Mayor: City to move forward with NAPA contract – Jun 5, 2014

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

After the Springfield City Council’s inaction this week on a controversial contract with NAPA Auto Parts, Mayor Mike Houston said Thursday he’ll implement it anyway, to the dismay of some aldermen. The city will go forward with the $3.75 million contract the council approved April 15, Houston said.

The procurement process for the contract came under fire after it was OK’d, and some aldermen who called for the contract to be terminated so it could be rebid said Thursday they believe Houston’s decision will affect his relationship with them. Houston recently introduced an ordinance to reaffirm the contract with NAPA for the parts room at the city’s new consolidated vehicle maintenance garage.

But none of the 10 aldermen at Tuesday’s council meeting moved to bring Houston’s proposed ordinance out of committee, which Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said was a strong message that none of the aldermen supported the measure. “It’s almost like a worse failure than the vote would have created,” McMenamin said of the mayor’s decision.

McMenamin has been among the more vocal opponents of the NAPA contract, and he called for the measure to be terminated and instead put out to a competitive bid.

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Who’s relevant?

The council approved the multimillion-dollar contract with NAPA in April by a vote of 7-2 (McMenamin voted “present”), but the issue resurfaced last month when some aldermen questioned whether Illinois had an agreement with the National Joint Powers Alliance, a division of the state of Minnesota, that was used as the contract’s basis.

In recent weeks, Houston and members of his administration have voiced concerns about issues that delaying the opening of the consolidated garage could create for the city. Some aldermen have shot back, charging the “mistake” in assuming the intergovernmental agreement with Minnesota existed wasn’t their fault, and some said Thursday’s move will further damage Houston’s relationship with the city council.

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Others said they assumed the measure would remain in committee to be hashed out at next week’s committee of the whole meeting.

‘Step backwards’

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McMenamin said he was surprised by Houston’s move Thursday. “I think it was a step backwards for the city and his relationship with the city council,” McMenamin said.

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