After repeated issues, Port Wentworth truncates contract with embattled public works company

After more than two hours of debate, the Port Wentworth city council voted to shorten its 3-year contract with public works company ClearWater Solutions (CWS) to one year starting Nov. 9.

The decision during the Nov. 7 council meeting comes after a month-long suspension of CWS’s operations and more than a year of problems with the contractor. CWS began operations with the city in 2018 and managed the wastewater treatment plant, water meter reading, stormwater system, road maintenance, grass cutting, sanitation and ditch and culvert maintenance.

Within the last year, CWS has come under fire for its management of the wastewater treatment plant, a critical point in the city’s public works system and the broader ecosystem, as it purifies wastewater for reuse. Residents have also routinely complained about clogged ditches near their homes, lack of grass cutting, and employees mishandling equipment.

Previous story: Port Wentworth pays $1.8 million a year for public works. Here's why the provider is suspended

And: Port Wentworth continues to address sewage spill issue, will pay $2,500 fine

Before: Port Wentworth to address seven sewage spills in the past five months

Sewage spills have also been a point of contention in the city. Last July, Port Wentworth was served a consent order by the state's Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for a series of seven sewage spills within the span of five months, three of which were considered major spills of more than 10,000 gallons. That order resulted in a $2,500 fine and a corrective action plan to prevent future spills.

However, the city was served another consent order in September – this time with a fine of $7,000 and the requirement for another corrective action plan – for several violations related to exceeding discharge limits into the Savannah River and two sewer spills in May and July.

Read: September EPD consent order

The city is permitted to discharge treated wastewater (or effluent) into the Savannah River; however, the EPD found the amount of ammonia, fecal coliform, suspended solids and phosphorus within the discharge exceeded permitted levels.

A detailed report detailed major deficiencies with Port Wentworth’s water and sewer and wastewater treatment plant system. The assessment was conducted by temporary contractors EOM (Excellence in Operations Management), which was brought in to manage the wastewater treatment plant while CWS was suspended for the last month. EOM also operates in neighboring city Pooler.

During that time period, EOM made repairs, managed operations and completed the status report with the aid of city public works staff. The report detailed numerous issues within the treatment plant, which is supposed to remove impurities in wastewater for reuse or discharge. About $165,000 worth of repairs are being made by EOM with more repairs under review.

See the document: Full EOM report

EOM also brought in Joseph McIntosh, a wastewater manager from Water Utility Management, to aid in the assessment because of his previous experience working at the Port Wentworth facility.

According to McIntosh’s own report, his impression of the facility was “one of disbelief.”

“When I left in January 2019, the plant was clean and orderly and although there were a few deficiencies at that time, it does not compare to the neglected state I found it in,” wrote McIntosh.

Read: Joseph McIntosh's report 

And: Turnipseed Engineer's letter

In addition to equipment failures and lack of maintenance, general housekeeping was also substandard, found Turnipseed Engineers. The company is aiding the city with its corrective action plan to bring Port Wentworth in compliance with the EPD.

McIntosh’s assessment echoed the same.

“Overall the plant was dirty, unorganized, and not maintained to high standards of the former Port Wentworth operators from 2011 to 2019. With more than half of the major components out of service, in need of repair or replacement, it’s only a matter of time before the facility will suffer a major spill or repeated violations,” wrote McIntosh.

In addition, the city conducted an assessment of its public works vehicles (Port Wentworth lends city vehicles to CWS employees) and found many of them to be in disrepair. That includes broken taillights, dents, scratches and other damage.

Another report: Full vehicle maintenance assessment

Council tensions flare up to the surface

Throughout the presentation, several council members and the mayor interjected and questioned the professionalism of the city manager for putting these deficiencies on public display.

“It’s obvious that you don’t want ClearWater … and now you’re going out and just damaging a company,” said Council member Glenn Jones.

Mayor Gary Norton, while he agreed with some of the assessment on CWS, also questioned Davis’s motives. Norton and Jones both asked Davis several times if he had ties to EOM, the temporary contractor, who also works in Effingham County. Davis had previously resigned as the Effingham County Administrator in 2018.

Background: Effingham County administrator resigns abruptly

More background: Port Wentworth’s administrator resigns following suspension from job

Then, in 2019, Davis was hired as Port Wentworth’s city administrator in a “surprise move” by council members Thomas Barbee, Mark Stephens, Shari Dyal and Debbie Johnson, an unofficial slate representing Port Wentworth's north side. However, Davis resigned in Feb. 2020 after council tensions rendered his time with the city “untenable.”

Port Wentworth's north-south divide: A city divided: Decades of unchecked growth, backlash put Port Wentworth on the brink

After another swell of inter-council strife earlier this year that led to Port Wentworth’s city manager and other employees resigning, Davis returned.

Davis ultimately denied allegations that he had affiliations with EOM. And, EOM CEO, Stanley Hurd, later clarified that, while he does know Davis from his previous employment, they did not have many interactions.

Council member Jo Smith also questioned the validity of EOM’s report, implying that the company was not a reliable third party, and said she felt “blindsided” by the information in the reports. Both Norton and Jones remarked that it looked like CWS “had been set up.”

Norton, at one point, asked if contents of the report were shared with other members of council before the meeting, directing the question at council member Stephens, who denied the accusation.

Hurd emphasized that EOM are temporary contractors and that the city is free to hire other companies. The city also previously discussed bringing the public works responsibilities back within the city rather than with an outside contractor.

“We didn't take those photos or make that report because we were looking for a contract; we did that because we were asked to,” said Hurd. “We're assuming that we're here temporarily. So, we set a benchmark on day one, made the report for your information, but also to protect our company.”

In CWS’s response, the company acknowledged that they “were not without guilt and problems” but that they’ve “stepped up and attempted to do the right thing.” In the last several months, CWS CEO Steve Cawood said they’ve been able to “turn the corner” on bringing the public works system into compliance while dealing with supply chain issues and short staffing. But then the company was hit with the suspension.

“As I said, there's a whiteboard there with a list of things that we were working on. A lot of that is on the list (EOM Report) that I saw tonight. So we were very aware about it,” said Cawood.

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CWS also announced they’ve hired a new project manager, Jay Jones, the former county commissioner who ran for and lost the Georgia Senate District 1 seat. Jones has about a decade of chemical engineering experience.

Council ultimately voted to keep CWS for another year starting Nov. 9. Council member Barbee was absent. Stephens was the sole member to deny the one-year contract.

An addendum will be added to CWS's existing 3-year contract, allowing the city attorney to negotiate a new one-year contract. All of CWS’s responsibilities will remain the same.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Port Wentworth shortens contract with embattled public works contractor