Columbus City Council hired Waggoner Engineering on a 4-2 vote Tuesday night to perform environmental services for the city blight elimination program.
The city has received $3 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its blight program, as well as putting aside $500,000 from its American Rescue Plan Act allotment.
The program will acquire blighted property, demolish any existing structures on it, and then attempt to market it to redevelopers who will put in affordable housing. Vacant and overgrown lots also qualify, according to the guidelines.
HUD requires environmental assessments be done on affected properties, and three engineering firms submitted proposals, according to Interim City Planning and Community Development Director George Irby. Those firms were T. Barton and Associations, Neel-Schaffer and Waggoner.
After assessing the applications, Irby told the council it was essentially a draw between Neel-Schaffer and Waggoner as far as qualifications went.
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene moved to hire Neel-Schaffer, but Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones jumped in with a substitute motion, seconded by Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco, to hire Waggoner.
Greene asked if Waggoner had done any lobbying work to land the HUD grant, and if that posed a conflict of interest. Mayor Keith Gaskin said no.
“They are not lobbyists,” Gaskin said. “… Our lobbyists lobbied for it. Waggoner helped us write the proposals.”
Gaskin expanded on this theme at his Wednesday press conference, saying he was “disappointed” in the discussion at the council meeting.
“(Greene) asserted that (Waggoner) did the lobbying,” Gaskin said. “What they do, just as Neel-Schaffer has done, is they help us write proposals. For example, Neel-Shaffer just helped us write a grant proposal (for a street safety study).”
Tuesday night Greene pressed Jones on why he wanted to work with Waggoner.
“This is the same Waggoner we dismissed six months ago because we weren’t happy with their work?” Greene asked. “… We voted not to keep them, so you were unhappy with something.”
“It wasn’t their performance,” Jones said. “… (It was) some charges that they were doing, some studies, we wanted to see some movement on stuff. This will be some movement.”
Waggoner was hired in December 2021 as the city’s ARPA consulting firm. On Jan. 17 the council voted 5-1 to sever its relationship with Waggoner after the firm put in a $122,000 request for ditch work in Wards 4 and 5. Gaskin vetoed that decision, and his veto was overridden at a July 31 special meeting. Jones voted to get rid of Waggoner and also voted to overturn the mayor’s veto.
Jones’ motion Tuesday night passed 4-2, with Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart and Greene voting no.
The engineering submissions were based on qualifications and experience only, Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett told The Dispatch at Gaskin’s Wednesday press conference. Once a firm is selected, the price for services will be negotiated.
If the council doesn’t like the price, they can turn down the proposal, Gaskin said.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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