Do the right thing with concessions contract

Who would have thought that a simple bid over canoes and kayaks on a river of questionable depth would cause so much angst? Though Macon was founded on the Ocmulgee River and it was a major trading route in its early history, through most of the modern era, residents only caught a glimpse of it when traveling over one of the bridges.

That all started to change with the opening of the first section of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail in 2001. For the first time walking alongside the Ocmulgee River was possible. Now the trail has expanded to include Amerson River Park, an area formerly owned by the Macon Water Authority and donated to the residents of Middle Georgia.

Before Amerson River Park, tubing, kayaking and canoeing on the Ocmulgee presented a number of challenges:

▪  Getting to the river was only for the most committed, carrying whatever floatation devices through thick underbrush.

▪  The river is a one-way street traveling south, so two vehicles were needed, parked miles apart.

▪  Few people had a canoe, inner tube or kayak hanging around.

That was then. Now with the opening of the $9 million park with pavilion, shelters and walking trails, the river is accessible — and entrepreneurs have sought to fill the need for canoes, kayaks, inner tubes and transportation.

We guess it’s a sign of success for the park. Macon-Bibb County asked for bids from companies to provide such river services and received bids from two firms in particular — one local, Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions, and another firm from Buford, Allsouth Tubing, which also runs similar operations for Cartersville, Duluth and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

The commission’s Operations and Finance Committee recommended to the dull commission that Allsouth be awarded the concessions contract. That was a couple of weeks ago and in the meantime Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions launched a petition that garnered over 1,000 signatures, asking the commission to award the contract to the local company.

While we agree with the sentiment and the desire for a local company to receive the contract and keep the money locally, that’s not how it should work or how it needs to work. By her own admission, the owner of Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions, Kathleen O’Neal, low-balled her bid. Probably with good reason. The Ocmulgee is unpredictable. Sometimes you can walk across it and at other times the current can sweep you away. She said she would offer a higher bid now, but you don’t get a bid do-over if you lose. And if you do, the county would be handing Allsouth Tubing’s attorney a gold-plated invitation saying, “Please sue us.” Bluntly, to reopen the bid process or circumvent the committee’s recommendation would be wrong.

To be clear, even with points awarded Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions for being a local operation, its bid wasn’t even close to Allsouth Tubing. Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions’ bid escalates from $200 a month plus 3 percent of gross sales in the first year to $500 a month with 5 percent of gross sales in the fifth and final year. Allsouth Tubing’s contract is for $1,000 a month during peak months — May to September — and $500 a month for the rest of the year. Allsouth would also give Macon-Bibb 5 percent of gross sales for each of the five years of the contract.

The reason there is a bidding process is to create a fair playing field to ensure, most times, that taxpayers get the most bang for their bucks. Many areas have a local preference policy where if a local concern is within a certain percentage — say 5 percent — then the local company can be chosen over the lowest bidder, or in this case, the bidder who will pay more for the concessions contract. But Ocmulgee Outdoor Expeditions lags in far more than just payout to the county, Allsouth Tubing has a financial cushion and experience to draw on that can help it smooth over the dry spells and other weather interruptions that are inherent with river work.

There is also a risk for Allsouth Tubing. While the peak months are May to September, anything can change — and usually does. Could they have overbid? It will be up to the commission to make sure Allsouth lives up to its contract if it’s finally awarded to them on Aug. 16.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Do the right thing with concessions contract."