"Hats off to Gorman and Riley!"

Mr. Tom Gorman of Fort Scott Truck and Tractor attended the Commission meeting Tuesday evening to question the bidding process on the airport equipment purchase. Joe Moses, an engineer hired by the city for the bidding process was also there to explain the process and answer questions from those concerned. I was glad to see him there considering the fact that at the June 7th meeting Commissioner Keating stated that it was brought to his attention that the specs provided by the engineer referenced a patented John Deere transmission which in his view made the bidding process unfair. I agree. At that meeting I asked the commissioners if it were possible for them to negotiate that with the engineers before making their decision. They stated that the FAA regulations required the equipment to be made in the USA as the reason that Deems John Deere of Nevada was the only responsive bidder. So they went on to vote at that meeting to make the purchase with them. At Tuesday's meeting Mr. Moses, (the engineer) attempted to explain his report in the best way possible. Tom Gorman was very polite and professional in his presentation too. He obviously did his homework before approaching the Commission. He questioned the process regarding bid specs and as to why his competitor, Tom Riley of R&R Equipment was considered by the engineer to have submitted an “unresponsive” bid. Mr. Gorman admitted that he had not responded to the bid because the specs appeared to him to not resemble a tractor at all. He also questioned the “Responsive” bid by Deems Implement in Nevada. It was good to see two local business owners of the community approach the Commission in support of each other, and the entire business community of Fort Scott. Mr. Gorman was presenting documents to support his argument, giving copies of letters to the Commission as well as the City manger, these documents and facts started to cause restlessness in the room. The last document Mr. Gorman provided was an un-signed letter dated back in March of 2005 which referenced a "local John Deere Dealer". When Tom asked who the letter was from, no one answered. With no reply he directly asked The City Manager, Mr. Moses and Don Russell if they sent it. There was quite a delay in response until Mr. Moses admitted that he had written the letter that referenced a "local John Deere Dealer." When I asked the engineer how he was lead to believe that their was a “local John Deere dealer, he didn't have a chance to respond before Don Russell interjected “in a newspaper ad!” This obvious, evasive, not taking immediate responsibility, sparked the attending Citizens to make comments that were out of order. Mr. Gorman stated that he felt that the Commissioners had been mislead by someone, however it was unclear just who. He did commend the city employees who provided him with all he asked for regarding the correspondence etc. I question, if there is nothing to hide, then why did it take more than one inquiry by Mr. Gorman for the responsible party to admit they wrote the letter? This meeting lasted about 3 hours and much of it was dedicated to this specific topic that involved very expert presentation from both Mr. Moses and Mr. Gorman. I feel that it is in order to post the following from the City Commission minutes from September 17, of 2002.


b. Utility Vehicle (Airport) Kenny Howard, Airport Manager, informed the
Commission that bids had recently been taken for a utility vehicle for the Airport.
This vehicle will be used for towing of airplanes and general maintenance. Mr.
Howard’s recommendation is for the 4 X 2 John Deere Gator in the amount of
$5,500.00 from Deems Farm Equipment of Nevada, Missouri. He has recently
tried out several from other bids that were received, but no others could match
the John Deere 4 X 2.

To me this has a familiar ring to it. I wonder if the other bids were "local" and lower than Deems at that time. I'm sure it is a matter of public record.