Building deal involves shades of gray
Alamogordo Daily News
Daily News Editorial
Posted: 06/27/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
Despite what some people may believe, appearances really do matter, especially when it involves politics and personal business.
While checking into claims of impropriety concerning the Otero County Commission's purchase of the old Firestone building on White Sands Boulevard, one question kept begging to be asked: Why didn't commission chairman Doug Moore speak out sooner?
Instead, there was the appearance of secrecy about the whole deal until Janet White, who is running as an independent candidate for Moore's seat that he will vacate in November because of term limits, brought forth allegations of wrongdoing and behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
Those allegations involve Moore, whose company, Lane Plumbing, performed work on the building that was purchased by the same commission over which he presides. The county approved, during a special meeting June 3, the purchase of the almost 12,000-square-foot building for about $1.44 million. It will house the assessor, treasurer and county clerk offices.
Moore and commissioner Clarissa McGinn voted to approve the purchase, while commissioner Ronny Rardin was absent because of a prior commitment.
Moore claims that, legally, he did nothing wrong since there is no clear-cut law forbidding elected county officials or employees from personally benefiting from the actions and votes of their employer's in this case, the Otero County Commission.
The Otero County policy regarding procurement of tangible personal property, services and construction defines an employee of the county as any person receiving a salary, wage, per diem and mileage from the county.
According to a copy of the policy we obtained, it can include elected officials even non-compensated individuals who perform personal services as an elected or appointed official, or performing personal services in some other capacity for the county.
The ethical conduct section of the employee participation policy states no employee of the county can participate directly or indirectly in procurement when the employee knows that he or she or any member of that person's immediate family has a financial interest in the business seeking or obtaining a contract.
But, in the eyes of the law, nothing illegal occurred. Because of that, Moore did nothing wrong.
Moore told us his private business is a private matter. What he fails to acknowledge is that "private" does not apply to a public official in situations such as this. There is this thing called perception to which the public clings. That is why Moore is hearing, as he told us recently, "veiled comments and innuendo" within the community that he has done something illegal or inappropriate.
And it doesn't help that Moore, who was running for the District 5 seat on the Public Regulation Commission, was taken off the ballot prior to the June primary elections because a judge ruled he didn't have enough valid signatures to qualify for a spot on the ballot.
The complaint against Moore, a Republican, filed in Valencia County alleges some of Moore's nominating signatures were not from Republicans, some were from people who do not live in District 5 and others were illegible. Some of the signatures for Moore did not have sufficient information to confirm they were valid; two more were from people who signed Moore's petition twice; and one signed Moore's and Jamie Estrada's another PRC District 5 candidate from Las Cruces petitions.
We're not accusing Moore of wrongdoing, but both cases show his failure to dot the i's and cross the t's.
In the absence of crystal-clear laws regulating what is and isn't a conflict of interest, public officials should always avoid the appearance of impropriety because it's a matter of trust between the elected official and the voter.
Moore also told us that if he had a direct contract with the county, "then I would abstain. That would be the ethical and moral thing to do. I am not going to vote to give myself something."
His company's plumbing work in the "new" county building deal may be legal, but its appearance is anything but ethical or moral. Moore should have erred on the side of caution. Elected officials should always abstain from votes where there may be a conflict of interest, no matter what the law states.
Because to Moore's employer, the taxpayers of Otero County, appearances do matter.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/alamogordo-opinion/ci_15387065
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Moore defends actions in building purchase
Alamogordo Daily News
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/26/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
Otero County Commission chairman Doug Moore disclosed Thursday that his company, Lane Plumbing, did work as a subcontractor on the new county building, also known as the old Firestone building, at 1104 White Sands Blvd.
Moore said he has 47 employees who work for him.
"I was contracted to do the plumbing," he said. "It was the whole plumbing system in the building. I didn't bid on it. I didn't have anything to do with it."
Moore and Clarissa McGinn voted to approve the purchase of the building during a special meeting June 3. Commissioner Ronny Rardin was absent from that meeting because of a prior commitment.
The county purchased the 11,928-square-foot building for $1.44 million that houses the assessor's, treasurer's and county clerk's offices. It is priced at $122 per square foot.
"I have people that bid on jobs and superintendents," he said. "I do very little in the operations of the business. I own several businesses. I wasn't in on the whole process about any of it. We work for almost all the contractors in town, like White Sands and National. We're all subcontractors because it's what we do for a living."
Moore said at some point Lane Plumbing was given a set of plans to bid upon.
