jraymond@thewakullanews.net Wakulla County received nearly $664,887 in grant money in spring 2009 to weatherize 144 homes in the county under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
As of May 17, the county had weatherized 16 homes.
Wakulla’s County’s Housing Authority fell behind in weatherizing the homes because of the departure of the weatherization director in September 2009. This director was the only person who had the training required to perform the weatherization. Once this person was out, there was a need to fill that position and also get them trained.
This halted the project a great deal, according to housing director Alfred Nelson.
New weatherzation director Jerry Nuss was hired in December 2009 and got the training needed in February 2010.
Once this was completed, the housing authority was able to continue with its project. Certain benchmarks are required to continue with the project.
The funds are also to be used over a three-year period that started in September 2009 and would total $1.3 million.
The county received a letter from the Florida Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the project, stating that the department was concerned about the small amount of homes that had been completed. And if a substantial number of weatherized homes are not completed by May 31, DCA would look at pulling the funds.
In an effort to prevent this, the housing authority sought action that would speed up the bidding process for contractors to start on the weatherizaton.
The housing authority took seven of the nine contractors trained in weatherization, one that isn’t local, out to each house to bid on the work – with the bids submitted verbally or written.
The reason two of the contractors were not included in this bidding process was because they were currently working on homes, Nelson said.
Nelson described the situation as an emergency, and said the bid process was fair.
“We’re trying to maintain the program,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the housing authority was trying to bid the homes out as quickly as possible.
County Administrator Ben Pingree said his staff and the housing authority staff looked at the county’s purchasing policies to ensure that this process was allowed. He said it was under emergency conditions.
County Attorney Heather Encinosa said the purchasing policy does allow emergency situations and once bids are awarded, they must come before the board for approval.
“We had to do what was necessary for our program to continue,” Nelson said.
Commissioner Mike Stewart said he didn’t agree with all that was done, but, “I don’t want this county to lose over a million dollars in funding.”
Contractor Steve Calhoun appeared before the board at the May 17 meeting expressing his displeasure over the situation.
Calhoun was one of the contractors excluded from the bidding process because he was already working on other homes.
Calhoun questioned the county being able to accept verbal bids for a state level project. And he and contractor Dave Vaillancourt, the other contractor not invited to bid, critiqued the awarded bids’ quote for work to be done. Some of the prices for equipment seemed steep.
“These numbers are thrown in there just to meet a quota,” Vaillancourt said.
Nelson said they were not trying to cut out the two contractors.
“We needed to expedite the process,” he said.
Commissioner Alan Brock said all they can do at this point is apologize to the two contractors.
“I don’t think it went down well,” Brock said.
The commission voted, 4-1 to approve the contracts and also to allow the housing authority to allow bids to be accepted in blocks of three to fives homes for a total not to exceed $25,000.
Commission Chairman Howard Kessler cast the lone dissenting vote.
This was another measure to speed up the process, Nelson said.
The housing authority hopes to have 12 to 16 homes completed by the end of the month.
