Jan. 10, 2003 – The St. Croix Environmental Association is questioning the V.I. government's awarding of a $3.6 million contract to revamp the island's sewer system to a local start-up company without going through competitive bidding.
"The government waived the procurement process," SEA's executive director, Bill Turner, said Friday, "and we are not in favor of that at all."
The contract, according to a report in Friday's V.I. Daily News, was awarded to Global Resource Management Inc., which is owned by Esdel Hansen, husband of Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, who will leave office Monday, having run unsuccessfuly for governor in November instead of seeking re-election to the Legislature.
St. Croix attorney Ashley Andrews is reportedly another principal of Global Resouce Management.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull declared a state of emergency in the territory, thereby allowing government officials to forgo the usual bidding process through the Property and Procurement Department.
The territory, especially St. Croix, has been plagued with sewage problems for several decades. The federal Environmental Protection Agency and District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore have ordered the system overhauled.
However, Turner said, "You don't just throw away the law because you have a problem that's really big."
The Daily News report said the job contracted to Global is part of a 1984 consent decree with the EPA to fix sewers that fail often and spurt raw sewage into the streets and waterways of St. Croix.
The newspaper quoted Sonya Nelthropp, a Public Works waste-management coordinator, as saying that the selection of Hansen was based on his nearly 20 years of service as Public Works director of utilities. But she conceded that some could find the contract award suspicious.
While Turner would not comment on whether the award of the project to Hansen was politically motivated, he did say the procurement process should be entirely readjusted.
"It needs to operate quicker and have more experts on the selection panel, not just the governor's choice of people," he said. "Most importantly, the selection panel should operate with an eye toward the future."
Turner cited a sewage break late last year in Golden Rock, where lines that had been repaired years ago did not have the capacity to handle the sewage of several nearby condos and hotels built over the years.
"Waiving the procurement process opened up room for these questions" about whether the move was politically motivated, Turner said. "If there was a solid procurement process, there wouldn't be questions like this."
The work to be carried out under the contract, according to the Daily News report, includes:
– Repairing a sewer line near the Randall "Doc" James Race Track.
– Repairing a line in Bethlehem Gut, west of the Territorial Court building.
– Repairing lines at Adventure Gut which cause sewage to pile up near the Patrick Sweeney Police Headquarters.
– Fixing the Lagoon Street Pump Station in Frederiksted.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
