Hickman County may have followed the formal steps of advertising and opening bids, but the public timeline raises a fair question: was the process genuinely competitive, or had MLConnect already become the assumed partner before bids were solicited? For the sake of public trust, the county should clearly document how the vendor was selected, whether other vendors had a fair opportunity, and whether any exception to normal competitive bidding rules applies.
Let me get some things out of the way right up front.
- I really wish I didn’t have to put all this together and send it out.
- I am not suggesting any deliberate wrongdoing or malfeasance on the part of anyone. I am documenting what happened to the best of my knowledge and suggesting that if there are errors (and I believe there are) they need to be corrected ASAP.
- If you have corrections below, send them to me.
- If you work for MLCONNECT this isn’t personal. I am here to help improve our county for the better of everyone who lives in it.
- Don’t shoot the messenger. The short timelines introduced by the previously unknown “bidding” process needed to be addressed quickly.
- I am still on the case and will be digging into the outcome of the bidding and selection process and sharing those details in the future.
State law as far as I can tell requires a “competitive” bidding process. I am certain that word competitive has a strong legal definition.
It looks like we learned recently that the state requires this bidding process for purchases in amounts over some amount, I believe it might be $50,000, and three bids are required to get this grant.
For me, the situation below raises concerns of transparency, fairness, and full compliance with Tennessee county purchasing laws.
Why This Raises Red Flags
The concern is not just whether the county technically publishes a bid notice or receives sealed bids. The concern is whether the process is actually competitive.
If the county has been working closely with MLConnect for nearly a year, allowed them to help draft an MOU, and then later describes the public bid as more of a “formality,” that creates a serious appearance problem. It makes it look like the decision may have already been made before the public bid process ever started.
That undermines the whole point of competitive bidding. The purpose is supposed to be open competition, best value for the taxpayers, and protection against favoritism — or even the appearance of favoritism.
Even if the county follows the basic steps, such as advertising in the paper, accepting sealed bids, and opening them publicly, the process still needs to be genuine. A rushed bid process after months of working with one preferred partner could invite scrutiny from citizens, auditors, or even other potential bidders.
The “lowest and best” standard does not mean the county can decide in advance who it wants and then build a bid around that outcome. It still requires a meaningful evaluation of qualified proposals.
The grant amount may only be around $100,000, but that does not make the process unimportant. If this involves a contract, partnership, or service agreement above the applicable purchasing thresholds, the county needs to either follow the proper competitive process or clearly document why an exception applies.
For example, if MLConnect is truly the only viable provider, then the county should document that as a sole-source situation and explain why. But pre-selecting a provider first and then running a bid afterward creates unnecessary risk.
The bottom line: the county should avoid even the appearance that the bid is just paperwork to justify a decision already made. That is exactly the kind of thing that causes citizens to lose trust in the process.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS WITH LINKS
My comments in green highlights. Jul 7, 2025 - Office of Economic Community Development gets approved to pursue the broadband grant at County Commission meeting.
- States the contract is a non-compete.
- This turned out not to be true. It would be good to find out when our county found out bids were required and on what basis it was initially thought to be a non-compete.
- States we have until October 26, 2026 to finish the project.
- States the project is a partnership between MLCONNECT, Main Street.
- The public record appears to show MLConnect being treated as the primary or assumed partner from very early in the process. Meeting notes taken at the recent April 28th meeting state the open bids are a “formality” since the state requires 3 bids. The question to ask is have these other bidders been given a fair shot or are they just being used to secure the funding for MLCONNECT. I know this question could potentially offend some given the timeline below this is an entirely fair question to ask.
- States MLCONNECT stated they can get it done for the budget and time frame.
- Link to the point in meeting where this is discussed
- AI outline of the transcript of the complete meeting
- Link to the full transcript (also available on YouTube)
Aug 21, 2025 - Proposal for grant seems to include MLC as providing specific costs.
In August of 2025 there was already a breakdown of the project and I believe MLC in the screenshot below may refer to MLEC/MLCONNECT. The source for below is from the initial proposal to get the grant “Connected on the Square”: A Broadband Expansion & Digital Hub Proposal
Oct 27, 2025 - Mayor provides update on broadband grant.
- Asked to scale back the project to Wi-fi on the square only.
- Link to point in meeting where this is discussed
- AI outline of the transcript of the complete meeting
- Link to the full transcript (also available on YouTube)
Nov 24, 2025 - Office of Economic Community Development announced securing the grant.
- MLCONNECT is specifically called out as a "partner" in the project.
- States they will meet with partners in coming weeks.
- Partners also include Main Street, Chamber of Commerce, and the AG Pavilion (Donna).
- States the free wi-fi will not necessarily be free forever.
- Link to point in meeting where this is discussed
- AI outline of the transcript of the complete meeting
- Link to the full transcript (also available on YouTube)
Feb 2, 2026 - Office of Economic Community Development provides update on broadband grant.
- Partner group responsible for the $100,000 broadband grant (for free Wi-Fi on the square and at the AG Pavilion) will meet this month.
- I am still working on getting a list of everyone who was considered a member of the partner group. If anyone can fill in the blanks please contact me directly.
- Dates for the meeting are still being coordinated.
- Link to point in meeting where this is discussed
- AI outline of the transcript of the complete meeting
- Link to transcript of the complete meeting
Feb 23, 2026 - Economic Community Development provides update - mentioned Meriwether Lewis as required partner to hold a meeting.
- First meeting rescheduled to April due to Meriwether Lewis still handling storm recovery activities.
- Meriwether Lewis acknowledged the deadline to spend the $100,000 grant funds is September 2026.
- Taken together, these references make it reasonable to ask whether MLConnect had already become the assumed provider before the public bid process began.
- They state more updates to come as project progresses.
- AI outline of the transcript of the complete meeting
- Link to transcript of the complete meeting
May 21, 2026 - Invitation to bid for the broadband grant posted in Hickman County Times.
- Ad was placed in the paper.
- Jun 5, 2026 2PM deadline.
- Bids opened at close of bids on Jun 5, 2026.
- Link to county document (body of ad)
- Invitation to bid
Tentative Project Timeline
- Look at the timeline here. Very short amount of time to allow for due diligence, to schedule meetings, and right before a major holiday weekend! Is this really reasonable and fair to bidders who have not been involved in the process for almost a year?
Milestone | Date |
Bid Release Date | May 18, 2026 |
Questions Deadline | May 22, 2026 |
Bid Due Date | June 5, 2026 |
Vendor Selection | June 15, 2026 |
Project Start Date | July 1, 2026 |
May 26, 2026 - References to the broadband grant in the full County Commission meeting packet.
- Link to YouTube video where this is discussed
- April-May monthly status report for economic development included in the digital packet.
- The main active project is the $100,000 broadband free Wi-Fi initiative for the Centerville Public Square and Ag Pavilion.
- Initial steps of the project are underway while awaiting the formal agreement letter from the state.
- The bid process has already begun, with the invitation published in the newspaper and on the county website.
- Grant requirements specify that three bids must be secured from tech companies for installation.
- Several companies have expressed interest; some have visited and toured the project sites.
- Link to packet
- You can find the text shown above in the screenshot in the May 26, 2026 packet on page 108.