"We turned in a bid," he said. "Beyond that, it's the normal scenario. We submitted the bid as any other plumber did. When I come to the county commission meetings, I am not a plumber. I am a county commissioner for District 1. I try to maintain that professionalism."
Moore said he believes there have been veiled comments and innuendos that he has done something illegal or inappropriate.
"I am not going to respond to those as a commissioner," he said. "In my private business, it's a private matter. If anybody wants to know about the construction documents on that building, it's public information. Anybody is welcome to peruse that."
Moore said he feels he is being unfairly attacked by Janet White.
"We did the plumbing under contract to White Sands Construction," he said, "when White Sands owned the building. There was no inside deal. I didn't get the job because I was a commissioner. It was a heads-up deal and sent to Dennis Crimmins (White Sands director of operations)."
Moore said he believes the county has no policy against its commissioners bidding on projects.
"There's some decorum," he said. "If I had a direct contract with the county, then I would abstain. That would be the ethical and moral thing to do. I am not going to vote to give myself something."
According to the Otero County purchasing policy for procurement of tangible personal property, services and construction, an employee of the county is defined as any person receiving a salary, wages, per diem and mileage from the county.
According to a copy of the policy obtained by the Daily News, they can be elected officials and can even be non-compensated individuals who are performing personal services as an elected or appointed official, or performing personal services in some other capacity for the county.
According to the ethical conduct section of the employee participation policy, no employee of the county can participate directly or indirectly in procurement when the employee knows that the employee, or any member of that employee's immediate family, has a financial interest in the business seeking or obtaining a contract.
It further states the prohibition does not apply if the financial interest is held in a blind trust.
County manager Ray Backstrom said the county was working with Tommie Herrell and Dennis Crimmins at the time on the procurement of the building and construction.
"The county wanted to purchase real estate," Backstrom said. "The county did not own the building. White Sands owned the building."
Crimmins said he worked with Herrell to do the construction on the building before the county was interested in it.
"The bidding process was done before I bought the building," Crimmins said. "When Herrell owned it, he was trying to get prices. He came to me for pricing on the construction of the building. I went out and got the price for the construction, or turnkey pricing, because I am the general contractor on the building."
Crimmins said he usually goes with the lowest bid.
"The bidding prices are private because it's between me and my contractors," he said. "It's a standard practice in the construction industry. It's based on an agreement between me and my subcontractors."
Crimmins said he sold the county a completed building.
"I didn't sell them one subcontractor to build it cheaper than another subcontractor," he said. "It's no different than a consumer going out and buying a house. The person buys a house, then they want to know what everyone was paid to do the work."
Crimmins said he believes the project took about six months to complete.
"It was about the normal time frame," he said. "A $1.44 million job runs between six to eight months. The county got a great deal on it. A building this size, the county could have easily paid $1.50 per square foot. They paid $1.22 per square foot. It also included the land, design and construction."
Crimmins said he believes one of the reasons the county received a good deal was because Herrell originally received a good deal on the building, then flipped it to him at a good price.
"This deal was worked out between me and Herrell," he said. "Herrell worked it out with the county. The only thing different about this deal is if the county would have owned the building. If the county would have bought the building, then put it out to bid, they would have had to put it out for design fees. They would have had to put it out to bid. They would have had to pay the Davis-Bacon Wage Act. All of those would have increased the price at a minimum of 25 percent and up to 35 percent more."
Crimmins said he believes the construction of about six months was twice as fast versus the county doing the construction.
"If they would have purchased the building, designed it, put it out to bid and had it built, it would have took them twice as much time," he said. "This is not something new. This a way a lot of government entities do it. I just did a $9 million building in Deming. We built it with partners and turned it over to the county afterwards. The Otero County building is a beautiful building."
Contact Duane Barbati at dbarbati@alamogordonews.com.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_15381836
Alamogordo Daily News
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/26/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
Otero County Commission chairman Doug Moore disclosed Thursday that his company, Lane Plumbing, did work as a subcontractor on the new county building, also known as the old Firestone building, at 1104 White Sands Blvd.
Moore said he has 47 employees who work for him.
"I was contracted to do the plumbing," he said. "It was the whole plumbing system in the building. I didn't bid on it. I didn't have anything to do with it."
Moore and Clarissa McGinn voted to approve the purchase of the building during a special meeting June 3. Commissioner Ronny Rardin was absent from that meeting because of a prior commitment.
The county purchased the 11,928-square-foot building for $1.44 million that houses the assessor's, treasurer's and county clerk's offices. It is priced at $122 per square foot.
