Glenn: Looking out for taxpayers in demanding top-quality work
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“I’ve never taken a dime,” said Harold. “Even when I’ve run for office, I haven’t taken money from nobody.
“I’ve had people send me money before, saying they want me to put it toward my election campaign and I’ve sent it back to them. I tell them I don’t want to hurt their feelings but I don’t want to owe anybody anything.”
Prater has tried to put Glenn on the hot seat, saying he refuses to use other paving companies such as Custom Construction and the Hillis Group when they have been awarded the bid for county projects. Prater says it’s curious that Glenn only wants to use state aid money for road work when APAC has the bid.
Glenn says he has nothing against Custom Construction or the Hillis Group. His only interest is ensuring local taxpayers get the most from their tax dollars.
“I won’t stand for ripping the taxpayers off,” said Harold. “I expect to pay for a good job. We don’t care who does the job if they do it right.”
Glenn points to three incidents where he claims the Hillis Group did unsatisfactory work for the county:
• Dark Hollow Road – Glenn says the county paid $226,000 to have the road paved in August, 2002. He has taken pictures which show the asphalt is breaking apart in some places, requiring over $100,000 to repair.
• Locke Bend Road – Glenn says the drainage holes on a bridge there were paved over resulting in flooding.
• Wilson Road – Glenn says sizable dips have been left in the road.
Levie Glenn, assistant road superintendent, says they have done testing on the road surface and found not enough oil was used in the dust-asphalt ratio.
“One big issue is we’re getting a poor-quality mix,” said Levie. “It’s not as binding.”
In addition to the mix, Levie says the asphalt isn’t being applied properly, as in the case of Wilson Road.
“It’s just like icing a cake,” Levie said. “You may have enough, but you’ve got to spread it around evenly. You don’t want all your icing left on top.”
Prater, who chairs the county’s Highway and Bridge Committee, says he has never found a problem with work performed by the Hillis Group.
“It’s suitable to me and the state of Tennessee,” said Prater. “It must be satisfactory to the school system because they used Stanley Hillis for Eastside.”
Harold Glenn says Warren County will not lose any of the $518,795 in state funds the county has already been awarded for road projects that is currently unused.
“That’s not much money when it comes to road work,” said Harold. “When we get going good, we can use that much up in a few weeks.”
He also says the county has spent considerable money with Custom Construction and the Hillis Group – it just hasn’t been state aid money. When Custom Construction had the bid for county work in 1998, Harold says his records indicate the county spent $463,538 with the company. When the Hillis Group had the bid last year, the county spent $373,438 at that time.