Jackson Jambalaya

Maybe Chokwe has some promise after all.

Is name De' Keither joke?

The 3 who weren't there are equally to blame.

Was the vote for payment or just approval of the change order? Also, if it was for payment, did they also hold payment to the engineer?

Change order. Payment would be in the claims docket. Sorry.

Make a note....Lumumba was the adult in the room.

I have nearly wrecked dozens of times since this project has begun because of the UNAVOIDABLE HOLES IN THE ROAD combined with NO ROOM TO AVOID THEM. I can not believe that the road ever got to this point. Of course it's going to be expensive after being totally neglected for so many years. DANGEROUS!!!

The Stokes' are a joke...someone should remove them.

They should have told LaRita they found a bunch of assault weapons at the bottom of the hole. She would have voted right for it hat and all!

LaRita is like her husband, if it does not benefit her pocketbook she is against it.

At first glance this looks bad, and I've never given the City Council any credit, but was the $100k justified? I understand there will be change orders and cost overruns, but the Council should have the ability to scrutinize bills it receives.

On the other hand, I highly doubt the vote was for legitimate reasons.

Hemphill is ntorious for bidding low, winning the contract and thensubmiting "change orders" to increase the price of the project. As long as the Council continues to allow Hemphill to do this there will be "change orders". I support Stamps and Stokes. It is about time Hemphill's feet are held to the fire.

I suspect they voted against it for political points with their constituents, knowing it would be passed later.

I'd bet a quarter LaRita would vote for it if that white building was where she bought her hats or got her hair did.

Good for them. Hemphill should have planned and budgeted for this. If they only planned for smooth clay removal they are playing Jackson for a bunch of idiots. Oh and the "curved pipe" is a knee slapper.

That would be Jackson Free Press endorsee De'Keither Stamps. Nary of word out of the JFP holding Stamps accountable for his vote.

The only way Stamps' objections could have been satisfied in advance of the project is if Fortification had been completely dug up first before any contractor even submitted a bid.

When it comes to holding the feet of politicos to the fire don't bother looking to the Jackson Free Press because, simply, they don't.

Pay under protest to get the damn hole fixed, then sue Hemphill if it's really so unreasonable.

This is a Federally funded project. Mess this up and see hard future funding becomes..

This is a Federally funded project. Mess this up and see hard future funding becomes..

Uncle Bennie will grease the skids...

I would bet a dime to a dollar that if the Hemphill were black owned, she would have voted yes as fast as it takes her to put those hideous hats on.

$100,000 sure is a nice, round number for a change order. Surely nobody would just grab a number like that out of their ass.

Maybe Hemphill can sub some the work out to the right people.

$100,000 sure is a nice, round number for a change order.

You are a blubbering fool to believe that is the case.

I'm not trying to shill for Hemphill, but unforeseen issues like this are usually the fault of the engineering firm that developed the plans, and not the contractor...

Also, $100k is a lot of money, but infrastructure projects like this are usually quite expensive, so it may be small compared to the overall contract amount.

You folks who say they underbid on purpose are just as clueless at the City Council. Streets and highways are bid on unit prices. The engineer determines the quantity. There was zero quantity on the bid form for this. The problem could not be determined until the street was torn up. You cannot "teach the contractors a lesson" by failing to pay for legitimate unknown conditions. The contractor can refuse to do this until hell freezes over and if it goes to court he will win hands down. Also, MDOT has already checked and approved the prices. MDOT does this every day. They know what the price should be. The council's failure to act just shows that are not qualified to do their jobs.

LaRita she good. She represent the peoples. I luv her hur and pretty hats you crakaz.

It boils down to whether or not the " unforeseen" should have been foreseen when the bids were let, whether or not the contractor's methods caused/made the problem worse and whether or not the bid offering did or did not contain language to adequately describe the contractor's responsibilities/remedies and a dispute process.

If everyone is doing their job, there shouldn't be so many cost overruns and contract disputes on government contracts. That begins with the description of work and continues with how the contractor does the work including the quality of the materials used, the workers he hires and what he pays them and whether he hires enough to do the job right and in a timely manner.
MDOT and the engineers should have known the age of the road, the soil conditions and age/likely condition of the sewer/water system. So, it this sort of thing typical under such conditions?
I don't know.

Interestingly, some of the answer might be in the other bids.

If the process is good , council members don't have to be .

We can do personality bashing or take a close look at how our contracting process...roads/bridges/buildings is actually working in this state.

Who is the engineer on this project?

... the workers he hires and what he pays them and whether he hires enough to do the job right and in a timely manner.

Rate of pay does not guarantee superior workers nor does the sheer quantity of workers insure quality and timeliness.

The only approach that would have avoided the particular change order under discussion would have been to dig up Fortification first before accepting any bids.

Anyone who believes that there is some exhaustive database and/or library specifically detailing every past underground construction effort or quirk in Jackson dating back 50, 80, 100+ years doesn't know what, and how much, they don't know.

A good process can, in no way, compensate and account for a bad council.

Adopt the militant Stokes/Stamps approach that everything unforeseeable encountered underground must come out of the contractor's hide and watch the price tag of Jackson's multi-million dollar bill to bring the sewage system into EPA compliance double or triple overnight.

That will be the harvest Jackson will reap for electing fools, incompetents and the corrupt.

I'll bet that within 6 months after completion of the F-street project, that the Republic will be out there digging up this new road to fix some water leak. Yes, I know they are supposed to be putting in new water lines, etc, but I'm still bettin'. Give it time; Jackson will go back to all gravel roads at some point. They are already well on the way.

The guy at 7:39am this morning speculates a lot and then just says "I don't know", because like most of the people replying on here, he is clueless. The answer is, yes, change orders like this are typical for work like this. And given that the $100k is only a little over one percent of the contract amount of $8.9m, it's pretty immaterial.

Please be informed if you are going to comment.

First these types of issues happen and are standard. Hemphill has nothing to do with it since it was unforeseen. It is not there job to predict - only to quote based on engineers estimate. But, when I look at the pictures and you can see the drainage ditch in the background, it does appear that a good surveyor or the engineer possibly could have caught this? It would help if there were more pictures from around the hole. Not a professional or anything just guessing based on the type of pipe, the angle across the road, and the background ditch.

8:31am, you completely missed the point.

If the contractor hires those lacking adequate skills so he can pay them less or hires fewer workers than is needed, that can make him more profit on the contract but cause problems. That is one of the ways a contractor can pad a contract.

The subs a contractor uses matters. The project manager matters.

A bidding process has to be good enough to reduce the ability to pad contracts or use inferior materials or a method that looks good but won't last.

Contractors get really excited when they see something significant omitted or that the wording gives them a big loophole .

No one thinks there is an exhaustive database. But, those who are experienced in dealing with old systems have expertise and information just as there is difference between those who restore old houses and those who build new houses. Not all electricians have experience with porcelain boxes.

No elected group will have knowledge of constuction law, contract law, engineering , installation, materials etc. They have to rely on the expertise of others.

You really need to learn about how government works before you engage in knee jerk reacrions.

Whether it's a board or a city council or your computer accurate information fed into the system matters.

How many poor,struggling government contractors do you know,9:31 am?

See where Stokes want to move funds from Clinton-Byran parkway to other uses.Part of this money for this project was a federal earmark. The can not be moved and to not finish the parkway project could cause real problems.

We should all encourage Stokes to play with this money. This may be the fastest way to get him on a bus to Parchman.

1:38 just who would send Stokes to jail? Which one, AG or DA??