by
Col. Don Bice
I sincerely believe that we could have procured and installed the equipment, engineering, and the necessary labor for half of the amount eventually claimed to be needed ($45,000,000) to complete the White River Hydroelectric Project. As I recall, we paid $300,000 to $400,000 for some pictures which were to prove to the permit authority that the project had started. It had not started and we did not use the objects in the pictures from Barcelona, Spain. A detailed review probably would find a lot of waste.
We had little to no management or negotiating experience applied to the project. No manager, including the Quorum Court can escape by saying “I didn’t know!” Ever hear of MBO (Management by Objective)? Probably not! Any reasonable manager establishes a monthly reporting system that all of his departments report on the status of those elements that he/she needs to know to monitor and manage his area of responsibility. In this case, I wrote several letters saying that it is good for the public to know how much energy was produced and sold to a distant town, our suffering the line resistance loss. But, we asked whether the bonds were being paid off. Where did the money go? Has anybody asked? The original plan was that the county, city, and Lyon College would earn as the bonds were being paid.
A very detailed study was made in 1987, finding that the plants were feasible, with many needed repairs on the dams. Acres Engineering, Syracuse, N.Y., conducted a study, after accepting the engineering responsibility, and stated that they would not sign off on the project for completion until the repairs were made, finding the same safety conditions. The repairs were to be made before the engineering firm would give the go ahead.
Acres was, at the time, being pushed by ACA to get the electricity flowing, obviously so they would not have to make their insurance good and pay interest on bonds issued for the project. Acres was fired, and replaced by an ACA engineer. Acres requested, in writing, to the County Judge that their engineering drawings not be used. They were not only used, but altered by pen, of course, deleting the need for several safety repairs and inspections on the dams. Of course, safety had now taken a back seat under ACA engineering, who worried about payments paid out in insurance. It was a very close call at the Arkansas licensing authority, whether to revoke the ACA engineer’s license. Politics may have intervened..
The profits must have been used for other county perceived needs, because ACA wound up paying about $600,000 interest on the bonds. Now they are foreclosing on the three hydroelectric dams, and the county cannot manage any of the profits until the bonds are paid off. Lyon College and Batesville will not get their unfair shares for only providing access to the river through their property. And the county may have used the funds for work on private property, housing developments, hedgerows, driveways, school and church properties, letting workers drive vehicles and equipment domicile to duty, and other unnecessary expenditures, such as considering purchasing property for a new firing range.
ACA is in the driver’s seat, with safety again on the back burner. Much of the downstream toe, about 90 feet, is broken or missing from Lock and Dam 3. The south abutment has shifted more than a foot away from the south bank. There are many cracks, some 25 feet long on the dam, and some of the logs inside have collapsed. The other dams are nearly as bad, with so much water going through the dam at Lock and Dam 1 that no water was passing over the dam two summers ago, because all of it was going through cracks and percolation holes. There is a huge crack on the turbine end of the dam. Aerated water is flowing around logs inside the dam that are over 100 years old.
On the debris blocking some of the intake water to the turbine, a metal guard further upstream of the intake and slanted at about 45 degrees would deflect most of the debris around the regular intake screen. However, the debris problem will account for very little of the decreased power production. The summer depth of the river can be partially remedied by widening the mouth of the intake.
It is almost assured that Mobley Construction will win on their anticipated lawsuit seeking pay for work performed, not on the contract with Independence County. I have looked at the contract and see the caps for Lock and Dam 3 listed nowhere. There is just no free lunch!
We asked numerous times for an independent audit on this and other things suspect in the county, only to be refused by the County Judge, Quorum Court, and state officials. One party politics at work?
It is up to the people what action is to be taken on this very costly adventure. The reach of the County Judge job is quite enough, requiring a wide range of skills and understanding of various fields, as well as good management, with the full help of the Quorum Court. Include the rather extensive construction of the hydroelectric plants, and the job is greatly magnified. In this whole jumble, one has to at least know what questions to ask and have a reporting system established, to oversee all departments and the electrical generation, construction and operation. Resignation will not offset the damages!
Whether the County can be financially damaged, yes it can! Structural failure or further major oversights can bring numerous lawsuits, and ACA probably will not go down fighting, paying the huge debt accrued. Who knows how lawsuits will turn out? Whether any agency will come to our rescue is questionable. We do not know what will happen under a bankruptcy filing. A lot of unwanted help and taxes would likely result.
In my opinion, most areas of the County need proper auditing and timely attention.