"I have people that bid on jobs and superintendents," he said. "I do very little in the operations of the business. I own several businesses. I wasn't in on the whole process about any of it. We work for almost all the contractors in town, like White Sands and National. We're all subcontractors because it's what we do for a living."
Moore said at some point Lane Plumbing was given a set of plans to bid upon.
"We turned in a bid," he said. "Beyond that, it's the normal scenario. We submitted the bid as any other plumber did. When I come to the county commission meetings, I am not a plumber. I am a county commissioner for District 1. I try to maintain that professionalism."
Moore said he believes there have been veiled comments and innuendos that he has done something illegal or inappropriate.
"I am not going to respond to those as a commissioner," he said. "In my private business, it's a private matter. If anybody wants to know about the construction documents on that building, it's public information. Anybody is welcome to peruse that."
Moore said he feels he is being unfairly attacked by Janet White.
"We did the plumbing under contract to White Sands Construction," he said, "when White Sands owned the building. There was no inside deal. I didn't get the job because I was a commissioner. It was a heads-up deal and sent to Dennis Crimmins (White Sands director of operations)."
Moore said he believes the county has no policy against its commissioners bidding on projects.
"There's some decorum," he said. "If I had a direct contract with the county, then I would abstain. That would be the ethical and moral thing to do. I am not going to vote to give myself something."
According to the Otero County purchasing policy for procurement of tangible personal property, services and construction, an employee of the county is defined as any person receiving a salary, wages, per diem and mileage from the county.
According to a copy of the policy obtained by the Daily News, they can be elected officials and can even be non-compensated individuals who are performing personal services as an elected or appointed official, or performing personal services in some other capacity for the county.
According to the ethical conduct section of the employee participation policy, no employee of the county can participate directly or indirectly in procurement when the employee knows that the employee, or any member of that employee's immediate family, has a financial interest in the business seeking or obtaining a contract.
It further states the prohibition does not apply if the financial interest is held in a blind trust.
County manager Ray Backstrom said the county was working with Tommie Herrell and Dennis Crimmins at the time on the procurement of the building and construction.
"The county wanted to purchase real estate," Backstrom said. "The county did not own the building. White Sands owned the building."
Crimmins said he worked with Herrell to do the construction on the building before the county was interested in it.
"The bidding process was done before I bought the building," Crimmins said. "When Herrell owned it, he was trying to get prices. He came to me for pricing on the construction of the building. I went out and got the price for the construction, or turnkey pricing, because I am the general contractor on the building."
Crimmins said he usually goes with the lowest bid.
"The bidding prices are private because it's between me and my contractors," he said. "It's a standard practice in the construction industry. It's based on an agreement between me and my subcontractors."
Crimmins said he sold the county a completed building.
"I didn't sell them one subcontractor to build it cheaper than another subcontractor," he said. "It's no different than a consumer going out and buying a house. The person buys a house, then they want to know what everyone was paid to do the work."
Crimmins said he believes the project took about six months to complete.
"It was about the normal time frame," he said. "A $1.44 million job runs between six to eight months. The county got a great deal on it. A building this size, the county could have easily paid $1.50 per square foot. They paid $1.22 per square foot. It also included the land, design and construction."
Crimmins said he believes one of the reasons the county received a good deal was because Herrell originally received a good deal on the building, then flipped it to him at a good price.
"This deal was worked out between me and Herrell," he said. "Herrell worked it out with the county. The only thing different about this deal is if the county would have owned the building. If the county would have bought the building, then put it out to bid, they would have had to put it out for design fees. They would have had to put it out to bid. They would have had to pay the Davis-Bacon Wage Act. All of those would have increased the price at a minimum of 25 percent and up to 35 percent more."
Crimmins said he believes the construction of about six months was twice as fast versus the county doing the construction.
"If they would have purchased the building, designed it, put it out to bid and had it built, it would have took them twice as much time," he said. "This is not something new. This a way a lot of government entities do it. I just did a $9 million building in Deming. We built it with partners and turned it over to the county afterwards. The Otero County building is a beautiful building."
Contact Duane Barbati at dbarbati@alamogordonews.com.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_15381836
Building deal legit
Commissioners searched for alternative locations for about three years before buying old Firestone structure
Alamogordo Daily News
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/24/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
The Otero County Commission's purchase of the old Firestone building for county administration offices was originally supposed to be about $1.35 million, but additions to the building put the purchase price at more than $1.4 million.
