Leadership in the Borough of Quakertown has been somewhat shaky recently, what with high taxes, illegal contracts, and the union coming to town. But I may have found an explanation. Edward John Smith.
The late captain of the Titanic. The man who, in 1912, declared his ship "unsinkable", and fatally misjudged the size of the iceberg he was up against. And, like the berg that sank the Titanic, we are finding that Quakertown's problems go much deeper than the captain believes.
All hands on deck! Another illegal no-bid contract has been discovered in the borough's records (or, rather, lack of records), and this one is cause for a ship-wide alarm.
In April, 2001, almost eighty-nine years to the day after Smith's poor judgment sank a brand new, top-of-the-line, fully loaded ship, Borough Manager Dave Woglom decided he needed a new car. And it had to be a brand new, top-of-the-line, fully-loaded Ford Crown Victoria LX. And he just couldn't wait.
So, instead of following the state law on open bidding, which would have required bothersome and time-consuming paperwork and approvals, he merely sailed on down to Faulkner Ford and picked one out.
Base price over $24,000. Add the ABS with electronic traction control ($775), premium sound system ($360), and the Luxury Comfort Group including 12-spoke aluminum wheels ($900). And, because Woglom didn't care for those particular wheels, he (actually, you) bought another new set. Bottom line, over $27,000. Not too shabby for a taxpayer-purchased borough vehicle. The pride of the White Star Line .
You paid $23,256.50, plus the second set of wheels. It would have cost much less if ordered from the company that provided other borough cars. But Woglom just couldn't wait. No comparison shopping, no competitive bids. Aside from violating the law, it was just bad business. But Woglom wasn't spending his own money, he was spending yours.
And he was in such a hurry to get the car that he couldn't even wait for a check. He took the car home the same day, and signed a Promissory Note on behalf of the borough agreeing that Faulkner would be paid within a week. And, of course, council members duly approved the bill, and authorized the check.
Or did they? There was no Resolution of Council to accept the winning bid - because there was no bidding. Not a single member - including then-President Dennis Hallman, who was required to sign the resolution on behalf of council - questioned the purchase, or the lack of the necessary resolution. The bill was paid, as council apparently just ignored the small detail of the illegal purchase. Shiver me timbers!
In fact, no one questioned these shenanigans until last month, probably because bill-paying by council is done in secret. And, like the Titanic, no one in Quakertown is watching for icebergs. But, when I requested "any and all documentation regarding the bidding, contract, and purchase" of the car under the Pennsylvania Open Records Law, the answer came back from Borough Solicitor Charles Fonzone:
"Please be advised that there are no records to supply in response to this request". S.O.S....S.O.S.
No records??? How does a town buy a $27,000 car, and have no records? When I bought my car, I signed what seemed like every scrap of paper in the dealership. And I didn't even need to follow state bidding laws.
Where are the Invitation to Bid, the actual bids themselves, the Resolution of Council accepting the lowest bid, the Faulkner purchase agreement, the Promissory Note, the odometer statement, the temporary and permanent registrations, the window price sticker, the check, the bank statement, and the resolution of council to pay the bill?
Ahoy, mates . This is yet another illegal no-bid contract uncovered in the borough, and it shows that this practice goes back at least four years. I'm guessing much more. The gifts handed to Lynn Kraft in 2003 were the tip of the iceberg. Others spread around for work on the municipal pool in 2004 told us that Kraft was not an isolated problem. Now the car fiasco just screams "captain to the bridge!"
No icebergs have been spotted in the Quakertown pool, but it's what holiday bathers did not see that is cause for worry. The borough did not perform any water testing over Memorial Day weekend. And no one was on duty to correct any possible water problem. The same issues may come up every weekend unless there is a change in policy.
State law requires that all public pool water be tested at least twice a day by a "qualified individual", and that a record be kept of the results. The new Qtown pool has a computer that continuously monitors the water, but the Department of Health does not accept those readings. The testing must be physically done by that "qualified individual".
The borough knows this, especially after "unqualified" people screwed up the chlorine in the baby pool two years ago, and turned some kids bathing suits pink. Quakertown spent considerable money to send three employees to a special three-day training course. In addition, only a person certified by the PA Department of Agriculture may add chemicals to correct any problem.
But, according to the Teamsters Union, which expects to be representing borough workers, none of the certified employees worked over Memorial Day weekend. And the pool log shows that no tests were done . The union has already filed an unfair labor charge.
Back in 1912, despite the danger warnings, Captain Smith was actually asleep when the Titanic struck the iceberg. He then wavered when it came to giving the order to lower the lifeboats, because he refused to accept the truth: that he had misjudged his command. The resulting tragedy is well known.