Questions continue on contract for Guilford website : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

GREENSBORO — County leaders and residents are asking questions about how the county paid $47,000 for a new county website and received an unfinished product that officials worry can’t be salvaged.

They want to know whether county commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston had any role in hiring the company who did the job or getting the company paid after it failed to deliver.

“This is just wrong,” said Commissioner Billy Yow. “And I believe that Skip Alston has a lot to do with it.”

Alston denies bringing the company, XMG Online, to the county or helping it win the contract. Alston said he does know XMG CEO Calvin Williams Jr., who went to Dudley High with Alston’s son. Alston also serves with Williams on a board at N.C. A&T.

Williams declined to comment on his company’s work or the contract but said Thursday that Alston didn’t help him get it.

Several commissioners have questioned why Williams called Alston when his company was 200 days past deadline on the website and County Attorney Mark Payne was insisting they deliver a product.

Why, they ask, did Alston then suggest a meeting and sit in on it, rather than leaving a delinquent contract to be handled by the county’s legal department? Why was XMG allowed to keep the $47,000 it already had been paid when the job was not completed and the website doesn’t function properly?

“I think the chairman was way too involved in the exit strategy on this,” said Commissioner Paul Gibson.

“He was sitting in there with the attorney talking about how to turn loose of that contract with XMG. I don’t know if he had anything to do with bringing the contract to the county — but knowing that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”

“It certainly raises some flags, that’s for sure,” said Commissioner John Parks. “Where did all this come from? Where did it start? Did somebody try to use leverage to get him the job?”

Jeff Hyde, one of the founders of the Conservatives for Guilford County political action committee, said the XMG contract is the latest example of questionable spending by elected leaders who seem to be looking out for their own interests rather than those of the people.

“You cannot say it was good judgment to go into business with this website company,” Hyde said. “It cost us $47,000 and they couldn’t do the job. How did we not know that? How did we let them keep the money?”

Yow called for an State Bureau of Investigation inquiry, saying he believes Alston exerted undue influence to score the contract for Williams.

Alston dismissed the allegation as “ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry that Billy and Paul think if anybody black in Guilford County gets a job, Skip Alston had to get it for them,” Alston said. “Do they not think they’re smart enough to get a job for themselves?”

Information Systems Director Barbara Weaver said Williams got the contract because people in her department liked his Web design and he impressed them in a meeting in October 2009. Examples of XMG’s work can be seen on the company’s web site (www.XMGonline.com), though nothing as complex as the county’s website rebuilding project is evident there.

Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Linda Shaw said she believes Williams should return the county’s money if he didn’t complete the job.

“If he hasn’t given us something we can use, then he didn’t do the job we paid him for,” Shaw said.

Payne said the county’s information systems department is determining if anything XMG produced can be used. “If not, then it would be legally possible to revisit the matter,” he said.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com

EdinNC

January 21, 2011 - 4:59 am EST

Who is this "Skip" Alston and what does he know about computer software? What do any of the Commissioners know about computer software, and how did they get into this contract?

Panacea

January 21, 2011 - 7:15 am EST

Alston is the Chair of the County Commissioners. He knows nothing about computer software. He is a real estate agent and a landlord.

terrier2003

January 21, 2011 - 9:30 am EST

As Panacea said, he doesn't know squat about software. But this is a contract issue...a bidding issue. There are a lot of questionable circumstantial issues with this XMG. And we all know that Alston is corrupt and not afraid to throw his weight around to get what he wants. I think an SBI investigation would be something good here and maybe they can lay to rest all the issues from XMG to the Hotel deal to the others...if he has done nothing wrong, then he should be okay.

January 21, 2011 - 10:18 am EST

Good point. I missed answering the contract part of the question.

goodtimes

January 21, 2011 - 7:47 am EST

Just return the HTML data and get the money back, so we can pay for a proper site developed by an accredited designer.

retiree

January 21, 2011 - 8:28 am EST

The Board is to blame, at least those who voted to appoint Alston as Chairman. Let them figure it out or stand up to him. The old adage is you get what you pay for, and with Alston that's not much.

January 21, 2011 - 9:31 am EST

Yow and Gibson are the only two with a spine on that board. You can't win when you only have 2 votes...

Mad Dog

January 21, 2011 - 8:29 am EST

Why did the county pay the $47,000 for a website that wasn't completed? Good busines practice would have been to take the website and see what could be salvaged BEFORE paying out $47,000. Instead, the county is out $47,000 and all they have to show is a worthless website. Poor decision making on the county's part.

Substitute me, I, or us for "county." Remember, it's our tax money!

Joe Killian

January 21, 2011 - 9:04 am EST

The technical answer is that the county paid for the work through two Purchase Orders. The money is paid out over the course of the project and not on delivery. $47,000 is the amount (out of a bit over $65,000) that was paid tot he contractor before the county began to object to their not having met the deadline and having not delivered a completed product.

Design work was done and paid for in phase one but the completion of a content management system that would allow them to get it online and make it work was not completed in the second phase.

rooster8786

January 21, 2011 - 8:40 am EST

Way to go Skip! When the going gets tough, the tough, or in this case Skip, goes racism: “I’m sorry that Billy and Paul think if anybody black in Guilford County gets a job, Skip Alston had to get it for them,” Alston said. “Do they not think they’re smart enough to get a job for themselves?" Obviously the kid was smart enough to call Skip and get paid for a job he did not do.

Where do I sign up for this program? Oh, yeah, I'm a middle-aged white guy so I can't...

My question to Skip: If someone did this kind of work for your real estate company, your restaurant, or your hotel ventures, regardless if they're black, white, or even green, would you PERSONALLY pay $47,000 for a product that was NOT what was contracted to be, was more than 6 months past the contracted delivery date, could NOT even be used? Don't bother to answer, we all know you'll spin it...

