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12-24-2007, 10:37 AM IFtheyonlyknew Joined on 12-20-2007 Posts 1 Your Local Option Tax Monies I have been involved with the Cedar Rapids School District construction projects for over 20 years. I have watched them limp along not being able to afford to properly repair broken and worn out items because of the First resonsibility to education. Now that there is a vehicle (local option sales tax revenu) by which to finally fix and replace some much needed repairs their are people who have appeared at the troff of monies that seem to have an agenda that is conducive to their own well being. Let start at the beginning. 1. Prior to the first tax a local, a local engineering firm had an engineer leave the firm and run for the CRSD School Board. Their campaign was subsidized by the former employer, the engineering firm. They won, and their former employer was named as sole and exclusive engineering firm to all CRSD projects. Including campaigning for and overseeing the first tax spending which was somewhere around 55 Million. 2. The former employee now well placed as a CRSD member went to the University of Iowa and got a position that would also hire the former engineering employer to work for them in their new capacity as a University Engineer. They have instantly become employee of the millenium without even being an employee. 3. Getting back to the effect that this is having on us poor taxpayers. This Engineering firm moved into the position of head of the campaign to pass the vote for the tax monies, which they succeeded in doing. They were named as sole designers and engineers for all projects without any type of bid process which is the norm for any type of public monies projects. They were put in charge of all project management and given full authority as to design modifications, installation compliance, and work acceptance. They were even openly involved in the Construction Oversight committee which turned out to be their personal bobblehead dolls. 4. This is all highly unusual and would not be acceptable anywhere else. You cannot give someone the catchall authority that was handed to this company because they tend to write "their own agenda". This includes naming their own price which they collected over 7 Million dollars in fees for. When I poleed other Engineering firms of this amount they discribed it as "outragously high". They acted as their own judge and jury in numerous design and construction items. It appears that the the one thing they did right was spend all of the monies. Had the CRSD acted in a fiscally responsible way they would have first interviewed for the design position and awarded it on a bid and design bases. They should have held bids for a seperate job management firm for all projects to oversee the flaws and mistakes made by the design company. The design engineers should have had no contact with the oversight committee which leaves me wondering what they might have gained from this arrangement. The entire situation leaves me with doubt and suspicion because I have personnally seen it in action. There were considerable monies wasted that should never have been. There were things that seem to have been done only to spend every last dime and come back and show the taxpayers that they were right on the mark. I can only speculate that between overpaying the catchall engineering company and the blatant money eating designs the waste could reach 10 Million. This is really unacceptable and needs to be addressed. Access to the Oversight Committee meetings have been to no avail since they will not meet with the construction contractors in a public forum to discuss any concerns or issues. They have vehemently objected to me personally to any type of oversight individual or companies outside of the small ring of people already slated for their parts. Something stinks in this whole situation and I certainly have paid a price for bringing it to the attention of the taxpayers. They have cut off and isolated all work with the schools. Someone is hiding something and I have a feeling we are all paying to hide it. 10 Million is a lot of education wasted. Iftheyonlyknew    Report

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