Also, a look into how Emperor William Hellmann CPA and financial planner works with Reba Dunford.
ADDED: The BCCT had a short to-the-point factual article on the meeting.
ADDED: The Hellmann Report is now available at the MSD website
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Open Mike Night at the Defeasement
According to peter's comments, the bond is defeased by a vote of 6-3. Please let us all in on what happened tonight.
Also, a look into how Emperor William Hellmann CPA and financial planner works with Reba Dunford.
ADDED: The BCCT had a short to-the-point factual article on the meeting.
ADDED: The Hellmann Report is now available at the MSD website
Also, a look into how Emperor William Hellmann CPA and financial planner works with Reba Dunford.
ADDED: The BCCT had a short to-the-point factual article on the meeting.
ADDED: The Hellmann Report is now available at the MSD website
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Most of the other drama centered on a vote to pay some engineering firm up to $2,500 for a "study" dated today that most board members just received today, even though the board never voted to authorize the work. That's a no-no, and hopefully the Courier Times covers this too in tomorrow's "Morrisville Board Votes to Defease Bond" column.
Apparently, the board voted at the Dec. 12 mtg to advertize for bids for a comprehensive engineering, electrical, mechanical study at all 3 schools. Business Administrator Reba Dunford prepared Request for Proposal (RFP) documents so that the study would conform with Penna. Dept. of Ed (PDE) and PLANCON requirements, which would enable the district to be completely reimbursed for its costs. William Hellman rejected Reba's work, claiming that it would cost too much to do it Reba's way.
He never presented Reba's RFP to the board and, on his own and with no competitive bidding or board vote, authorized the firm to do what sounded like a cursory walk-through of just the high school, and prepare a sketchy, gap-filled report.
Solicitor Kelly, trying to put the genie back in the bottle, suggested an after-the-fact resolution to spend taxpayer money to pay the firm for the unauthorized non-PDE conforming work, lest the firm sue for payment. After a vote to table the motion until next month's mtg failed, the board voted something like 8-1 to pay the firm up to $2,500, even though there's no bill yet.
How long will the board claim to be "new" at such things, when Radosti & Heater are in their 5th yrs on the board, and Worob is in her 3rd yr, and Mihok has been on the board before? Apparently the term for the answer is used several times in the $2,500 unauthorized non-PDE conforming study --> "TBD" (To Be Determined).
It was much more low-key tonight. Reasoned discourse from both sides, I thought. No real surprises who pleaded for what.
Two things that happened that are worth noting:
1- In December the Board voted to bid on a survey of the condition of the buildings. Reba Dunford drafted an RFP but William Hellmann, CPA, thought it was too thorough. "Too complicated" I think were his words, and that he "would take care of it." This afternoon the report from Billy's no-bid contractor came in and is apparently woefully incomplete. They had a motion (which passed 8-1) tonight to ratify this work, meaning, no bidding was done but the work was performed and now they had to pass it in hindsight or else the contractor could sue the district. Robin Reithmeyer pressed hard to put it out to bid and get a more complete study completed. Thank you Robin.
2- Gloria Heater asked Reba Dunford to call the Business Administrator at Pennsbury to inquire about the costs of renovations they are doing to a building approx the same size as our HS. Reba itemized the costs but, to make a long story short, the total cost is $20.5M.
Kudos again go to Joe Kemp, Ed Frankenfield, Robin Reithmeyer and Bill Farrell for showing that they are actually giving thought to what is being presented to them. We may disagree at times -- including Mr Farrell's yes vote to defeasement -- but it is good to know you are making reasoned, thoughtful decisions.
Side note to Mr. Hellmann:
Like this time, whenever you make a multi-million-dollar decision please continue to [1] NOT show your figures on the big screen, [2] read your figures faster than we can write, and [3] mumble. We like that.
One more thing: Hellmann also stated last night that he would advise his business clients against investing in Morrisville.
Here's what I want to know......when did the lady in the front row become Mother Superior? I got the distinct impression that the "glaring" eyes were on some on the board.
Just an observation!
Last night's meeting was comical. Bill Hellmann, the board's rulesmaker, disregarded the rules and then needed the rest of the board to bail him out.
Instead of following procedures, he dismissed Reba Dunford's PDA sanctioned paperwork for his own, and goes off on his own and brings in friends to do a "walkthrough", not an "inspection". This inspection report, released to the board members late yesterday afternoon, and not yet available to the public, was the fig leaf of respectability to last night's defeasement.
I'm disappointed in the board bailing out Hellmann and assuming the bill in the name of the district. If he went and did this on his own, why should we, the taxpayers, pay for it?
This is more secrecy and backroom dealmaking from the people who campaigned against those alleged things.
He also stated that he would not invest in downtown Morrisville, and would not recommend his clients to invest in Morrisville. Thanks for the big civic boost, Bill.
I should have added thanks to Bill Farrell for his remarks about bringing us together to find a solution. It's nice to see a voice of reason up there.
Also thanks to Robin Reithmeyer. I can, and do, disagree with her on many of her positions, but I respect that she does the work and research behind the decisions.
Does anyone know the name of the company that Bill hired? If he has any connection with this company, including just being friends with the guy he could be in very big trouble and should be reported to PDE.
