Dockery Gets the Nod
The Jefferson County Quality Control Oversight Committee met on Thursday evening, March 19, 2015 in the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse to make a decision regarding applicants for an Advisor that will report to the School Board, County Commission and Chair of the Quality Control Oversight Committee about the Building 8 project. Following interviews of three applicants earlier this month, the Committee failed to come to a consensus and, after three failed motions, elected to adjourn and address the issue at a future meeting.
While their earlier meeting consisted of only four voting members ( Chair David Seal, Commissioner Carmichael, Commissioner Gaut and School Board Member Bradley) Thursday’s meeting saw the addition of School Board Member Jim Vines, replacing Board Chair Jarnigan. Early discussion, again, centered around the pros and cons of a firm vs. an individual contractor, with the main concerns being a firm guaranteed maximum price and number of hours spent on the job.
Though two names were bandied around by the Committee, it was Chairman Seal that brought the successful motion, after temporarily stepping down from the chair position. Seal brought a motion that would give the nod to Mike Dockery and was 2nd by Bradley. Until Seal’s motion, Dockery appeared to be out of the running for the position. Seal said that he had done extensive checking on references and found that Dockery’s were all solid and his scope of work was a good fit for the Committee’s needs. Bradley added that he found Dockery to be a good communicator and that was a fundamental skill for the Advisory position. Seal and Bradley also noted that Dockery is from Jefferson County and will not have the travel time to the job site. Dockery was willing to put more hours into the job and has a interest in the community because he is local, according to Seal. The Seal/Bradley Motion passed 3-2 with Seal, Bradley and Vines voting for the hire.
Dockery was contacted by phone and accepted the position, which will pay $3444 per month from April until completion in December. Chairman Seal said that Dockery had offered to see the project to completion, even if it ran over its mid December date, at no extra charge. He will also carry his own insurance and will be contract employee. Contracts will be viewed by the County attorney and the budget committee will be charged with the funding of the position, which was approved in December 2014 by the full County Commission.
