for the three year project. Tim shifted in his chair, and finally got his turn to question the officials. What followed was like watching an old episode of Perry Mason and was worthy of some admiration.
Tim started his interrogation by asked the officials about volume pricing and worked his way to an admission by the officials that they had all but awarded subsequent years of contracts to the firms named in the initial request. That is not the way government works. Contracts over $100k have to be approved by council. These contracts were for $2 million, that was what was on the table; the estimated value of engineering consulting on the whole project will be between $60 and $70 million. Pape continued his questioning. The officials admitted that the winners of this contract had the inside track on future contracts. Pape was making a point through their testimony, the officials followed along like a pair of dazed sheep. They answered with hushed tones.
Pape was gentle about it. They reiterated the administration had encouraged the bid winners to rent office space downtown and to station those three important employees to Fort Wayne for years, meaning the purchase of homes, kids in schools, all that.
Pape pressed on volume discounts for the work that would be done by the winning consultants and was informed that the city had already won a $30 an hour concession and would further pursue discounts as the project progressed. Pape kept pressing for more information. The rest of the council members watched quietly as Pape got the officials to disclose more and more information about the project and the administration’s approach to fulfilling the federal mandate.
The bottom line was that the city has all but entered into a long relationship with a firm that will be paid some $60 to $70 million over the next four years to help manage this massive project. The two administrators did not initially represent it that way, but Pape’s line of questioning allowed them to “clarify” the relationship.
Future visits to council by these two administrators will be mere formalities, they have already chosen their long-term partner and only a scandal will cast doubt on the future of that $60 to $70 million partnership. So, the logic is that the two partners will get cozy and city officials will learn to accept the consultant’s rationales for expenditures, whether they are wise, prudent or not. It is normal. It can easily lead to waste and fraud.
So, who will keep an eye on the expenditures. Thanks to Pape, it is now clear their needs to be additional oversight, and the pressure will now be with council to watchdog the contract. The next question becomes who on council can be expected to spend four years becoming the expert on this complex project. Should an expert on the project develop, such as John Shoaff has become on the Harrison Square project, will that member have the resources to effectively watchdog the project. Probably not. Will the administration welcome such oversight? Probably not. Will there be abuses? Probably. Who will pay? You, of course.
Just as with the project to buy Renaissance Square and its many surprised and over-runs council needs its own investigators to analyze administration projects. We have Mr. Pape’s recreation of Perry Mason to thank for that.
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While Mr. Pape could still use a good dose of charm school, he is an effective lawyer, and used his talents and skills to expose, yet another, “quick and dirty” deal being foisted upon the general populace. Let’s hope he does his homework and “watchdogs” this contract like the legal eagle he is….
Being a disgruntled homeowner of the now defunct FW Neighborhood Housing Partnership, I was thrilled when I received a letter that we would be receiving storm drains and paving on our street (Euclid between Rudisill/McKinnie). To date, I am still waiting on the repaving of my street. Storm drains were put in on both sides of the street between my neighbor and myself. However, our street still floods just the same. I contacted the street department, spoke with a gentleman who came out and looked at the situation and told me that they never \"graded\" (sp) the street in order for the water to be able to even get to the drain to alleviate the flooding. There is a sinkhole in the street that keeps getting patched up; only so the buses turning around in the church parking lot to destroy the patch again.
In between my other next door neighbor and myself there is a manhole that is not secure. Every time a car goes over this manhole it makes a thundering noise. My daughters have to listen to this throughout the night and find it hard at times to even fall asleep.
In closing I want to say that the street was left in worse shape than it was before they did any work on it. I am a homeowner who was taken advantage of by the Neighborhood Housing Partnership and have come to terms with the \"hit in the head\" we received on the deal. I have even had to put concrete parking stoppers along the front of my street to keep cars from driving right onto the grass and tearing it up. I take extreme pride in my home and the very least I should be able to get is some truth when it comes right down to it.
After the first go round on the construction completion, I received another letter stating that another division of the project was soon to get under way and that my street would be included in that project. My street is a disgrace to me. For someone who pays property taxes, the property that I have to drive on and flooding that I have to live with is deplorable.
Maybe the government needs to be notified about the quality of work and broken promises that home owners are getting from our local government. I have the proof to report it…………seriously contemplating ! Theresa Phillips
Theresa, with whom have you spoken, names please, and have you contact Glynn Hines or any of the council members at large? I probbly will come over and take a look and put the question firmly in the face of someone who can explain things and help you out. Jim
Theresa, last night I chatted with Bobby Kennedy, chair of the Board of Works. I explained your concerns to him and copied your post to him. Keep me posted. I would like to know when he acts.