I'm horrified at the way that elements of the board treated both Dr Yonson and Ms Dunford last night. I know that Dr Yonson is a contract employee but does anyone know if Ms Dunford is similarly protected? I sincerely hope that she is.
Regarding Mr Hellman's refusal to follow standard procedures regarding the RFP process, does anyone know if they are bound to this process? Aren't municipal institutions bound by law to include minority owned firms in the bidding process? Isn't that what the advertising process is in place for?
To answer a couple of questions: The engineer's report was done by Wick Fisher White of Philadelphia. I don't know if they have any connection to Bill Hellmann since I didn't have a chance to check them out since this was not done the proper way. I had an email from Mr. Hellmann several weeks ago saying he had someone to walk through and I went back and forth with him several times reminding him that this stuff should go through proper channels. The administration didn't even know about the contract until I finally cc'd Dr. Yonson. By that time the job was done. Okay, mistakes were made. The report should be up on the web site today. I can't find it right now, but I'll check on that.
Reba Dunford does have a 5 year contract, signed last year. As do the principals, as does the superintendent.
Why isn't Tom Kelly saying anything if this isn't legal? Huh?
The report has been added to the website and can be gotten here.
I'm a little fuzzy on the status of the bond defeasement guy who was at last nite's mtg and last week's mtg as well. Gordon Walker was it?
Was he/his company hired by the board already? Was there a vote on it? Was it advertized and/or put out for competitive bidding? He said last nite his company's fee for defeasement is $29,000, and that he's done a "tremendous amount" of work on it already.
I'm not knocking the guy, his company, or the quality of the work he's done (how could I, I haven't seen it?). I'm just wondering how he came on the scene and how kosher this process was, especially in light of the way the $2,500 "study" went down.
Also, any chance that all the financial machinations thrown about by Mr. Hellmann and Mr. Walker around at last nite's mtg will be made public? I and others are pretty good with numbers, but not when they're rapidly mumbled in a somewhat incoherent fashion.
Troglodyte:1 : a member of any of various peoples (as in antiquity) who lived or were reputed to live chiefly in caves
2 : a person characterized by reclusive habits or outmoded or reactionary attitudes
Definition #2, Sometimes the funny pages are just too perfect.
Quick correction...sorry Joe,
Reba is in no way protected. Her contract was not up for renewal within a year of the time the last Board left and therefore could not be renogiated by law. Off-hand I'm not sure how much longer she has, but it's probably not more than a year or two. It will definitely be up to these current Board members to decide upon, and soon.
Here's one that slipped under everyone's radar!!!
Note: A walk-through of the schools, originally slated for December 15, was rescheduled for January 12. Suddenly there was a lot of interest in this walkthrough and many community members were going to attend. Hellmann canceled the walk-through and, to my knowled, never announced a rescheduled date.
From the Wick, Fisher and White report: "Wick Fisher White made a site visit on Thursday, january 17, 2008 to the Morrisville High School. We met with Mr. Tim Lastichen, Maintenance Supervisor, School Board members Ms. Marlys Mihok and Mr. Bill Farrell and Woody Shull, an invited guest of Mr. Farrell."
That was it? What happened to the open site visit everyone wanted to be invited to? Also, where the hell were the rest of the board members?
Another note of interest in the report:
"Wick Fisher White was engaged by Mr. William Hellmann, President, Morrisville School District Board of Directors, to ..."
It doesn't say they were engaged by the school district or the board, only by Mr. Hellmann.
Please remind Mr. Hellmann about the walk-thru. The reason he canceled it was that he wanted to have engineers present! Five days later, an engineer walks through, but no town!
Tom Kelly's job is to advise the board, and protect the board from making mistakes that can get them in trouble. Without going into detail (for real executive session material, sorry), Mr. Kelly advised that this kind of activity cannot continue.
...and Woody Shull, an invited guest of Mr. Farrell."
I don't know Mr. Forrest "Woody" Shull well, but here are a few things I think I know (and I apologize & stand corrected if I got anything wrong):
He is a long-time resident of Morrisville and graduate of Morrisville High School.
He frequently walks his small dogs in the morning.
He has always been unfailingly pleasant and friendly to me & my family.
I believe he has experience in construction work.
He lives right next door to Sandy & Jed Gibson.
His house is also up for sale.
He & his wife signed the QRSE petitions against the new school.
I get the sense he & the Gibsons don't see eye-to-eye on some things.
I mean him no disrespect, but I don't know if anyone can say that he represents an entire cross-section of the Morrisville community, such that he should be the only invited guest from the public on the tour.
At th next opportunity to speak, the 15 lucky speakers should all be sure to include a reference to troglodyte's in their comments. I giggle just saying it, "troglodyte." "troglodyte.""troglodyte."
Reminds me of the time when Ms. Marlys Mihok placed a small plastic frog on the table in front of Ed Nelson at a board meeting and called everyone a "Toady".
That phrase was bantered around a while.
Maybe someone should place a plastic frog in front of her, labled "troglodyte".
Ribbit!
You mean Marlys was a froggy before she was a ducky? What is it with the stuffed animals?
I don't wanna be a frog!
I don't wanna be a frog!
I would rather be a duck!
Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!
I can't resist.
Put Down The Ducky, starring Mr. Boots and Ernie
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