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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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On April 20,2010, Glenda Dunlap, Suzanne Wilcox, Karen Morris and Carol Freeman filed a joint complaint against Greg Eason relevant to the City of Flint "Violence in the Workplace" policy. It took Assistant Prosecutor Angela Watkins over a year to complete the investigation, but Eason was informed of the complaint by the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Peter Bade, shortly after it was filed.
Subsequently the four filed a second complaint alleging mismanagement and improper procedures in the Department of Energy (DOE) grant and later filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Their allegations were determined to be valid and verifiable in the resultant investigation which suspended and then terminated the grant. Bade initially claimed no knowledge of the second complaint until confronted with it by Neeley in the investigative hearing.
The original complaint is finally public as it is part of the karen Morris court records in her Whistleblower lawsuit against the City and Eason. Walling and Eason terminated her.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:22 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:44 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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On pages 3 and 4 of the complaint and part of the interview with Dunlap and Wilcox on April 22,2010:
Allegation #1.
Complaintants contend that Eason threatened to fire anyone who leaked information surrounding a Request for Proposal (RFP)
Dunlap stated tthat during a Department of Community and Economic Development staff meeting on April 14, 2010 Eason announced he was rescinding the bid for the Housing Development Administrator position. The RFP had been submitted for bid and the sealed bids are opened at the same time and then evaluated . Eason was of the belief that someone within the department had leaked the evaluation responses from the RFP to someone outside the city. The alleged leak was the responses for the price and other information within the RFP responses. eason threatened to fire the person responsible.
Wilcox stated Eason replied"I am not going to hire a Housing Administrator. I am going to be the Housing Administrator, so you are going to see my face."
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:55 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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page 12- Greg Eason's response:
Eason confirmed he believed information was being leaked relative to the aforementioned RFP and he threatened staff with termination.
"Eason stated that only two bids were submitted. Greg Averhart (sic) and John Carpenter submitted bids. Eason stated that the scores were skewed because Carpenter who had no formal education other than high school had higher scores. Eason stated the scores were so skewed that it had to be DCED employees sharing this information. Eason stated that confidential information was leaked outside of the department."
Eason also stated this leak could leave "the City of Flint and DCED liable."
The question is in what capacity would the city be laible?
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:23 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:02 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Several agencies came to the pre-bid meeting but only Carpenter's consulting firm, Vantage Consulting, and Greg Averyhardt submitted bid reponses. Carpenter attended the sealed bid opening. At first the bid by Averyhardt was confused as to being submitted by Salem Housing because he used their forms.
Carpenter stated his was the only complete application as Averyhardt did not have the insurance or the required software as determined by the RFP.
When the deadlines for implementation of the contract passed, Carpenter repeatedly attempted to contact DCED administaration and Eason regarding the bids but received no response.
Because he was aware of allegations through friends of Averyhardt's that a deal had supposedly been made to award the contract to Averyhardt, Carpenter included that concern in an e-mail to Wendy Johnson.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:31 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The results may have been "skewed" in favor of Carpenter and his bid because of his attention to detail. Carpenter hired a former employee at the Flint Housing Maurgarette Harris, who had extensive knowledge of HUD rules and regulations to assist in the preparation of the RFP. His RFP included hiring her and Jake Hawkins in at least part time capacities to assist in the implemention of the tasks.
Carpenter has extensive knowledge of the housing construction, consulting and contracting work as he has built complete subdivisions, He has formal education in construction related areas.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Carpenter made a complaint to officials that the City of Flint DCED and Greg Eason deliberately violated both the federal rules and regulations for HUD procurement and the City of Flint procurement rules by not allowing free and open competition. He believes this may be a clear case of bid rigging.
The federal standard for procurement in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program is 24CFR85.36(b)(9) which states:
"Grantees and subgrantees will maintain records sufficient to detail the significant history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis of the contract type."
24 CFR85.36(c)(1) states "all procurement transactions will be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition."
Thus the results of the bid proposals should have been available through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. However despite FOIA's this type of information has not been forthcoming.
Also, per the federal regulations, Carpenter should have received in writing an explanation as to the status of his bid. The DCED should have responded to his requests regarding his status.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:51 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Elements in this drama raise the issue of cronyism and race consideration in the awarding of contracts. When the elements of this controversy are examined in light of revelations in the Townsend lawsuit, there may very well be conclusive evidence of reverse discrimination that will come to light.
