Birmingham Water Works chairman says he resigned under duress, not leaving board

Christopher Rice

Birmingham Water Works Chairman Christopher Rice (Roy S. Johnson)

Birmingham Water Works Chairman Christopher Rice withdrew his resignation according to a letter read by Vice Chairman William “Butch” Burbage, Jr. in this morning’s water works board meeting.

The letter written by Rice’s lawyer, Bruce L. Gordon, was addressed to the water works board and Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office.

It stated that Rice tendered his resignation on Sept. 6 under duress and said shortly after the first letter Rice sent a second letter to Woodfin’s office rescinding the resignation.

Rice was not present at the morning meeting.

Gordon continued in the letter that since Rice had not tendered any resignation to the water works board itself and rescinded his original resignation to the mayor, he would remain chairman of the water works board.

“It is my opinion that the Mayor of the City of Birmingham exceeded his authority in trying to secure Chris Rice’s resignation and, thus, for the reasons stated, as well as Mayor Woodfin being an improper participant, Chris Rice withdrew his resignation and, in my opinion, remains Chairman of the Board,” wrote Gordon.

Director Lucien Blankenship argued that since the mayor is the one who appointed Rice and the only one who could replace his seat, the board should not be making the decision on whether he remains chairman.

Water works lawyer Mark Parnell agreed and said that the decision needed to be made after discussions with the mayor’s attorneys and a decision by a court of law, but until then Rice would continue to sit as chairman.

“I think Mr. Rice has now put out his position and the mayor has put out his, and now it has to be determined by a court of law,” said Parnell.

The board meeting proceeded in Rice’s absence with Burbage carrying out the agenda and Burbage said after the meeting that he agreed the resignation did not count since it was not sent to the water works board directly and in his opinion the matter was “still in limbo.”

“This is fresh to us. We just found out about it here today and it appears to still be a very fluid situation,” said BWW PR manager Rick Jackson. “With that being said you may have heard different opinions from the board about the situation and with what was presented to us this could result in some type of court involvement or legal counsel and because of that we’re just wanting to know the right way to approach this.”

The mayor’s office confirmed Rice’s resignation last week following months of public scrutiny and multiple comments from the mayor blaming the board for billing issues that have been plaguing customers since last October.

Rick Journey, communications manager for the mayor’s office sent a copy of Rice’s signed resignation letter but declined request for further comment on Rice’s return.

Thousands of water works customers have reported missed bills that were followed by multiple bills or bills they say were wildly overestimated over the last year.

In one occurrence Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson said a constituent approached her with a bill nearing $1500. Tyson said the woman paid the bill but has not yet received any assistance or refund in her conversations with customer service.

Following Rice’s resignation Tyson said that it would make little difference due to what employees told her is a problem with water works management and continues to hold that opinion but praised Rice’s decision to return.

“I think him coming back shows that he is going to try and stand with the ratepayers and make sure the problems get resolved,” said Tyson.

Jackson said that questions about Rice will have “no impact on the board on operations. We’re going to remain laser focused on the situation at hand which is our customers.”

“We want our customers to know we’re here for them and their concerns,” Jackson said. “We’re continuing to move forward in serving our customers.”

During the most recent board meeting the water works board also approved the following agenda items:

  • Approved an agreement for services from Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for pipeline relocation design and inspection for an ALDOT project in Birmingham and Mountain Brook at an estimated cost of $43,269.42.
  • Approved two scope of services agreements with A.G. Gaston Engineering, LLC, for the design and inspection of two water main replacement projects; 1) Powderly/Wenonah Community along Walnut Avenue SW; located in the city of Birmingham and 2) Avenue “C” and Overlook Place located in the city of Fairfield at an estimated cost of $685,054.29.
  • Approved expenditures with Software House International (SHI) for three DynaTouch kiosks, to be used in the Payment Center Lobby as indoor kiosks to provide self-service access for customers to pay their utility bills, at an estimated cost of $114,908.99.
  • Ratified emergency work awarded to Russo Corporation to repair a 42-Inch raw water pipeline repair leak adjacent to US Steel located in the city of Fairfield, at an estimated cost of $2,058,336.70.
  • Ratified the purchase of bottled water from the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, to assist the citizens of Jackson, Mississippi with their drinking water needs, due to the plant pumps failing at their water treatment plant, at an estimated cost of $9,676.80.

The final agenda item listed is a separate effort from the City of Birmingham’s previous donations to Jackson.

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