It’s starting to get good! Grab some popcorn…
April 27, 2015: Squabbling continues over whether to go forward with this disaster of a project. Here are some actual comments from the minutes that day:
Mayor Grayson says there is not enough money to cover this project. JNW Architects [smelling more fees, no doubt] says they can do scope changes and present as alternatives. Grayson will not give in…he says that “even taking some items out, this project is STILL over budget”.
Talbert is having none of it, however. She asks “without a cost analysis, how can we be sure?”…and Toups comes back AGAIN with “he is not comfortable spending that kind of money”...Talbert, [determined to set fire to a LOT more public tax dollars], claims she cannot make an uneducated decision without rebidding the project”
[Yes…the minutes say “uneducated decision” – I’m not sure if this is a typo or if it is hilarious foreshadowing. I’m going with the latter].
Toups and White keep after Talbert, saying they need to design a building they can afford to build and that this huge amount of money could be better used than spending it on a 3,600 square-foot building. Toups says “$375,000 has already been set as the amount…this is already a high number AND IT DIDN’T MAKE CITIZENS HAPPY AND THEY CERTAINLY WOULDN’T WANT MORE SPENT. He was turned off about this whole project and believed other necessities could be taken care of with this money. Even with re-bidding, I am not hearing savings of $400,000.”
[AMEN MR TOUPS! Hallelujah! Could not have said it better myself. But apparently, basic math escapes Misti Talbert…who is an accountant in real life. She refuses to believe that $750,000 minus $100,000 does not equal $375,000]
Talbert, in her best impersonation of a parrot, says again that “I can’t make that decision without doing a cost analysis” [I’m starting to suspect that Misti is the “wow! factor” person]
Chuck Williamson then chimes in [in a horrific example of succumbing to The Sunk Cost Fallacy] that “the City has already spent money on this project and for furniture [LOL!] so we should keep moving forward.
[NOOOOOOOO CHUCK!! You do NOT throw good money after bad. You take your $100,000 lumps and look stupid for wasting $28,000 on furniture and you move on. You DON’T keep going and end up blowing $1.3 million on an entirely new city hall to try and justify this disaster. My god. A man who doesn’t understand the Sunk Cost Fallacy should not be handing these sums of money.]
May 26, 2015: Toups is now sworn in as mayor. Council chambers project will be re-bid starting June 4th and there are 5 new contractors interested in bidding. Looks like Talbert and Williamson get their way.
June 8th, 2015: Project is re-bid. Results are as follows:
- ASD $567,350.00
- RKJ $678,000.00
- MW Hail $688,777
- Built right $720,000
Talbert wants to review and consider. Monroe and Williamson want to take no action tonight.
Toups (now mayor) reiterates his position – that this is $200,000 over budget and the money could be better used. Council needs to stick to its budget. Monroe waffles and agrees that this bid was not a complete bid and this project could end up costing a million dollars [talk about being prescient…it’s about $1.3 million and counting as of Sept 2018]
Talbert caves and moves to reject all bids….seconded by White…motion is carried by unanimous vote. So this thing should be dead and buried….but is it?? Stay tuned for PART III…..