Column: Augusta commissioners under the gun to decide about ambulance service

Augusta/Richmond Co. would have gone down the drain long ago if it was not stopped up. Instead of fiddling while Augusta burns, I guess I should say, drowns while Augusta leadership flushes. And the citizens of Augusta won’t be able to get an ambulance to get to the hospital if they need resuscitation. Some of the leadership there has more ego than intellectual prowess. I reckon it is good Augusta is drowning and not burning since they don’t have any firetrucks that make to a fire.

Like I said in a earlier article..anyone that thinks Sams in some kind of savior must have a short memory..her office has had several high profile lawsuits filed against her over contracts that seem to have shown favoritism..but hey at least they are acting like they are going through procurement unlike the last King of Augusta…good luck..

UA union plumbers do it right the first time! Ms. Sams can you say responsible bidders ordinance?
Was there a $1 million dollar deal made for a $2,500 EMS contribution? Can the taxpayers say FBI?

I am praying that the Summerville community organizers keep moving forward and break away from the bedlam that defines Richmond County.

The ongoing Gold Cross debacle just proves how broken the Augusta Richmond County Commission truly is. You have a Commission that can approve a $7M “consultant agreement” to prop up a Department with ineffective leadership, rather than replacing said leadership, but cannot seem to get new Commissioners to “grow a backbone” and overrule Bobby “Bully” Williams’ “abstain”, and pass a Emergency Medical Services contract with Gold Cross. I know the “newbies” did not vote the consultant agreement in, but they could have made a name for themselves in a positive light, but they failed miserably. “You coulda been a contender”…. sadly, you are just like the others.

It’s delicious that the commissioners got blindsided by people who know the commission cannot make an informed, logical decision. The RFP and responses may fall under the “a bad decision or plan is better than no decision or plan” doctrine. If nothing else ARC can gauge how many qualified and willing providers are out there who are willing to do business with ARC. TAP posted a copy of the ambulance service RFP. https://the-augusta-press-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/02/23-500_RFP.pdf I browsed the RFP and posted this in response.

Thanks for posting this. I worked in the DOE weapons complex for corporations that supplied services and equipment to DOE sites. We had bid teams whose job was to dissect each RFP to identify all legal, equipment, labor, security, environmental, quality, and technical requirements, etc., to ensure the bid was compliant and the proposed cost, schedule, and technical approach could be executed and a fair profit made. Based on the RFP’s open-ended work scope, indeterminate work volume, and contractual latitude claimed by Augusta it will be difficult to bid this work and guarantee a profit. Based on the RFP wording and limited time to bid, I expect many pre-bid questions, ineffective clarifications, many no-bids, and delays of the contract award. I hope I am wrong.