Will the TEST contract be tabled? Our city atty gave many excuses for the super majority vote and seemed to be a cheer leader for TEST, so what comes next. Will you be at the council meeting and have you called your alderman? The majority would love to say that no one contacted them to express their views so be aware and be there.
Make sure you pass your News Tribune paper from tonight to your friends and neighbors and even make copies if need be. This Opinion from a Peru resident resonates what many have been expressing on the blog and to their friends about the lack of civility and rudeness expressed to them.
59 comments:
this council and mayor are scary
When government limits speech and opinions, look out America, the far left has won.
Just want to say how everyone should read tonight's OPEN FORUM in the paper. It shows how BIG of a JERK the guy I helped back as mayor really ended up being. If I had any part of it to do over, I WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED AT ALL!! What happened to his promises of "bidding contracts" and everything "open" with no secrets? WHAT A BIG PHONEY!
Elaine for mayor!
6:23 that is what they want you to think. That they are scary. There is safety in numbers. Domt let the ladies stand alone. You are just asking for a fair bidding process. You are not asking Harl to stop kneeling to the unions. You are not asking him to stop favoring the Ambassodor or Noonan.
You are asking to see if you can save a few hundred thousand, for a pool!
Fair Bid! fair Bid! Fair Bid!
Scary looking? Oh, sorry, you meant the manner in which they run our city.
Elaine for mayor:)
I had to go back and read the open forum again because I could not believe what I read, and I read it and could not believe it. Who the hell do these guys think they are? Give people power and this is what happens they forget about all us regular folk who got them elected. Shame on those mentioned in the article tonight. Shame Shame Shame
Elaine you are my hero!!!!
Doesn't the law state that if an item IS NOT on the agenda then you are not allowed to comment on it all during the public comment time? If that's the case then the lady in the open forum has no complaint because if you look at the agenda the TEST contract was never even discussed.
The public comment at the beginning of the council meeting is reserved for items on the agenda and the public comment at the end of the meeting has always been for whatever is on your mind. They won't answer questions but you are allowed to speak your mind. Of course as stated earlier in the week, Mayor Harl gave Mr Vaccaro time at the beginning for an item that was not on the agenda just the previous week.
9:01 OMG Elaine wrote the letter on the way they were treated, not whether or not the TEST contract was on the agenda. The point is why can't they just be nice, and explain the agenda. I can just see these four "men" ganging up on a 79 year old woman. Why were they so worried about who was in the audience? Come on you "men" if there is another side of the story tell it!
Please email or call every city council member and the mayor to voice your displeasure in regards to this TEST contract not going to open bid. That is so not right. They could be saving possible alot of money but they don't seem to care. I emailed most all of them tonight and asked them why. Should be interesting to see if I get any responses.
They acted like a bunch of thugs!
Lois, is it common practice to go out into the audience before a meeting and find out who is there and why they are there?
9:56 PM
I have seen the mayor visiting with people he knows before the meeting but never have seen him go for reinforcements. Was he that threatened? By 3 ladies? I guess he must be fearful that word has gotten out that a discussion might be bringing in some people unknown to him.
Don't be surprised if this contract is not on the agenda for Monday. Harl is cowardly enough to not put it on because he's afraid of all the people who will be at the meeting on Monday. If that happens, be prepared to go to the next meeting, and the next meeting, and the next meeting!
To 9:01 pm, NO! NO! NO!. The public is entitled to speak about whatever they want to speak about. You topic of interest does not have to be on the agenda somewhere. That is a ridiculous assertion. Furthermore, you have no obligation to disclose what you want to talk about with an elected official who may decide to uinterrogate you before a meeting. For Peru's mayor or aldermen to approach anyone before a meeting to "screen" subject matter is an absolute outrage and the city should be sued for intimidation and violation of the OMA. Has Peru become North Korea or Communist China?
It is interesting to see that someone at the Trib allowed that opinion to get in the paper at all. I di notice it is not on the web site front page. They usually link to the current opinions but this one you have to search for a little bit.
Maybe there are some free thinkers in that paper after all? It sure would be nice to get a decent investigative reporter in the area.
Just as Peru administration tries to control their public comments, I have a feeling they control what goes in the newspaper.
