Landworks get landfill OK from parish council

George Nobles accuses the review
panel for the Choctaw Road Landfill
of bias against his company in the
selection process, alleging his company
had been "villified" and its name sullied.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

Landworks, Inc. won unanimous approval from the Washington Parish Council Monday night to operate the Choctaw Road Landfill. The new pact will be for five years — instead of 10 as in the past — at $746,400 annually.

Landworks was the operator preferred by a seven-member review panel that considered the proposals from each of three companies and then scored them. Landworks was ranked first, Nobles Construction was ranked second and Jerry Creel was ranked third. There were two companies submitting proposals that were not considered because they did not include their contractors' license information, as specified.

The vote did not come without some drama, however, as George Nobles of Nobles Construction spoke and accused the council of bias against his company.

"Knowing that the deck was stacked against us, we decided to go ahead and submit a proposal,” Nobles said. "The council was obviously biased against us and the chairman (of the review panel) went so far as to sully the name of Nobles Construction in order to justify a decision."

Nobles continued, saying his firm "...continues to be villified, yet without Nobles to bash, you've got no way to justify another rate increase." He concluded his comments by syaing he would do whatever necessary to protect the good name of his company, built on 35 years' experience.

Upon finishing his statement, Nobles left the room. He was followed to the podium by former Bogalusa City Councilor Danny Stogner, who defended review panel chairman Mike Fussell and the process followed in reaching a decision.

"I know better than to believe Mr. Fussell is a biased person," he said. "I've sat through too many of their meetings and know how they have worked to believe that."

Bogalusa City Councilor Oneita Graham, who was one of the review panel members, told the council that nothing was said about any business good or bad ... "The discussion was strictly business and about the proposal."

After Fussell had opened the initial presentation by giving a full review of the process followed, including a pair of calls to the Attorney General's office for direction, he ended it by recapping the  two top proposals.

"There is a misconception of the two bids," he said. "One was $49,000 (per month) and the other was $69,000 (per month). The negotiated amount was $62,500 per month and we paid $59,000 last year ... and we feel that difference of $3,500 is justified based on the proposals. We think as a whole, we got a fair deal."

While Fussell did not point it out, Councilman Chuck Nassauer noted the parish request for proposal specified the landfill be open 60 hours per week (six 10-hour days) and staffed with eight people — and that the Nobles proposal was for a 48-hour week and staffing of three people.

"This was a very open and transparent process," Parish President Richard Thomas said after the meeting. "When it first started and they told me two (proposals) had already been thrown out, I said, 'Oh, no!'. but they explained they had not met the specified guidelines and the attorney general said they couldn't be considered.

The Bogalusa City Council will vote on the landfill contract when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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