Exeltech to Design New Lauridsen Boulevard Bridge
The City Council voted 6 to 1 to award the $1.6 million contract to Exeltech, which is based in Lacey. Max Mania was the No vote.
The same vote also award Exeltech a $100,515 contract to design a new intersection at Lauridsen Blvd. and Lincoln Street.
Exeltech also managed the construction of the Eighth Street bridges and the Gateway Transit Center.
The same vote also award Exeltech a $100,515 contract to design a new intersection at Lauridsen Blvd. and Lincoln Street.
Exeltech also managed the construction of the Eighth Street bridges and the Gateway Transit Center.
posted by Tom Harper at 1:11 AM
30 Comments:
Once again Max Mania casts a vote against another stupid project and rampant spending by the good old boys.
Alas! I could not pursuade Sissi to join me in voting "NO" to this horrendous waste of city funds.
Darlene, Norma and Ed are seething over this betrayal, let me tell you!
Sissi, straighten up and fly right or you'll be a one-termer. Just sayin' ...
One has to wonder if MM has an agenda or is just not informed. He asked the question at council about cost overruns and was given the answer of Exeltech's excellent reputation with projects here. Look up the facts, projects they managed were not overrun because of their handling of them but by factors they could not control - like weather.
Everyone is complaining about a contract going to a company outside Port Angeles, when in fact Exeltech has had a presence in this community for six years. They have offices here and employees. I bet those people would be offended to here they are not considered local since they live here, earn their money here, and spend it here. And people should understand the bid process and the LAW, rules and regulations the city has to follow to award contracts. If you were informed of this process you wouldn't make stupid accusations about the city and who they award contracts too.
Exeltech was the only company to bring FIVE local companies into the bid process. So LOCAL companies, including Exeltech, will benefit from this.
Mania either does not know what he is talking about or has some other agenda. Otherwise, why would he vote against not only local companies, but one with a proven track record?
Applause for Max Mania for voting "no" on these contracts. The cozy relationship between this firm and the City --- reeks.
Interesting that the firm claims it will hire some local subcontractors. They've claimed this in the past, too. But I bet if you audit where the payments on previous project actually went, you'd find that very little money was actually paid to some of the local firms listed. I'd wager that their names are used largely for window dressing.
Didn't former city Councilwoman and former Mayor Karen Rogers get hired by Exeltech immediately after she decided not to run for re-election?
Didn't she push for, and vote for Exeltech to get the multi-million dollar contracts for the "Gateway", and other projects?
Didn't she also run a consulting business that helped businesses work with local government, while she was a city council member, and Mayor?
It has been a while, and I'm not sure if I'm remembering that stuff correctly. Seeing Exeltech being promoted by Glenn Cutler for this bridge/truck route reminded me of all those past situations.
Isn't there already millions of bridges and designs (proven) around?
Why do we have to keep paying for new designs?
Facts -
1. Max did not vote against the proposal because of the spending. He stated he voted against it because he was concerned about the main contractor - not the project. He asked the question at the council meeting about their overruns and found his information was wrong but still voted no - AGAINST LOCAL CONTRACTORS. So since he reason for voting no has no merit - what was the real reason?
2. Can anyone read? 80% of this money is from DOT not PA coffers. Now I realize it is still tax money, but sheesh.
3. Very easy to complain about who contracts are awarded to when you have no clue about the process, the law and the rules the city must follow. Find out that first. If people understood the process they would understand why sometimes local contractors do not meet the qualifications of these bids.
4. The decision to pick this company was not Cutlers. The bid process picked the company and then he sees the choice. Get informed people!!
5. Previous projects and local contractors - again go get the facts. Check into the bridge project and see WHO had the authority to hire the contractors. The truth might surprise you.
Again, until you understand how the process works and what the city must do on each bid that is put out there, all you are doing is talking jibberish. So easy to complain, point fingers, and talk trash without the facts.
XLteck's careless oversight of the Gateway construction definitely contributed to the needless sky-high cost overruns on that project. First of all, they City never should have needed to hire expensive construction managers --- which was the first waste of money. Then these high-paid overseers failed to notice the faulty construction and/or design changes that resulted in cracking of the concrete foundation. Squabbling and indecision over what to do about it drove up the costs exponentially ---- and of course also resulted in XLteck getting lots more in fees for consulting upon and overseeing the fixes to the problem.
Some people like Max rightly smell a bad deal in hiring this firm again for ANYTHING. Doubly bad if Cutler has anything to do with selecting them and approving payments to them.
"Max Mania" a phoney with a made up name.
