Vendor leaves Triad’s facilities director out to dry on sprinkler head proposals

Charles Bolinger

Editor

At the Nov. 10 special meeting, Brian Mattingly, the district’s facilities director, mentioned a problem with a vendor to the superintendent and board of education.

Cintas had previously sent Mattingly a $35,000 bill for the Triad High School sprinkler system, which he re-iterated for Dr. Henderson and the board. 

“I talked ‘em down to $24,000 and they told me that was it, ‘We do not expect any more surprises.’ On Nov. 5, I opened up my [district] email and had two proposals. One for St. Jacob Elementary for $11,833 for an electric waterflow switch and one for Henning Elementary for $9,185 for 30 painted sprinkler heads and 20 corroded sprinkler heads.

“We’ve been doing these inspections for four years; I’ve been here for four inspection cycles and we’ve never had one issue with a proposal or anything like that. Now, after four years, they’re coming back and saying all these things.”

Mattingly said while this isn’t critical, it is frustrating. 

“I think we really need to start getting outside of Cintas,” Mattingly told the group. He said he feels that the vendor is nickel-and-diming the school district.

“I don’t appreciate it. We’re a school district and for them to come back after four years say that this year, on our inspection, they found 30 painted heads. How does that happen?

“I wrote them an email that I am concerned about their lack of communication between Cintas representatives, I want them to show accountability and I told them I want to look at other vendors. They have not gotten back to me, so that makes me think we’re not important to them.”

Mattingly said he called Tim Baker, an alarm service manager at Cintas, and told Baker that he went through all of his emails and reviewed all of the proposals they ever sent. None of them had ever been for a sprinkler or anything like that.

“It just seems odd that this is happening now. I think their communication between Boyer [Fire Suppression in St. Louis] and Cintas is messed up as well,” he said. 

Mattingly said he’s reviewing other vendors.

In other current facilities action, the roof at Marine Elementary is going out for bid later this month, he said and the work would start next summer. The roof will be separate from the project’s second phase of work and the first phase will be all inside, renovating classrooms. 

Expansion of the school bus parking lot is also on Mattingly’s plate. The lot expansion project should go out for bid in mid-January.