Vepo, LLC (WISEGUYS) "Only Texas Residential Irrigation Company" across the State of Texas to Secure a High Number of Municipal Irrigation Contracts - We need Open Internal Controls and Accountability Procedures

Vepo, LLC operated in a residential home (possible home office or mailing address).  Vepo, LLC consists of three (3) main owners/partners/employees.

Doug Goodwin

 

 Currently designs irrigation systems throughout the United States and Mexico. In 1997, Doug became a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved instructor for Basic Irrigation Training and Continuing Education classes focusing primarily in CAD.  

 Texas Turf Irrigation Association, Secretary 1995
Houston Gulf Coast Irrigation Association, President 1996 & 1997
TCEQ Irrigation Advisory Council, 2005 through 2010, Chairman in 2009
Texas Irrigator Network, Vice-Chairman 2009 to present
North Fort Bend Regional Water Authority Conservation Committee Present
                                             The WJPA Water Conservation Committee Present



John DeCell




After being a loan officer and Vice President in the banking field, John DeCell began his career as a irrigation contractor in 1987 and became license in 1988. Currently involved with software that develops irrigation design and landscape design.  Business Management degree

Water Sense Oversight Committee for the Texas Certified Auditing Program.

James Jay Hartley


Began in the Oil and gas Industry in North Texas in the early 1990's after graduating with a Business Management Degree with emphasis on Petroleum Land Management.

Houston Gulf Coast Irrigation Association, President 2009 & 2010
Texas Irrigator Network, Board Member 2009 to present
North Fort Bend Regional Water Authority Conservation Committee
The WJPA Water Conservation Committee





This is a little off the subject - two of he 3 principals of Vepo, LLC have Business Management degrees - not engineering, not agricultural - no formal education towards water, fluids, electrical systems - none - all their information was gained from on-the job experience and seminars.  This blog is not stating that is a knock against John DeCell and Jay Hartley.  The Vepo, LLC staff is licensed and trained to obtain other Texas Irrigators how to join and become a member of the WISEGUYs contractors approved list. In addition the irrigation parts a purchased off Vepo's web site and the Independent Irrigator licensed in the State of Texas can even use the design irrigation software.   If you notice Doug Goodwin sat on a TEQC Committee.  The TECQ removed Professional Licensed Civil engineers from being able to install residential and commercial irrigation systems.  Can I prove it 100% - nope - nothing is in writing because those involve conduct meetings that "Do  Not Require Public Notice or Open Meetings Act"  so there are no official record of the meeting that take place.

Back to the original subject.  Vepo, LLC as far as I have checked have won all the Water Irrigation Evaluation Contracts and in some cases - no other firms are submitting.   We are no other firms not submitting.  Vepo, LLC has one irrigation approach or method.  Why are municipalities picking only a company that has 1 option.  Why are municipalities picking a company the promotes a technology with the idd controller that the EPA in May 2011 at the second meeting still stated to Tom Fairley of DBLive.com that the FM technology cannot be tested in-house and there is no proof that the idd chip will work on all controllers and proof that each unit will receive the FM signal with 100% certainty or 95% certainty.  he claims DBLive is making is not any better than other systems.


My question is why did the following happen:

1. Why did the City of South Lake - choose to enter into contract with Vepo, LLC and what was the amount of the contract?
2. Why did the City of Mansville - enter into contract with Vepo, LLC, what was the selection process, how many other firms submitted and why did Vepo, LLC win?  How big was the contract? Verify if a City employee teaming with DBLive.com and Vepo,LLC help win the contract.
3. Two City of Conroe employees were members of the Texas Irrigation network - one of the groups that gather.  It is technically legal but it is a 90 member group and approximately 20% of the members are associated with the WISEGUYS TEAM as far as I can identify. So it is obvious who funded the group.  Tom Fairley from Austin is also a member as is his daughter.  Why not he claims his involvements is worth $3 billion dollars for his part.  Not bad for a $5 chip from China that Vepo, LLC is selling for $250.    Why did the City of Conroe award a contract to Vepo, LLC for $55,000 with an annual fee of $7,500 = $62,500 - that is for 1,000 evaluations.   
4. The Woodland Joint Power Agency (WJPA) - Why did they award Vepo LLC $45,000 plus and annual fee for 750 evaluations.
5. North Harris County Water Authority - What did Vepo, LLC do to secure their contract and what was the contract terms and dollar value?
6. City of Sugar Land - Yes you did it too - Awarded Vepo, LLC WISEGUYS Program - what was your  qualifications process, what firms submitted and why were they not qualified?  Because the information the is being transmitted by DBLive over the FM radio is the National Weather Service broadcast which is "FREE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC" .  So why did Vepo, LLC win, what was the size of the contract?
7. North Fort Bend Water Authority -   Just look up the Board of Directors names and you will see a few names on there that will raise your eye brows.     What was the selection process conducted by NFBWA in reviewing all the teams - Why  did Vepo, LLC win the contract and what was the terms of the contract?

That is only seven municipalities - so there may be places Vepo,LLC did win but I would challenge that firm's a name change firm only.  I spoke to several irrigators outside in different communities and the perspective is that they didn't submit because it was a formality and the process was rigged.

I don't know if the process is rigged and I don't know Vepo, LLC personally.  It would be best for the whole WISEGUYS program to have "Full Disclosure" in the selection process and be honest with the public.  The idea of the public servants stating that these evaluations are "Free" is a fallacy. Unless they are taking the pay out of their pay checks and paying for it for themselves tan the program is not free.  Technically for them claiming it is free, I demand that they take the funds out of their personal account.    I can at least threaten.


