Kendall D. Jones, the FAMU Director of Plant Operations
& Maintenance, said he and two other administrators began a project to
install a new front door at the residence after then-Chairman Chuck Badger
suggested it.
“Chairman Badger commented that the existing door was not
representative of a University President’s House and should be more
presidential,” Jones wrote in an October 28 memorandum. “The project team
collaborated and decided to replace the existing door with a better quality door. As a result, the door replacement was added
to the project scope of work.”
But Badger told the Tallahassee Democrat that Jones has it
wrong.
“He’s got me mixed up with somebody else,” Badger said. “It wasn’t Chairman Badger making the statement regarding the door. I’m pretty sure (the comment) was made by another board member.”
The memorandum Jones did include a warning that his
description of what happened shouldn’t be considered “exact.”
“This statement is based upon my memory of events and should
not be inferred as exact accounts of conversations, but is offered to the best
of my recollection,” Jones said in the memorandum.
Jones also said that he gave Spurgeon McWilliams, who
chaired the BOT’s Facilities Planning Committee at the time, a walk-through of
the President’s House on March 13, 2014 and explained the progress of the
upgrade project for the residence. Jones added that: “During this walk-through
the scope of work was thoroughly explained.”
The front door project cost $11,519 and had an invoice date
of September 23, 2014.
At an emergency BOT conference call on Oct. 22, FAMU General
Counsel Avery McKnight said the front door was among four projects above
$10,000 that each took place at the President’s House after the start date of
President Elmira Mangum’s contract. He said they weren't presented to the BOT for its
approval as required by her contract.
Mangum said she didn’t request or authorize any renovations
for the President’s House. She later narrowly survived two unsuccessful motions
to terminate her employment.
McWilliams, who voted in favor of both motions for
termination, resigned from the BOT on October 28. That was the same day as the
date of memorandum by Jones. But McWilliams denied that his resignation had
anything to do with Jones’ statement about the March 13, 2014 walk-through of
the President’s House.
“Any intention to connect the walk-thru to my resignation is absolutely false,” McWilliams told the Florida Times-Union. “It is a far stretch for even a casual reader and patently untrue. Doing a walk through to asses construction progress has zero correlation to approving expenditures over $10,000 -- which is a Board duty -- and this implication is totally false. The walk-through and my resigning have zero connection.”
The Times-Union asked McWilliams: “Why resign immediately
versus finishing the remaining six months on his term or at least waiting until
a replacement is named?”
McWilliams answered that: “After the attempt at releasing
the President failed, Dr. McWilliams determined that, since he had finished two
terms and could not be re-appointed, the final months of the year would not
yield the ability for him as a Trustee member to make what he felt were
important changes.”