Clark's water meter claims previously investigated, found to be without merit

While City of Bogalusa officials have denied any knowledge in regards to claims made at Tuesday night’s city council meeting that water meters were improperly installed, attempts to get a response from Vanguard Utility Service were unsuccessful Thursday.

In addition to saying they knew nothing about the claims made by Earl Clark, who identified himself as a an employee of Vanguard from July 6, 2010 until he was injured on Oct. 31, city officials said they would investigate Clark's claims a second time to ensure the work had been performed as specified and that no shortcuts had been taken.


Clark's claims had previously been invested by the engineering firm hired by the city to monitor the installation when he first made them last fall. The engineering firm, hired to do spot checks on the project, specifically investigated Clark's claims and could not substantiate them.

Clark said Vanguard ran out of supplies and workers were told to use old parts to install meters. Using old, ill-fitting parts, he said, would allow for leaks beyond the meter, increase the amount of water a customer was liable to pay for.

Before the close of the meeting, several members of the council said they would investigate the matter and Mayor Charles Mizell had previously said they would be looked into.

On Wednesday and Thursday, attempts to contact Vanguard were unsuccessful. Established in 2002, Vanguard lists Robert E. Bates as its chairman, CEO/CFO and president.

Clark, who spoke during the public participation portion of the meeting, said his Vannguard supervisor “knew” that shortcuts were being taken because it was the supervisor who instructed crews to do so.

"We didn't have the proper parts to do the job. Bogalusa was using plastic and Vanguard was using metal ... we were told by my supervisor that when we ran out of parts, to use old parts to finish the job. Vanguard was very much aware that these meters were improperly installed."

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)