Don’t let squabble hurt Warren County taxpayers
The tar has been flying in what has escalated into a full-blown controversy over which company should pave Warren County’s roads.
On one side of the highway is Road Superintendent Harold Glenn, who is serving his third term. On the other side is Stan Hillis, owner of the Hillis Group, a local paving company.
Thus far, the two have been unable to meet in the middle of the road. And that’s not good news if it’s Warren County taxpayers who are getting run over in the process.
Glenn firmly maintains he’s looking out for the best interest of taxpayers and that’s why he’s reluctant to use the Hillis Group. He prefers to use APAC and says Hillis does sloppy work.
Hillis adamantly disagrees, saying Glenn is trying to steamroll him and his company. Hillis says officials with the state of Tennessee have never questioned his work, and neither have officials in Van Buren and DeKalb counties.
All of this is important to us because the Hillis Group has submitted the lowest bid to perform the county’s road work. Based on that low bid, the Warren County Commission approved Hillis as the paver. But since Glenn doesn’t want to use Hillis, it leaves a glaring question mark about who is going to pave roads and do road repairs when paving season begins in the spring.
While the Standard declares no expertise when it comes to road work, we do have the best interest of the taxpayers in mind. And it appears ill-advised to rely solely on one company, APAC, to pave the county’s state roads.
There’s a reason the road work is put out to bid in the first place. It’s so the county gets the work completed at the best available price. By having several companies fighting to be awarded the work, it serves to drive down the price. If bids from only one company were accepted, it stands to reason the price would be higher.
That’s why the Hillis Group, with a bid of $25.49 per ton of asphalt, was awarded the work over APAC, with a bid of $26.75 per ton. The bid from Hillis was substantially cheaper and county commissioners were looking to save taxpayer dollars. It’s the beauty of competition.
It won’t result in long-term savings if the work from Hillis turns out to be shoddy. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The Standard has inspected Dark Hollow Road and Wilson Road – two roads where Glenn has said Hillis did a poor job – and both appear in good shape.
There’s occasional asphalt cracking on Dark Hollow Road, but that cracking comes around sharp curves or near embankments where the road immediately drops off. It appears there are other issues in those areas than simply the paving because the eight-mile road is fine in all other spots.
The paving surface on Wilson Road appears in top condition. There are some dips, and a noticeable one near the intersection with Hutchins Road, but that appears more to be a fundamental problem with the original road and would require serious grading work to repair.
The bottom line is Harold Glenn has served this county well during his three terms. He needs to continue doing a reputable job and not let this squabble stand in the way of his service to Warren County.
In talking with Van Buren County Road Superintendent Wendell Wheeler, he had these comments about the Hillis Group: “They did a good job for us as far as I’m concerned. I’d be more than happy to use them again.”
DeKalb County Road Superintendent Kenny Edge said, “I’ve got no problem with him doing my work. He’s going to do another job for me this spring.”
If no one else is dissatisfied with the work of Stan Hillis, it’s hard to imagine a glaring problem exists.