June 4, 2013 Bid Results for the Fourth Downtown Millennium Bid Opening

The Downtown Millennium Square Parking Garage pre-bid meeting was held on May 2, 2013.

Several potential bidders, including at least two local contractors, showed up.

Only two contractors actually bid on May 22.

Southern Constructors (Knoxville) bid $1,524,620.00
Merit Construction (Knoxville) bid $1,625,754.43

A TDOT Transportation Enhancement grant will provide most of the funding to build the Millennium parking garage on the property of the Millennium Square Partners (MSP).  MSP has to make up the difference between the grant funding and the cost of construction.

The Millennium Square Partners are James and Mira Craine, David and Tim Wild, Hiram Jones, Tom Jones, Sid Boyd, and Bill Young. 

While the City, TDOT, MSP, and architects Brewer, Ingram & Fuller appear to be having plenty of discussions about this fourth bidding, there are few public comments and few/no reports in the "news"paper at this time.

Here is the pre-bid video:

February 24, 2011 Millennium Project Bid Postponed To April 5, 2011

Bidding on the Downtown Millennium Project has been postponed to April 5, 2011.

Click here, here, and here, for background on the many conflicts within this project.

This all started with awards to the City of $1,200,000 of federal grant money for historic preservation and well as improvement and development of the Morristown College site.  Click here.

Four and one-half years later, historic preservation and improvements to Morristown College were left behind.

The City transferred the entire $1,200,000 of federal grant money to the Millennium Partners for improvements to their Main Street property--including "approximately" 22 rooftop parking spaces (atop the private retail shells below) that make the project eligible for grant funds since the City is going to consider this as parking for a "greenways trailhead."  

The lease for the parking deck allows the City, if it desires, to designate two of the parking spaces for  "greenway purposes" and two for handicapped parking. The remaining 18 or so spaces are just standard downtown public parking.

The Millennium Partners include the City auditors (Hiram Jones, son Tom Jones, daughter Mira Craine, and son-in-law James Craine) as J&C Partners; Morristown businessmen/contractors (David Wild and Tim Wild) as D&T Partners; and Dr. Sid Boyd. Businessman Bill Young may still be a partner. 

This is not the first time that the City has transferred grant funds to the Millennium Partners. 

When the first Millennium building was built downtown about 9-10 years ago, the City amended a 1988 UDAG (Urban Development Action Grant) grant in order to give the Millennium group $105,816 of unused funds from that grant. 

[The first Millennium building contains the offices of the City's auditors Craine, Thompson & Jones; of Wild Building Contractors, Inc.; and of Community National Bank).]

January 26, 2011 Millennium Square Bidding Postponed to March 8, 2011

Another bidding postponement for the Millennium Square project has been announced. The new bid date is March 8, 2011. 

The City of Morristown received grant funds for Morristown College in 2005. The City transferred Morristown College grant funds to the Millennium Square Partnership group in early 2010. 

Millennium Partners include four members of the City's auditing firm (Hiram Jones, Tom Jones, James Craine, and Mira Craine); two members of a local construction company (David & Tim Wild); and two other individuals (Dr. Sid Boyd and Bill Young).

[Due to recent business and personal financial difficulties, it is not certain that Bill Young is still a Millennium partner]

Click here, here, here, here and here for background info on the connections.

It is a complicated situation with 2005 grant funds of anywhere from $890,000 up to $1,500,000 being shifted around and finally ending up in the hands of the Millennium partners.

Throughout the saga, Millennium Partners David and Tim Wild have worn several different "hats."  They wear Millennium "owner hats." They wear Wild Building Contractors "construction hats." They wear "local match hats" as they chip in 10% of grant costs in order to get the other 90% paid for by taxpayer grant money. They apparently also wear "consultant hats" and "estimating hats."

During initial consideration of the project in early 2010,  David Wild, wearing his Wild Building Contractor hat, and Tim Wild, wearing his D&T Rental hat, wrote letters to the Tennessee Department of Transporation  (TDOT) endorsing the transfer of Morristown College grant money to the Millennium Square partners.

By some strange coincidence, both David and Tim failed to add a disclaimer to their letters acknowledging that they were among the Millennium partners who would benefit from the grant transfer that they glowingly endorsed.

Hiram Jones, wearing his C(raine) & J(ones) hat, also wrote a letter to TDOT in early 2010 endorsing the transfer of Morristown College grant money to Millennium Square partners.

Like the Wilds, Jones failed to add a disclaimer to his letter acknowledging that he was among the Millennium partners who would benefit from the grant transfer that he glowingly endorsed.

With the grant transfer, the Millennium group is going to chip in 10% of grant costs in order to get 90% of grant costs paid by federal/state taxpayer grant money. This nine-fold return on investment is just not enough for the Millennium group. 

Millennium partners David and Tim Wild not only want their Millennium property improved largely at taxpayer expense, but they also want the taxpayer grant money that will be paid for these improvements to be paid to them while they do the work wearing their "Wild Building Contractors hat."

December 3, 2010 Millennium Project To Bid on December 14, 2010

Several months ago, the City of Morristown sought and got approval to transfer around $890,000 of former Morristown College grant money to a downtown project owned by Millennium Square partnership.

The partners in Millennium Square as of August 2010 are D&T Partners (Tim Wild, David Wild); C&J Partners (James Craine, Mira Jones Craine, Hiram Jones, Tom Jones); Sidney Boyd; and Bill Young.

Millennium Square Partners will get the $890,000+ in grant funds to build a shell for their retail building on West Main Street next to their Millennium Square Building.

What does the City get?  Some rooftop parking in downtown Morristown.  Yep. The roof of the retail shell will have 22 parking spaces that will be available for public parking for 25 years. 

A pre-bid construction meeting was held this past Tuesday at the City Center for prospective bidders.  Construction bids will be received on December 14, 2010.

Because of the economic situation and the depressed construction industry, many contractors were present  at the pre-bid meeting.  Messer Construction, Merit Construction, Southern Constructors, Inland Construction, Burwil Construction, Wild Building Contractors, Hale Construction, Joseph Construction, D&S Builders, and Trent Excavating. 

Wild Building Contractors? Yes, David and Tim Wild, who are partners in Millennium Square, are apparently planning to bid on the newest City/Millennium Square project.

Who else was present? James Craine. Craine, like David and Tim Wild, is a Millennium partner and is also a principal in the City's auditing firm Craine, Thompson & Jones.

So David and Tim Wild (Wild Building Contractors) will be bidding for the construction contract on a project where they benefit as the end owners (Millennium Square Partnership) of the finished retail shell.

Craine, Thompson & Jones, as the City's auditing firm, will audit the spending of the approimately $890,000 in grant money that benefits James & Mira Craine, Hiram Jones, and Tom Jones as end owners (Millennium Square Partnership) of the finished retail shell.

Sweet. The City gives the Wilds, Craines, and Joneses $890,000 of grant money to pay for construction of a downtown retail building for the Wilds, Craines, & Joneses. In return, the City gets some some rooftop parking for 25 years.

Oh, the City points out that it's all "grant money" and that the Millennium partners will graciously pay the city's 10% local grant match in order to get the other 90% free. That's nice. And that's a great deal for Millennium partners.

Did anyone else get offered this great deal? Did the City give any other local business people a chance to submit a proposal for building themselves a brand new store by paying just 10% and getting 90% "free"? No.