 |
| One EyeonDare reader questions whether this out of county food service company should be allowed to park its tractor-trailer trucks on school owned property when not in use. According to the Director of Transportation for the school system, Sysco Foods has a $800 per month contract with the school system to park its vehicles at the school bus garage. Sysco is a supplier of food products for the school cafeterias and bids for the sale of goods to the school system. Question for readers: "Should Sysco be allowed to use school property to park its equipment?" |
 |
| (reader photos) |
37 comments:
As long as they are paying a fair price, and it is not causing problems with actual school vehicle logistics-why not?
NO... it is wrong....what happens when they re-bid the food contract? Or do they ever re-bid it?
It is ok with me for municipalities or counties to rent out publicly owned space to the private sector provided it does drastically infringe on the intended purpose of the space. It happens all the time in the film industry when municpal buildings are used and paid for film shoots.
of course it should. it is the same principal as renting jenette's pier for a wedding.
OK, who got their fingers in the cookie jar on this one. AGAIN, school property that our taxes pay for, and some private enterprise gets to skip buying county property, paying taxes like the rest of us. Looks like another self-entitled, arrogant, big shot gave their permission again when they had no right. There had better be a reasonable consequence for this! I want a head or I give up on this crooked place.
It would be interesting to know how the other food service companies who bid on cafeteria food may feel about this. Sometimes it isn't the legality of something in local government, it's the public perception.
They are paying rent, so why not?
Ray do you object to groups renting the School Gyms, Auditoriums and Ballfields? What is the difference?
What would it cost 'em to rent space for their equipment in the private sector? If they are paying market, it's probably OK. If they aren't...
US Foods salesmen should be made aware of this. They supply a lot of local restaurants. I bet they dont even get a chance to bid on the school food program.
EyeonDare has not taken a stance on this matter. It was presented because a reader brought it to our attention, and it does pose an interesting quesion...."Should a competitive bidder for business with the school system be allowed to use public facilities to park its vehicles and would the county/schools offer the same facility to any other company who desired a placed to park motor vehicles?" "Why and how did this agreement come about?" "Is this an arms-length transaction?"
In Dare County, one never knows...Right??
I see no issue with this. $800 is a fair price unused space.
Again I think it makes it awkward when and if the food contract is re-bid. Is it a stipulation in the bid proposal? Renting facilities for general use is totally different than renting to a current vendor - this creates a business advantage over other competitors.
IF there is a contract between the two parties stating that while Sysco has the contract as a result of the submitted bid, they are allowed to park ther vehicles for $ 800 a month on County land, then I do not see a problem with this.
This does not mean that Sysco is the only food service company that is allowed to submit a bid and it doesn't mean that if another company gets the bid next time, they won't be offered the exact same deal.
Look, the county is getting a little less than 10k a year for letting a few trucks park on top of some grass.
We have elections coming up soon people, there are more important things to worry about
No. It would certainly add an air of conflict of interest. Besides who signs this agreement? Is it the Transportation Director? Who
I agree with Anonymous 5:14 -- it does add a conflict of interest, as well as the appearance of impropriety. Additionally, would the County or Board of Ed be liable if something damaged Sysco's equipment while on County/School property, or is that also covered in the contract?
I didn't know dare county was in the land leasing business,did they advertise for bids on this or just make a deal one on one.
Is $800.00 a fair price? Lets ask the owners of the empty warehouses on that road who is paying taxes on his property that can't find a tenant.
Does the county carry proper insurance (at taxpayer expense) for commercial use of its property?
So SYSCO employees have keys to the bus lot? Who has done a background check on them?
Isn't Dare county a supporter of the fresh local catch program? Helping an out of area business skip paying local property taxes by leasing them taxpayer funded property to deliver non local frozen fish to area resturaunts, doesn't seem to support that program.
Does SYSCO have local business licenses with the towns they serve? Most local town codes call for a business license if you serve customers in that town? or have they skip out paying thse fees (a tax) too.
Wish I had the land for them to park on!
Readers have made some good comments on the merits of this lease. Perhaps the school board (if involved) gave this matter the same kind of thought they gave the stupid idea of mixing students with guns and ammunition here in the county, at taxpayer expense.
Just to set the record straight and address the concerns by the local residents, Sysco has rented this space for 6 years and only held the scool contract for 2 years. The method of bidding on this contracts is strictly regulated and the parties involved do not take in to consideration the space we are renting in the bidding process. To my knowledge the department involved in bidding on these contracts isn't aware that we are even renting this space. All of our employees have had backround checks and our insurance covers any liability on our employees and equipment at that location. I understand everyone's concerns here but I can assure you we strive to conduct business in a fair and safe manner at all times and we would be more than happy to answer any questions or concerns on the matter.
David Wolf Sysco Hampton Roads.
Mr. Wolf,
Thank you for weighing in on the matter. It's Sunshine Week in North Carolina and taxpayers have every right to know what's going on in their government. However, EyeonDare can confirm that the department that handles your bid has, in fact, known about the lease.
Mr. Wolf,
By calculation, Sysco is paying about $8 per night to store each tractor/trailer truck on the site.
Do you know how this compares with what the company would have to pay in the private sector? Would Sysco be happy if the county opened the site up to other trucking companies? Does your employees have a key to the school bus garage gate?
EyeonDare has invited the chairman of the school board to weigh in on this matter. Copied below is a email sent today.
Ben,(Sproul)
Was school bus safety and security a factor when the school system signed a contract to lease parking space to Sysco Foods at the school bus garage?
