The water improvement project in Oberlin has been on the council’s agenda for several months now. The project has entered its five-year mark and USDA has asked the council to approve the final change order so the project could be completed. However, over the last few months questions about funds spent, work completed and not completed based on the original contract, etc. have been discussed and the matter remains unsolved.
Last week, Councilman Romelzy Willis discussed change orders and issues associated with the project. He discussed questions council members had against approving the final change order have considered and discussed both in and outside the meeting room.
Former mayor Joseph “Moochie” Manuel released a statement on the articles in last week’s paper. He said, many of the statements written were addressing events that happened during his tenure. “I feel that many of the statements in both articles were misleading and some were incorrect.”
At last week’s meeting, many heard Manuel address the council about the one change order he said he signed. In his opinion that statement was not what he said in the meeting. “I said that I requested only one change order. The one change order that I requested was Change Order 1. This change order made city hall handicapped compliant by adding the concrete for the ramp and handrails and posts for people to use to move up the ramp. HVAC was not hooked up and electrical work needed to be completed for the computers.”
When questioned about the process, Manuel said this is typical in projects because one doesn’t know what they will find when opening walls, repairing lines underground, etc. Change orders are necessary to address issues that might arise and alter the course of the project. Also, when utilizing funding on building improvements, the guidelines mandate handicapped accessibility upgrades are necessary. This means bathrooms, entrances and exits, etc.
Manuel’s next point centers around the change orders he signed that were requested by Myers and Myers, the engineers handling the project, which were approved by the USDA. He pointed out Change Order 4 involved additional materials and labor to “refurbish floors, walls and duct work” not included by the engineers. He said, “All of this can be expected for a job of this size. Change orders do not have to be signed by councilmen.”
Manuel remembered requesting documentation from the engineers repeatedly for the project and learned each time there were funds available for the changes. He said the engineers addressed the council several times over the past four years. “As a current councilman, Willis had opportunities to question them directly if he wanted to.”
Members of the council have addressed the engineers and requested documentation. Last week, Willis was explaining he did a records request for e-mails associated with the project. He said in almost five years, there was only one e-mail on file. He said in five years, only one e-mail didn’t seem right.
Willis also added members of the council are still waiting for documentation they also have requested in regards to the water upgrades. In the past, Willis has pointed out the missing documentation and failure to supply the documentation means questions arise. He said the town is still waiting for contracts, documents and maps in regards to the project but will not get them until the project is deemed completed.
Manuel points out that all change orders were approved by USDA before each expenditure was made. He also sides with the town’s attorney, David Vidrine, who told the council they could pursue the matter in court from the documents he had reviewed. “I agree with David Vidrine that this matter should be pursued.”
In the last meeting, where council members asked Vidrine about its rights and if it could pursue legal avenues if the council approved the final change order. He did state from the documents he had reviewed, he believed the town could pursue legal avenues. However, several of the councilmen were wary because they believe documentation is still missing in the project. Some members are wading through documentation on hand and asking questions on where dollars were spent, what materials were purchased and continuing to wait for more information.
In regards to Willis’ concerns about the town’s expenditures each month on repayment of the loans in regards to the water project, Manuel said it is not costing the town $20K a month. “This is incorrect. $20K is a combined cost for the past sewer project from the prior administration and the water project.”
And Manuel is concerned that if the town does not pay the remaining balance of the loan to end the project, severe penalties will be incurred. “This will keep the town of Oberlin from receiving other funding that is needed. The USDA also states if this $38K is not paid, the town of Oberlin will have to pay the money back in the contingency fund. This will ruin the town of Oberlin. Is this the true objective of those who do not want to pay the balance…to ruin the town of Oberlin? I believe the balance needs to be paid and the town pursue legal actions against Myers and Myers.”
USDA recently visited town hall and did question why the council has not agreed to pay the $38,000. The representative did mention if the town does not pay the $38,000, it could face penalties including having to pay the remaining funds on hand of approximately $300,000 and the $38,000.
