Why Metro Jackson Leads the FAILBOAT

There are certain things that I usually don't post about on this blog, more or less to keep my exposure locally to a minimum. THIS REQUIRES THAT I BREAK THAT MINOR TENET.

The Hinds County Penal Farm is a building that I worked on. Granted, I was NOT the lead on the project and only got involved tangentially. The one person that I was instrumental in hiring the entire time that I was employed with the architecture firm that designed and built this facility was the primary contact once this building got under construction. Trial by fire works wonders for your learning curve, too. I pray for you daily, sir.

A little bit of background on our Capitol City's and County's government and their attempts to build stuff. They hire an architect, then they hire a planner, then they hire a Clerk of the Works, then they hire an accounting firm to handle the money, then they hire another bazillion other folks to handle a bazillion other things. Every one of these additional hires is someone's brother, uncle, aunt, cousin, well you get the picture. And they all make a killing. The Clerk of the Works is actually paid four percent of total job costs on this project which exceeds the fee charged by the architect. That is just flat out idiotic. But that is Hinds County government for you.

But, it is like every other government in the world. In other words, they hire a bunch of consultants that work against each other to plan, design, and construct a building. Then the City Council or the Board of Supervisors back bite each other like a bunch of pissed off chickens without heads. (I have no idea how headless chickens bite each other, but they do. Somehow.)

It is BAD COMEDY. And if you get your news from our local dog trainer, The Clarion Ledger, you think that the bad guys are the guys that are actually performing the work, and the poor, poor government body has gotten screwed yet again. No one ever wonders why EVERY SINGLE ONE of the construction projects goes bad, since there is only one common entity involved with every single job. And no one ever wonders why people are abandoning Jackson and Hinds County like rats from a sinking ship.

I'm here to tell you why.

The people that work for government are members are an elite group. People that can actually speak on any topic, tell everyone what they want to hear, and avoid talking about REALITY. Government does nothing on the cheap, NOTHING.

If a contractor decides that they want to do business with the city or county, they immediately know that they shall never get paid in a timely manner, they are going to be hauled before numerous governing bodies to answer ridiculous questions to people that do not understand what the contractors are saying, and are going to be ridiculed in the local media. It just ain't worth it to most contractors that are honest, hard-working, and are interested in turning a profit. Government winds up hiring the contractors that see glaring flaws in the job and know how to exploit it to make MORE MONEY.

Then you have people like Supervisor Phil Fisher quoted in the article linked above, that has NO FRIGGIN' clue what has gone on, is stunningly misinformed, just like all the other Supes, and sees a reporter that shall put his name in the paper. Disclaimer: I do not know Phil Fisher, he wasn't a Supe when we planned, designed, bid, nor started this job. Of all the dipsticks on the Board, Fisher is the one with the LEAST information regarding this job. The mental picture of Phil Fisher is a baby lying on his back in a crib, playing with a mobile using only his feet. That is the extent of his knowledge of what has gone on with this building until now.

Phil says, "TWO MONTHS?!?!? THAT'S CRAZY!" One of the buildings they are currently using in the penal farm housing is ANTEBELLUM! <--that means "Built before the Civil War, 1861-1865." Dang, Phil, TWO MONTHS?!?!?!?! Fucking dumbass.

Notice in the photograph on the linked page, the painters are busy doing their job on an item that is no longer needed since the line of sight shall be obscured by the new bunk beds. That walkway was actually MY IDEA. It is no longer needed with the new beds. The changes in the beds were REQUESTED BY GOVERNMENT, not by anyone on the design team, nor is that change actually NEEDED. But, according to a new Supervisor, that has no clue what he is talking about, and a reporter that is lucky to even have a job since the C-L is hemorrhaging like a gunshot victim, it is the fault of the architecture firm. THAT IS A BLATANT, OUT AND OUT FRIGGIN' LIE.

Chris Epps says that the facility doesn't meet the American Correctional Association Standards. That is completely irrelevant because this is NOT a jail, it is a PENAL FARM. The people that are housed in this facility are hired out to contractors, farmers, towns, and local governments to perform day labor. The "inmates" are working off traffic fines, misdemeanors, and stuff like that. This facility is not even considered "Minimum Security." It is a PENAL FARM.

And they were forced to put ADA fixtures in the "inmates" quarters, too. Nevermind that a handicapped person cannot even be admitted to this facility. Code says you gotta follow ADA. Stupid.

Here's another disclaimer: I am getting not one single red cent for saying the things that I have. I actually left that architecture firm with very, very strong feelings about the circumstances in which I quit and have kept my mouth shut pretty tightly about those resentments that I have regarding my departure. But, justice must be done, even for them.

Now, take this scenario, multiply it by seven trillion to the eighty millionth power and you shall began to grasp why Jackson, Mississippi and Hinds County, Mississippi are going broke and people are fleeing the area. There is no intelligent life left in Jackson.

Please take the time to comment.

Uh, sorry for the nut punching, Phil, but you should just shut up when you have no clue what you are talking about. It's Peggy's fault anyway or have you not noticed which one is the dumbest one?