To the editor:

I want to voice my displeasure with the Brown County Commissioners actions to award the Salt Creek Trail Eagle Park phase to All American Paving.

My company Monroe LLC has been involved in no less than 10 similar trail projects around central Indiana. I have bid this project three separate times, twice with all bids rejected and this time with an award to a contractor other than the low bidder.

The project specifications asked for contractors to have a prequalification from the Indiana Department of Administration. My company does not have this prequalification. The commissioners and highway superintendent Mike Magner were aware of this fact since they used the same logic to pass over my bid for the Helmsburg stormwater project costing the Brown County taxpayer an additional $210,000.

I continued to pursue this project knowing that I didn’t have the certification, but aware of the fact that the certification doesn’t apply to bids below $300,000. Please Refer to Indiana Code 8-23-10-0.5. My bid was $298,895. Brown County has stated that regardless of this they will continue to demand the IDOA prequalification at any contract amount. In this case Brown County is now going to spend approximately an additional $60,000 on this project. Also, they are turning their backs on a local contractor and local workers.

There is no doubt in my mind that there is a personal issue either with the commissioners or Mike Magner. I can’t imagine what that is. We are not getting the leadership we need from our local government, and there actions strike me as being negligent. Please take time to let the commissioners know if you agree, and demand accountability from them.

John Simpson, Brown County