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Submitted by Susan on Sat, 2006-08-12 09:10.
After reading Mr. Bequette's letter to the editor this morning, I became puzzled about who GMK Associates are.
Does anybody know who they are and where they are based?
They are paid a lot to manage maintenance contracts, and what exactly does that mean?
Does anybody know what Larry Wilson is paid to do? Is he suppose to manage these contracts or just accept bids for the work? Does this mean Sodexho is managed by GMK and Wilson or do I have things really messed up?
Someone who can explain this whole family tree would be helpful because it sure seems like, as Mr. Bequette put it, money is being poured down a hole.
We need more money spent on education for Beaufort county children.
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GMK Associates is a company from Columbia, SC. Don Altman used to work for them, hence their involvement with BCSD. Barry Morgan, who seems to be the GMK Project Manager for BCSD oversees the building and renovation (such as HVAC) contracts. This used to be done in house by the BCSD Facilities Manager, Paul Andres, whom Donna Altman decided to eliminate along with Jim Vicar and the rest of that office. But before that was done, Larry Wilson was brought in from Food Services (Sodexho)to take over. The "new" position was called "Director of Operations, and Paul, Jim, etc. were moved out. And yes, GMK is paid handsomely to oversee these contracts, and they also have a horrific time staying within the BCSD budget allowed. But not to worry -- money was always found for their cost overruns by the Finance Office then headed by Donna Altman. When Paul Andres was still employed by the BCSD, was this company or even Larry Wilson really needed? No. Paul's record speaks for itself. Everything was accomplished on schedule and within budget. Need I say anymore there?
Larry Wilson was hired from Sodexho and paid $60,000 something back in 2003. Who knows what increases he has received since, along with his newer title of "Executive Director of Operations."
Mr. Wilson initially was to oversee the Maintenance Department which is a Sodexho contract, the Student Transportation Department which is First Student contract, the Food Services Department which is another Sodexho contract, and the Ground Maintenances contracts. As for what he really does, I don't know. Back in 2003 the Transporation Contract, Maintenance Contract and Grounds Contracts were written by one of the contract knowledgeable employees in that Facilities Office. This individual brought to the BCSD a contract background of 18 years in Government Contract writing, negotiating and administration, although it was never utilized by the BCSD in any such type position. The Transporation RFP was sent to the SC Dept of Education in Columbia for review before it was released to the public to bid. The Dept of Education said it was one of the most well-written contracts it had ever reviewed. Asking what Mr. Wilson does is a very valid question. Does he write contracts and RFP's? No, I don't think so. The Purchasing Agent writes some, but purchasing is not nearly as involved as contracting. A well written contract will cover all the bases for the owner. BCSD's contracts are not well written. They do not contain "Liquidated Damages" Clauses. They are not well administered or the appropriate Modifications would be in place every time a change to the contract is made. For example, the Grounds Contract was written for yearly extensions, not monthly. Yet I understand the Grounds Contracts were recently extended for a period of two months. Unless this extension was for after the entire contract period and unless a Contract Modification was in place, this was out of the Scope of the Contract and really cannot be enforced.
Questions: Were the current Grounds Contracts due to expire last month/this month? If not, how can a new Grounds Contract be awarded? Were the current Grounds Contractors given a WRITTEN NOTICE of CONTRACT TERMINATION? They should have been in accordance with their contract clauses. Or was there a Contract Modification in place to change the yearly contract extension to a two month extension? So many questions. So few answers.
I too, agree with Jim Bequette. Our hard working tax payer's money is being wasted by the BCSD. especially when it comes to GMK Associates.
And as for the Technology Department. Mr. Mueller, please wake up now and review ALL your department's contracts for the proper clauses. And if you find they are not there, please, please, please modify your contracts to get them included now. Time is of the essence!