September 5, 2013.....Elaine Edler day in Peru. WLPO caller just made the comment that when the grandmother or grandfather of the family spoke, everyone listened. I would suggest that the Peru Mayor and Aldermen listen very carefully as to what the Queen for the Day has to say!
Why would city clerk have any say so and put his nose in it too? Is he Another one of Harls right hand men/woman? What a bunch of crap. Need a new clerk in office also. The whole club at city hall needs ousted.
The vote at the next meeting will be tabled because they won't have a mayor. Have you heard The radio talk show this morning and read the newspaper open forum? What a joke you people in Peru have for city officials. Is Perez the only one that cares what is going on in Peru? Leader of the Valley? Sorry they lost that title to LaSalle a long time ago. My as well take the title from Cook County as "leader of Thugville"
What a disgrace.
9:26 You are correct, Harl should resign!
The title for queen for the day is great. The letter and the FACT of how people in general are treated at a council meeting reiterates what a bunch of thugs are down at city hall. You would think the city's attorney would put his two cents in. Maybe he did in closed session. We all know that city hall loves closed door sessions. If there are so many closed door sessions to discuss employees, then that would be a problem also. Taxpayers money, city contracts, bidding process, etc.. at all cost should be made public during a council meeting. So we can hear the truth.
Just a FYI residents of Peru, Mr. Vacarro was allowed to get up and speak about the bb gun club without it being on the agenda and without filling out a card and it was the public comment at the beginning of the meeting. Short term memory loss on the part of the Mayor? Or just selective memory loss. Voters of Peru , DO NOT HAVE MEMORY LOSS ON WHAT IS TAKING PLACE IN THIS CITY.
I hope the queen for the day comes to every meeting from here on in and sits in the front row this time! You rock Elaine!!!!
Someone needs to compile a list of how these thugs have treated residents over the past years, and put it on the blog. I truly believe that no one believed what was going on at city hall in the beginning. Hope they believe it now.
Elaine for Alderman Fourth Ward. She is the type of woman I want representing me.
Complete lack of PROTOCOL within government representation in the City of Peru i.e. fireworks, concerts, attempt to recently sell city property to private sources without publication, and now entering a costly long term contract without open bidding plus the confrontational attitude of certain elected officials is creating a huge question mark on this as a city which one questions if if it is where one wants to locate to call home - residential retail, commercial, and industrial. The rapid increase in utility costs are also a negative
issue which have yet to be discussed further.
We need to make sure Elaine knows about this blog so she can read all the wonderful comments about her. Finally, somebody besides Lois stands up to city hall!!! Lois should also be queen for a day!
D. Waldorf's present term in office will be up in the election of 2015. Wsy too long. He's Gone!
S. Harls present term in office will be up in the election of 2017. Not soon enough. He's Gone!
J. Lukosus present term in office will be up in the election of 2017. Not soon enough. He's Gone!
G. Hyllas present term in office will be up in the election of 2017. Seems like forever. He's Gone!
City Attorney Forever appointed many, many terms for way too long already. He's Gone!
Considering it is our tax dollars in many forms that support the town we call home, Peru, we have the right to express our opinion of how it is managed. That does include criticism of things that seem inappropriate and many times just plain wrong.
The city officials have it wrong with the TEST contract. Now put yourself in the position of TEST, would you willingly accept a contract amidst all of this criticism? Or would you have the character to tell the city that believing in yourself and your fair price, tell them to go out for bids and as a honest company will then give the city the best bid at the best price and will compete with whomever chooses to submit a bid based on the same need. Standing tall and honest is what I believe I would do because this whole mess untimately reflects upon TEST and the unknowns behind them.
No Business is going to stand up and say let the bidding begin. The incumbent firm may need higher pricing than a challenger because they know the situation and may need a long term commitment to invest in servicing the account. Low ball bids happen all the time, then once they get in it is change fee after change fee.
Hammer on the officials to do the right thing. Have them put together a good and accurate RFQ. A business that insists they be given the right to get less money Or lose out to a lower bidder does not exist. If they do, they are too stupid to work for me.. Test believes they are charging a fair price to do a quality job, and doing it for less than the city can do it themselves.They are NOT working directly for you like the elected officials. They are there to MAKE PROFIT. Leave them out of it and let the bidding begin.
Read News Trib open forum today for comment by Mike Hart. I understand that Peru reporter Dankert is working on an article to appear before the council mtg on Monday.
