TALLADEGA — The rift between the two most recently appointed members of the Water and Sewer Board and the other three, longer serving members seemed to grow Monday night at the board's monthly meeting, as a series of motions made by board member Dan Waites failed by votes of 3-2.Waites was appointed to the board by the City Council late last year. Charles Pope, who seconded most of Waites’ motions Monday night, was appointed in March. Pope is also the District 4 member of the council.
The controversies Monday began almost immediately, with the approval of minutes from four meetings held last month. Minutes for the regularly scheduled meeting were approved unanimously, and minutes for the first called meeting, held May 12, were tabled to resolve a possible discrepancy in the figures included in a report on a $3.5 million bond issue.
The second called meeting in May was held in the wake of Pope and Waites disputing figures presented by board manager Bill Goheen detailing possible sources of water loss at the system's surface treatment plant. Assistant board manager James Brasher dismissed Goheen's figures as wildly implausible, with Pope and Waites tending to concur. Board chairman Wayne Kearley characterized Waites' and Pope's actions as "insubordinate" and "out of order."
Waites’ motion Monday night was to expunge the official record of any mention of the meeting, saying it was illegal.
"That meeting was a violation of the board's bylaws," Waites said. "It was illegal. Kearley never had the authority to reprimand a fellow board member. That was totally wrong. We are all equals, all appointed by the council. We can inquire and look into board matters, and we can form our own opinions."
Kearley responded that he "did not call any names at that meeting, and did not reprimand any particular person. The purpose of the meeting was to say that board business should be done by the board as a whole."
Waites and Pope voted to void the record of the meeting, while board members Lawrence McGraw and David McGhee voted against the motion. Establishing a pattern for the evening, Kearley broke the tie by voting with McGhee and McGraw.
A similar vote resulted from consideration of the board's invoices and expenditures for the past month. Waites initially made a motion to turn down the entire list, but later amended that motion to pay all of the bills except for an $18,548.75 invoice from the Montgomery based law firm of Sasser, Littleton and Stidham. The company is representing the board in several matters, including a pending civil suit and a federal grand jury investigation both relating to continued use of the Grant Street well.
"Do we have a contract with these people?" Waites asked. "And what are we being billed for? I see these bills coming in every month, but I never know what they're for. I can't justify paying for something when I never see a copy of the bill."
McGraw stated the board "needed to pay people what we owe them," and McGhee worried that delaying payment might result in additional expense.
"We asked these people for a cost analysis," Waites continued. "We never got one, at least that I ever saw. The new board members have already said we were not going to be responsible for any bad acts prior to 2004. The only action on the Grant Street well in the last month is our rehabilitation project, and that doesn't involve lawyers."
McGraw offered to table the issue, but Waites pointed out there was already a motion and second on the floor. "This is a result of past inaction and bad decision making, and I can't justify it. These numbers have escalated way beyond what I had been told, and I still don't know who is responsible."
Waites’ motion failed 3-2, as did a follow-up motion to terminate the board's contract with the Montgomery firm. Both votes were Waites and Pope in favor and Kearley, McGhee and McGraw opposed.
The next controversy involved the payment of $22,000 in fines levied by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management against the board for, among other things, continuing to operate the Grant Street well in spite of the fact that it frequently exceeded the legal limits of PCE, a possible carcinogen found in metal degreasers and dry cleaning fluid.
In this case, Waites’ motion was for the board as an entity to refuse to pay the bill while the board members who had been present when the violations occurred paid the fine from their own pockets. "The board members who were negligent and irresponsible need to take some responsibility," he said.
The motion failed 3-2.
Even the most routine matters proved difficult. Pope, who was elected board treasurer last month, resigned that position Monday. Waites called for a motion to name McGraw to the position, but McGraw said he declined the office before the motion could be voted on. McGraw made a counter motion that board secretary Cathy Fuller be named to the position.
A brief argument ensued as to whether or not a board employee rather than a board member could be appointed to that office, and if the secretary and treasurer could be the same person.
The meeting ground to a halt while Kearley and McGraw perused the bylaws and the law creating the board.
Fuller was eventually appointed to the position by a vote of 4-0, with Waites abstaining.
In at least two situations, however, motions by Waites did carry.
In the first, an action item on Monday's agenda indicated that board members were to discuss their compensation, which Kearley cut from $250 per month, plus extra for called meetings, to $100 per month.
Kearley attempted to gloss over this particular item, saying, "That's been turned over to our attorneys so there is no reason to discuss that now."
"How did that happen?" Waites asked. "We had no discussion on that, no action taken by this board."
Kearley said the board had taken action "last year," but Waites pointed out the board's bylaws require a resolution, and that there was no record of any such resolution.
"When I came on, you told me that you had elected to cut the board's pay after talking with attorneys,” Waites said.
McGraw agreed that there was no indication of any board action in the minutes he had read.
Kearley said the action was taken "with the concurrence of the board members," but without official action.
"You just took this on yourself, like you've done lots of other things," Waites said.
Waites’ motion was to "go back to our previous, legal pay, retroactive to Jan. 1. The board members should be paid what they're supposed to, including for called meetings."
This time, Waites, who says he does not cash his board paychecks, and Pope, who draws no compensation since he is also a council member, were backed by both McGhee and McGraw.
Another matter before the board involved the legal work for the acquisition of the Waldo Water System. Goheen reported to the board that he had not gotten any response from local attorney Nelson Conover, whom Waites had recommended for the project. Goheen added that he estimated the board was potentially losing "$1,000 per month every month we delay."
He added that Sasser, Littleton and Stidham had agreed to handle the transaction for a fee of $5,000.
Waites, who said he had spoken with Conover recently, said the latter told him Goheen had said he had other attorneys lined up, not to worry about it. He added that Conover had characterized his previous conversation with Goheen as "rude" and "not conducted in a businesslike manner."
Goheen denied this, but Waites again emphasized his desire to keep business local whenever possible. "Sasser, Littleton and Stidham is already getting enough of our money. And when I say locally, I mean try at least two or three different people, don't just give up."
Waites also appeared irritated that no one seemed to have specific information on the system at hand. "How big is Waldo's system, and what is their debt load?" he asked.
"We don't know," Kearley said. "That's why we need a lawyer."
"They are a public corporation, just like we are," Waites said. "There has to be record somewhere."
McGhee eventually made a motion that Conover be approached again, and that other local counsel be sought if Conover did not respond by the end of the week. The motion passed unanimously.
Further coverage of the meeting will appear in Wednesday's Daily Home.
