Tense meeting between towing businesses, SCDOT

[TowNews]

Tense meeting between towing businesses, SCDOT over contract to tow along I-85 construction zone.

 

VIDEO PENDING see link below

 

GAFFNEY, S.C. — A meeting between the South Carolina Department of Transportation, first responders and tow truck business owners that was intended to discuss the safety of traffic along I-85 turned tense in Cherokee County Thursday morning.

 

Back in October 2020, SCDOT began a statewide solicitation where it advertised to South Carolina towing businesses to be responsible specifically for clearing traffic in the construction zone along I-85 in Cherokee County.

 

The contract went to Revelation Towing on June 4, which means the company is paid by the state to clear vehicles from the chute to a staging area off Exit 80.

 

Thursday, more than a dozen tow truck companies at the meeting said they believe Revelation was soliciting cars from service after putting them in the staging area, cutting down on their businesses.

 

“Everybody in here should have the opportunity to get out there and tow a car if it is broken down, wrecked or whatever and at this point it is a disaster as far as I’m concerned,” said one Cherokee County tow truck company owner.

 

Revelation said it will do an internal check, but the owner, Jeff Jolley, said he doesn’t believe the company did anything wrong.

 

“For (other companies) to try to dig something up, try to make something up (to be) an issue, that’s the only thing they got, but that’s ok. I do want the state to investigate it, look into it (and) we’re gonna do our due diligence as well,” he said.

Two men brought what they claimed to be invoices proving solicitation.

 

“I’m gonna take these invoices and provide them to the state Inspector General and ask him to do a review of the contract and these interviews and then I’ll wait for his report to come back and then once his report comes back we’ll determine what the correct next step is at that point,” said Transportation Secretary Christy Hall.

 

SCDOT said it will have a third party investigate the claims of solicitation.

 

According to the agency, there are two times each year to apply for the contract — this years' dates are June 2 and Dec. 2.

Some drivers said Thursday they didn’t know they could even apply for the contract until it was too late for its start in June.

 

Hall said construction on I-85 is expected to last until the end of 2023.

 

RESOURCE LINK with video

[Moose]

I can see how it became INTENSE.... VOTE THE WHOLE LOT OF THEM OUT OF OFFICE!

 

Also, I;m not sure the tow company did anything wrong. I just think it's either a corrupt system or a seriously mismanaged system. I know there used to be at least a couple of those towers in that room who were on Tow411. Is anyone here that was there?