Woodstock’s town board has reached agreement on repairs to a MacDaniel Road washout, consenting to release $25,000 from capital funds to pay for engineering costs. Councilmember Bennet Ratcliff said he had reviewed invoices with highway superintendent Donald Allen for engineering work already completed by the town’s contracted firm Brinnier and Larios and by a subcontractor totaling $17,332.50.
“All of these could be paid for with the MacDaniel Road capital funds as opposed to coming from the operating budget of the of the highway department,” Ratcliff said. Transferring $25,000 from a reserve fund set aside for the repairs would cover the engineering bills to date and leave $8000 for additional bills.
Supervisor Bill McKenna asked Allen whether $25,000 was enough.
“I’m not going to get in the middle of you two,” Allen replied diplomatically. “As long as I can pay my engineers because the engineers won’t move forward unless they get paid. And I want some wiggle room for the next meeting.”
Councilmember Laura Ricci went along with what was being suggested. She said she wanted to keep the project moving without further delay.
“That keeps everything transparent as we move along, rather than just throwing a bunch of money at it,” councilmember Maria-Elena Conte said.
“What you’re not realizing, Maria-Elena, is that any contract has to be approved by the town board,” McKenna replied.
The tone of that reply set Ratcliff off.
“You’re not realizing things, Maria-Elena,” he said sarcastically, sensing mansplaining. “Listen to the man.”
A majority of the board, including Anula Courtis, have been demanding greater transparency for larger projects. Allen and McKenna have pushed back, saying that the MacDaniel Road washout repairs were large in scope. The officials do not know how much the project will cost without doing engineering studies.
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