Two council members say Jackson Mayor Frank Melton has enlisted a Louisiana company to do rogue debris removal work in the city. "These guys were on the street all over the city this morning," said Council President Leslie McLemore. "They have not been authorized by the council to do this work. The council has already selected a private contractor for that work." McLemore said he believed Nungesser Industries, of Pearl River, La., is doing unauthorized work, at the behest of Melton.
The company did not return calls.
It is allegedly the same company Melton attempted to hand the city's $3 million debris removal contract to on Tuesday. Council members informed Melton at the time that he was ducking city ordinance requirments regarding contract work in attempting to unilaterally hand the contract to the company. Potential contractors must submit bid proposals for the city council to pick through.
"When I heard about this, I called Sarah O'Reilly-Evans, and she told me that she talked to Frank yesterday for a couple of hours after the council meeting, talked to him last night and told him that ‘you can't do that,' and she thought he understood. Then first thing this morning he has these guys out on the street doing debris removal," McLemore explained.
Ward 6 Councilman Marshand Crisler said the contract work would be impossible to work out.
"We don't know how much debris they've already picked up. We have no way of knowing. All I can say is I will stand up on a table and fight the administration if they try to pay them for this work. This is not the way it's done. These guys do not have a contract," Crisler said.
The city awarded the contract to local contractor Socrates Garrett of Garrett Enterprises, for $15 per cubic yard of debris removed. Melton has previously opposed city contracts with Garrett, who helped campaign for his opponent, Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr.
Garrett said Melton had admitted that he would "fire him if he had his choice," but had little to say regarding the rogue work, after reporting it to council members.
"I told them about it. Beyond that, it's between them and the mayor," Garrett said.
McLemore said Melton would have to pay the company out of his own pocket if the compay was to be paid at all.
"The mayor's going to have to pay them with a personal check, because they're not going to be able to get their money out of the coffers of the city of Jackson," McLemore said, adding that he had requested O'Relly-Evans write an order for the company to stop its work.
Neither Melton nor O'Reilly-Evans could be reached for comment.
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