The board over Central Alabama Water voted Friday to outsource management of its vehicles to Enterprise Fleet Management Inc. in a five-year agreement, saying the move follows an earlier unannounced decision to dissolve the utility’s in-house fleet department.
The agreement will have an estimated out-of-pocket cost of $35,000 but is estimated to save approximately $1.8 million per year, according to financial projections presented to the board.
Annabel Park and Greg Powell, representing Enterprise Fleet Management, presented details of the company’s services during the board meeting, including vehicle acquisition, maintenance, fuel management, telematics and resale.
The plan includes replacing vehicles older than 10 years or with more than 100,000 miles, along with implementing a fixed monthly maintenance rate. Enterprise will charge a flat $500 fee per vehicle sold. Under the equity lease model, Enterprise will hold title for transactions, while the utility retains ownership of the vehicles.
Board member Jarvis Patton Jr. asked whether the utility might consider reestablishing its own fleet department in the future. CEO Jeffrey Thompson responded that the department had recently been dissolved, the first time the move had been announced.
“Expenses had ballooned to unsustainable levels,” Thompson said. “We no longer have a fleet department and are looking to have experts focus on this area.”
CAW spokesman John Matson described the change as “recent” but did not specify when it occurred.
CAW also recently closed its EnviroLab, which tested water samples for the utility and other systems, WBHM reported.
Contracts for purchasing, legal services approved
The board also Friday approved several requests related to cooperative purchasing contracts and legal services. Among the approvals was a 12-month agreement with Data Neurus for data management support.
The board also awarded a bid to Burmax Inc. for underground locating services, projected to save between $500,000 and $750,000 annually. Additionally, the board approved a cooperative purchasing contract with HydroMax for asset management services.
Board members said the contracts would promote efficiency and the utility’s solvency. However, savings projections were not made available to the public.
The board also voted to appoint Shan Paden, an outside attorney for the utility, as interim secretary of the corporation.
All requests passed, with Sheila Tyson and Patton abstaining. Patton again raised concerns about the lack of work sessions before board meetings, which he said limits meaningful discussion before votes are taken.
“I’m not for it. I’m not against it. I don’t know what it is,” Patton said. “I don’t know what is going on. That’s why I asked these questions.”
Tyson also questioned claims of projected savings. “We don’t know whether it’s a proven fact that they can save money,” she said.
Both members indicated they felt excluded from discussions surrounding agenda items. But other board members said they were not having outside discussions. The Alabama Open Meetings Act prohibits deliberation outside properly noticed public meetings. In July, the board adopted bylaws limiting member discussion during meetings.
The board went into executive session during its meeting Friday and afterward voted on a request to retain the law firm Capell & Howard for matters related to pending litigation against board member Phillip Wiedmeyer. The vote was approved with abstentions from Wiedmeyer, Tyson and Patton.
The lawsuit was filed against Wiedmeyer in February by former board members William Muhammad and Brenda Lewis claiming that Wiedmeyer is disqualified by law from serving as a director of CAW because he is retired from Alabama Power, with which CAW has a business relationship.
Wiedmeyer declined to comment because the litigation is pending.