The De Soto City Council has removed Bruce McKinstry from the De Soto Public Library Board of Trustees.
That decision came after the De Soto Library board voted to recommend that the City Council remove him. The Library board does not have the authority to remove members, but the council does.
According to minutes from the Library board’s Nov. 14 meeting, McKinstry left in the middle of the trustees’ Oct. 10 meeting and said he was resigning. Later the Library board sent him an email asking for a written letter of resignation and received no response, so the board sent him a certified letter again asking for a written notice of resignation. In the Library board’s letter to McKinstry, he was informed that if he did not respond by Oct. 24, a vote would be taken to officially remove him.
After McKinstry failed to send a letter of resignation, the Library trustees voted 6-0 on Nov. 14 to recommend his removal. Those who voted in favor included president Jillian Lutz, vice president Terri Walker, secretary Bev Wilson, treasurer Ed Saaco and trustees Aileen Davis and Joni Roland. Mike Lowry had left the meeting before the vote.
On Nov. 21, the De Soto City Council voted 3-0 to remove McKinstry from the board. Those who voted for his removal included Mayor Kathy Smith and council members Autumn Blanchard and Jim Akers. Councilman Rich McCane abstained from the vote, saying he had no first-hand knowledge of the Library board or McKinstry.
Then, the council voted to appoint Ashley Jennings to replace McKinstry on the Library board. They also voted to appoint Connie Krizek to the Library board to fill a seat that previously had been vacated.
The Library trustees released the following statement after McKinstry was removed from the board: “In order to ensure the Library board was able to continue fulfilling its duties, the board voted to remove Mr. McKinstry and fill his remaining term with another candidate. Mr. McKinstry was a valued member of the board and we appreciate his dedication to the Library.”
McKinstry had served numerous terms on the De Soto Library board beginning in the 1980s. His latest term was set to expire on June 30, 2025.
He said he resigned because he did not approve of the process the Library board used to solicit construction bids for a roof replacement project. The Library board voted on Sept. 12 to allow the Garland Co., headquartered in Cleveland, to act as a general contractor and put together a roofing package the Library sent out requesting bids for the work.
Library director Karen Graham said Garland agreed to perform those services for free.
Garland sells roofing materials, and the construction company the Library board hired to complete the roofing project will use that company’s materials.
McKinstry said he was worried Garland wasn’t a good choice because the De Soto School Board of Education had chosen the same company in June to be the district’s roofing consultant, and the bids for the roofing projects came in higher than expected.
After hiring Garland, the De Soto school board awarded a $651,158 contract to Shay Roofing of Millstadt, Ill., to repair or replace parts of the roof at De Soto High School and a $123,040 contract to Leak Stoppers Roofing LLC of Festus to complete roofing work at Athena Elementary School. Both were the lowest of four bids for each project.
The work was recommended by the Garland Co. The company also suggested that roofing work was needed at De Soto Junior High School, but the school board rejected those bids because the work at the high school, over a section of classrooms, came in much higher than budgeted and is considered a priority.
At the September Library board meeting, the trustees voted 4-1 to enter its agreement for services from Garland, with Lutz, Wilson, Roland and Davis voting in favor, and McKinstry casting the sole dissenting vote. Walker and Sacco were absent from the meeting, and Lowry had left the meeting before the vote.
“They send two salesmen in for this company and they sell the materials. Then they take over the bidding and they do the whole thing, and it’s not a competitive bid,” McKinstry said about why he voted against hiring Garland. “I expressed my concerns to the board and they went ahead and voted to use (Garland’s) services anyway. It’s a closed situation where they pick who’s going to be the installers and they have to be a Garland-licensed roof installer to do this. They charge about twice as much as other companies would have charged. I didn’t think it met state law. I didn’t think that it was proper what they were doing.”
McKinstry said the company estimated that the cost for the Library’s new roof would be about $300,000, and the Library recently awarded a $347,750 contract to Meinershagen Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC in Farmington for the project. The company, which will use Garland roofing materials, submitted the lowest of four bids for the project, Graham said.
“I thought we could spend our money a little bit better,” McKinstry said. “I’m not trying to slam anybody. It’s just that I was reading the law and it should be competitive bidding. Ethically, it should be competitive bidding. And that wasn’t the case.”
“I could do one of two things. I could either stand there and feel like I’m shouting into the wind, or I could walk out. And I decided to walk out.”
The Library board said the bidding process was proper.
“The De Soto Public Library board chose to work with the Garland Co. based upon their excellent reputation for building materials and their ability to provide a zero dollar warranty on the proposed roof,” the trustees said in a written statement. “The Library is using the Omnia Partners Government Purchasing Alliance program for roofing supplies and related products and services, as priced by and awarded to Garland Inc. Bid specifications clearly stated that any contractor was able to bid using either Garland or any equivalent materials and was open to any union contractor. After opening the sealed bids, the Library board awarded the project to Meinershagen Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC, a local contractor based in Farmington. In addition, because the Library is using ARPA funds from the state of Missouri to pay for this project, union contractors must be used in all projects. By selecting a Tier 1 contractor for the job, the Library board has taken steps to ensure quality craftsmanship with a reputable company.”
Despite the disagreement with the board, McKinstry said he still is a big supporter of the Library. “I think the Library for the community has been great. I think the programs we’ve got down here are fantastic. And I think that there’s a lot of community support evidenced by the fact that there was a property tax that was increased. The Library has always been there for the community. That was one of the things that I enjoyed about being on the board.”