PIEDMONT – During its regular meeting on Tuesday evening, the Piedmont City Council heard from Low Life Construction representatives Dallas and Connie Whorton, both of whom spoke to the council concerning payment for the completion of the gazebo renovation project in downtown Piedmont.
The Whortons dispute the amount the city wants to pay their company for the project. District 4 councilman Caleb Pope told Dallas Whorton the council had looked at the invoices provided to them, which he said totaled $16,465.88 Pope said the council was prepared to pay $33,000 for the job.
“That’s doubling what your materials are,” Pope said.
Dallas Whorton contended what had been requested by the council was just the bills. The total amount his company is asking for $43,060.
“We’ve asked you multiple times to bring an itemized bill,” Pope countered.
“Let me answer that with a question,” Dallas Whorton said. “Would any of you be willing to provide the taxpayers of the City of Piedmont an itemized statement per hour for how ya’ll spend your salaries?”
Pope responded, “Right here (showing the council agenda). Every month, we have an itemized list.”
“You’re asking for everything I spent, every penny I spent. You’re not getting every penny I spent,” Dallas Whorton said. “You don’t go to Walmart and buy a t-shirt and then say ‘Well, this t-shirt is a little high Walmart. I’d like to know what you paid for it.’”
“I’m not asking the taxpayers to pay Walmart,” Pope replied.
“You pay taxes when you go to Walmart. You pay a bill when you go to Walmart. It’s the same thing. It’s the same principal,” Dallas Whorton said.
District 3 councilman Jubal Feazell interjected: “What are some of the (invoices) that were left out? I see where you have the $28,240 for the total materials. We received the $16,465 for what you provided.”
“I’ve had lumber that I’ve had in stock before prices went up,” Dallas Whorton said. “If I had gone and bought that lumber, your bill would be higher. I charged y’all what I had in it. I didn’t account for that. I don’t have a receipt for that. That’s stuff I bought and stuff I used.”
Connie Whorton added, “If you add up all those invoices that you received from (City Clerk) Michelle (Franklin on Tuesday), they do not equal the total amount of money he has paid out for materials. Jubal called and asked for a few of the invoices, not all of them. He asked for the major ones. That’s what he (Dallas Whorton) did. He gave you the major ones.”
Feazell said the council was hoping the Whortons would have provided everything they spent.
“That was not told to us,” Connie Whorton said.
Mayor Bill Baker also asked if the Whortons could obtain the other receipts.
“Let me ask you this. Would you say, Dallas and Connie, there’s $12,000 worth of bills out there that we have not seen?”
“It also includes profit. It also includes overhead,” Connie Whorton said.
“We’re not going to give you our overhead. It’s none of your business. And we’re not going to give you our profit. Again, that’s none of your business.”
Dallas Whorton added he had been advised by his attorney not to give out that information.
The back-and-forth between the council members and the Whortons continued for several minutes more, until Baker began to wrap up the conversation.
“What I’m hearing you say Dallas is you’re not going to accept the $33,000. I think at this point, you have an attorney. I think your attorney needs to contact our city attorney and let’s go from there,” Baker said.
“That’s what we’ll do,” Dallas Whorton said.
Pope then made a motion to hire a contractor to give an estimate on the cost of the gazebo “so we have an idea of the fair market value of that.” The motion was approved.