Board discusses SCADA contractor delays; staff to send demand letter and revisit contract if no response

Mike, a utilities staff member, told the board the SCADA telemetry contractor has not mobilized as scheduled and that the city faces a choice whether to terminate the contract. "If they're not in here tomorrow ... I'll write that initial nasty letter that says, you need to do the work or x," Mike said, describing the next step staff intend to take if the contractor fails to show.

Board members and staff discussed the contractor's apparent lack of capacity and the city’s limited options if the contract is terminated. Mike said the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder and that staff have low confidence in the contractor's ability to support the system post‑installation. He noted there is at least one other company in West Virginia that could perform SCADA installations but that staff had not yet solicited bids from that firm.

A staff recommendation recorded in the discussion was to draft and send a letter requiring the contractor to demonstrate capacity and to proceed with installation within a specified time frame; if the contractor fails to comply, staff said they would return to the board to consider termination and rebidding. Board members asked staff to include language requiring the contractor to provide "reasonable assurance" of ongoing support and capacity.

Ending: No formal termination or rebid decision was made at the meeting. Staff were directed to send a demand letter and to present recommended next steps to the board at a future meeting if the contractor does not respond or perform.