Go Dankert! Let's take the gloves off and really get into this.
All those years of journalism school are about to pay off ;).
Every body remember to bring your pickle and and a whacking stick to the meeting!
You get what you vote for! Any other mayor candidate would of been a better choice and there were other options for 4th ward alderman as well! You get what you deserve!
Anon 2:06 The incumbent firm should be able to submit the lowest bid of all competitors and still make money because it has had over 25 years of experience working with this city. By now it should have discovered all cost saving devices without the sacrifice of lowering quality workmanship and not meeting designated standards.
You are taking a generalization of "change fees" and applying it to a specific situation. Change fees should be addressed equally and fairly with all who intend to and do submit a COMPETITIVE BID. WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE THAT A "CHANGE FEE" SHOULD EVEN APPLY. After dealing legally in this industry forever don't you think that the City Attorney should be able to write up a good and complete contract with the help of the new city civil engineer. The firm that the city eventually enters into a contract with will also have its own legal representation. This contract will be alot more than how much and how long! Sorry, but this time it is going to be a lot more professional as it always should have been.
For some unexplainable reason their are a few that keep referring back to the city as the only other option available than TEST. This falsification is completely untrue as evidenced at last Mondays council meeting where two representatives of a firm showed up to introduce their firm which has prior experience of outbidding TEST more than once.
What I do ask of TEST is whom is the city dealing with - owners and Board. This is no more than should be given by all firms who Peru does business with.
The cause of this controversy has been, is and will continue to be that the city selects a representative of Perus' Water Treatment by the means of open bidding. If all look back a couple of weeks ago they will remember Dave Waldorf a representative of the Public Works Committee attempted to avoid protocol and do things for reasons that can only be guessed at in his own selfish self interested way. Communications should have been submitted to create interest in Perus' Water Service months ago but as always we are lagging behind which has created a business situation for elected officials to do business with those who they ONLY want to do business with. Peru city officials are a outstanding example of a true inefficient government - business closed shop.
Monday, 7:30 PM Peru City Hall Come One Come All, Bring your own bottle of water,city officials do not share!
It's a sad day when the tax payers in Peru have to go without just so the owner of TEST can continue to live at the TOP of the hill! - flip a coin either the city will get a pool or Chris Perra will get one in his big back yard!
If TEST was a company on the outside looking in I'm sure they would be all for an open and honest bid
Anon 9:01
Must work for TEST
2:06 here. 5;05, don't get me wrong. I believe the incumbent has the strongest position, and I do believe that the city should force a bid.
I also have over twenty years of experience giving and receiving large bids, and most of what you are saying is naive and foolish. Any firm or municipality has to be very careful when evaluating the contractors. It has zero to do with how legal a bid or scope of services may be... You don't have a goal of trying to force a service company to do something where they end up under bidding due to change or insufficient info. Again this is nor buying a roof or siding! It's a big, complicated and labor intense service.
All I was saying is dont judge a company for making money. No smart company would Want to get into bidding, just because they are usually bidding against aggressive idiots who bid then cannot possibly fulfill the duties. Making profit is what they are in business to do. If there was an ounce of gumption in these collected elected officials they all would already KNOW through research what they should be paying.
Always know what is fair and reasonable before you go for bid, so you can see when you are getting ripped off as well as when a bid is too good to be true. The power plant demo comes to mind.
Now if TEST is in fact a kickback heavy, or even questionably owned business, I am all for rooting it out and exposing that. But I will never shame a supplier for trying to make money. It's our jobs as buyers to do our work too. Asking them to be super nice and pass on costs without marking them up means you think our government contractors are the same as our government workers. They are not.
All that said, there is no logical or justifiable reason to rush this or ignore the bidding process. There is definitely a strong reason to protest and stop this from happening. The reporter should press hard on kickback or unusual silent partners, because this does NOT feel fair or above board. I know most of the tricks of the trade in bidding, and this one seems like it is rigged, with benefits promised to the elected officials. There is no other reason to be so defensive and squash meeting comments from legit competitors.
Why bid a smaller contract like the landfill but not a bigger contract which would save the city so much more money??
Excellent question 9:01 pm.
Maybe we will find out Monday???
