Based on over 500 pages of Quakertown's own documents, obtained through Pennsylvania's Open Records Law, the borough has repeatedly violated state laws concerning municipal purchasing, and the awarding of contracts. And one man, well-known in the area, has been the major beneficiary.
Mr. Lynn Kraft, a teacher at Quakertown Community High School, who has a part-time landscape business, received no-bid contracts which cost the taxpayers over $70,000 during a 14-month period from March, 2003 to May 2004.
According to Qtown sources, Kraft is a personal friend of Borough Manager David Woglom. One council member referred all questions to Woglom, saying "Council is completely aware of what David is doing".
You probably have seen at least two of the projects. The landscaping of the new pool building. The renovations around the veterans memorial in the park. A third, referred to by borough employees as "The Great Wall of Woglom", is a 235-foot barrier along a little-used portion of Erie Avenue, behind a shopping center, which was intended to partially screen the public works lot from view. And there are more.
State law is very clear. Any purchase, or contract, by a municipality over $3999 must be based on public bidding. In addition, competition spurs the creation of fresh designs, and is a better use of the taxpayers' money. Bringing in as many creative ideas as possible can only make a project better.
The law requires that bids be retained for three years, but, according to borough solicitor Charles Fonzone, there are none for these jobs. And, not only was everything handed to Kraft without the nuisance of competition, nothing was entered into the minutes of borough council. There was no public input. Quakertown has no written plans, no contracts, no formal drawings, notes, diagrams nor specifications.
Just bills - lots of bills. All paid by council without comment or question. And without telling you.
For the veterans memorial renovations, Kraft billed Quakertown $6000 for "Installation of Paving and Planting Beds", and "Labor for Installation of Plaza and Walls". That is in addition to more than $1600 paid to QT public works employees, and a supervisor, for their labor.
The borough also paid C&K's Unique Garden Center $10,773, and Northern Nurseries of Wind Gap $7416. No bids. No competition.
The pool building landscaping paid Kraft $4202, with an additional $4745 to C&K, and $2418 to Northern Nurseries. The same No's.
The worst debacle is that Great Wall of Woglom. The design incorporated some brick to reflect Quakertown's industrial heritage, but oddly added 35 boring panels of gray Trex (artificial decking), and some landscaping. Kraft billed the borough (actually, billed you) $11,681 just for the labor to build and install the nondescript panels . The materials themselves from MRD Lumber of Coopersburg were almost $7500 more. Nothing bid.
The brick portion was built by QT public works, with over $6700 in labor, and almost $4500 of supervision. Including materials and plantings, the entire fiasco exceeded $33,000, more than $140 per linear foot! The Great Wail of Quakertown.
That's what happens when government hands out work with, essentially, blank checks for payments. Or gives every job to the same person. Wouldn't the borough be better served with a diversity of designs?
I asked Woglom to explain how Kraft received almost $22,000, and how the borough paid C&K over $15,000, Northern Nurseries over $11,300, and MRD lumber almost $7500 without a single bid, or a single mention at council meetings. Fonzone sent the official borough reply: They will not provide any additional information. Can you say coverup?
The C&K and MRD charges were broken up into smaller pieces, over several months. If this was an attempt to circumvent the buying rules, it too is illegal. According to the state's Purchasing Handbook, " There are criminal penalties in the law as well as the possibility of surcharges for making purchases piecemeal to avoid competitive bidding."
As for Kraft, the bidding laws have some exceptions. One is for "professional services": lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, practitioners of the fine arts, and real estate appraisers. Also other services "where quality is a paramount concern and which require a recognized professional and special expertise". Whether this applies to a landscaper, or a man who builds gray wall panels, is certainly open to question. And if there is a question, the state says:
"Local officials should be very cautious in claiming one of the exemptions from competitive bidding. Competitive bidding requirements are a public policy established to prevent fraud and favoritism and to protect public funds. Courts interpret statutory requirements for bidding in a way to broadly further this policy. Any exception to competitive bidding is narrowly construed. This means that the benefit of any doubt applies against a claim that a particular purchase is exempted."
Kraft's eight bills obtained from the borough under the Open Records Law show that most, if not all, of the money was paid for non-exempt services. He specified "labor" five times, in one case 193 hours of work by his own employees. He cited "installation" six times. There is not a single mention of "planning", "design", "supervision", "professional services", or anything else to indicate an activity that should be exempt from public bidding.
You paid the bills here, so you be the judge. Drive past the three projects, and see if they reflect "special expertise". And worth over $70,000. Could any number of qualified people have provided equally interesting ideas? Perhaps for much less?
Even someone who is not a personal friend of Borough Manager David Woglom? That's the point of bidding laws.
P.S. On November 3, 2004, borough council voted in support of using community-raised funds from the Sesquicentennial for a new bandshell. The designer, Lynn Kraft, has put the cost at about $300,000. Wow!