WCS Won't Seek Phone Bids, Awards Contract To NSI
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
The quote totals $554,902.56.
Board member Kent Adams opposed the motion, and Board President Deb Wiggins abstained. Voting in favor were board members Ron Yeiter, Dan Robinson, Gene England, Tammy Dalton and Delores Hearn.
Robinson, who sits on the facilities committee with Yeiter and Adams, made the motion to approve the quote from Network Solutions. He said it was the consensus of the facilities committee during its May 5th meeting to move forward with a recommendation to accept the Cisco equipment low quote as provided by Network Solutions. The purchase is being made through Quantity Purchase Agreement pricing. Use of QPA pricing provides schools with pricing leverage delivered by the state on pre-bid items such as computer and telephone equipment.[[In-content Ad]]Adams said that while he agreed Cisco equipment was the equipment Warsaw Community Schools wanted, he did not agree that the Network Solutions price was the best price for WCS.
Adams said he did not feel CenturyLink was asked for a like quote. Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz requested a quote from CenturyLink Feb. 11 after Network Solutions already had been contact. Hintz sent new requests in March for quotes to both CenturyLink, Warsaw, and Network Solutions, Granger. Adams said it appeared to him though that Network Solutions had a distinct advantage.
The process started in 2008, before Hintz became superintendent in 2009.
After receiving a letter from CenturyLink requesting Warsaw Schools send out a formal Request For Proposal to take bids on the work, the school board April 26 voted to bid it out if Cisco equipment could be specified for the project.
Early in today's meeting, CenturyLink Marketing Development Manager Jack Moore inquired about the RFP. Wiggins said the motion made April 26 by Adams was to put out an RFP, and then was amended to specify Cisco if it was legal to do so. The school board was later notified, however, that they could not be vendor specific. Therefore, Wiggins said, since the motion could not be enacted, it was null and void.
Adams said the board is aware of the discount Cisco gave to Network Solutions that was not allowed to CenturyLink. It was a corporate discount that the board is well aware of.
"We understand that. It's not within our control," Adams said.
He said the whole process is flawed and questioned the ethics of it.
"What's going on here? I have a problem understanding what's going on here," said Adams. Looking at the RFP that was sent out, which was 97 pages long, Adams said he didn't think they were comparing apples to apples.
Network Solutions' quote was about $113,000 less than the CenturyLink quote, but that doesn't include about $70,000 in other fees, Adams said.
"I'm not favoring one vendor over another. I'm looking at the process," he said.
"I ask each of you, what is wrong with accepting competitive bids? Or why would you not?" Adams asked.
Robinson said he often does not accept the lowest bid in his business. Yeiter said the board has learned a lot about quality of vendors from past experience. Robinson said the school board found out in the past that when they bid something out, they can't take the "most responsive."
When the school building projects were bid out in 2008, the school board considered a different bid they felt was "more responsive" than Fetters Construction for the Madison and Leesburg schools. Fetters, stating they had the lowest bid, threatened a lawsuit and ended up with the bid.
Adams and Robinson today also disagreed on whether the phone system was a public works project or public purchase. Adams said the difference in definitions could result in litigation against the school corporation. Robinson said the wiring of the buildings were bid out and that was the public works part of the project.
Yeiter questioned Adams' comment that the process may not have been ethical. He asked Adams if he thought the process was not above the board. Adams said yes.
Later in the meeting during public comments, Jim Lemasters, Technology Department, said never in his life had his ethics and integrity been question. He took offense at Adams' comments, but was stopped by Wiggins before he could comment further. Adams said he meant no disrespect for Lemasters personally, but he questioned the method that was used in selecting Network Solutions.
Robinson said he shared Adams' concerns initially. However, the more it was investigated and more information collected, the more satisfied he was with the quotes and selecting Network Solutions.
He told Adams that bidding it out was not the best process. If they bid it out, they would not get to choose Cisco, and neither Network Solutions or CenturyLink may end up with the prize.
"We may end up with the cheapest Chinese knock-off and we'd be left holding the bag," Robinson said.
Adams suggested if they didn't go with an RFP, maybe they could offer the two vendors to quote on the 97-page RFP again since now they know what it is more specifically the school corporation wants.
Yeiter said both vendors are good, quality vendors. If you send out an RFP, there's a question of quality of the equipment. The school board truly believes Cisco is the way to go, he said. With the Network Solutions quote, Yeiter said they're getting quality and won't have to deal with the issue again in three to four years.
Hearn said she didn't see the advantage of giving both companies another opportunity to quote on the equipment again. They've been given three chances already.
Wiggins gave representatives of both companies a chance to speak.
"We wold like the opportunity to place a bid on this system based on 'apples to apples' if you would. We don't feel that's happened," said Moore. "Ultimately, we accept the decision you make. We appreciate the partnership we have had with the school corporation for a lot of years."
Larry Tadevich, president of Network Solutions, said he didn't see why it was not apples to apples. He said his company has done everything legally they could. He appreciated the relationship his company has had with Warsaw Schools over the years.
Hintz said, "By and large, I believe we do have an apples to apples comparison." He said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott assured him that the technology department has gone over it and everything is OK.
Robinson commented on the 97-page RPF. He said those kind of documents are hugely legality crap. "That's what all these documents are. Lawyers always win. We can get to the meat of things in very few pages. That's the truth of the thing," he said.