January 21, 2011 - 10:19 am EST

Even if you were a young black man you couldn't. This isn't about race . . . it's about Skip's culture of corruption.

January 21, 2011 - 12:15 pm EST

My point EXACTLY!! It's not, and shouldn't be, about race. Yet when push comes to shove and someone dares to ask questions, African -American "leaders" are the first to play the race card. Look at Jesse, Rev Al, Skip, Nelson or Cardes, if they like you or you benefit their "cause", you can do no wrong. If you question their cause, talent, or motives, you are a RACIST. I don't care what race the XMG people are, I care about another instance of an apparent conflict and another WASTE of my taxes. There is NO way in hell Skip would have done this with his money at any of his businesses so why does he keep doing it with mine?

January 21, 2011 - 2:24 pm EST

It has nothing to do with race, so why bring it up?

Your issues with Jesse and Al are not germane to this topic.

January 21, 2011 - 2:38 pm EST

Panacea- this is a quote from skip in the letter we are all commenting on.

Alston did play the race card and it come out of left field.

January 21, 2011 - 2:54 pm EST

Thank you for confirming I'm not losing my mind...

January 21, 2011 - 2:59 pm EST

It was just so odd. I mean how in the world did it go from: 1. the commissioners wanting to know why the county paid 47K for an unfinished product. 2. how did XMG really win the bid and 3. why was Alston involved at all in this issue?

Alston saying Billy and Paul are only asking this because he is black?

January 21, 2011 - 5:53 pm EST

Ah. I read over the word black.

Point taken. So Alston did.

Shame on him. He knows darn well this is not about race.

January 21, 2011 - 7:14 pm EST

Amen.

It just inflames race tensions when anybody does this... black, brown, white...doesn't matter skin color.

January 21, 2011 - 3:01 pm EST

you are on par with the comment about skip not doing this with his business. He would be bankrupt if he handled his personal and business finances as he handles our tax dollars.

January 21, 2011 - 10:06 am EST

Joe,

I know i'm looking at it after the fact, but is it a case of not monitoring the development or not having a decent contract with built in checkpoints? Shouldn't the contract state that after a phase is completed, checked, and is operating as it should, then payment is to be made? It's kind of like a construction loan for a house. The bank is not going to write you a check for the entire loan and then let you go build the house. It's done in stages with inspections along the way. That way you get what you pay for.

January 21, 2011 - 10:45 am EST

I can't speak to the specifics of checkpoints and whether the county will implement them from here, just to how this particular job seems to have been contracted and paid for. If nothing else maybe what happened here will instigate a reform of the way they pay for non-tangible products or services of this nature.

oh good grief

January 21, 2011 - 7:05 pm EST

Mr. Killian, perhaps you are alluding in your above Jan. 21 at 10:45 a.m. statement to what I am about to say (or perhaps you were not) but what better way to avoid advertising for (opening up for) bids on a County project than for someone (a wannabe contractor) to say they can "do it" for a sum of money at or just barely below the sum which would force the County to "let bids."

Did Calvin Williams, Jr., know the "magic" (lower) sum of money which would NOT force the County to advertise the "job" and let bids? And if he did know the "magic" sum, how did he know it? Perhaps from something County staff told him?

Looks to me like more investigation is called for.

Unaffiliated

January 21, 2011 - 11:52 am EST

Joe: Please request a copy of the contract and make it public. Thanks

January 21, 2011 - 11:57 am EST

Wonder if XMG Online will be the first (or only?) choice for a website design contract whenever the new downtown grand hotel gets its funding finalized and breaks ground?

IF they get funding finalized.

pragmatist

January 21, 2011 - 2:48 pm EST

How could a website possibly cost $47,000 to design?

January 21, 2011 - 2:55 pm EST

I believe that it cost more than that. The 47K was a down payment if I heard correctly.

C4gc

January 22, 2011 - 9:06 pm EST

The price tag on this project was $71K, I believe.

areyouserious

January 21, 2011 - 5:52 pm EST

Why does it even matter who helped XMG get the contract? The point is, he was awarded the contract didn't live up to it and should have to face whatever repercussion deemed appropriate by law. I tell ya, some of you act like you've never received help for anything in your life! I'm willing to bet money that some of you are in the job you're in now because someone helped you get it. Someone put in a good word or gave you a good recommendation. Some of you act so "holier than thou" that its almost sickening! He also did work on the Chamber of Commerce site. Maybe, just maybe, they appreciated his work and the word spread amongst city and county officials that his company is good to work with and reasonably priced. He couldn't live up to the expectation set in the contract, no harm in that, just make it right. There is something called services rendered, you know pay me for what i've done so far...

There is no need to crucify Calvin Williams or Skip Alston because Calvin Williams reached out to someone he knew when he needed help to defuse the situation. Calvin is a really smart guy and I bet his city and county contacts far exceed anyone on this wbesite. Do you all realize how much other firms would charge for creating a website like that? If the site would've worked properly, you all would be praising the county for finding a local business to perform the service and for saving money while meeting their needs... Oh... no you wouldnt, you would still be complaining that Skip Alston helped him get a county contract... wah wah wah!!!

swerdna

January 21, 2011 - 4:32 pm EST

"Alston said he does know XMG CEO Calvin Williams Jr., who went to Dudley High with Alston’s son. Alston also serves with Williams on a board at N.C. A&T."

Was it publicly announced that such a website would be developed? Was this contract put out for bids? Did white-owned companies have a chance to bid? Sorry, I don't buy FOR ONE MINUTE that Alston didn't help steer this project in the direction of Williams. IMO, this whole thing stinks of unethical activity, and once again, Alston is in the midst of questionable activities. And, once again, he will probably get off the hook scott-free.

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