The Holly Springs Board of Aldermen tasked attorney John Perry with putting together a purchasing process that will assure fairness in selection of who gets to work for the city on quotes or bids at the Aug. 30 special meeting.

The board of aldermen have not been in agreement with Mayor Sharon Gipson on the process of awarding jobs, requesting that more effort be made to get a fair sampling of quotes or bids on work to be contracted out.

The issue arose again when Gipson asked the board to approve Oliver Iron Works sole quote of $18,200 to straighten the wrought-iron fence crushed at Hill Crest Cemetery by falling trees during spring thunderstorms.

Ward 3 alderman Colter Teel said straightening wrought iron is a specialty trade.

“You won’t find many people to do that,” he said.

“You have a motion to repair the cemetery gate?” asked Ward 4 alderman Patricia Merriweather.

Gipson said two places in the fencing on South Center Street need repair. Eleven panels have to be repaired and some have to be cut out and straightened.

Ward 2 alderman Andre Jones expressed concern over not having more quotes for the job.

“I didn’t have an issue,” Jones said. “I have an issue with the process of (aldermen) taking action with no other quotes. I still feel we haven’t nailed down a process – not having other quotes to compare with this one. It’s more the process I have concerns with.”

“Madam Mayor, have you called other people?” Merriweather asked.

Gipson said she looked online to Home Advisor and no one contacted her.

“We have not been successful in locating one and neither has anyone else on the team,” she said.

Merriweather specified DeSoto Iron Works and a place in Oxford that works on wrought iron.

Ward 1 alderman Bernita Fountain expressed a sense of urgency.

“I feel like the fence needs to be repaired right away,” she said. “I think Oliver Iron Works would do as good a job as those. Will it come from this year’s budget?”

With that Fountain made a motion to enter an agreement with Oliver Iron Works not to exceed $18,200 for the job. Teel seconded the motion and all aldermen except Jones voted for the motion.

“It all goes back to the process,” he said. “I feel it should be at the board’s discretion who makes the selection once quotes are gathered.”

Gipson called for a motion to hire Octavis Bowen to repair the air conditioning on the roof of the Holly Springs Utility Department for a quote of $20,900. She said Colston Refrigeration bid $17,000 but said it would take four to six weeks to get to the job. Zinn’s Air Conditioning & Heating in Holly Springs also bid less than Bowen but said they could not get to the job quickly either.

Teel asked Gipson if she considered a quote he sent to her.

“I don’t want you to go any further,” Gipson said.

“How do you know you are getting the best deal?” Teel asked. “I will point out the unit difference - $13,500 (versus) a quote I got back was $7,000.”

“It goes back, alderman Teel, to the process. If it is not (done) then we got a discussion like we have tonight,” Gipson said.

“There is a process in place, alderman Jones,” Gipson said. “You don’t seem to like the process. This is part of the daily business of the city. You throw that around a lot, but alderman Jones does not like the process.”

“It’s an alderman and mayor form of government,” Jones countered. “It needs to be a clarified process with these quotes: if it was a process in terms of equity, we would not be having these conversations.”

Gipson repeated one of her conventional responses.

“It’s a matter of voting either up or down,” she said. “I take your recommendations all the time.” Since we are on heat and air, at the Multi-Purpose Building we have a heat and air problem. There are some (water) leaks,” Jones said.

“Some people were not able to give quotes for heating and cooling,” Gipson said. “There are some issues with the roof.

The cooling is working better than the heating. One company said they won’t quote on heat until we need it.”

Merriweather turned back to the HSUD building.

“I didn’t see a quote from Colston in my email,” she said. “Alderman Jones, what is your suggestion for this process?”

Perry cited a statute the board could put in place to level the playing field.

“You can put how the process should go and you can put a notice in the paper,” he said.

“Do we need to make a motion?” Jones asked Perry.

“I think uniformity is a good thing,” Perry said.

Fountain said integrity is important; that jobs should not be awarded based on friendship.

“The board (under Mayor Buck) had a bidding process,” Fountain said.

“Bids were not taken and it was not published in the newspaper for a job,” Gipson said.

“What I was saying – I was not saying about the process, but I have performed litigation successfully on things like this – labor costs, materials and turnaround (time it takes to do the job).

“It is impossible if you don’t have all ... the person (who didn’t get the contract) can trigger a lawsuit if turnaround time is not met. I am not saying your process is wrong, I am saying if you have a uniform process and checklist, it should be a published process because the person with the lower bid may be able to say `mine was better.’

“Are you telling me now with every repair we make in the City of Holly Springs, a car, a gate, it has to be published?” Gipson asked the attorney.

“I have read the statute and talked with people. If the repair is under $5,000 but when you have an air conditioner that has been out for 12 months, there are times you ...are not comparing apples to apples,” Perry said. “What is the difference in turnaround, three weeks less (than a lower quote). The law says the person could have bid and beat the best and highest bid if you don’t have a fair process. That’s my concern.”

“My view is they are apples to apples,” Gipson said. “If you see something that may be of a legal concern, I only see this when it comes to some of the smaller providers in the community (that the board objects). If that is something you are expressing that will be a delay, you will have to be the one to defend us. If there is a better way - going on a year now. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I generally yield to what you say.”

“I would like to say, Madam Mayor, for me as a member of a board, I’m not interested in someone getting a job based on … I’m interested in what is going to save us money…clear concise information,” Merriweather said. “I’m talking about transparency… for us a whole year about the hiring. I don’t care what the previous administration did. I can’t be sued if I didn’t vote, but I can be sued if I say yea or nay. All I am asking for is concise procedures. I am not a lawyer. If attorney Perry says it is apples and oranges, all I’m saying is I want to know all the information so I can make an informed decision.

“With that being said, I make a motion to authorize the city attorney to prepare a process on bidding for jobs that are $5,000 or more, to prepare a proposed ordinance on bidding,” Jones said.

Teel added, if a quote is offered or proposed, all those who offer quotes should have to meet the same standards such as showing proof of licensing and bonding.

“Do we already have that in place?” Fountain asked.

“You may already have. I can bring something to look at,” Perry said.

The board unanimously passed Jones motion to draft up an ordinance that stipulates the conditions to be met by a person or company making a quote or bid.

Click here to read The South Reporter

P.O. Box 278 Holly Springs, MS 38635 PH: (662) 252-4261 FAX: (662) 252-3388 www.southreporter.com