County not keen on spraying roadside chemicals
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Road Superintendent Harold Glenn learned of the chemical spray at a highway superintendent’s meeting in Knoxville and decided to try the process on a limited area on local roads. The process is touted to control undesirable plant growth and at the same time keep mowing down to as few as one cutting per growing season.
The county’s Purchasing Committee, composed of County Executive Kenneth Rogers, Director of Accounts Linda Hillis, and commissioners Herb Wright and Carl Hulett, had several concerns even though Assistant Road Superintendent Levy Glenn pointed out that several counties in the state have been using the system successfully.
One concern was that out of seven companies who received specifications on the bid only one, NaturChem West, showed up for the bid opening. Commissioner Herb Wright inquired at one point during the meeting as to who had written the specifications for the bid, whereupon NaturChem sales representative Lee Sartin told the committee that his company had provided the specs.
Wright expressed his concern with that aspect of the bid in very succinct terms.
“That’s getting awful close to bid-rigging,” he said.
Levy Glenn defended this, telling the committee that NaturChem, which has been in the business for over a decade, had the most expertise as far as writing the specs.
“If you get your specs a little too weak, you’re not going to get a really good product,” Glenn said.
After the meeting, Hillis did say the bid had been posted in the Southern Standard, as required by law, on two occasions. Hillis also said she had obtained a list of five companies who could provide the service from the highway department and had provided them with specs as well as two local companies who requested copies of the specs on their own, presumably after seeing the bid published in the Standard.
Glenn told the committee the process offers several advantages and that was what drew the road superintendent’s attention. Glenn told the committee that NaturChem has done spraying for TDOT as well as for Caney Fork Electric on some of its right-of-ways. The company has done extensive work in Georgia, particularly on the interstate highways there, and has been successful.
Even so, some committee members felt local residents would disapprove of any sort of chemical spraying considering the current world situation.
“Well, I’m not willing to turn loose some chemicals on the public up and down in front of their houses all over this county at this time,” said Wright. “There’s too many chemicals in the air now.”
“I think it’s bad timing really,” said Hulett, noting the general perception of possible terrorist threats involving chemicals. “Maybe a couple of years down the road.”
The committee voted to postpone the bid indefinitely.