Word on the street was that the "leaked information" was to Salem Housing. I was surprised to be told that Tracy Akinson was allegedly the one who called Salem and that it was supposedly common knowledge. Whether or not this was true, since the documents were said to carry the Salem Housing logo, perhaps this was not so much of a leak as a legitimate request for information.
Was Eason really upset that a white man, a man the Walling administration had terminated a contract with, had evaluations that were highly in favor of his proposal?
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:29 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:00 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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In another thread I will examine the issue of cronyism and race consideration when Eason selected employees for DCED and the decisions that led to the filing of the Civil Service Commission complaint and the harassment complaints.
The HUD monitoring report of May 20, 2010 for the City of Flint called the DCED a department in disarray. Although they commend the staff as being willing to learn, they note the staff is not knowledgeable about HUD rules and regulations. The administration is cited aas being unwilling or unable to respond to the findings of the October 13,2010 Office of Inspector General audit in which Flint stands to lose considerable funding. |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:09 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| I wonder how Eason will look in a striped suit & flip flops. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:34 am |
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JCARPENTER
F L I N T O I D
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| Dave- I thought the buck stops at the mayors office? Maybe we can save some tax money and have him share a cell with Walling?He is the one who hired this racist crook .The problem is that someone has to GIVE A RIP before anything will be done about such minor things as violation of city charter,violation of purchasing procedures and steering positions to less competent friends.I went to city council on April 12th and urged them to send both proposals to committee. Eason promply told council that he would be handeling the job himself. I turned over all my information to the FBI and ask them to look into to case. You all can see how Eason is handeling the job himself when you see the huge waste of tax money being spent in Smith Village. Good project being done the wrong way,the wrong time by the wrong people. |
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Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:09 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| I'm thinking Walling will claim total innocence and toss Eason under the bus. The groups behind Walling will do what they ca to protect him. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Jan 01, 2012 5:43 pm |
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insider
F L I N T O I D
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| There's a rumor that Walling has already said Poplar and Eason will be back once the state leaves. |
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Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:06 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Insider- Has bates already canned the alleged unsupported hires in City Hall? |
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Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:12 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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City of Flint trying for second chance at terminated $1.1M federal energy grant
Published: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 8:30 AM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — The city of Flint is hoping for a second chance at the $1.1 million energy grant that was terminated by federal officials in October.
After the U.S. Department of Energy yanked the grant because of what it called “serious mismanagement and misuse,” Flint officials have submitted a revised proposal for spending the money on projects that promote energy efficiency.
Federal officials are expected to decide by Jan. 13 whether to reinstate the grant award, officials said.
Details of the proposal weren’t immediately available on Wednesday, but City Attorney Peter Bade said the city is partnering with Ann Arbor-based Resource Recycling Systems to develop the plan for using the grant funds.
Resource Recycling was the lowest bidder to respond to the city’s original request for proposals for spending the grant funds in 2009, when it first became available.
The city eventually decided not to go with the lowest bidder, which was one of the concerns cited by the energy department in its termination letter to the city.
Bade said Resource Recycling Systems is a “nationally recognized environmental consulting and engineering firm with direct experience administering federal grants,” including the energy department and other federal agencies.
In an e-mail to The Flint Journal, Bade said the proposal “addresses the Department of Energy’s concerns regarding the City’s ability and willingness to comply with the Grant requirements, and seeks to strongly demonstrate the City’s level of commitment.”
A representative from the energy department could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The grant was awarded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be used for programs and projects that promote energy efficiency at City Hall and for city residents, such as financial incentives for energy improvements.
But in May, the grant came under federal investigation when the FBI and energy department auditors took electronic records and other grant-related documents and materials from city hall.
The grant was later suspended and then terminated, but the city’s legal department appealed the termination. |
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Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:52 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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What about the money already misspent?
The City changed the grant recipient under Walling and Eason-Why is Walling still there?
Walling used Kate Fields in his videos fo election against Williamson. He also had a relationship with her. Ananich and Walling were friends and cofounded the Flint Club together. Ananich spearheded the change of contractors. |
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Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:56 am |
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