Michael Parker, who unsuccessfully ran for the school board in May, continues to question Middleburgh school board officials on repairs made after the June 14 flash flood.
Board members agreed to spend up to $50,700 on short-term flood mitigation work on Stoney Creek in July. The work has been completed but Mr. Parker has questioned why the work was not bid out.
On August 14, board members retroactively declared a state of public emergency on June 14 and authorized "any capital repairs that are immediate in nature and to those necessary corrective actions that cannot await competitive bidding."
Mr. Parker questioned board members about declaring an emergency two months after the fact but Superintendent Michele Weaver and board member Kim Smith, who was board president in June, and board member Mike Fisher defended the district.
"After two months I can't understand how you can go back retroactively trying to circumvent municipal law," Mr. Parker said on August 14. "There is a sense of impropriety."
Ms. Weaver explained that the town and village were under state of emergency and the district was working under emergency conditions as well.
It was only the third meeting since the flash flood and officials were still gathering information, Ms. Smith noted.
"It certainly was an emergency," she added. "It needed to be dealt with."
Mr. Fisher added, "a lot of times events are not declared on the spot."
During the June 14 flash flood, water breached the banks of Stoney Creek in several locations and roared down Main Street.
Seeking a short-term solution, board members approved to pay Cobleskill Stone up to $50,700 to remove debris and add about 665 tons of stackable stones along the banks of the creek.
Soil and Water Conservation officials helped plan the work along the creek.
At the August 28 meeting, Mr. Parker questioned board members about work done on the athletic fields after the 2011 flood. That work was completed last fall.
The district, he said, was once again circumventing municipal law and the district's procurement by not bidding out the work.
"You didn't follow your own procurement policy," he told board members.
Ms. Weaver said the district got quotes from many vendors.
Ms. Smith said the work was discussed in open session at several meetings.
The athletic field work, she added, was too big for some companies and too small for others.
School business manager Terry Gillooley said he called vendors about the work.
FEMA paid for the work, which was estimated at $600,000, according to Mr. Parker.
The FEMA projects will be audited as per regulations, district officials said.
At the August 14 meeting, Mr. Parker asked board members to consider him for the board if there is a vacancy.