The quote totals $554,902.56.
Board member Kent Adams opposed the motion, and Board President Deb Wiggins abstained. Voting in favor were board members Ron Yeiter, Dan Robinson, Gene England, Tammy Dalton and Delores Hearn.
Robinson, who sits on the facilities committee with Yeiter and Adams, made the motion to approve the quote from Network Solutions. He said it was the consensus of the facilities committee during its May 5th meeting to move forward with a recommendation to accept the Cisco equipment low quote as provided by Network Solutions. The purchase is being made through Quantity Purchase Agreement pricing. Use of QPA pricing provides schools with pricing leverage delivered by the state on pre-bid items such as computer and telephone equipment.[[In-content Ad]]Adams said that while he agreed Cisco equipment was the equipment Warsaw Community Schools wanted, he did not agree that the Network Solutions price was the best price for WCS.
Adams said he did not feel CenturyLink was asked for a like quote. Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz requested a quote from CenturyLink Feb. 11 after Network Solutions already had been contact. Hintz sent new requests in March for quotes to both CenturyLink, Warsaw, and Network Solutions, Granger. Adams said it appeared to him though that Network Solutions had a distinct advantage.
The process started in 2008, before Hintz became superintendent in 2009.
After receiving a letter from CenturyLink requesting Warsaw Schools send out a formal Request For Proposal to take bids on the work, the school board April 26 voted to bid it out if Cisco equipment could be specified for the project.
Early in today's meeting, CenturyLink Marketing Development Manager Jack Moore inquired about the RFP. Wiggins said the motion made April 26 by Adams was to put out an RFP, and then was amended to specify Cisco if it was legal to do so. The school board was later notified, however, that they could not be vendor specific. Therefore, Wiggins said, since the motion could not be enacted, it was null and void.
Adams said the board is aware of the discount Cisco gave to Network Solutions that was not allowed to CenturyLink. It was a corporate discount that the board is well aware of.
"We understand that. It's not within our control," Adams said.
He said the whole process is flawed and questioned the ethics of it.
"What's going on here? I have a problem understanding what's going on here," said Adams. Looking at the RFP that was sent out, which was 97 pages long, Adams said he didn't think they were comparing apples to apples.
Network Solutions' quote was about $113,000 less than the CenturyLink quote, but that doesn't include about $70,000 in other fees, Adams said.
"I'm not favoring one vendor over another. I'm looking at the process," he said.
"I ask each of you, what is wrong with accepting competitive bids? Or why would you not?" Adams asked.
Robinson said he often does not accept the lowest bid in his business. Yeiter said the board has learned a lot about quality of vendors from past experience. Robinson said the school board found out in the past that when they bid something out, they can't take the "most responsive."
When the school building projects were bid out in 2008, the school board considered a different bid they felt was "more responsive" than Fetters Construction for the Madison and Leesburg schools. Fetters, stating they had the lowest bid, threatened a lawsuit and ended up with the bid.
Adams and Robinson today also disagreed on whether the phone system was a public works project or public purchase. Adams said the difference in definitions could result in litigation against the school corporation. Robinson said the wiring of the buildings were bid out and that was the public works part of the project.
Yeiter questioned Adams' comment that the process may not have been ethical. He asked Adams if he thought the process was not above the board. Adams said yes.
Later in the meeting during public comments, Jim Lemasters, Technology Department, said never in his life had his ethics and integrity been question. He took offense at Adams' comments, but was stopped by Wiggins before he could comment further. Adams said he meant no disrespect for Lemasters personally, but he questioned the method that was used in selecting Network Solutions.
Robinson said he shared Adams' concerns initially. However, the more it was investigated and more information collected, the more satisfied he was with the quotes and selecting Network Solutions.
He told Adams that bidding it out was not the best process. If they bid it out, they would not get to choose Cisco, and neither Network Solutions or CenturyLink may end up with the prize.
"We may end up with the cheapest Chinese knock-off and we'd be left holding the bag," Robinson said.
Adams suggested if they didn't go with an RFP, maybe they could offer the two vendors to quote on the 97-page RFP again since now they know what it is more specifically the school corporation wants.
Yeiter said both vendors are good, quality vendors. If you send out an RFP, there's a question of quality of the equipment. The school board truly believes Cisco is the way to go, he said. With the Network Solutions quote, Yeiter said they're getting quality and won't have to deal with the issue again in three to four years.
Hearn said she didn't see the advantage of giving both companies another opportunity to quote on the equipment again. They've been given three chances already.
Wiggins gave representatives of both companies a chance to speak.
"We wold like the opportunity to place a bid on this system based on 'apples to apples' if you would. We don't feel that's happened," said Moore. "Ultimately, we accept the decision you make. We appreciate the partnership we have had with the school corporation for a lot of years."
Larry Tadevich, president of Network Solutions, said he didn't see why it was not apples to apples. He said his company has done everything legally they could. He appreciated the relationship his company has had with Warsaw Schools over the years.
Hintz said, "By and large, I believe we do have an apples to apples comparison." He said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott assured him that the technology department has gone over it and everything is OK.
Robinson commented on the 97-page RPF. He said those kind of documents are hugely legality crap. "That's what all these documents are. Lawyers always win. We can get to the meat of things in very few pages. That's the truth of the thing," he said.
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