From: To: Subject: Date: Streamline Haley Dodson Newi form submission received: Written Public Comments Tuesday, January 7,2 20251 11:21:04AM Logo used for headers Written Public Comments Full Name: Email Address: Phone Number: Christine Heinrichs 7F Water Meter Installation bids, pages 244-367. The goal is to get water meters installed. The water department planned to do it in house, but realized that was not possible. So an RFP was issued to solicit bids, to install 3,500 meters at a per-piece cost. They got five bids. General Manager McElhenie recommends that the board accept the low bid, $62 per meter, $217,000, from Grace Environmental Services. CEO Charles Grace has violated the public trust at San Simeon to such an extent that he was fined $75,000 for self-dealing and $4,500 by the Fair Political Practices Commission. The Court forbade him from ever working for San Simeon again because of his violations of self-dealing and conflict of interest laws. District Policy 2135, section 1.12 states: Ethical Conduct in Procurement A. Ethical conduct in managing the CCSD's procurement activities is essential. Staff must always be mindful that they represent the District and the Board of Directors and share a professional trust with other staff and the public. The board should act with good sense and reject this bid from ap party who is morally and ethically of poor reputation, sO much sO that he has been legally barred from working in a neighboring community. Cambria can and must hold itself toa a higher standard. The board is responsible to keep Cambria safe from this level of businessman. GM McElhenie's ability to value any amount of money over the moral failures and contracting risks of engaging with GES reveals his failure to grasp Cambria's well-being as primary. Perhaps his other full-time position has distracted him from appreciating the importance of having good work done in Cambria. The staff hasn'ta adequately examined the bids to make an informed recommendation to the board. Because staff did not evaluate the other bids carefully, the report presented in this agenda item is inaccurate and misleading. The form is somewhat Schedule, all in 2024. Grace lists an address in Thousand Oaks. Do Grace and his workers propose to commute to Cambria? Will he subcontract the work out? Will Cambria be paying for local lodging? Two of the bids are incomplete. Did the staff follow up with the contractors who provided incomplete bids? Did they ask what the contractor based the per unit price on? How long does it take the district to install these meters? At a quarter of a million dollars, would it make more sense to hire regular workers to install them? Be its own contractor? AAAA Engineering is local, in Atascadero, and has performed a project for the city. Easy to check on their experience. AAAA BIDS $89 per unit, $311,500. Laurel Ag & Water, Bakersfield, specified $74.26 per unit, but erred in calculating the total for 3,500 meters, which is $259,910, not $371,313.50, which is the amount to install 5,000 meters at that per unit price. Brough Construction of Arroyo Grande's bid is somewhat incomplete, bidding a per unit price of $150 per unit but not a total price, which would be $525,000. Seamair Construction of San Luis Written Public Comment: confusing, with incorrect dates in its own Project Obispo bids only a per unit price, $222.13, which would be $777,455. When you hire a contractor, you add the costs of the contractor's overhead and profit. If the district will be supervising, especially if additional quality control isre required for Charlie Grace, how much advantage will contracting this work out be? Grace Environmental Services is not an acceptable contractor. Take the message from the court and do not hire him in Cambria. Let him find work elsewhere. It doesn't matter, because he has disqualified himself with his record of violating the law. Please defer consideration of this contract until you have adequate information on which to base a sound decision. The district has several options other than hiring ak known bad actor, at any price. Reply / Manage Powered by Streamline. From: To: Subject: Date: Streamline Haley Dodson Newi form submission received: Written Public Comments Wednesday, January 8, 2025 9:46:34AM Logo used for headers Written Public Comments Full Name: Email Address: Phone Number: Christine Heinrichs Please pull Item 6F, the change in grant application policy, for separate discussion. This should be a regular agenda item, not on the Consent Agenda. Apparently the board preferred not to hear from the Policy Committee, disbanded in November, on shifting decision making from the board to GM McElhenie. This policy change would allow GM McElhenie to apply for grants without informing the board, even those that commit the district to matching Written Public funds. No board review or approval required. The board would be allowed to rubber stamp grant applications after Ift there's a grant that requires immediate attention, the board can be called into special session to consider the application. It's not wise for the board to relinquish its responsibility, and that of future boards, to Mr. McElhenie, on the chance that some grant timing might be inconvenient. The board, the elected representatives, need to retain this important oversight. Please deny Comment: the fact. How often does the short timing issue come up? making this change. Thank you. Reply I Manage Powered by Streamline.