Lonesome Dudley votes no again

For the second time in as many weeks, Oak Harbor City Councilman Scott Dudley found himself alone in his opposition to the SE Pioneer Way improvement project.

The city council voted to spend more than $500,000 on a surveyor and construction management firm for the SE Pioneer Way improvement project Monday. And as was the case earlier this month when the project’s contractor was hired, Dudley was the sole council member to vote against the contract.

Although he said during Monday’s meeting that his “nay” votes were due to issues of timeliness and what he said was wasteful spending, Dudley said in an interview Tuesday morning that he is really just demonstrating his opposition to the project.

“I don’t think it will improve and help the city of Oak Harbor,” Dudley said. “I’m against the project and its current configuration (as a one-way street).”

The surveyor, Fakkema and Kingma Inc., was hired at a cost of $103,177. The Oak Harbor based company will perform a variety of surveying related tasks, from staking lines and grades to determining quantities for contractor payments.

The construction management firm, Bellevue-based KBA Construction Management, will be responsible for many of the project’s day-to-day logistics. It will be tasked with everything from record keeping to keeping the contractor on schedule. KBA’s contract is for $398,975.

While Dudley has repeatedly made his position clear, other council members made it equally clear they are pleased with the project’s progression. They especially liked the project’s overall cost. Originally budgeted at $8.35 million, project streamlining and a competitive bidding climate fostered by the economy has brought the total cost down to about $6.15 million.

“I have no questions,” Oak Harbor City Councilman Jim Campbell said. “Let’s start churning some dirt.”

Contact Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Justin Burnett at jburnett@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5054.

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