Just when you thought that things couldn't get any worse in Quakertown...just when you thought that council might watch manager Dave Woglom, more closely...just when you thought that the threat of an on-going investigation might actually scare him into following the law...well, it just ain't so.
The man responsible for at least a dozen improper no-bid contracts in the past few years has done it again. Right under council's closed eyes. Even while Keystone Municipal Services is preparing their report. It is a situation that is impossible to comprehend.
On June 7, council awarded a contract to McCarthy Concrete of Quakertown to replace various curbs and sidewalks in town. The price was fixed at $70.50 per linear foot, with a minimum of 200 feet, based on borough specifications. They passed the necessary resolution. The number of feet was not stated, but, doing the math, the minimum payment was $14,100. Everything was fine up to that point.
But somewhere along the line, the whole thing changed. Woglom, and borough solicitor Chuck Fonzone, claim that there are no documents to show what happened, but, on July 25, McCarthy sent Woglom what was labeled "Change Order #1". This proposal stated "Breakout remove and replace concrete for new ADA (handicapped) ramps with Tactical Stamped and Stained with color". The price was $98 per linear foot, minimum 200 feet. Almost $20,000.
This wasn't a "change order". It was a whole separate contract, and under state law should have been put out to public competitive bid. Two municipal law attorneys recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, both solicitors for multiple boroughs, agreed that Woglom was wrong. The original contract with McCarthy included a written "Scope of Work", and drawing, which described and showed only the curb and sidewalk replacement, not the handicapped ramps. Calling it a "change order" was deceptive and improper.
But Woglom bypassed the law, and took the easy way out, simply handing the job to the company that was already working. And Fonzone, who, as solicitor, is supposed to "prepare or approve any bonds, obligations, and contracts" said nothing. Exactly the same thing they did in 2003, giving a $26,000 job to Nimaris Construction to build a pad in the town's skate park as an unbid add-on to road paving work. In both cases, council never formally accepted the proposal, nor approved the contract with the necessary resolutions. Fonzone, as usual, said nothing. Council paid the bills (with your money) without question. Eyes wide shut. And no one is ever held accountable.
The attorneys I spoke with also had a warning for council - a warning that should have been issued by Fonzone: Attempting to avoid the legal bidding requirements by disguising an illegitimate contract as a "change order" exposes council, and the borough (you, the taxpayers) to lawsuits by potential bidders who were not given the opportunity to make a proposal for the handicapped ramps, or the skate park pad.
And Woglom and Fonzone then attempted to hide their wrongdoing. When I filed an Open Records request for the McCarthy documents, they failed to provide any information on where and when the work was performed, and how many feet were done. They also withheld all of the invoices, bills, and records of payment. And, of course, no one is saying who in the borough requested the "change order" to begin with.
To make matters even more suspicious, no one in the public works department was informed of the details of the ramp work. Employees say that this is the first time they can remember having a project kept secret. Apparently only Woglom knew. If you have difficulty in saying "cover-up", I sure don't.
And the punch line of this joke: There are more than two dozen new handicapped ramps, at $98/foot, and almost all of them were set so high that they are unusable! Someone will have to grind them down to properly meet the new blacktop of the street. At your expense.
And it doesn't stop there. The borough and the Operating Engineers union are involved in very sensitive, and occasionally volatile, negotiations. Each side blames the other for the utter lack of progress. Each side points to what they perceive as bad faith by the other.
So, in the midst of this mutual distrust, what did Woglom do? He began outsourcing borough work without even telling council! He hired outside contractors to cut down trees on Mill Street, and relocate playground equipment in Cedar Grove Park. Tasks that the town's workers have done repeatedly in the past, and are quite capable of doing now. Such irresponsible actions, at this critical time, will certainly cause problems in the negotiations, and increase your already-huge legal fees. Two councilmen have told me that council has not approved any such outsourcing, and they were shocked to learn what Woglom has done.
How long will council put up with these shenanigans? They talk about reforms, but always look the other way when any problems surface. They plain don't want to take any action against the two guys who do, and allow, so many special favors for them. But even an active formal investigation hasn't deterred Woglom and Fonzone from carrying out borough business in the same improper, harmful, embarrassing way. Why? Because they can. Because there are never any consequences. Because council is either too lazy, too intimidated, or too indebted to them to act. Or all three.
Council is like parents who don't know how to discipline their child, so they keep saying "If you do that again...". Pretty soon the kid learns that nothing ever happens, just more talk. And if we have learned anything about council, it is that they are all talk.