Would the school board consider renting space to other private companies?
Who all has keys to this facility?
You might be interested in reading a few citizen comments over on EyeonDare.
www.eyeondare.blogspot.com
Mr. Wolf,
If you have leased this space for 6 years, how come the tucks and trailers were parked in manteo behind the food a rama 4 and 5 years ago across from where I lived. Manteo town council had to get involved in "suggesting they move elsewhere" I noticed you missed answering the question about whether you hold town business licenses for each town you serve here as required by most towns code.
Thank you.
The 800 dollars would pay my mortgage, plus the owners of the restaurants, its employees, employees of the schools kitchens, Sysco employees, all are citizens and taxpayers of Dare county.To the complainants that may not seem like alot of jobs, but to others it does.
Ok, I wasn't trying to stir up trouble here but I will answer the questions as best I can. As far as the department knowing about the drop yard I was referring to our department. I'm sure department with the schools knows about it, but the bid process is done by the best price the school can get and us renting the yard doesnt factor in to it. Next, the $800 a month we pay here is actually more than we pay at our yards in other areas and seems fair for utilizing unused space. We have these yards so that we can employ drivers from the areas that they will be working in and cut down the amount of hours of driving they have to do. We do not have a set amount we pay to park our vehicles at these yards, we pay what the owner of the properties think is fair as long as it makes sense financially we pay it. Our drivers live, pay taxes, and have kids that go to school in the area and like I said have all had backround checks done. If the county decided to open up the site to other trucking companies that would be their decision and would not be the first location that we have shared space with another company. Renting space for our equipment isnt the business we are in so there isn't any reason why we would be competing for space with other companies. I didn't answer the question about the town business licenses because I just work for the transportation department and don't have an answer without consulting someone in that department. I can tell you that we abide by all local laws and conduct our business with integrity. Since this is the only yard we have that is on government property it is a special situation for us and obviously the taxpayers have a right to know what is going on so hopefully I can address any of the concerns that they have. Thanks
David Wolf
Reading through this 2 things come to mind. First, do you really think all cities, towns and counties require you to hold a business license in everyone of them? What about a company like UPS that delivers EVERYWHERE? Second, in a time of budget cuts though out the school systems I am happy to know they are bringing in money any way they can. Just short of $10k a year can pay for a whole lot of school supplies the schools are so desperately in need of.
Are there other food companies that supply the OBX or is it mostly Sysco and US foods?
What is the difference then the school board renting truck space to trucks as the airport renting hangar's to airplane owners. I just asking a question?
Well, let's see now. One would assume an airport builds airplane hangers to house airplanes and one builds a school bus garage/lot to house school buses. Right?
A school bus lot can always assumed to be public property, an airport hanger may or may not be such.
Playing devil's advocate, how would you like it if one of those extra gate keys that must be floating around got into the wrong hands (like the landfill property)and a bomb got planted under one of those buses or someone cut a brakeline, or worse? It's a strange world we live in, my friend. Our school system owes it to the citizens of this country to take every effort imaginable to insure safety in our schools and anything connected with schools, right on down to not taking part in teaching kids about gun ownership. Why not let's leave that to the parents and leave the parking rental business to private enterprise. If our school bus facilities are that large I am sure some other good use can be made of the grounds. By the way, can't we assume that Sysco is loading and off loading tractor trailer trucks on the grounds? Wonder if any of the trucks have been placed into the bus garage for oil change, etc...(just curious) :) :)
We do not load or unload trailers at the facility, it is just a transfer yard. The trailers are dropped at the location and picked up in the morning by the driver that works there. All of our equipment is serviced at our main facility and by no means does the school maintenance depatment handle oil changes or any other repair for us. If our trucks so much as created a pothole on the property we would repair it. We do not expect or recieve any service from the school except use of the property. As far as the safety and security of the school buses, am I to assume that you feel that a chain link fence is security enough to stop someone crazy enough to plant a bomb on a school bus? Does locking your doors and windows prevent your house from being burglarized while your away? If anything the buses are safer due to our frequent presence on the property. Something to think about here is how much money do you think our government would make nationwide if they rented out all of the unused property that they own? It seems we are making an issue out of something that is beneficial to both parties involved but everyone is entitled to an opinion. If we were not renting the space here the school's expenses would still be the same and they would be short $800 a month out of their budget that we would be paying to someone else. Thanks for the comments.
David Wolf
David, thanks so much for shedding more light on this very interesting subject. By the way, EOD noted four trucks at the yard yesterday, as opposed to the three shown in the reader photo. Recomputing the monthly cost per truck (assuming only four) it comes to $5.47 per day per truck.
So EOD would say Sysco is getting quite a deal..not to mention savings in labor. Betcha a lot of delivery trucks in the county would like part of that action. :)
Thank you for the opportunity to give our side of the story. I love the blog by the way, it is great to see people keeping informed and involved in their communities. Thanks again,
David Wolf
One more question for Mr. Wolfe, Does your insurance company assume responsibility should you have a tractor dump 100 gallons of fuel or would the Schools system be responsible for all reporting requirements and clean-up costs. I guess I am asking who is the responsible party?
As a follow up, is this spelled out in the contract that the County will be protected?
How would the tractor dump a hundred gallons of fuel this is getting way outta hand.
The tractors have 2ea. 50 gallon saddle tanks for Fuel. They located on each side of the cab and used as steps to get up in the cab.Ruptured fuel line could cause as much as 100 gallons of fuel to leak out.
Post a Comment