Veteran contract specialist finds a way to speed the saws
By Dave Harris, Public Affairs, Louisiana Recovery Field Office

New Orleans faced yet more developing lethal threats. Ignoring them would be criminal – these are killers.

Last year, Katrina’s immensely powerful, marauding raw force fashioned unfathomable surges of saltwater from the Gulf Coast to New Orleans where it mixed with Lake Pontchartrain’s spilled brackish water, inundating the city and ultimately ravishing thousands of trees.

The levels of salt in the water robbed the trees of every ounce of strength and starving the last glimmer of life from each tree’s statuesque but depleted physique, reducing it to a frail carcass.

The spent hulks transformed into latent, monstrous kinetic weapons, poised to wreak havoc on unsuspecting and innocent people and property, particularly in future storms.

FEMA’s experts marked the trees and asked the Corps to interdict the potential mayhem. No time for studies, seminars or debates. The looming doom must be stopped. Yesterday.

Everywhere, chainsaws and their precision operators stood by, but years of unsurpassed contractual successes and a few occasional hitches had over the years inspired the Corps and lawmakers to stitch together a labyrinth of regulations and laws to meet squarely such challenges, doing it right the first time, having little wiggle room now for do-overs.

Rife with opportunity for fraud, waste and abuse – not to mention the cherished American right to protest, the undertaking called for contracting specialists like LA-RFO’s Carl Jones to balance the scales between timeliness and air-tight safeguards.

He provided a satchel of soothing assurances to leaders straining to lean forward in the saddle. Understandably, they fervently yearned to fell the monsters before the monsters collided with a citizen or Citroen. While visions of impending horror haunted leaders, Carl and his posse made sure to address every nuance, dot every “i” and cross the last “t.”

It’s not just price that determines who gets a contract, Carl said. The bidder must demonstrate financial capability, the proper skills and staffing to pull off the crucial task correctly, timely and cost-effectively – better, faster, cheaper.

The contract is a masterful work of art when all the pieces fit together. Carl and company arm-wrestled the package to the ground.

“This is a rock-bottom price,” Carl said. Despite of hosts of employees, politicians and leaders chomping at the bit, Carl was settled and unflappable.

“Everybody just needs to sit down and say, “Let’s see how to make this work,” he said.

Everyone’s passion to begin the work was at fever-pitch. The trees started falling almost before the ink was dry as the sound of chainsaws pierced the morning calm and crews tugged on ropes slung over the trees to guide the behemoths to a safe landing.

Carl drove out to see the fruits of his labor. Now that the breathlessly awaited work had begun, he had a moment to reflect on the flurry of actions leading up to the “go” signal.

The contractor had told Carl he’d ramp up to seven crews in the afternoon. The new contract unleashed crews and equipment commissioned to fell and scoop up dead trees in parks, parking strips and other locations in the public right of way - ROW. Another contract already was removing lifeless trees from personal property.

Even though swiftness was essential in starting the preventive task in the public ROW and ramping the momentum up to full speed, Carl harbors a secret to win the cooperation of the many parties needed to successfully close the deal. He said all along it was necessary to see things in perspective.

“Stop and smell the roses. Everybody’s right. Nobody’s wrong. Let’s find an approach that works for everybody.”