WINFIELD - Despite one commissioner's opinion that the deal "smells," the Putnam County Commission voted Tuesday to accept a last-minute bid from BrickStreet Insurance to provide worker's compensation for county employees.
In a 2-1 vote, commissioners voted to accept the $214,695 quote from BrickStreet. That's more than $12,000 less than the $226,980 quote BrickStreet offered at the commission's May 25 meeting.
No one from BrickStreet was at the May 25 meeting, but a representative from the West Virginia Counties Risk Pool did attend and offered to provide worker's comp insurance for $218,082.
On Tuesday, BrickStreet representatives were at the commission meeting. Jarred Hurley, BrickStreet's commercial department manager, said the agency was able to lower its quote once it realized there was "competition for the account."
The county currently has its worker's compensation insurance through BrickStreet. That contract expires July 1. The county also has liability coverage through the Counties Risk Pool.
Commission President Steve Andes and Commissioner Andy Skidmore voted in favor of accepting the new proposal from BrickStreet, but Skidmore said the commission's process for accepting quotes was "flawed."
The commission did not advertise for a formal request for proposals, but rather spread the word to potential insurance providers individually. There was no official deadline for proposals to be submitted.
"It doesn't feel good, it doesn't look good, it smells. I don't want the County Commission in Putnam County to be represented this way if somebody is going to shop bids after the fact," said Commissioner Ron Foster, who voted against the proposal. "This is a mistake, it makes the County Commission look bad, it's dirty and it makes us look like we do stuff under the table.
"This is a very, very bad decision and it's one that will discourage people from bidding in the future. Maybe you'll save a few thousand dollars here, but you're going to cost yourself a whole lot down the road," Foster said. "This is really, really bad."
Skidmore disagreed, although he said the fault lies with the commission for not going through a formal bidding process.
"Next year, we'll actually do the bidding," he said. "The process is flawed."
Commissioners voted to give about $9,000 saved through the lower BrickStreet bid to Hometown residents to repave their private road.
During the May 25 meeting, residents of 4th Avenue North in Hometown requested funding from the commission to repave their road. Resident Eva Barnett said road conditions were so poor the community's trash service will no longer drive down the road to pick up trash.
Foster and Skidmore voted to give the money to repave the road because of safety concerns present from the road's current condition.
"I think we're putting ourselves in a bad position. We've turned down many of these over the last several years," said Andes, who voted against the proposal. "It's a private road. We do not have the funding to take care of private roads, the state does. I think we're opening a Pandora's box."
Also Tuesday, County Manager Jeremy Young said the parking lot for the county offices will be repaved this summer. Construction is underway, and portions of the parking lot will be closed as the repaving continues.
There will still be public parking available, and signs directing drivers where to go in the lot. A portion of Courthouse Drive will be repaved in mid-July, Young said. The entire paving project is expected to be completed by late July or early August.
Reach Carlee Lammers at carlee.lammers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1230 or follow @CarleeLammers on Twitter.