Barrett claims conspiracy killed privatization

By Carrie Saldo
North Adams Transcript

Sunday, November 16, 2003 - NORTH ADAMS -- North Adams Mayor John Barrett III alleged Friday that a conspiracy was orchestrated by Robert Peirent of Tighe Bond Consulting Engineers, Hoosac Water Quality District Chief Operator Ridielto Nodal and Williamstown's water district commissioners to block privatization of the waste-water treatment plant.

"Nodal wants to maintain the status quo, Tighe Bond wants to keep its cash cow, and Williamstown bought it hook, line and sinker," Barrett said.

Peirent and Nodal, spoken with separately Friday, said there was "absolutely no truth" to Barrett's statements.

Deadlocked commission vote

A Thursday night vote by HWQD commissioners over whether to privatize the waste-water plant resulted in deadlock -- Commissioners Ronald Boucher and John Moresi of North Adams voted for a private operator and Williamstown's commissioners, K. Elaine Neely and William Fox, voted against it.

The Contract Operations Proposal Evaluation Committee -- composed of the district commissioners as well as North Adams City Administrative Officer Mary Katherine Eade and Williamstown Department of Public Works Director Timothy Kaiser, and Nodal -- was also deadlocked when it voted on whether to accept either of the requests for proposals (RFP) submitted by U.S. Filter Services Inc. and Aquarian Services Co.

Nodal abstained from the vote.

The committee was formed to review the contract operations proposals submitted and to make a recommendation to the commissioners.

Barrett and Town Manager Peter Fohlin stood by the officials representing their communities when interviewed Friday via telephone.

Barrett said Boucher, Moresi and Eade reviewed the RFPs from U.S. Filter and Aquarian, and found that privatization would result in "hundreds of thousands of dollars" worth of savings over the course of a 10- or 15-year contract.

"Maybe I am naive, but I always feel that people will do what is best for their constituents," Barrett said. "Williamstown sold out their constituents basically to placate a few."

Fohlin said Neely, Fox and Kaiser found no cost savings for rate-payers if the district entered into contracts proposed by either company.

"The facts in the proposal support the votes of Neely, Fox and Kaiser against privatization. If that were not the case, the proponents of privatization would be arguing the facts, instead of the politics."

He later added, "I only judge the facts, and the fact is the proposals were not in the best interest of the rate-payers."

Nodal said Aquarian and U.S. Filter both submitted several contract options for the committee to review and for commissioners to vote on. None of the options presented would save the district money, according to Nodal.

"Williamstown always had an open mind North Adams never considered anything else. Had there been $100,000 to $200,000 savings, we would be going with contract operations," Nodal said.

It costs just under $1 million to run the water quality district annually, Nodal said. But every contract option presented in the RFPs were at or in excess of $1 million.

Nodal said it was initially thought one of the contract options from U.S. Filter would save the district at least $2 million over 20 years. However, he said that plan did not include the approximately $140,000 it would cost the district annually to pay for fixed costs -- including capital expenses, employee insurance and retiree benefits.

"The mayor is just grasping at straws," Nodal said. "I'd rather stick with the facts. The facts are here. Everything is public now and if anyone -- the state, the public -- wants to come and look at the numbers we have it all here."

Barrett also alleged that Fohlin told representatives from U.S. Water, another private firm, in April that the vote on privatization would be deadlocked.

"I made a comment specifically intended to test the credibility of their promise of confidentiality," Fohlin said. "I guess now we all know what I had suspected. I also told them that [Howard] Dean will beat [John] Kerry in N.H., and that Bush will win the presidential election. So what? Do I win a prize?"

Fohlin said he never ruled out privatization of HWQD.

"I, like the mayor, was a proponent of exploring contract operations when the plant was operating in violation of environmental laws at unnecessary costs to both communities," Fohlin said. "But the recent performance of the plant, compared to the total inadequacies of both proposals, leads me to conclude that these two proposals are not in the best interest of the communities."

Barrett said Nodal and Tighe Bond Vice President Robert Peirent met to discuss ways to block the privatization effort. He also said Peirent provided Nodal with derogatory information about the private companies interested in taking over operations, which Nodal later distributed in e-mails and letters to various people, in order to poison people against privatization.

Nodal and Peirent said those statements were not true.

During fiscal 2001, Tighe Bond was paid $400,000 for its services to the district. And Barrett said the engineering firm would have lost a client had the district voted to privatize operations.

In addition, Barrett said Tighe Bond submitted a $7.2 million capital improvement plan to the district. However, when a capital plan was submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection in August, it had been reduced to between $3 million and $4 million because private firms had introduced less-expensive plans in their proposals.

"The rate-payers would have had to pay $3 to $4 million more if there had not been talk of privatization," Barrett said.

But Peirent said his firm would have a client regardless of whether the district is a private or publicly run entity.

Peirent said Tighe Bond was asked by North Adams Commissioner Ronald Boucher to be technical adviser in regard to looking at privatization.

As such, he said Tighe Bond drafted technical improvement plans for the district, to be made over the next 20 years, not all of which need to be completed immediately.

Peirent estimated the short-term improvements, required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's consent decree, to cost about $4 million. And he said other long-term improvements are estimated to cost a total of about $7 million.

In addition, Peirent said any capital improvements would not be taken on by a private operator, but would remain the responsibility of the district.

"We did not see contract operations changing our relationship with the district," he said.

Barrett said he became aware of this information about two weeks ago.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 30 years in politics," Barrett said. "It was a dead deal from day one. To waste that kind of money [$10,000 on the privatization RFPs], to waste that kind of time

"I haven't talked to the [North Adams] commissioners yet, but I can assure you we will take some action," Barrett said. "They have won the battle, but they are not going to win the war."

Neely and Fox did not return phone calls seeking comment.