"One has to wonder if MM has an agenda..." Like what, pray tell? Like bringing the business of the city to a halt by...Being the lone NO vote on a certain issue? It hasn't worked real well on the CSO issue so far. So I suspect the real agenda is to try to smear Max Mania to make it LOOK LIKE he has an agenda, when, in fact, he seems to be by far the most representative and fiscally conservative member of the current City Council.
"...or is just not informed." Perhaps, just perhaps, Max Mania IS informed, specifically about Exceltech's past and present unsavory connections. Perhaps he knows that the city's dealings with Exceltech have never been above board or untainted. Perhaps he knows it's sleazy to help send more money Karen Rogers' way. And perhaps he knows that if he said these things in an open meeting he'd get sued by both Exceltech and Rogers in a heartbeat.
He didn't say he was against this project. He did say he supported having local subcontractors. Draw your own conclusions.
Tom, file this as a request or suggestion. From this day forward, I propose that, whenever the City says yes to another one of these sweetheart deals with one of their public works Usual Suspects, we refer to it not as a public works project, but as a public works porkject. After all, truth in language is imporktant!
Again, until you understand how the process works and what the city must do on each bid that is put out there, all you are doing is talking jibberish.
Maybe the process and system is structured wrong?
Wow. I am amazed at how much people listen to stuff being said instead of checking into it themselves.
Exeltech and the City won a very prestigious award for the design of the bridges. A top honor. They came to city council to present it and as I was sitting there in the audience I could not believe how rude MM was. What ever happened to good manners?
The flaw at the Gateway was discovered by Exeltech, not covered up by them. Sounds like good project management to me.
The lack of local contractors on the bridge project was blamed on Exeltech and they were NOT the ones in charge of picking the sub-contractors. Go find out who was - it will surprise you. Funny how they are letting Exeltech take the blame however.
There is not one shred of proof than this company is not doing a good job and is a reputable company. Just name calling, mud slinging and half truths. No wonder companies think twice about locating here. This community is not business friendly.
It is a shame when personalities and who likes or does not like who are the deciding factors. Not the actual truth or facts.
XLTeck accepts hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and supervise construction of a pedestrian bridge across a creek --- an obscenely high and unnecessary fee, especially seeing as the bridge they put there was a pre-fab --- built elsewhere. XLTeck fails to prevent structural and construction problems with the concrete at the Gateway, and gets rewarded for the failure with higher fees for an extended project. XLTeck gets obscenely high construction management fees for overseeing the re-paving of a few blocks of Peabody Street --- a job that didn't need construction management by anyone other than somebody on city staff. On and on with the city contracts to XLTeck and extravagant payouts of public money into cronies' private hands.
There is plenty of reason to be disgusted with XLTeck and this latest instance of overspending on the Lauridsen Bridge Project. Thanks, Max, for recognizing what has been going on, and objecting to it.
@ Anonymous, any chance that you can get an identity instead of hiding behind something?
I mean, I'm not into debating with whores behind doors.
Tomorrow at ten a.m. we will be picketing in front of the ExelTech offices.
We will be wearing piggy masks and carrying placards that read "Down With Pork!" and "Honk If You're NOT A Good Ol' Boy!"
We will assemble in front of ExelTech offices at 9:45 a.m. Please be there and show your support for honest, clean government!
New bridges, exit ramps, wider roads, NEVER EVER EVER EVER make congestion better, or solve any existing problem. It only makes the cancer spread (more houses, strip malls, more roads, more exit ramps....) - things any city council or local government wants - more taxes. They know this. This has been proven. This is the first thing the giant super computers figured out, when the cold war was won, they let a few civil engineers use the computer for a bit, and they analyzed every road built in the last twenty years and not a single project helped fix a problem. In fact, with the down time due to construction, there are never benefits seen. New fancy wider roads (other than twenty year roadbeds) are a GIANT SCAM. Sure, the south end of town could use some more business and nurturing, but rerouting TRUCKS through this part of town? It has to be the stupidest most random thing I've ever heard of in this town. Just throwing our money away creating more random infrastucture that will only create more of a mess and not let us focus on fixing the messes past generations have made.
We all know that Exeltech is and has been in bed with Karen Rogers for a long, long time. And we all know that Karen and Glenn Cutler are also tight. You don't have to have a nose like a bloodhound to know this deal smelled bad.
Another poster mentioned that "the bridges" won an award for Exeltech. You might want to go check out all the awards David Evans and Associates have won (http://www.deainc.com/awards.aspx). You might also want to check out their national and regional rankings (http://www.deainc.com/rankings.aspx). They didn't make the cut, but they're obviously a VERY well-regarded, company of quality. Yet to hear city staff tell it, Exeltech was THE ONLY FIRM that even came close to making the grade.
Hmmm...
