Delhi council grants contract for work on learning center

Delhi officials voted unanimously to award the contract for building its Learning Center to Jackson Builders of Jackson, Miss., during their monthly meeting June 8 at the Delhi Town Hall. 

The bid amount was around $990,000 and total funds available totaled $1.2 million, which left nearly $250,000 for the purchase of furniture, computers and other equipment. Construction was tentatively slated to begin in October. The project will have an on-site inspector to oversee critical construction phases from beginning to end, and make sure all phases are completed properly and in a timely manner. 

Next, Alderman Bobby Benson discussed the outline and need for Departmentalization of the Public Works Department to establish accountability throughout the many divisions responsible for keeping the town operating effectively and more efficiently.  There was debate expressing the pros and cons of the changes to the department; however, the need to have constant supervision and proper on-the-job training was the deciding factor for adopting the new system.

Benson explained evidence of the need for change was the recent discovery of the millions of gallons of water being treated by the water treatment plant that was not being measured due to the meters not being operable.  He further explained when the town has to pay back loans based on inoperable meters it is possible for the town to be losing revenues because of this problem.  He applauded former Alderperson Caroline Christman for her understand and calculations that were denounced but are now accepted as accurate based on the discovery of the inoperable meters.  

The mistake was discovered by newly promoted Assistant Public Works Director Mark Jones, who has been very efficient in working with the different entities in order to keep up with the current demands of the department.  

Mayor Jesse Washington supported the initiative because he has taken an active role in observing the operation and has seen the need for more accountability in the department.  During the month of May, Washington gave an open invitation to the members of the board of aldermen to attend a guided tour of the town’s facilities.  The tour showed the need for someone to be in charge that will report the operational clean-up needs at the old water works building and compost/mulching field.

 It also showed the need for reporting equipment failures at the treatment plant, and of course the repairs needed to the many different commercial water meters.  All of the board members were amazed at the quality of the final effluent, and that many operations were done by the operators manually in order to achieve such water quality.  It was at that time Washington decided something had to be done to help give credit and help to the men doing the work.

The board then heard a presentation by Arnold Lambert of NeT PLEA, a governmental collections and consulting company that specializes in recovering lost revenues due to delinquent water bills and failures to appear in mayor’s court.  Alderman Marvin Hamilton advised the board to allow time to have the company researched to find out what some of their customers think of their services.

Washington informed the board that he had discovered the Town had purchased over $60,000 dollars worth of equipment to be used in the Cave Theater.  These purchases were made prior to his taking office and alderman Benson and others did not recall funds being allocated for this particular purchase.  Washington stated the equipment was paid for except for about $1,400 which may also include shipping and handling to get it to Delhi.  The board agreed to authorize the mayor to check the legality of the purchase, and do what’s necessary to get the equipment to Delhi rather than lose the money spent on the equipment.  

Washington also requested the board to approve his travel to an economic development conference in Baton Rouge.  The board voted unanimously to approve. 

Public Works Director Pete McCall informed the board he had consulted with the town’s accountant and discovered some of the funds spent during the year from the water account should have been purchased with Lamb-Weston contingency account funds.  He calculated the amount of $28,758 had been spent on contingency items, and that money should be given back to the water department to be used to purchase trucks and repair a fence at the treatment plant.  McCall stated he is hoping to purchase two dependable crew-cab trucks for around $21,000 and have the remainder to contract out the repairs to the fence.  The board took McCall’s request under advisement because Washington had already been involved in a search for those types of vehicles through other governmental agencies and like programs. 

McCall stated he had shopped local vehicle dealerships and found it impossible to find two vehicles at his desired price.

Chief of Police Nathaniel Williams discussed a request for new equipment and to hire much needed personnel.  He also informed the board that traffic fines were down because the department is short handed, but overall more drivers are obeying the law. 

Chief Williams stated his biggest challenge is juveniles committing burglaries.  To help meet the challenge, the board voted to hire one experienced officer, and a committee was created to interview at least two other potential candidates. The mayor, board of aldermen and the chief of police expressed a deep concern about these juvenile crimes because some of the burglaries involved the theft of firearms. 

Parents are asked to monitor their teenagers and look for evidence of stolen firearms in the homes.  If they find such weapons, they are encouraged to bring them to the police department before it is involved in the loss of life, or be used in some other serious crime such as armed robbery.  The Town of Delhi has an ordinance requiring youths under the age of 17 to be off the streets by 10 p.m. during the week and by 11 p.m. on the weekends.  This ordinance will be enforced.