Houlton council OKs security buy Panel agrees to skirt bid process to buy cameras from County vendor

HOULTON – Town councilors approved a measure that they hope will better protect residents and municipal property on Tuesday evening, but not all of the board members felt safe in saying that the process was carried out properly.

After a lengthy debate, the group eventually voted 4-2 to authorize interim Town Manager Phil McCarthy to purchase security systems for all municipal and SAD 29 school buildings. For some councilors, however, friction came after they were asked to waive the bid process to purchase the necessary items.

The town received more than $46,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to cover the cost of the $58,240 project. The town and the SAD 29 system will cover the remaining balance. The cameras are expected to help curb vandalism and other crime that has become a growing problem in recent years.

“This is going to get us cameras for all of our schools, municipal buildings and for Community Park,” McCarthy said at the meeting. “There is only one vendor in Aroostook County that provides these systems, and negotiations for a price have taken place.”

Earlier Tuesday evening during debate, the manager would not tell councilors the exact price in open session, stating that it “might compromise the bid process” if the council eventually rejected his suggestion to waive the bid procedure.

While the move is allowed under town charter, Councilors Phil Bernaiche and Gerald Adams felt that they should know how much the town had to pay before they agreed to anything.

“It seems that we just like to forget the bid process,” Bernaiche said on Tuesday evening. “Though it may be a northern Maine company that provides the cameras, maybe a company in Bangor or Lewiston should have the opportunity to bid on it.”

The councilor contended that ignoring the procedure was tantamount to “laughing at the people” and that the town could save money if they went out to bid.

“But the bid prices also could come back higher,” McCarthy said. “And if they do, then we don’t have significant funds to do it.”

Adams said during the discussion that he was concerned that he had no information about how much the project cost, or why the town had to move so quickly on it.

“This [paperwork] does not tell me numbers,” Adams said. “I don’t know why we are in such a hurry to put this through. Is there a timeline? It is not that I am against the security systems; I just have questions.”

McCarthy tried to reassure the men by saying that the town would have to contribute “less than $10,000” toward the initiative. He reported that SAD 29 would fund 10 percent of the cost, compared with the town’s 8 percent.

Chairman Dale Flewelling raised Adams’ ire when he said that he believed that voting in the affirmative would illustrate that McCarthy had given “due diligence” to researching the project, and a “yes” vote would show that the council trusted the integrity of the town manager.

“That is so wrong,” Adams said. “No councilor should be put in the position that if we vote against it [the purchase], we don’t trust the integrity of the town manager … it is not against the integrity and diligence of anyone. You are asking us to vote in a blind situation.”

The council eventually voted in favor of the purchase with only Bernaiche and Adams against the move.