Please don't give up explaining the "structure" of the BCSD maintenance depts.I know it can be exhausting, but it is my guess that the whole situation is so glaringly obvious and absurd that us "simple-minded" locals can't help but think that we continue to misunderstand. There MUST be something we are missing, there MUST be reasonable explanations, otherwise our elected school board officials would never allow such to exist. The numerous cases of conflict of interest, financial waste, and ridiculous decisions that have been allowed to exist would be laughable if it were not so terribly tragic for the education of our children. If BCSD wants to throw money recklessly, let's throw it into education, not maintenance, grounds and custodial. Let's get the best deals possible in these areas and be conservative. Let's direct the tendancy to overspend towards our children. Not a dime could be considered wasted if our childrens' educations benefitted.
I don't know much about contracts for grounds maintenance, but you mentioned a significant point. That point being that "taxpayer's money is being wasted by the BCSD, especially when it comes to GMK Associates." My questions are how much money in total are you talking about, and what percentage of the school district annual operating budget does that represent?
Marsha -- while I can kind of agree with some of your thinking, I am confused why you think it's a bad idea to save $100,000 of my taxpayying dollars on these groundscutting contracts?? Seems to me that's a good deal. I know you used to work in the department and Mr. Vicar told me you did a good job and he used to help me out a lot with school jobs and lending me equipment and things but it seems to me that if the Larry Wilson or whooever saved us $100,000 that's not too shabby!!!
Of courese like I said another time I do miss Mr. Vicar since I could count on him to give me contracts when I needed the work and i always did a good job for him. That is what I MISS the most!!!
If the district were truly saving $100,000.00, then there's no problem...good job ! However, the proposed contract with Sodexho for grounds maintenance is not the same contract that the locals signed to provide grounds maintenance. There are several services that were part of the previous contracts that are NOT part of Sodexhos new contract. I bid on both RFPs, I know what was included. Watch out for these extra line items. I wonder if the board and the district employees will so eagerly share the total cost for gounds maintenance as of June 30, 2007. I am sure there will be a good explanation for what happened to that supposed savings. Mark my words. The board did not and still does not have all the necessary information to make a responsible decision on this matter. What remains to be seen is if they even care to know. Perhaps the board feels that the ends justify the means. In other words, if you SAY Sodexho will save us $100,000.00
then any contract infractions, any restrictive bid process, and any conflict of interest or legal liability posed to the district will be tolerated. It seems a high price to pay for a savings that quite possibly will never materialize. I bet the legal ramifications will more than eat up that "savings".
um what kind of equipment did he lend you? Are you saying he lent you public property so that you could conduct your private business?
Dont answer that.
So, are you still employed with the school district?
That's why we on Lady's Island need him on the school board.
Just a questin, isn't Jim Beguette a VERY senior citizen? Me, I've still got childrens in the schools. I bet his children are older than me HA HA. I'm just not sure I want someone on the school board who graduated from school before the Korea War or maybe even WorldWar 2!!! He might remember stuff from whatever his business career was, but I'm doggone sure he doesn't remember much about primary school!!! Can't we get some PARENTS INVOLVED HERE???? I also heard he had some real eastate deals that didn't work out so that worries me when it comes to money. I read his letters all the time but I'm not so sure he's got it all going upstairs.
Of course it's just my opinion, but I think he's very IN TOUCH. He not only writes the tough letters but goes before the board during the public speaking time to question how things are done. It's his type on the board, like David Chase from Sun City, who will "stir things up" as I say. As far as him being a senior citizen...I don't see him resting on his laurels. I don't think he should be discriminated against because of his age. I know nothing of his real estate deals and what may or may not have worked out well, but in business, who is perfect all the time? As far as having it "all going upstairs", he's done his research and to me who else has? No one that I've heard or seen at board meetings or in the paper. And no, I'm not related to him. I've met him twice. I will close with this: Are you pleased with all of the "younger set" on the current board? There are some who sit and rarely even grunt and others, when they open their mouths, they show their lack of astuteness, to put it nicely. Then, there are a few older ones (like Chase and Caporale) who seem to be among the most brainy and capable. Remember, majority rules on the board; they can't do it alone.