Anon 2:06 what are you trying to say. You have told 5:05 that most of what he is saying is naive and foolish and than you agree with everything he/she says point for point. I suspect that with 20 years of experience in giving and receiving large bids you have had more success in those dealings than you have had in giving a good written explanation in this blog.
AS a outsider looking at both you and 5:05 I have to tell you that 5:05 does a much better job of explaining himself.
12:33 I was replying to his comments. I was focusing on the belief that writing a good contract provides very little protection against major headaches in a bid for a performance contract. Suggesting that Test welcome a bid process is naive, thats all. It is foolish to put your faith in an attorney and some document if you do not understand the true risk of change. It will do you little good to hold some new firm to a set of low prices if they go bankrupt or do a lousy job on a critical city function.
I hope you can understand that.
My sole point is that we should focus on the city officials and make them do the right thing.
Anon 7:25 Everyones sole point has been and still is to focus on the city officials and make them do the right thing. Five years ago this was the reason that many backed Harl for Mayor and a few have stayed involved because they found that the Harl election has only made us work harder. Because of Harl, some other elected officials such as Hylla, many of Harls appointments and certain city council members Peru has gone backwards. Recent circumstances have proven that the population of Peru wants good and honest development and YES with everyones help we are going to finally get it. It has been more than 50 years since the last donnybrook in Peru challened a group of independents to unite. Long time coming but the challenge is being made and the line has been drawn.
Once again the open forum letter in today's paper from former Alderwoman Sherry Mayszak is not listed on the web site. Did not see Mike Hart's letter last night either. And the article on the front page was obviously biased towards TEST and the city it was ridiculous. And not one word from the mayor or aldermen. Mmmm wonder why! Do they not have the guts to voice their opinion before Monday night...or do they think they just don't have to? I will let you answer that question yourself. Call your aldermen and please let us know if they answer your call here on the blog. I would love to know who answers and who doesn't.
1:17 PM,
I would love to be posting those open forum letters here on the blog but unless the writers also send them to me, I cannot take from the N.T. as it is against the law.
Mike you have my email, send it to me and I will post and the same with Sherry and Steve. I would them all. Also the one from Elaine if anyone knows her.
Who paid for the Robo-Calls this morning? I tried to look up the organization, but it was not listed with the State of Illinois.
I emailed both of my aldermen who are Ferrari and Mueller. Ald. Ferrari replied that he would be listening to his constituents and Ald. Mueller did NOT reply.
If Ald Ferrari is listening to his constituents, he will vote NO on this contract but of course that will not happen. Who beside Ald. Perez on that council is strong enough to stand up for us?
Not one of them besides Perez is strong enough to stand up against the rest of the council. They will all vote to stay with TEST. Even Potthoff is a huge disappointment. He goes along with everything Harl wants. Where did that other Dave Potthoff who had a voice go? The aldermen say they listen to the people, and that's what they are elected to do, but they will do the opposite with this contract.
Super Majority will not rule Monday as Ald. Potthoff and Ald. Perez will stand on their own two feet and Ald. Sapienza will join them with a nay vote. Don't be surprized to see others join them with a nay vote as the support for competitive bidding increases. Those who were a sure Aye have changed their thoughts because they like the power of their position and are not willing to commit political suicide.
Anon 2:11 Alderman Waldorf, and Lukosus will table it before they take it to a losing vote. If the motion is made then the votes are there. This was how Waldorf and Lukosus handled the bike path vote. I was told Waldorf took a straw poll vote just before the meeting and didn't have the support so he tabled it. I'm sure that will be the case on Monday. It's obvious according to the paper that this group of councilmen are scared of citizens. lets pile in that room and watch them squirm.
I love it when they smirk, oh I mean squirm.
Elaine for alderman, mayor, and city clerk.
If Ald Waldorf and Lukosus table this vote because they know they don't have the votes, they are cowards. Let the votes of the aldermen be known. Just like the bike path, we will never know how each alderman would have voted for that. The only thing we know for sure was they didn't have enough votes. I want to know how each alderman will vote, so I know how to vote at the next election.
How could Waldorf take a straw vote before the meeting and know if he did not have a majority vote on a issue without breaking the OMA? Waldorf has to go, the only person he is representing is himself and Lukosus is no different. Since Harl called in all his chips for Lukosus in the last election he should go with him also.
Harl should go for more reasons than just because he called in all his chips for Lukosus in the last election! Good grief!
Post a Comment