Baldwin County Commission Chairman Skip Gruber and new Commissioner Joe Davis engaged in a heated exchange Tuesday over proposed renovations to the second floor of the Fairhope courthouse at a work session in Bay Minette.
Davis questioned county staff about delays on the project and said he believed those delays to be deliberate.
“I want some answers and I’m going to sit here until I get them,” Davis said. “This has been an embarrassment. And I’ve got people in my ear saying that someone is slow playing this on purpose. I want it moved forward.”
The renovations to the second floor include plans added office space for the Baldwin County Legislative delegation.
Gruber said the delays were largely due to how the previous commission wanted the work to be done.
“The commission was going to bid this out, but the previous commission said we want to do it in house so we can save money,” Gruber said. “This project could have been finished already, but others said they wanted to do it this way. It was done that way and put on the backs of our people who have not had time because you’re putting a construction job on a bunch of maintenance folks.”
Davis said he had asked for a bid three weeks ago and had received no reply.
“When you ask to have a meeting with people and then you don’t get any reply, someone is blocking this,” Davis said. “This is not the way you handle public money.”
Baldwin County Purchasing Director Wanda Gautney said there had been no continued contact with the architect for the proposed changes and that her office was only asked to get pricing. She added her office could go back and bid the project and get it done without an architect if that was what the commission desired.
“What we said we wanted was to have a plan on how to complete the whole floor,” Davis said. “It’s darn near finished. It’s been sitting there for eight years and it could be done for half the cost. Call the architect today and have a conversation. Move this forward and let everyone know what’s going on. If you consider that a threat, so be it, but I was told I’d get a price within a week and here we are.”
Davis again said he believed the project was being “slow played,” which led to an argument between him and Gruber where the two talked over one another.
Davis: This thing has been slow played long enough and whoever has slow played it, I’m going to expose it.
Gruber: The maintenance folks haven’t had time to correct it.
Davis: That’s the excuse why it hasn’t been done.
Gruber: You were the one who wanted to be involved in this.
Davis: I’m not blaming anyone. Who is slow playing it?
Gruber: You could be the one slow playing it if you aren’t getting stuff from the architect.
Davis: Don’t accuse me of this.
Commissioners said they would continue the discussion at a future session after getting word back from the architect.
