Local News
Council approves KBR for projects
Timing, talent of firm cited in city’s decision
Both votes were unanimous; just opposite.
The San Marcos City Council last week voted in unison to approve Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) for two road projects, one for improvements to McCarty Lane and the other to widen a portion of Hunter Road in anticipation of the opening of the Wonder World Drive Extension.
Just three months ago, Hays County Commission-ers also voted as one – but to deny the company a contract for engineering design on the first portion of the long-awaited San Marcos Loop.
In the case of the city council, there was talk of “expedited deadlines,” and the fact that since KBR was already involved in the Wonder World project, they could hit the ground running.
“A change would delay the project. We would have to go back and start from scratch,” said David Healey, the city’s director of Capital Improvements, during the discussion of the McCarty Lane contract.
“They’re extremely talented and able to look at environmental issues. They’re very adept at being able to do that,” Healey continued.
During the deliberation of county commissioners, the concerns weren’t related to deadlines but ethics. Commissioners voted to deny KBR the Loop work after two Iraq War veterans and others urged them to do so, citing allegations of sub-par service supplied to active duty military and fraud.
Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, who made the motion to deny the contract, said at the time the court needed to “be good stewards” of taxpayer money. Commissioner Jeff Barton noted, “Sometimes, it does matter who you associate with and what’s going on in your company.”
Commissioner Will Conley, while noting that his vote didn’t reflect an “anti-war” sentiment, said rescinding the contract allowed the county to “move forward with a clear conscious.”
At that time, KBR responded to the county’s actions.
“We are disappointed with the Commissioner’s decision. KBR has a solid track record of high-quality construction and infrastructure work that could serve the county well on this project,” Heather Browne, KBR’s director of corporate communications, said in an e-mail after the vote.
“Hays County conducted an open and transparent process to select an engineering team for this assignment and determined that the KBR Team was best qualified. It is regrettable that this decision was apparently overturned because of misrepresentations of KBR’s performance,” she said.
Prior to the city council’s vote, several residents spoke up against the KBR contracts.
“Our county has given us a wonderful model by which to reject businesses with unsavory practices,” said Lisa Marie Coppoletta, who ran unsuccessfully for the council last year.
“I don’t think we need a company like this to come in and widen roads,” said Bobby Sierra. “I think this can be done without a company that’s done unsavory things overseas, hasn’t looked out for the protection of our soldiers and has gouged the federal government. There’s a pattern developing and we could be victims of similar gouging.”
Resident Griffin Spell, who was also opposed to the KBR contract, suggested it’s time for the city to develop an ethics policy for firms it does business with.
“I would like for the city as a long-term solution to look at an ethics policy,” Spell said.
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