Don Bice
139 Rorie St.
Batesville, Ar 72501
251 2714
Col. Don Bice
I sincerely believe that we could have procured and installed the equipment, engineering, and the necessary labor for half of the amount eventually claimed to be needed ($45,000,000) to complete the White River Hydroelectric Project. As I recall, we paid $300,000 to $400,000 for some pictures which were to prove to the permit authority that the project had started. It had not started and we did not use the objects in the pictures from Barcelona, Spain. A detailed review probably would find a lot of waste.
We had little to no management or negotiating experience applied to the project. No manager, including the Quorum Court can escape by saying “I didn’t know!” Ever hear of MBO (Management by Objective)? Probably not! Any reasonable manager establishes a monthly reporting system that all of his departments report on the status of those elements that he/she needs to know to monitor and manage his area of responsibility. In this case, I wrote several letters saying that it is good for the public to know how much energy was produced and sold to a distant town, our suffering the line resistance loss. But, we asked whether the bonds were being paid off. Where did the money go? Has anybody asked? The original plan was that the county, city, and Lyon College would earn as the bonds were being paid.
A very detailed study was made in 1987, finding that the plants were feasible, with many needed repairs on the dams. Acres Engineering, Syracuse, N.Y., conducted a study, after accepting the engineering responsibility, and stated that they would not sign off on the project for completion until the repairs were made, finding the same safety conditions. The repairs were to be made before the engineering firm would give the go ahead.
Acres was, at the time, being pushed by ACA to get the electricity flowing, obviously so they would not have to make their insurance good and pay interest on bonds issued for the project. Acres was fired, and replaced by an ACA engineer. Acres requested, in writing, to the County Judge that their engineering drawings not be used. They were not only used, but altered by pen, of course, deleting the need for several safety repairs and inspections on the dams. Of course, safety had now taken a back seat under ACA engineering, who worried about payments paid out in insurance. It was a very close call at the Arkansas licensing authority, whether to revoke the ACA engineer’s license. Politics may have intervened..
The profits must have been used for other county perceived needs, because ACA wound up paying about $600,000 interest on the bonds. Now they are foreclosing on the three hydroelectric dams, and the county cannot manage any of the profits until the bonds are paid off. Lyon College and Batesville will not get their unfair shares for only providing access to the river through their property. And the county may have used the funds for work on private property, housing developments, hedgerows, driveways, school and church properties, letting workers drive vehicles and equipment domicile to duty, and other unnecessary expenditures, such as considering purchasing property for a new firing range.
ACA is in the driver’s seat, with safety again on the back burner. Much of the downstream toe, about 90 feet, is broken or missing from Lock and Dam 3. The south abutment has shifted more than a foot away from the south bank. There are many cracks, some 25 feet long on the dam, and some of the logs inside have collapsed. The other dams are nearly as bad, with so much water going through the dam at Lock and Dam 1 that no water was passing over the dam two summers ago, because all of it was going through cracks and percolation holes. There is a huge crack on the turbine end of the dam. Aerated water is flowing around logs inside the dam that are over 100 years old.
On the debris blocking some of the intake water to the turbine, a metal guard further upstream of the intake and slanted at about 45 degrees would deflect most of the debris around the regular intake screen. However, the debris problem will account for very little of the decreased power production. The summer depth of the river can be partially remedied by widening the mouth of the intake.
It is almost assured that Mobley Construction will win on their anticipated lawsuit seeking pay for work performed, not on the contract with Independence County. I have looked at the contract and see the caps for Lock and Dam 3 listed nowhere. There is just no free lunch!
We asked numerous times for an independent audit on this and other things suspect in the county, only to be refused by the County Judge, Quorum Court, and state officials. One party politics at work?
It is up to the people what action is to be taken on this very costly adventure. The reach of the County Judge job is quite enough, requiring a wide range of skills and understanding of various fields, as well as good management, with the full help of the Quorum Court. Include the rather extensive construction of the hydroelectric plants, and the job is greatly magnified. In this whole jumble, one has to at least know what questions to ask and have a reporting system established, to oversee all departments and the electrical generation, construction and operation. Resignation will not offset the damages!
Whether the County can be financially damaged, yes it can! Structural failure or further major oversights can bring numerous lawsuits, and ACA probably will not go down fighting, paying the huge debt accrued. Who knows how lawsuits will turn out? Whether any agency will come to our rescue is questionable. We do not know what will happen under a bankruptcy filing. A lot of unwanted help and taxes would likely result.
In my opinion, most areas of the County need proper auditing and timely attention.
Don Bice
139 Rorie St.
Batesville, Ar 72501
251 2714
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