Signal Mountain has received donations for adding a reading room to the library. The library board hopes it will be ready when the town’s facilities are able to open after the COVID pandemic is under control. Two very different bids, using the same bid document, were received for the construction. John Hollingsworth, project manager in charge of business development for Winsett Hill Contractors, spoke at the council meeting Monday night and explained that his company had a different interpretation of the document than J&J Contractors who won the bid.
He also noted that Winsett’s bid was $25,000 less than the company that was awarded the project. He asked for the city to reconsider the bids in light of the new understanding.
The time line discrepancy sent up the first red flag, said Library Board President Britt Reynolds. J&J projected it would be complete in 250 days and Winsett projected 112 days. Town Manager Boyd Veal said this document that the town customarily uses, states the timeline is “from notice to proceed.” Mr. Hollingsworth’s understanding was that meant time for the actual construction, not including the extra administrative time need prior to actually building. Mr. Reynolds said the board had relied on the architects Tinker Ma to vet the two proposals and accepted their recommendation based on information from the two company’s websites. This research showed that J&J has built many public buildings indicating they had more experience in this type of project, while Winsett specializes in gas stations and chain restaurants.
Extensive discussion ensued about the fairness of reconsidering the bids after the fact, when the other company did not have the same benefit. And, City Attorney Harry Cash told the board that a bid should always be awarded to the lowest, responsible, qualified bidder. He said that there would need to be data as to why the low bidder is not qualified if they did not get a project. Because questioning the two companies is not allowed, the board had to rely on the architect’s expertise. Mr. Veal suggested that another source of information could come as a reference from other people they have worked for.
Mayor Charles Poss said the board may come to the same conclusion, but he thinks it is appropriate to go back with clarification to deliberate the bids. Ultimately, it will be the town council which makes the final decision.
The council voted to expand the library board to 11 members. Barbara McGlauglin, Ronal Smith, Laura Beckler and Clifton Henry were appointed to three-year terms.
Consent was also given for renovations that will be done at the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club. The building is owned by the town and leased to the club. The plan will be reviewed by the Design Review Committee. There will be few changes to the exterior. Wheelchair access will be added to the front entrance, but most of the work will be to the interior.
Currently the Signal Mountain recreation board does not allow a representative on the board who is also on the board of any of the sports leagues. That prevents people who are interested and knowledgeable about sports, from benefitting the town’s board, said Council member Andrew Gardner. Mayor Poss said the rule is there to prevent a conflict of interest that might give an advantage to a league that person represents. He suggested having a representative from each league on the town’s rec board. Another solution could be to form an ad hoc committee made up of representatives from each sports league, and they could select a representative to the town’s board. More discussion will take place at the next meeting of the council.
Discussion continued from previous meetings about clarifying the role of the council’s liaison to each boards and committees. Council members, with the exception of Dan Landrum, are in agreement of the liaison’s responsibilities. Mayor Poss said that a liaison is not intended to be a board member, but should be at the meetings to listen and address problems and bring them back to the council. That liaison can participate in the discussions as a citizen, but cannot speak or give opinions as a council member or participate in deliberations. Amending the ordinance relating to the boards, “is a contrivance,” said Councilman Landrum, and is not needed. “There are things that we can disagree on, and this could be one of them,” said the mayor. The vote was tabled with Vice Mayor Susannah Murdock and Councilman Gardner asking Councilman Landrum to bring recommendations about how he would like the ordinance to read.
Signal Mountain’s personnel committee has recommended that the city do a salary survey for the fire and police departments. In order to prevent the town from training people who quickly leave to take better paying jobs, Town Manager Veal suggested doing a full compensation and classification study. This will be done and decisions made before the next budget is developed, he said. There is a need to try and head off good employees leaving.
Mayor Poss said with the number of COVID cases going down, he would like to consider reopening some of the town’s facilities, starting with the recycling center. He said it could reopen the way it operated before but with masks required. And, he asked Mr. Veal to also work on a plan to reopen other facilities.