Commission chairman Doug Moore and Clarissa McGinn voted to approve the purchase of the building at 1104 White Sands Blvd. during a special meeting June 3. Commissioner Ronny Rardin was absent from the meeting because of a prior commitment.
Rardin said he had first heard Tommy Herrell had purchased the building in 2009.
"Herrell had started tearing the building apart to put offices in it," Rardin said. "I saw it then and thought, 'Why didn't we buy it?' because it's so close to our offices (on New York Avenue)."
Rardin said McGinn was against purchasing the building because of the liability aspects of a vacant building that was torn apart and unsecured.
"There were some hobos living in it and it was an empty shell of a building," Rardin said. "McGinn didn't want the liability and Herrell said he was going to make it into offices, then the county can buy it from him (Herrell). If we (the county) were going to, this is how we would want it built."
He said the county decided to purchase the building after it was built to their specification.
Herrell is running for the District 1 county commission seat in the November general election. Herrell provided the Daily News with the purchase agreement on the building between him and Dennis Crimmins, of White Sands Construction.
Herrell said he sold the building to White Sands Construction for $257,000 because he was running for the commission seat.
"I purchased the building for $200,000 in December 2008," he said. "I want the public to know the truth. I think there has been a lot of misinformation and a lot of innuendos about it. I am being out in the open. I am getting the facts straight out there because I am running for county commission. I want people to know that they can trust me."
Herrell originally purchased the property to remodel it into office space, then started to tear out the heating and air conditioning unit, cleaned the roof and demolished the interior of the building, which cost him about $30,000. He had also paid an additional cost of $24,000 for architecture designs, interest for the loan on the building and a Phase 1 environmental study on the site and building.
Herrell said someone approached him about the county purchasing the building from him.
"I told the county that I'll stop what I am doing and sell it to them," he said. "They approached me in February 2009. I sold it to Crimmins because I was going to run for the commission seat. I had talked to Radio Shack and a restaurant to rent space in the building. I could have made about $150,000 a year in rent on the building, but the county needed it. I didn't make any money on it."
County manager Ray Backstrom said the county had been looking at different locations to move the county clerk, assessor and treasurer's offices because they needed to move them out of the courthouse.
"We looked at the old Walmart building at the U.S. Highway 54/70 area," Backstrom said. "We needed additional space for them. They have moved into the offices in the remodeled building at 1104 White Sands Blvd. The commission has been looking for a new location for the last three years that I remember."
The original purchase agreement for the building from White Sands Construction was just over $1.3 million, but construction changes put the building at $1.44 million.
The 11,328-square-foot building, which includes a basement in the facility, also had an addition added to the building, plus $94,353.62 in construction changes that include an access control of exterior doors, fiber link cable, security conduit, heating and air conditioning unit, additional windows and sealing of the parking lot prior to striping.
Backstrom said he believes it's a beautiful building.
"I think it was a good buy for the county," he said. "It allows the county to add another courtroom in the courthouse for an additional judge, which we need."
Rardin said he believes it was the best purchase for the county.
"If it wasn't election season, Janet White would have never said a word about it," he said. "I gave her all the information. I would give anybody the information. We weren't hiding anything. We went about it in the right way. It was a liability issue of a building that was not finished. We only paid about $122 per square foot for the building. I think we still got a deal for the county."
Commissioners searched for alternative locations for about three years before buying old Firestone structure
Alamogordo Daily News
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/24/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
The Otero County Commission's purchase of the old Firestone building for county administration offices was originally supposed to be about $1.35 million, but additions to the building put the purchase price at more than $1.4 million.
Commission chairman Doug Moore and Clarissa McGinn voted to approve the purchase of the building at 1104 White Sands Blvd. during a special meeting June 3. Commissioner Ronny Rardin was absent from the meeting because of a prior commitment.
Rardin said he had first heard Tommy Herrell had purchased the building in 2009.
"Herrell had started tearing the building apart to put offices in it," Rardin said. "I saw it then and thought, 'Why didn't we buy it?' because it's so close to our offices (on New York Avenue)."
Rardin said McGinn was against purchasing the building because of the liability aspects of a vacant building that was torn apart and unsecured.
"There were some hobos living in it and it was an empty shell of a building," Rardin said. "McGinn didn't want the liability and Herrell said he was going to make it into offices, then the county can buy it from him (Herrell). If we (the county) were going to, this is how we would want it built."
He said the county decided to purchase the building after it was built to their specification.
