Forest Park/Fort Gillem Local Redevelopment Authority
Board of Directors Meeting
July 2, 2008
Minutes
A called meeting of the Forest Park/Fort Gillem Local
Redevelopment Authority was held on Wednesday, July 2, 2008, at the
Board Members: John Westervelt, Chairman; Sparkle
Adams; Corine Deyton; Donald Judson; Linda Lord; Maudie McCord, John Parker, and
Debbie Youmans.
Staff, Legal Counsel and
Others: Fred
Bryant, Executive Director; Joe Harris, City Attorney; Herb Wolverton,
Chairman
Westervelt called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. It was determined that a
quorum was present. The following matters were addressed:
New Business:
Fred
Bryant indicated that the meeting had been called to provide information to the
Board about two legal matters pertaining to CH2M Hill that had arisen after the
submission of their proposal, after oral interview, and after the Board’s
decision to hire CH2M Hill to complete the Fort Gillem Operating Plan. The
first matter is a law suit filed in federal court on June 24, 2008 in
Chairman
Westervelt invited Mr.Steve Lavinder and Mr. Scott Cummings of CH2M Hill to
discuss these matters with the Board. Members of the Board asked questions
about these allegations as well as CH2M Hill’s work in support of Hurricane
Katrina.
Mr.
Lavinder offered to provide the Board updates on these matters and to provide
information about CH2M Hill’s work during Katrina. He indicated that both
matters arise from work that CH2M Hill was asked and authorized to perform
beyond the scope of the original contract. The disputes are about authority to
approve and pay for that work. He also
indicated CH2M Hill would institute any additional fiscal controls or
accounting/audit procedures requested by the Board.
Chairman
Westervelt indicated that contract disputes are not unusual in the business
world and that the legal process will properly deal with allegations. He also
indicated he had researched his second choice, MACTEC, and determined that
company had lost a $3.5M legal action relating to a contract it performed. Mr. Judson indicated there had been no
allegation that CH2M Hill was not technically qualified to perform the project,
and that the LRA staff, City Attorney and City Manager can perform proper
oversight of the financial process. Ms. Lord and Ms. Deyton indicated that law
suits are filed all the time, and that the matters should be resolved within
the proper legal process. Mr. Harris reiterated that the filing of a lawsuit
does not mean that the allegations are, in fact, true, and that the legal
process will decide the rights and obligations of the parties.
Ms.
Youmans expressed concern about the City and LRA hiring a company that may have
committed a fraud, and recommended deferring action until more information was
available. Ms. McCord expressed concern about CH2M Hill performing and being
paid for work beyond the scope of the contract with
Donald
Judson made a motion to accept CH2M Hill to perfom the Fort Gillem Operation
Plan work, seconded by Corine Deyton. Chairman Westervelt called for a vote and
Debbie Youmans requested a roll call: Corine Deyton- Yes; Debbie Youmans- No;
Maudie McCord- No; Don Judson- Yes; Linda Lord- Yes; John Parker- Yes; Sparkle
Adams- Abstain; John Westervelt- Yes. The motion carried 5-2.
Adjournment: A motion was made by Debbie Youmans to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Linda Lord. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Recorded By:
Executive
Director
Approved:
August
27, 2008
Fred
E. Bryant
Executive
Director