BLOG: What’s happening in Compton City Hall? (Feb. 2)
Matthew Richmond | 2-4-2010 | Comments |
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Joyce Kelly is a frequent commenter at Compton City Council meetings. At the meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 2, she summed up her feelings with these words from Dr. Martin Luther King: There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel they have no stake in it, who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society protect that society, but when they don’t have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.
Tuesday’s meeting was a lively one. William Kemp provided the most memorable moment at the public comment dais with the following comment, directed at Mayor Perrodin, who had not yet taken his seat: “You ask for war with me and then you run away with your thumb in your mouth,” said Kemp, who seemed angrier than usual. Once Mayor Perrodin arrived he had an interesting exchange with City Manager Charles Evans. Evans was born and raised in Compton, worked for the city for 28 and was appointed city manager by the council in 2007. He recommends to the council the companies that the city hires, drafts the city’s budget and allocates services in Compton.
Above: William Kemp at last week's council meeting (Jan. 26).
One company that Evans recommended, AIM Consulting Services, would have charged the city $7 million to oversee sewer, water main and road overlay work for the city. They would have contracted the work out for the city. In a rare move, the council voted unanimously against that contract at the meeting two weeks ago.
This week, three items on the council’s agenda would have awarded contracts to companies for construction management services. Two of those items were taken off this week’s agenda by the manager’s office, but the mayor still questioned Evans about these contracts.He wondered how these new bids were being brought before the city council when the council had just rejected a bid for the same work.
Evans replied that these bids came in after AIM Management’s bid was rejected.
Perrodin wondered how it was possible to begin and complete the request for proposal process in two weeks. He then brought up an official identified as Mr. Montgomery from the parks and recreation department who said the bids before council on Tuesday came in before the previously rejected bid.
Evans then said that these new bids covered street overlay while the previous bid covered water and sewer work only.
Perrodin called Montgomery back. Montgomery said the rejected bid included overlay.
“Why did we bring that company in [AIM Consulting] when we already had a bidding process going for the project?” asked Mayor Perrodin.
“Because that company was going to provide a jobs program,” replied City Manager Evans.
The council did not vote on these items.
Did you attend the council meeting? Would you like to contribute added information to this report? Email us at southla@usc.edu or leave a comment below.
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