Moses Lake defends failure to buy locally

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake City Council discussed the city's approach to purchasing and addressed questions brought up by a recent printing job.

Columbia Basin Publishing president Harlan Beagley asked during the July 12 council meeting why council didn't solicit bids for the publication, printing and mailing of the city's annual water quality report, which was ultimately given to two Wenatchee companies.

Columbia Basin Publishing is the parent company of the Columbia Basin Herald, of which Beagley is the publisher.

The point of the discussion was whether the city was choosing to buy goods and services from companies outside the city without regard to Moses Lake businesses, said Beagley.

"There was some discussion about bidding and quoting and statutes and authorities and whatnot, and frankly I wasn't prepared to answer some of the questions that were raised," Moses Lake City Manager Joe Gavinski told council last week.

To clarify state purchasing laws and how they relate to Moses Lake, Gavinski pointed to the Bidding Book for Washington Cities and Towns, which was published by the Municipal Research and Services Center in 2010.

Washington state cities with a population of 20,000 or more, such as Moses Lake, aren't required to seek competitive bids for the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment not associated with a public work, the rules state. The city is not required to get quotes on materials, supplies and equipment expected to cost less than $7,500 and can solicit informal quotes on jobs between $7,500 and $15,000.

The water quality report in question cost slightly less than $6,000 for printing and mailing.

"We weren't required to bid although we did go out and get quotes," Gavinski said.

The city solicited price estimates from several Wenatchee companies as well as A & H Printers in Moses Lake, Gavinski said. A & H was higher priced than the Wenatchee printer and the local company was not interested in providing mailing services, he explained.

Shopping locally has always been one of the city's goals, given pricing is comparable, Gavinski stated in a letter to council members.

"The city staff in purchasing on behalf of the city has two goals in mind," the letter states. "The first goal is to get the best prices for supplies, materials, and equipment it can and secondly to do it locally if at all possible. The city staff has adhered to those two goals in the past and intends to do so in the future as stewards of the public's funds."

The city was previously unaware of the existence of Columbia Basin Printing, Gavinski said, which he said is not listed under that name in local telephone directories.

"We did not realize, honestly, that there was a printing business available from the Herald. It was mentioned that there was this company called Columbia Basin Printing, we could not find any reference to that," he said. "Knowing what we know now we certainly will go and obtain information from the Herald with regard to our printing needs."

Councilman Dick Deane said he too was unaware of Columbia Basin Printing's existence and felt "miffed" after Beagley's presentation during the last council meeting.

"I felt that it was not the best presentation to us because we were at a disadvantage," Deane said. "We did not need to be chastised for something that we did not know anything about because I felt that there were other channels that could have worked before you come straight to city council."

The Phonebook, printed by Hagadone Directories, listed nine Grant County printing companies and three in Adams County. The Columbia Basin Herald is listed and used a quarter page ad stating "custom printed business flyers as low as 6 cents each piece full color." Hagadone Directories is the parent company to Columbia Basin Printing and the Columbia Basin Herald.

In the Dex directory, Columbia Basin Printing is listed as one of eight Moses Lake companies offering printing services.

The Yellowpages, lists the Columbia Basin Herald as the fourth company of 22 offering printing services in Moses Lake.

"I could understand that Mr. Dean might not know the name of our parent company, but on three separate occasions over the past couple of years I've presented information to the council on printing services," Beagley said in a later interview.

Deane also took issue with Beagley's mention the company had asked for legal advice on state laws regarding the municipal bidding process.

"I'm sitting here wondering, how in the world did I get here?" Deane said. "This is a surprise to me that we would be confronted with legal action, or even suggested that we would be confronted with legal action without having taken some pre-steps before we got here."

Beagley said his primary reason for coming before council last month was simply to encourage city officials to shop local by getting quotes and bids from local businesses.

"Asking our local government to maintain a certain level of transparency shouldn't result in harsh feelings," Beagley said.