Firms at odds over drainage contracts

The imbroglio over who will clean Terrebonne Parish’s drainage system, clogged in parts by debris from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, continued at last week’s Terrebonne Parish Council meeting.

Two firms, TolTest Inc. in Ohio and Peake Construction in Slidell, were awarded contracts by the parish council at its meeting on Nov. 19 to do the cleaning, allowing them 90 days to complete the work.

However, representatives from the two companies told the council last week that the parish was limiting the work to southern Terrebonne.

Tim McCoy with TolTest and a spokesman for Peake Construc-tion said the contracts they were awarded covered the cleaning of all Terrebonne Parish.

“We were told there was a change in the scope of the project,” McCoy said. “The bid was reduced by 80 percent. We were to do the whole parish. Now we just do the southern part.”

“We reconned (surveyed) the entire parish and came up with an average price,” he said.

McCoy said the contract was worth $3.9 million.

“We flew people here,” he said. “For the ordinance passed by the council, we would do the entire parish.”

According to McCoy, drainage areas having more than 10 percent clogging with debris would be cleaned. For those with less, TolTest would be paid only for reconning the area. The company has surveyed 1.6 million feet.

McCoy also said the engineers for the project had been changed.

TolTest has done all the drainage-system cleaning for Mandeville, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, he said.

“We did everything we were asked to do in good faith to help drainage issues in Terrebonne,” he said. “All the other parishes are able to do it.”

McCoy added that aggressively pursuing hurricane repair work is more likely to gain reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency.

Parish Attorney Courtney Alcock said legal counsel has been contacted concerning the issue.

The Peake Construction representative told the parish council his company’s experience had been similar to TolTest’s. The Peake contract is worth $5.3 million.

“We were told we would not be cleaning the north side of the parish,” he said. “We’re bonded for the entire parish. We want to do the entire parish as the contract states.”

Peake was also informed that the Terrebonne Parish Public Works Department had performed 40 percent of the drainage-clearing work in southern Terrebonne.

“Why would Public Works do the contract for us?” he asked the council.

“We’re competing with Terre-bonne Public Works,” he said.

Both TolTest and Peake asserted that, in the past, both companies have successfully helped their clients receive reimbursement from FEMA.

McCoy said he would do the same for Terrebonne Parish.

He has used digital photography to document work. Peake claimed a 100 percent reimbursement success rate.

Since discussion of the cleaning contracts was listed as an add-on item on the parish council agenda last week, Parish Public Works Director Greg Bush was not at the meeting, said Parish President Michel Claudet.

At the Nov. 19 parish council meeting, Bush opposed contracting out the drainage-clearing work, saying the Public Works Department could do the work in-house more cheaply and with a better chance of gaining reimbursement from FEMA.

Several council members said they believed the cleaning work could be performed better by outside contractors.

The item on the Nov. 19 council meeting agenda awarding the contracts was an add-on. Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto was the only member who voted against contracting out the cleaning work.

Pizzolatto and other council members said they were unaware of the change in the work until last week’s meeting.

“As a councilman, I should know,” Pizzolatto said.

At the meeting, Councilman Billy Hebert, who represents Bayou Cane, said flooding will occur in his district after a heavy rainfall because of the clogged drainage.

He cited instances where New Orleans and Kenner both were reimbursed by FEMA for repair work done after the recent hurricanes.

Hebert also said he received a letter from Bush stating that no drainage-system cleaning would be done north of Woodlawn Ranch Road.

Councilwoman Arlanda Williams said she understands areas in south Terrebonne that suffered greater flood damage would receive more attention.

“But south of Woodlawn Ranch Road, the parish exists outside of that,” she said. “You can’t just say we’ll save this person.”

Councilman Alvin Tillman said, “I understand the southern part of the bayou as it relates to the northern part. Only the southern part being taken care of is not right.”

Claudet said both companies have been issued notices to proceed with the cleaning work

A motion was passed placing the issue in one of the council committees.

The item will be placed on the agenda at the next parish council meeting in January, said Council Clerk Paul Labat.

A meeting of administration and council members was scheduled following the parish council meeting to discuss the matter.