Star Valley Town Council has second thoughts

LFR, Tetra Tech bids not 'apples to apples'

By Matt Brabb
Mogollon Connection Editor
Last week’s contentious Star Valley town council meeting revolved around ethical bidding practices and conflicts of interest, and had council members rethinking a decision made in December to switch hydrology firms.

The December decision, as it turns out, had to be re-ratified because the council had apparently skirted the state’s open meeting laws by voting on the matter without clearly listing it on the posted agenda for the meeting.

Councilor Gary Coon moved to reverse the December decision on the basis that the town’s current hydrology firm, LFR, had not been given a fair chance to bid on the contract against rival Tetra Tech.

Coon claimed that LFR had submitted a proposal to the town to cover the cost of monitoring 18 wells within Star Valley while Tetra Tech was under the impression it was bidding on 12.

“We have not given LFR a fair chance to submit a proper proposal,” argued Coon. “The big reason we selected Tetra Tech was the cost; we need to compare apples to apples,” he added.

Councilor George Binney seconded the motion.

“What I worry about is the bid process; we’re asking different things from different people,” he said.

Despite the evident discrepancy, some members of the council were in no hurry to give LFR another chance. Councilor Vern Leis complained that last year LFR had billed the town for more money than they were contracted for.

“They didn’t notify us when they went above the contract price,” he claimed.

Councilor Barbara Hartwell also seemed disinclined to give LFR another opportunity, arguing that they had been unresponsive in the past to requests for information.

“They won’t work with us; they’ll do what they want to do,” she said.

Still, Coon kept hammering away at the idea that the bidding process had been flawed.

“So you think it’s fair?” he asked Leis, “to make one firm bid on 18 wells, and the other 12? “What are we hiding?”

Coon further maintained that contracting with Tetra Tech would result in a conflict of interest should the two towns ever wind up in legal actions regarding water rights.

“Tetra Tech may have to recuse themselves in a court case if they have contracts with both towns,” he argued.

That argument didn’t seem to move the council however.

“You’re talking about lawsuits and lawyers again,” admonished Mayor Bill Rappaport, who favors working with Payson to develop an amicable intergovernmental agreement.

Even Binney, who argued in favor of giving LFR another chance to bid, stated that he would have no problem if Tetra Tech won the contract if the bidding were done fairly.

Chris Benjamin, who is running for a seat on the town council agreed with Coon.

“Nobody knows more about our situation than LFR,” he said. “I hope like heck that there never is a lawsuit, but who is going to represent us if the wells run dry?” he asked.

“The IGA is the way to do business,” agreed Coon, “but we will need a good hydrology firm to talk for us.”

In the end the council, even those apparently opposed to rehiring LFR seemed to agree with Binney.

“If the bid process had been done right, we wouldn’t be having this argument,” he said. “A bid is not done this way, especially a government bid.”