So let's recap -

• Vepo, LLC and DBLive.COM owners/partners and government/municipal\water authority Regional Districts - sit on small organizations - Texas Irrigation Network has 90 Members with approximately 20 members being associated with DBLive.com and Vepo, LLC.  This organization meets to discuss business to unofficially get around official business which requires Public Notice and is subject to Open Records Requests.  - Of course there is no written proof of this blogs claim - that is the purpose of these types of groups. 
• For a 4- person firm - How did Vepo, LLC get so much control and power over the other landscape companies, plumbers and other firms who install residential and commercial irrigation systems?  Why didn't another ownership win a contract - why only Vepo, LLC?
• Why is Vepo, LLC's system do compared to other systems?
• Did the Municipalities consider that the weather information being transmitted by the DBLive.com system to the IDD controller chip is an a "Additional Monthly Charge to Each Resident - of approximately $10.95/month".   This information is available on the NOAA National Weather Service website and the information is "Free to Download"? 
• In Jan 2011 and again in May 2011 the EPA presented a Report and told Tom Farley of DBLive.com that claims that the ET system done by a in-house study is not accurate to a certain level of accuracy.  Representatives from Texas A&M, SAWS and other agencies disputed DBLive.com report and recommended language that DBLive wanted to state on the product?
• Did Municipalities consider the City of Frisco, Texas as a model to go after?  This appears to be a much fairer approach.
• Is it technically legal for a government entity to single out a specific company and give them indirectly a competitive monopoly by providing money rebates by using  Vepo, LLC who is trained by the EPA to do irrigation audits and an outside firm who is also trained by the EPA but does not have a contract with that municipality. 
• Is a municipality by entering into a contract by allowing only Vepo, LLC's approach -  controlling free market, competition and could be a system where all fees a pre-set and the number of companies providing services is controlled. 
• City Employees, Government Bureaucrats at City, County, Regional, and State Levels, NFBWA, NHCWA, WJPA, Southlake and so forth had members of the staffs go to group meetings with Vepo, LLC and DBLive.com associated - Open Meetings and Meetings Not Required Open Notice.  
• This is bigger than Vepo, LLC.  Several people are involved in getting this pushed through the backdoor with no accountability and open records.  Getting MUD Boards to agree to consolidate into small joint groups to create a water billing system that is 2-tier to 4-tier system to penalize high water use - really is to generate revenue. In the Houston area, there is a water transmission problem not a water shortage problem.  In other parts of the State there are shortages.  It seems that these areas such as San Antonio and Austin already a years ahead of Houston and the Dallas/Fort-Worth Areas. 

May be it is about time the District Attorney's Offices of Fort Bend County, Harris County Montgomery County, Tarrant County and other Counties involved begin to look into these contract selections and corruption.

Houston Rapid Transit Joint Venture w/ Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas - Hiring Out of State Workers at a Higher Rate than Local Workers

Metro to buid the 4 light transit rail (LTR) lines in Houston entered into contract in 2009 with Houston Rapid Transit  (HRT), Joint Venture Team  lead by Parsons based in Washington, DC with office in Houston.

The other companies part of HRT are Granite Construction, Kiewit and Stacey and Witbeck, Inc., General Engineering Contractors.   Granite Construction is the lead player in the construction side.

The Four (4) lines to be built or intended to be built in 2009 was the East End Corridor, Southeast Corridor, North Corridor and the Galleria Line.  Currently the East, Southeast and North lines are under construction.

HRT is to hire local contractors which includes DBE firms - Disadvantage Business Enterprise - Minority, Woman Owned - Disabled.  

METRO has a good affirmative action group that called firms in the design phase to makes sure that non-DBE firms were using DBE firms as specified by federal law/contract.  For the construction phase - enforcement of using DBE firms and using local firms is being done sparsely.


The HRT Joint Venture Team is is bring in construction laborers, surveyors, flagmen, inspectors and other staff from out of State -.


It is a same that over $120 million being spent by METRO in Houston, Texas - with Federal dollars comming in that local businesses in Houston and the surrounding counties of Harris County are barely hanging on struggling to make payroll while METRO let's HRT screw the DBE firms out of working normal  and using non-DBE firms for additional support in this economy.

Parsons, Granite, Kiewit and Stacey should appreciate have a project of this magnitude in this economy - but they should also take extraordinary steps to be extra generous to the locals who paid that tax base that generated to give their employees their pay checks.

Congratulations to Vepo, LLC being Selected for Woodlands (WJPA) Water Program "WISEGUYS"

Concratulations to Vepo, LLC for being selected to perform irrigation evaluation for the WJPA through the a program known as the "WISEGUYS: program.

Douglas Goodwin of Vepo, LLC  (pictured to the right)

resides on the WJPA Water Conservation Committee.

Vepo, LLC.'s business practices for monopolizing irrigation business, trade practices and other matters need to be scrutinize more closely.

Water conservation is a grand idea but NASA spent millions of dollars trying to fix the problem with zero gravity had with ink pens not working in space.  NASA scientists designed a pen that would pump the ink after millions of dollars was spent.

The Russian scientists - said we looked at the problem and said - we decided to use a number 2 pencil for the astronauts to write with.

The point is use Common Sense Water Conservation Solutions that will Save Money and Make Money - lots of Money for People Like Mr. Goodwin who makes up rules while he sits on TEQC Boards in Austin that favors his company. 

There needs to be some ethics - I think the idea behind the program is ok but the program looks to be all about "Power, Control and Money"

                                   When you control the Water - you control the People.



Wise Guys said "No to backyard sprinkler party" Invitees no show - Mom says Thanks Wise Guys?





This is the Hawk Reporting