Dunkirk council balks at bill for tree trimming (04/11/06)

DUNKIRK — A $1,350 bill for cutting down two trees and trimming two others drew sharp criticism at Monday night’s council meeting here.

The project had been authorized by city street superintendent Elijah “Lash” Harvey, but needed full council approval for payment because the amount exceeded $500. The work was reportedly awarded without bids or price quotations to Tucker Tree Service of Hartford City.

At Monday’s council session Mayor Sam Hubbard said he wasn’t sure where all the trees were located, and he requested that payment of the bill be tabled, pending more study.

During the audience participation portion of Monday’s meeting, Dunkirk resident Pam Bunch questioned why the Hartford City firm was used instead of one of the tree trimming services in Dunkirk.

Also speaking at the council session, Eric Bowler of E & T Tree Service, Dunkirk, said this sort of preferential treatment occurred after the ice storm in 2005, also, and he had been told by city officials that his company would be given an opportunity to submit competitive bids in the future.

A resident of Dunkirk, Bowler said he was interested in trying to save the city money.

Bowler said he thought the council should take sealed bids on the tree-trimming work and open them at the council meetings.

Mayor Sam Hubbard said he intended to talk with the street superintendent about the project to get things clarified.

Meanwhile, councilman Larry Smith said that Harvey had been told to take bids on tree-trimming work before, and perhaps some disciplinary action.

Harvey and councilman James Doughty, who oversees the street department operations, were not present at Monday’s meeting.

In other business at the session, city council members:

•Noted that the council has scheduled a 6:45 p.m. meeting at city hall on Monday, April 24, to consider using $10,000 from the city’s Rainy Day Fund to settle a discrimination claim which was filed against the city by Regina Jewell, a former employee in the clerk-treasurer’s office. This will mark the third such hearing for the council on this issue. Clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler said the April 24 meeting is necessary because proper 10-day notice was not given for the previous session on March 17 when action was approved to allow this expenditure.

•Learned that Bob Brown of Barnum-Brown Insurance Agency, Dunkirk, would be making a presentation at the next council session about the renewal of the city’s property insurance policy. Hubbard said that preliminary indications show that next year’s premium may be reduced by as much as $5,000. “That’s pretty good news,” the mayor said.

•Tabled a request for a wastewater treatment bill adjustment from Saint-Gobain Containers, pending more study. Hubbard reported that in the meantime, Saint-Gobain had issued a check to pay the $123,500 bill to avoid being assessed any late charges.

•Approved an ordinance establishing a handicapped parking space on the north side of East Washington Street, 107 feet east of the intersection with Main Street. A resident in the area had requested the handicapped parking spot at a previous council meeting.[[In-content Ad]]