By Richard Meek
Contributing Writer

LAPLACE – Advertising for bid proposals will soon become a bit more cumbersome for St. John the Baptist Parish officials.
In what appears to be a widening swath of acrimony between the council and administration, council members on Tuesday night unanimously adopted a resolution prohibiting Parish President Natalie Robottom or her staff from advertising or soliciting for request for bids or professional services without prior council approval.
“(The resolution) just delays projects,” Robottom said after the meeting “It really doesn’t affect anything. The solicitation is an advertisement. We can’t really do anything with it; we can’t award it.”
She added her office has to evaluate and score each bid, and the council has the final authorization for approval.
Councilwoman Cheryl Millet countered that the bigger problem is a breakdown of communications with the council and administration.
 “We want to be informed,” she said. ”We get (an RFP) when it comes back. We don’t get it when it goes out. So we don’t know what project is being sent out. We just know the project came in.
“We want to know (from the beginning).”
Millet added that council members are seeking to have input into what projects are being advertised.
“It’s either a control tactic or a delay tactic,” Robottom said. “However, ultimately the (contract) is not approved until they vote for it. It’s clear from the way they list it there is a lack of understanding of what it even is or what the process is.
“All it does is add more delays to an already bogged down process.”
Robottom pointed out some language confusion to council members, and once that was corrected the motion passed without comment or discussion.
Robottom reiterated her stance about the bid process being open and transparent, a plank in her campaign that she continually stressed.
“I refuse to meet with (anyone) and make a deal with them in a back room about projects,” she said. “They have the opportunity to read (an RFP).”
In other business, the council, on the administration’s recommendation, voted to reject all bids for the proposed farmer’s market planned on the west bank. Chief Finance Officer Randy Vincent said two bids were submitted, and each exceeded the $160,000 budgeted for the much delayed project.
The Luster Group of Baton Rouge submitted a bid of $205,000, and Pintail Contracting Services of Des Allemands submitted a bit of $189,000.
When questioned, Vincent said the RFP specified the budgeted amount.
Council members questioned how lower bids could be submitted without compromising the integrity of the project, but Robottom explained parish staff had already completed some of the preliminary work at the site. She added the work was completed after the advertisement for bids was published, which explained why the proposals were so costly.
“Even with that, (costs) are going up,” Councilman Art Smith said. “More (delays), the higher it will get. To go out for bid again is disappointing.”
Councilman Lennix Madere also expressed his disappointment about another delay for the market.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” he said. “We have to go out again. This is a setback that seems to be unnecessary. We should try to avoid that. We are rejecting (a bid), and we should be accepting.”