Notes: Council Meeting Mar. 13

March 13 City Council meeting notes:

Wow. Thursday night’s council meeting drew fierce debate over how the city awards its contracts and allegations of racism from audience members.

At one point, Leroy Boyd of Movement for Change called for city manager Tom Bonfield to be fired. Boyd also called P.C. Wu a racist, apparently referring to another meeting during which the councilman said he is not one.

Deputy Mayor John Jerralds presided over the meeting for Mayor John Fogg, who he said was out of town on city business. All council members were present at the meeting, which lasted for two and a half hours.

At the start of the meeting, during the time reserved for Mayor and Council communications, councilman Mike Wiggins brought up Clean and Green’s Take Pride in Pensacola Day events on Saturday. Then, toward the end of the meeting, Nobles asked about Bayfront Parkway, and Wiggins discussed the city beautification efforts there, even talking about the native plants that will be along Bayfront.

Thursday was the day the IN’s “Trash Talk” issue hit the stands. Hmmm.

The Neighborhood Services Committee’s nine items passed unanimously. They included allowing Bonfield to enter into an agreement with Harbourmaster Building, LLC, for the installation and operation of public wireless Internet and webcam for Plaza de Luna.

The first major point of contention in the meeting, however, was over awarding E.W. Bullock & Associates a three-year contract with two one-year options to renew for advertising and public relations services for Energy Services of Pensacola.

E.W. Bullock was the second choice for the contract.

“Why was the number two chosen and not the number one?” councilwoman Jewel Cannada-Wynn asked Bonfield, who deferred to Energy Services of Pensacola director Don Suarez.

The participants noted Bullock was only behind by one point, and Suarez said Bullock got it because the agency is local. Others questioned the legality of that, when location isn’t perceived as a factor in the process. Councilwoman Jewel Cannada-Wynn said firms believed “that they would be competitive regardless of where they live. We’re talking about being fair in our hiring practices. We’re talking about being fair in our contract practices.”

The owner of the number one choice, Keith Gold of Gold & Associates, traveled from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to address the council.

Boyd was among the audience members who rallied around Gold’s plight and also expressed concerns of racism in the awarding of city contracts. Boyd also mentioned a lawsuit, not in a threatening way, but in passing while making another point.

Jack Nobles, in a serious tone like Boyd’s, asked him if he had evidence of racism and he said he does. Nobles asked him to give that information to city attorney John Fleming.
Nobles then walked over and whispered something in Fleming’s ear. Whatever Nobles said, it made the attorney chuckle.

Fleming has announced he plans to retire in July.

Bullock was also present, and councilman Sam Hall asked him what he meant when he referenced an “anomaly” in the scoring process during a phone call to Hall. Bullock said there was a scorer who voted “0,” and “it just seemed odd to us.”

“That’s a different story than what you had the other day,” said Hall, who added later, “Gold came all the way up here because he thought it was going to be a fair process.”

If we can do this to this man and his company, Leroy Boyd said, “Then me, looking black, I don’t stand a possible chance. What you’re doing here is giving Mr. Bullock a set aside. A set aside that you are opposed to giving blacks. We ask that you be equitable to all.”

“I think you’re twisting this around…” Nobles said. Based on recommendations, he continued, “it’s this council that makes the final decision. It’s an RFP. It’s not a bid.” But the best responsible bid, not necessarily the lowest bid, is chosen, Nobles said.

“What Mr. Nobles said, it sounds like spin,” said audience member William Muhammed(sp?), who then asked the councilman if he is related to Bullock.

Nobles called for several point of orders, saying Muhammed was off-topic when he talked about African-Americans not being awarded the contracts. If this man here, (Gold), had the best bid,
Muhammed continued, “we know we don’t stand a chance.”

Cannada-Wynn said “if the firm needs to be local, that should be on the assessment and in the next process.”

“This has nothing to do with a set aside,” DeSorbo said. “(Bullock) is a local company that’s familiar with builders and developers.”

Donovan asked Suarez if there had been negotiations with Gold’s company. “I wouldn’t call it negotiation…” Suarez said, making audience members laugh. Suarez said he also didn’t understand the discounts Gold & Associates proposed, and the company’s stance that it would meet or beat another agency’s price. Suarez said that made him question the level of service.

By contrast, Gold said later: “We were told that we were going to be negotiating.” I’m not trying to hurt anybody or be negative, “but there was no negotiating,” said Gold, who indicated he was he was consistently told by the city departments he contacted, such as purchasing, to check with another department.

After a rationale by Suarez, Donovan asked a second time: “Did you negotiate with the top-rated firm?” “No sir,” Suarez replied.

Bonfield said he wasn’t there after Donovan asked him if the paper process was followed.
There was also talk about such processes/practices not being in writing.

An audience member asked about the need for a public relations firm in the first place. Is it really necessary for a PR firm, William Cummings asked, “considering that all this Amendment I is going to take care of it?”

Nobles made a distinction between a selection advisory committee and a selection committee.
Wu asked Bullock: “You got a 0 in presentation (the category)? What does that mean? A person wasn’t there?”

“I agree,” Bullock said simply.

In the vote on the contract, Hall, Cannada-Wynn and Jerralds dissented.

In other council business…A motion to revise the dates for the election of City Council members, to make the qualifying period consistent with the State’s and eliminate the potential for a run-off election, passed unanimously.

A motion to appoint a new Charter Review Commission alternate also passed unanimously.
The council also approved a motion to send a letter to Tallahassee in support of “Legislation prohibiting the operation of a motor vehicle while reading, manually writing or typing, or sending messages on a wireless communication device.”

Townsend said he had been broadsided on the road by someone who was sending a text message.

Desorbo says he agrees people are careless, “But this bill is poorly written,” he said. “It’s unenforceable.”

Desorbo, Wu, Hall and Nobles voted no.

Leroy Boyd, Muhammed and other audience members later spoke again about issues including the city contracts.

“I think it’s time we fire him,” Boyd said of Bonfield. “His EEO record is atrocious.”

That’s when Nobles asked Boyd to give any evidence he has of discrimination to the city attorney.

“I have full faith in our city manager,” Wiggins said.
Comments by more audience members followed.

Townsend, Nobles and Desorbo were absent for a good chunk of time when speakers gave their final thoughts on the issues.