FW: Citizens "Taint" the Bidding Process

Please let your feelings be known about our local government doing things behind our back......

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc.
P.O. Box 1301
Watkinsville, GA 30677

Following is a message from Lee Becker, Friends of Barber Creek with information about the secret bidding process being used by the county to contract for the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant. Please remember this is the plant that will result in treated sewer water being dumped into Barber Creek which flows through several Oconee subdivisions. This project was advertised for bids once before but no contract was let as a result. Go to Lee's blog for the background on this project.
Charles Baugh


Subject: Citizens "Taint" the Bidding Process

Dear Friends:
Oconee County officials, in an effort to keep citizens from "tainting" the review process, have decided to keep secret the second round of bids for the $8-10 million upgrade of the Rocky Branch sewage plant as well as the review process by which those bids will be evaluated.

County officials threw out the first bids after an analysis of them by citizens showed that the County was recommending that the low bidder be passed over, that the successful bidder had actually written up the plant's specifications, and that a less sophisticated technology not covered by the Request for Proposals was being promoted.
For the second round, according to County Administrative Officer Alan Theriault, the County has decided that "The mere fact that a member of the general public is in anyway involved may taint and compromise the entire process."

As a consequence, according to Theriault, "The proposals will be available to the public at such time as the final award of the contract is made or the project is terminated or abandoned." The public also will not be informed about the timing or location of a scheduled meeting for evaluation of the submitted bids.
For more information on the restrictions placed on access to the bidding process, go to www.oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com.
If you think the Oconee County officials will make a better decision on the Rocky Branch upgrade if citizens are kept in the dark out of fear they will "taint" the process, write Chairman Melvin Davis and the four members of the Board of Commissioners and congratulate them on a job well done.

If you think Oconee County officials will make a better decision on the Rocky Branch upgrade if they involve the people who going to pay the $8-10 million bill as well as deal with the plant's output, write and say that.

Here are the email addresses of the members of the Board of Commissioners:
Melvin Davis, (Chairman), mdavis@oconee.ga.us
Margaret Hale, margarethale@oconee.ga.us and marghale@aol.com
Chuck Horton, chorton@oconee.ga.us
Jim Luke, jluke@oconee.ga.us
Don Norris, dnorris@oconee.ga.us.
You also can call them 706 769-5120.
Lee

Lee Becker

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