Herrell is running for the District 1 county commission seat in the November general election. Herrell provided the Daily News with the purchase agreement on the building between him and Dennis Crimmins, of White Sands Construction.
Herrell said he sold the building to White Sands Construction for $257,000 because he was running for the commission seat.
"I purchased the building for $200,000 in December 2008," he said. "I want the public to know the truth. I think there has been a lot of misinformation and a lot of innuendos about it. I am being out in the open. I am getting the facts straight out there because I am running for county commission. I want people to know that they can trust me."
Herrell originally purchased the property to remodel it into office space, then started to tear out the heating and air conditioning unit, cleaned the roof and demolished the interior of the building, which cost him about $30,000. He had also paid an additional cost of $24,000 for architecture designs, interest for the loan on the building and a Phase 1 environmental study on the site and building.
Herrell said someone approached him about the county purchasing the building from him.
"I told the county that I'll stop what I am doing and sell it to them," he said. "They approached me in February 2009. I sold it to Crimmins because I was going to run for the commission seat. I had talked to Radio Shack and a restaurant to rent space in the building. I could have made about $150,000 a year in rent on the building, but the county needed it. I didn't make any money on it."
County manager Ray Backstrom said the county had been looking at different locations to move the county clerk, assessor and treasurer's offices because they needed to move them out of the courthouse.
"We looked at the old Walmart building at the U.S. Highway 54/70 area," Backstrom said. "We needed additional space for them. They have moved into the offices in the remodeled building at 1104 White Sands Blvd. The commission has been looking for a new location for the last three years that I remember."
The original purchase agreement for the building from White Sands Construction was just over $1.3 million, but construction changes put the building at $1.44 million.
The 11,328-square-foot building, which includes a basement in the facility, also had an addition added to the building, plus $94,353.62 in construction changes that include an access control of exterior doors, fiber link cable, security conduit, heating and air conditioning unit, additional windows and sealing of the parking lot prior to striping.
Backstrom said he believes it's a beautiful building.
"I think it was a good buy for the county," he said. "It allows the county to add another courtroom in the courthouse for an additional judge, which we need."
Rardin said he believes it was the best purchase for the county.
"If it wasn't election season, Janet White would have never said a word about it," he said. "I gave her all the information. I would give anybody the information. We weren't hiding anything. We went about it in the right way. It was a liability issue of a building that was not finished. We only paid about $122 per square foot for the building. I think we still got a deal for the county."
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 24, Regular Meeting of Otero County Commissioners
Three items of note:
(1) Clarissa McGinn, Commissioner District 2, requested and received confirmation from Ray Backstrom, County Manager, that the Bills' List (sounds innocuous, right?) will be easily accessible on county website. It is not on the home page yet but assurances were given that it will be soon.
(2) There was a departure from the usual "we're going into executive session, do I have a motion?" type language. At this meeting Commissioner McGinn asked for specifics as to which items of generic A-G items would be addressed. (I will address this later under Open Meetings Act.) I know it sounds like jibberish but this is highly significant to those of us who are believers in the word of the law. Stay tuned as I bring you updates and attempt to communicate the significance of this departure from the norm.
(3) Grace Gonzales, County Treasurer, was nominated to be a voting member of NACo - National Association of Counties. Commissioner Rardin has a position with NACo that does not allow him to vote so a voting member was necessary. The vote was unanimous. Rardin and Gonzales will be attending the next meeting in Reno, NV. For the curious, I do suggest you go to NACo's website and get a feel for where they are headed.
Three items of note:
(1) Clarissa McGinn, Commissioner District 2, requested and received confirmation from Ray Backstrom, County Manager, that the Bills' List (sounds innocuous, right?) will be easily accessible on county website. It is not on the home page yet but assurances were given that it will be soon.
(2) There was a departure from the usual "we're going into executive session, do I have a motion?" type language. At this meeting Commissioner McGinn asked for specifics as to which items of generic A-G items would be addressed. (I will address this later under Open Meetings Act.) I know it sounds like jibberish but this is highly significant to those of us who are believers in the word of the law. Stay tuned as I bring you updates and attempt to communicate the significance of this departure from the norm.
(3) Grace Gonzales, County Treasurer, was nominated to be a voting member of NACo - National Association of Counties. Commissioner Rardin has a position with NACo that does not allow him to vote so a voting member was necessary. The vote was unanimous. Rardin and Gonzales will be attending the next meeting in Reno, NV. For the curious, I do suggest you go to NACo's website and get a feel for where they are headed.
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