Work to remove Hurricane Ida debris will soon begin in Summit nearly six months after the storm hit after town officials voted Tuesday to hire contractors.
Councilmen voted to hire Debris Tech for debris monitoring and Land Development Co. for debris removal.
Land Development Co. submitted the highest quote for the removal, but councilmen went with the Magnolia-based firm anyway, saying they believed they would get better work.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the lowest bidder is not always the best bidder,” Councilman Joe Lewis said.
Daniels asked Mayor Percy Robinson for his advice on who to hire, and Robinson said to go with the company that ranked the highest according to factors including cost, experience, work plans and emergency response.
That would have been a company called Looks Great, which received the highest ranking out of the four firms submitting bids.
Looks Great offered to do the work for $260,000, while and Good Hope quoted $345,000, DRC quoted $336,140 and Land Development Co. quoted $355,175.
However, Land Development’s overall rating based on the other factors was just below Looks Great’s and well above the other two companies’.
Mayor Percy Robinson said representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had recommended the council accept the lowest bid, would be in town this week to determine what could and couldn’t be removed in the cleanup. FEMA officials would also lool out for trees and limbs left in danger of falling after the storm, Robinson said.
After some debate about which firm’s bid was the best, Councilman Julius Nash made a motion to hire Land Development Co., which was ranked No. 2 overall.
Nash said Wednesday that in addition to high ratings, excluding cost, the proposal Looks Great submitted included possible add-ons for other expenses. Plus, he was familiar with the work Land Development Co. has done in McComb and Pike County while Looks Great had “no local track record that I felt comfortable with.”
After reimbursements from FEMA and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Summit will be on the hook for 121⁄2% of the debris removal costs.
“Let’s go ahead and get it done because pretty soon hurricane season will be back again,” Lewis said.