Who is out of touch here? Are you prejudiced against Senior Citizens, Mark? The man is no more Senior than I. He is very savy when it comes to finances and would be a tremendous asset to the Board. I have known him for over 10 years, and I have worked with him as well. I, for one, am glad to see he is planning to run in the Lady's Island District for the position being vacated by Mr. Trischler. We need more people on the Board like Jim. And if you want to get some PARENTS INVOLVED HERE, why aren
t you volunteering? You are a parent with children in the schools. Trust me, Jim has it all upstairs.
I certainly hope your father, grandfather, or mother are never so publically insulted and disrespected. A lot of what is wrong with this board and the district is that there are PLENTY of people to belly ache, whine and criticize(behind a screen name I might add)about the few who are willling to step up to the plate and do the job.
Sign your name, bftbusiness1 and I will look for it on the next school board ballot.
Deon
Haven't we been taught to be compassionate? If someone criticizes us for being old, wouldn't it be more charitable to pray that that particular person not be allowed to grow old? We would then be asking the Almighty to spare our persecutor from such injustice. Does that make sense and promote world peace?
Let's not CRITICIZE ANYONE for running for public office, Support them, work against them for the opponent, but anyone who is willing to throw his/her hat into the ring deserves appluase not criticism, trust me on this one.
Alton Aimar
It's not that I necessarily trust you, but you make a good point. However, relevant public scrutiny is certainly in order when someone runs for office.
I knew you opened yourself up for a whacking when you whacked senior citizens. Have you read much of Shawdws's posts? If I'm not mistaken, he once said he's 91. (Shawdws, correct me if I'm mistaken.) Does he write like someone without his faculties?
Yes, he often does.
You obviously have not had the opportunity to work around mature adults who are a wealth of knowledge because of their age. I work with someone who is in his upper 70's everyday. I learn from him every single day because of his experience.
I assure you age does not matter - what matters is that the person has the necessary knowledge to do the job, the heart to do the job, and the ability to carry out the job expected.
He obviously has done his homework based on this morning's letter. That says a lot right there - he's not even elected yet.
I think this entire situation needs to be researched - Let's determine if we are saving money or spending too much money on grounds and janitorial. Use our money wisely, and decide what's important - our children's education!
Thank you for the explanation. I have not followed this until recently when it dawned on me, after living in Beaufort all of my life, that there are serious problems with the way in which our tax dollars are being spent.
There appears to be so many conflicts of interest, wasted money, and lack of concern on the school district's part. How do the citizens of Beaufort demand better performance, and actually get results.
Who is responsible for replacing people who were doing their jobs with these overpaid companies?
Maybe we should all show up at the next school board meeting, and suggest someone get control of spending and decisions with regard to these unwarranted management expenses.
So many people just don't want to be bothered, but the more who let these folks in charge know we care how our money is spent, the better chances we have in those in charge actually doing their job.
Don't feel alone because you didn't pay attention. Most people don't pay attention unless it affects them personally. I doubt that any of the children in the schools have a clue about the maintenance contracts, unless their parents are in the business. It is great that something in the school district is receiving such scrutiny and apparent pressure. The savings discussed seems to be a very small amount of the total annual operating budget, but every bit of savings helps.
You bloggers are all getting lost in the details of just who is an employee of the Beaufort County School district.
What is IMPORTANT is just WHO is an employee of Sodexho assigned to the on site daily management of the items for which a contract has been signed with Sodexho.
I wonder if our local school board even knows the name of this top management individual assigned to Beaufort County by Sodexho, and what Sodexho expects that individual to be doing? Surely this Sodexho employee should be working at Beaufort County DAILY. Also, which area division of Sodexho has their district management group responsible for overseeing the quality of work being done by this "Beaufort assigned" Sodexho employee?
Forget about this guy Larry Wilson, he works full time for Beaufort County, and we are paying Sodexho to run the show!
What is Beaufort Cty paying Larry Wilson for? Please enlighten me. Sodexho is a contractor hired by Bft Cty right? A BC employee had to hire them and has to oversee them.
ty elida.
And the contract is only as good as the contract.