After the last council meeting, acting Mayor Wayne Smith said his concerns were the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) funds had been utilized and none of those funds would be available to use to pay the $38,000 if the council agrees to make the payment to USDA at the next meeting.
The council has been dealing with financial woes for months now as they have cut employee slots and found other ways to save money since the town’s income is not enough to support its expenditures. At the last meeting the council used ARPA funds to try to pay some of the expenses that were adding up each month.
Manuel also notes that “Willis claimed $1 million is not accounted for. USDA audited the loan and the grant. They have approved all expenditures. The USDA will not send an approval letter until the $38,000 is paid.”
Willis said they have found monies unaccountable for and are searching, as well as requesting documentation to make sure the funds were utilized correctly. He said some answers have been found but there remains many questions. (Everyone agrees the initial project was not completed, and when it was realized the project had no more funds to finish it, some things had to be ignored as final work was completed.)
Despite all the negativity surrounding this issue, Manuel believes this project was huge “and despite the difficulties we have had, the Town of Oberlin has an improved water system along with a new water tower and new meters. There was never any expectation that every inch of water piping would be replaced by this grant money. We knew that these USDA funds would make a huge dent in the town’s aging water system. Let us not forget the days that our water system was shut down often sometimes up to twice a week prior to this project.”
Manuel continued, “For Willis to state that we have more leaks than we had before the project and that the water system has not gotten any better is again not true. Many towns in our surrounding area are dealing with multiple water outages while we are not. His statements are made to make people believe that no improvements have been made to our water system with this grant money which is not true.”
A request for work orders concerning leaks proves there are several leaks. Robert Smith, superintendent for the town explained the water pressure from the town’s wells are pushing through outdated lines that were not capped. (The original contract was to replace lines with new lines and cap the old ones but not enough money was available to complete this part.)
Smith said he has seven right now that need to be fixed, and he can’t get to them. He said you can walk around Oberlin and find a leak. This is one of those things that can be proven by requesting work orders waiting to be completed.
Both sides of this political issue has pros and cons in regards to the project. Lots of accusations have been noted including water customers on Mike Manuel Road and whether a line was installed during this project. Over the last few months, both the engineer and contractors have made conflicting statements of whether the work was completed or not on this road. In the end, the town asked the Louisiana Rural Water Association, who went to the area to see if a line was detected. They did not discover a new line in that area.
Customers in the area, according to Manuel and other town personnel, were added to the Oberlin system along with other rural customers when the town purchased the old Greater Water System under former mayor Phil Beard’s administration. Approximately 100 to 200 customers were added to the Oberlin system with this purchase. After Beard came Rick Smith, Mark Manuel and Moochie Manuel as mayors. During that time frame, many people owning camps on the river were discovered to have been getting water without paying. Over the years, these customers have been identified and added to the billing system.
Manuel said the Mike Manuel Road was approved, but he said there were too many controversial issues at the time and no work was completed in that area.
And on the hiring of Allison McCleon, which was noted by comments from Nicole Duplechain, who now works for Willis, Manuel said, “Mrs. McCleon was a loyal employee, and I am not going to apologize for hiring her. (In this case, the state has a law regarding hiring by an agency head or chief executive and is known as the “Nepotism law.” That law requires immediate family members as children, spouses of those children, brothers, sisters, spouses of brothers and sisters, parents, one’s spouse and the parents of the spouse. In this case McCleon is Manuel’s wife’s niece.)
“I’m a lifelong resident of Oberlin. I love the town of Oberlin,” Manuel said. “Even though I am no longer mayor of Oberlin, I will continue to support the town and hope for growth and unity.”
The matter at hand is what really transpired. Every side has its own thoughts. The question seems to be was the project completed and were dollars were used correctly. This matter may end up in court, but at the moment, it is being discussed at council meetings and in the town. Some of the council members, who spoke out last week independently and in the meeting, indicate they are just looking for answers.
