DAVIS DOES IT AGAIN

BC taxpayers were very upset when they learned that Dan Davis had approved a $2.24 MILLION water line to Caldwell Pinckney's house on Hwy. 311. Being as this pipe was already in the ground, there was nothing that could be done to get our taxpayers' money back. With this Hwy. 311 water line in place, Davis had secured Pinckney's support on Council. With 2 Democrats and 2 RINOs voting in unison with Davis, our 4 Conservatives' hands were tied. Remember, Davis gets to cast the tie breaking vote.

Well, this unholy alliance has struck again. On June 14th, there was supposed to be a Council meeting. The committees were supposed to meet, also. By breaking all the rules of Council and parliamentary procedure, Dan Davis had placed the budget on the agenda. As it turned out, one of Mr. Davis' fellow RINOs, Jack Schurlknight, was unable to attend the meeting that night. Without his coalition intact, Mr. Davis knew he would not have the votes to pass his budget so he cancelled the meeting. The committee meetings remained on the schedule.

All went well until it came to the Committee on Public Works And Purchasing, Item C. (2.). Mr. Micah Miley very casually presented the Wassamassaw CDBG Water Project for approval. This approval of Council is a MAJOR step in getting any project done. As it turned out, Mr. Miley wasn't seeking approval for the project itself. He was seeking approval of the contract to commence work on the project. Unbeknownst to Mr. Miley, or anyone else at BCW&SA, the four Conservatives on Council had been informed of a few facts concerning this project.

Mr. Callanan, the Chairman of the Water and Sanitation Committee, asked Mr. Miley a list questions about the procedure in getting any project approved. After about the fourth question, Mr. Miley looked concerned. Then Mr. Callanan asked the "killer" question, "Mr. Miley, if all these steps are legally necessary to get a project approved, could you please tell me why this project is already almost 40% completed?" We could see the blood drain from Mr. Miley's face. He began to stammer.

As Mr. Callanan asked for dates and particulars about the project, the story became more and more convoluted. Finally, Mr. Colin Martin came forward to save the day and began to apologize for the "oversight" on the part of W&S. He said they had realized only last week that they had "neglected" to get the approval of Council so they came forward immediately to correct the error. GE&P couldn't help but notice that Mr. Miley hadn't said a word about this "mistake" before Mr. Callanan pointed it out.

Mr. Miley said twice that BC was at no risk because he had only given verbal permission for Green Construction to begin the work. He said no contract had been signed. Mr. Martin repeated this statement. Anyone who believes that any company is going to buy materials and begin work on a MILLION DOLLAR PLUS project without a signed contract, we have some prime swampland we would like to sell you.

During Mr. Martin's apology, he said, "Something like this has never happened since I have been at W&S". He must have forgotten about the Hwy. 311 Project. And the Alvin Project. And the Miracle Academy (Gants Road) Project. Not one of these water projects followed the established track for approval by County Council required by law.

The Wassamassaw Water Project is being partially funded by a CDBG Grant of $500,000. This grant money cannot be awarded until a contract is signed and a construction conference is held by COG. By law, all contracts MUST be approved by the County Supervisor. It would be virtually impossible for the project to have gotten to this point without BCW&SA and the Supervisor noticing that County Council had not given its approval. Our four Conservative members of Council are investigating this situation as we speak.

There is one more small wrinkle to this story. The Queenie Road area, where this water line is being installed, just happens to be in Mr. Caldwell Pinckney's District. The work commenced three weeks before the Primary, without the knowledge or consent of Council. Since it is a given that Supervisor Davis MUST approve all contracts, are we dealing with yet another POLITICALLY based expenditure?