最新杏吧原创

O鈥橣ALLON, Mo. 鈥� Residents and some leaders here are crying foul over the City Council awarding a $23.5 million contract to a company led by a sitting council member.

St. Peters-based Wright Construction Services was the lowest bidder, compared to eight other companies, for the chance to build the next phase of a law enforcement training center on 80 acres along Highway 79, north of O鈥橣allon. The company鈥檚 vice president is Nathan Bibb, who is also a City Council member representing O鈥橣allon鈥檚 Ward 3.

鈥淪omebody once told me to give everything a sniff test 鈥� and this smells,鈥� Ward 5 Councilwoman Debbie Cook said at a meeting Thursday night. 鈥淚t looks like a conflict of interest.鈥�

This phase of construction at the training complex 鈥� known as the Center for Advanced Skills Training in Law Enforcement 鈥� includes a 22,500-square-foot training center, a 2,100-square-foot outdoor pavilion, a SWAT training facility, a K9 training course, kennels, a vehicle driving course, a drone pilot training course and a stormwater retention pond that would double as a water rescue training pond.

The project is a joint venture between the cities of St. Charles and O鈥橣allon, which are splitting the cost. Construction of a $4.5 million firing range completed the first phase.

The project is separate from the training center that St. Charles County is partnering with Franklin, 最新杏吧原创 and Jefferson counties to build.

O鈥橣allon leaders said they received nine bids from construction companies earlier this year. After reviewing the bids, they interviewed the three lowest bidders: Wright Construction Services, LCS Construction and Integrate Construction Partners. The three bids were within $100,000 of each other, according to city documents.

The bid from O鈥橣allon-based LCS Construction was $46,000 higher than the Wright Construction Services bid. Integrate Construction Partners鈥� bid was $92,000 higher than the Wright bid.

The highest bid on the project came from River City Construction, totaling more than $27.1 million.

The project鈥檚 architect, civil engineer and a representative of the training center鈥檚 board joined O鈥橣allon鈥檚 Capital Improvements Manager Chris Clercx on the interview panel.

At the council meeting Thursday, dozens of speakers, many of them labor union members, spoke against giving the contract to Wright Construction.

Some complained the company had a history of paying subcontractors late, resulting in lengthy legal battles.

In 2024, Wright Construction was sued for not paying more than $165,000 to a masonry company that provided building materials on a 最新杏吧原创 County police project. That same year, the company was also sued by a second masonry company for failure to pay for work on a project near Marshfield, which is northeast of Springfield in southwest Missouri. According to court documents, Wright Construction owed that company more than $96,000 at the time of the lawsuit. Both cases are ongoing.

Clercx, O鈥橣allon鈥檚 capital improvements manager, said the interview committee questioned the contractors about legal issues and ongoing litigation.

鈥淲e still would move forward with the recommendation,鈥� Clercx said.

Some in attendance, including union electrician Tim Cleveland, said they didn鈥檛 want tax dollars to go to a company led by a city official.

鈥淎warding this contract to the company where a sitting council member is a vice president undermines public trust,鈥� Cleveland said.

Not all speakers at the meeting were opposed to Wright getting the contract. Some said they had worked for the company as subcontractors and had no issues. Others said the council should choose Wright because of its past experience and because it was the lowest bidder.

Bibb, the council member who works for Wright, said during the meeting the company has routinely used labor unions on projects and would likely use unions for this project.

鈥淚t is pretty shocking when a company can perform work throughout 最新杏吧原创 County, including multiple precincts, but then somehow that would mean they鈥檙e not qualified to do work here in our hometown,鈥� Bibb said.

Those projects, he said, were with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and no issues were raised.

After an hourlong debate, the council voted 6-3 to award the contract to Wright Construction.

鈥淚t is not always a matter of what is but the perception of what it is that matters,鈥� said Ward 5 Councilwoman Linda Ragsdale. 鈥淎nd I think that we鈥檝e heard a lot tonight that it is the perception that this is not really a kosher thing for the city council to be approving.鈥�

Ragsdale and Cook were joined by Amanda Taylor, of Ward 4, in voting against the contract. Bibb recused himself and left the meeting room prior to the vote.

Cook described the decision as 鈥渁 black eye for the city.鈥� But others, including Councilman Jeff Kuehn, also of Ward 4, defended Bibb.

鈥淚 think it is unfair to say that just because you sit on the city council that the company you work for can鈥檛 bid on a project,鈥� Kuehn said. 鈥淲e have got to make a living, too.鈥�

In an interview after the meeting, Bibb defended his employer鈥檚 track record, saying the company has an extensive history with government building projects.

The company鈥檚 online portfolio lists multiple police and fire department projects in 最新杏吧原创 County, including Manchester, Ballwin, Webster Groves, Brentwood and Ellisville. The company has also built city buildings in Twin Oaks Village and in Union in Franklin County.

In addition to government buildings, the company鈥檚 website also lists bank, health center and school building projects.