Update: City seeks to terminate contract with OMI

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October 10, 2012

Update: City seeks to terminate contract with OMI

Will seek legal review first

Bryant Thigpen Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Wed Oct 17, 2012, 02:33 PM EDT

Live Oak — On Tuesday, the Live Oak City Council called for a special meeting to address issues with CM2H Hill OMI, a company that has been performing the city’s public works for over seven years. The city voted 4-1 to end the contract with OMI pending further legal review. Councilman John Yulee voted against.

The current contract binding the city and OMI was signed into effect on March 18, 2010 and was renewed for five years.

Although several complaints have been made known by the council on the local level, the council took further action and sent a letter to the head office expressing their dissatisfaction with their performance. The meeting was held so the council could voice their concerns once again and allow the company to respond to the complaints.

Yulee stated that one of his biggest concerns was the upkeep of the cemeteries in which OMI maintains.

 “We’re paying you $199,000 to maintain two cemeteries,” he said.

Councilman Bennie Thomas is also the owner of Thomas Funeral Home in Live Oak and added to Yulee’s statement.  

“I’ve had to go out there with my tractor and mow the cemetery before I could conduct a service,” said Thomas.  

Thomas also questioned them about damages that have occurred to vault lids and headstones.

Thomas further asked, “We have a $199,000 budget for two cemeteries. How do you justify that?”

 The company said that they have dealt with the situation and the board agreed the cemeteries are looking better. The two cemeteries in question are Eastside Cemetery and Live Oak Cemetery.  

“If the damages [to the headstones and vaults] can be verified that we did it, we’ll take care of it,” OMI representative Brent Stauffer said.

Another complaint was the cleanliness of the streets and the garbage that has piled up along the road sides.  “We’ve addressed that as well, and we have had work crews steadily working,” said Steve Meininger, senior vice president of OMI.

“The streets was one thing that really needed to be addressed,” Councilman Jacob Grantham stated.  

The company has had crews working six to seven days each week to get the streets back up to par, but the company is charging the city for the overtime their employees are accumulating while working.

“I don’t feel like we should have to pay overtime for something that should have been done routinely,” Grantham said.  

The company did agree to reevaluate the overtime fees, but that did not resolve the issue of the work not getting done.

“Long before the first raindrop fell from Tropical Storm Debby, the city was dirty,” Councilor Keith Mixon said. “We had complaints then, and we’ve had complaints now.”

Mixon agreed that the city should not have to pay overtime fees when it should have been done in the first place.

He continued, “I would think that a contract for $2.4 million for street maintenance, the streets would be cleaned, groomed and well kept.”

Meininger stated that his company has responded to the complaints presented by the board and has worked to clean the roads and cemeteries, but Mixon asked Meininger, “How long will that last?”  

Chairman Adam Prins agreed by stating, “The level of productivity has been far below expectations for years.”

Meininger encouraged the board to file a work order anytime they feel something isn’t being done.

 “I shouldn’t have to file a work order because someone is dropping the ball,” said Thomas.

“After seven-and-a-half years, why are we even having this discussion?” Mixon asked. “Why are we discussing things that should have already been taken care of?”

One of the reasons Mixon believe this is an issue is because of the contract.  

“I think the contract is too broad,” he said. “It’s a generic contract that offers no guarantee or timeline of when duties will be performed. That’s not a very good contract.”

The board voted to terminate the contract based on the contingency of a further legal review.

 "I am pleased with the council's decision to terminate the public works contract with OMI pending a legal review of the cost of early termination,” Prins said. “Hopefully, after a legal review is conducted, the city will have an acceptable option to terminate the contract. It is my hope that OMI will look at the vote last night as an indication of our feelings about our contractual relationship in regards to public works.”  

OMI also oversees operation of the city’s water treatment plants and there are no immediate plans to relieve OMI of those duties.

“I fully support their continued operation of our treatment plants and respect their expertise in that area,” said Prins. “However, it is time for a change in public works and I look forward to an amicable resolution to this issue."

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Update: City seeks to terminate contract with OMI

Will seek legal review first

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