I don't know about a lot of the details, but I will say this: Exeltech showed us all where it stands about the "Appearnance of Fairness", or the "Public perception of no Sleaze" when it hired Karen Rogers.
Either Exceltech was so brain dead as to not be aware of all the controversy about Karen Rogers, or just did not care because the money mattered more.
Neither were good approaches for the company to take.
It is appalling to see ANYBODY support a company that demonstrates such disregard for a community.
None of the current council members who voted FOR this contract, will get my support in the next election. And, know I will not forget this. I will be vocal as I have not been before. This is a clear example of all that is wrong in America today.
Are there no honorable people left?
Is America now only about personal gain at any cost?
Can't we do any better?
Can any of us think about the future generations?
Q: Are there no honorable people left?
A: Sure there are. Rush Limbaugh apologized. What more do you want?
Q:Is America now only about personal gain at any cost?
A: It always has been. Please pay attention!
Q: Can't we do any better?
A: If you can pay, you can play.
Q: Can any of us think about the future generations?
A: No. Did the previuos generations think about you? No, they didn't. Stop whining.
What amazes me about this story is that, as he has in other cases, Max Mania was the lone "No" vote on this. This contract was approved my the vast majority of the City Council. And yet...The fact that even one member of said City Council dared to say "No" to Exeltech has caused all manner of recriminations to be directed at Mania. If, as some would have us believe, Max Mania is such a nut, why are people so upset over his directing (just a little) attention at this one thing? Surely if he's such a nut then his concerns are baseless, right? Surely if he's so wrong about Exeltech there's no reason to worry about him speaking up, right?
Right? I mean, just because one City Council member might imply that the emperor wears no clothes is no reason not to praise the fine, new clothes (and bridges!) of the emperor. Right?
Whether you agree with street improvements or bridges isn't really the point in my opinion. The point is the city did put out a bid for construction. Several companies bid on the project. City employees followed the rules, regulations, and law about how to conduct the bid process. They awarded the bid according to that process. To vote against a company because you don't like their employees is insane. To not support the decision the staff made if all the pieces were in place is a slap in the face to those who work hard for us.
MM stated to the paper that he was worried about overruns. BS This company PROVED they did not have a history of this, and in fact have come under budget on many occasions.
So if his statement about over budget issues was wrong, and the staff did their job in the bid process - why did he vote no? Because of the people involved? Really?
Does that mean you should not bid on any contracts the city offers until you make sure that city council members like you?
The agenda here is to trash a company that does not deserve such treatment. They have done nothing wrong and can prove it. Yet, the rants continue based on NO TRUE FACTS.
BBC - you want to know why people post anonymously. Those bad mouthing a company without facts do so because they know that if they use their name they would be sued for slander and lose the case.
I do so because I have a business here that also received bad "press" and later proved it was just rumor and mean spirited-ness. It hurt me, it hurt my business and it was totally UNTRUE.
I am standing up and applauding Exeltech for the great work they do and the fact that 5 local companies will profit from that as well.
"To vote against a company because you don't like their employees is insane."
I agree. Too bad that's not what anyone is suggesting Mania did. Voting against a contract with a company because you think they are ethically challenged is sensible, prudent, and ethical. It doesn't have anything to do with "liking" them. It has to do with worries over their willingness to, oh, say, hire the ethically challenged former Mayor to be their shill. The same former Mayor who still has connections and minions in the utilities department. The same utilites department that helps steer contracts your way. It seems pretty clear to me why that arrangement might be a concern.
So let's keep the discussion here honest and on-topic. I think we'd all "like" that.
Max, why won't accept my "friend" request on FaceBook?
Anon 10:24 AM - You're clever with trying to imply that XLT was the low bidder on this project. But you know perfectly well that the selection process used was not a bidding process; it was an "RFQ" process whereby firms interested in getting the consulting or engineering job submit statements explaining their qualifications to do the work. Then the City evaluates the qualifications of the various firms and selects the one they believe is most qualified. Only after the firm is selected do the parties negotiate about money and fees.
There were some very qualified and reputable firms that submitted their qualifications for consideration. The City somehow decided the others were not as qualified.
The firm the City selected has a checkered history of bringing in city projects on time and without flaws. The firm also has close connections with people who have reputations for being less than ethical.
Those are the facts.
Once again, Port Angeles shows how sleazy it is. How embarrassing.
Raise your family in this town? Why?
I thought we elected Sissi to be a second Progressive voice on the city council. Now, she votes for this obvious scam. It's like Don Perry all over again!
No Kidding. How many times do we have to be disappointed by the people we elect?
With "friends" like Brad Collins, Cherie Kidd, Sissi Bruch and Pat Downie, who needs "enemies"?
I sure will not be supporting any of them for re-election.
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