The city of Pevely has entered into a one-year contract with Pippin Towing in the Festus area, after months of conflict over what towing service the city should use.
The city had long paid McCain’s Towing in Herculaneum to take care of its towing services, but stopped using the company in December because the owner, Joe McCain, married former Mayor Stephanie Haas, who lost her bid for reelection in April to former board member Steve Markus. The two had been a couple for years and married in November 2024.
Markus and his supporters said last year that they didn’t want to continue using McCain’s Towing because it posed a conflict of interest, while Haas and her supporters said Markus and his supporters didn’t understand exceptions to state and municipal conflict of interest regulations.
A crowd of about 30 people, including Haas, attended the Pevely Board of Aldermen meeting on Monday evening, when the board voted 5-0 to award the one-year contract to Pippin Towing. Board member Ryan Tucker of Ward 2 abstained from the vote, and Rick Yount of Ward 2 and William Brooks of Ward 4 were absent from the meeting.
Markus said Pippin Towing submitted the best of three bids the city received for the contract. He also said going with Pippin Towing for a relatively short period was the best way to handle the situation at this time.
“Pippin has the contract for a year,” he said. “They were the best bid for what we needed to do.”
The city also received bids from McCain’s Towing and Miner’s Towing Co. in St. Louis County.
Below are some of the details from the bids:
■ Fee for towing when requested by Pevely Police, per tow: McCain’s $70; Pippin $80; Miner’s $135.
■ Fee for recovery or winching required on tow per 15 minutes: McCain’s $20; Pippin $75; Miner’s $35.
■ Fee for storage per day or any part of day: McCain’s $20; Pippin $55; Miner’s $50.
■ Fee for major accident cleanup per 15 minutes: McCain’s $15; Pippin (included in other pricing); Miner’s $25.
■ Fee for wait time for police investigations per 15 minutes: McCain’s $10; Pippin $15; Miner’s $25. All three companies submitted the same prices for mileage to tow a vehicle anywhere except the tow lot and/or crime lab ($4 per mile).
McCain’s Towing had provided towing services for the city for more than 10 years when in December, the Board of Aldermen voted to use a rotation system for towing services, excluding McCain’s. The board also directed staff to solicit bids for a new towing contract.
Also around that time, the city learned that McCain’s contract with the city had expired in 2015, which meant there was no valid contract between the city and McCain’s, although the two had maintained a business relationship, city attorney Allison Sweeney said.
During a closed March 3 meeting, the board voted 6-2 to give preliminary approval for the city to enter into a towing contract with Pippin Towing. Tucker and Brooks cast the no votes.
McCain said Tuesday that since his wife is no longer in Pevely government, he felt the board should have reconsidered and given him the contract since his company submitted the lowest pricing.
“I just think that as it was a bid process, there was no longer a conflict theory,” he said.
McCain said he feels that since he was the low bidder and since no concerns about a conflict of interest remained, the decision to go with Pippin demonstrated that Markus and his supporters had “a personal vendetta” against him.
No citizen comments at meeting
Many of those in the crowd at Monday’s meeting, including a large number of Haas supporters, said they had hoped to speak during the usual citizen comments section. However, Markus decided against putting a citizen comments section on the agenda that night.
“We took off the comments section for right now,” he said. “If you’re going to blame somebody, blame me.”
Markus said he made that decision so he could better concentrate on city business during his first meeting. After the meeting, he said he intends to bring back the citizen comments section at upcoming meetings.
“Probably next month,” he said.
Haas said she was disappointed to see no opportunity for citizen comments at the meeting, labeling it “censorship.”
“I’m very concerned for the future of the city of Pevely,” she said. “Giving every resident, every business owner, anyone involved in the city of Pevely a voice was always a top priority while I was mayor. Providing an open and transparent government was always No. 1.”
Also during the meeting, Markus said he intends for the board to meet twice next month, at 7 p.m. May 5 and at a time to be determined on Monday, May 19. The board normally meets only on the first Monday of the month.