CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish’s proposal to use up to $30 million to make coronavirus-related modifications to county buildings raised concerns among good-government advocates, passed-over contractors and County Council members who want more details about the plan.
The Budish administration introduced the plan to council this week as a way to use federal emergency aid money to make public buildings safer for visitors and county employees as they begin to re-open.
To get projects started as soon as possible, the administration skipped standard competitive bidding and relied on an expedited process in choosing six construction firms to complete the work.
Catherine Turcer, the director of Common Cause Ohio, said most communities are trying to balance transparency with the need to spend the money quickly, in line with the federal government’s Dec. 31 deadline.
But, Turcer said, “Leaving less than two weeks sets the process up to select friends or companies that the county has done work with in the past. It doesn’t provide enough time for vetting.”
Representatives from five of the companies not selected for the work told cleveland.com they were disappointed in the process, and many criticized the county’s decision to choose national firms over locally owned ones.
Norm Edwards, the president of the American Center for Economic Equality/Black Contractors Group, said it is the latest example of how the county bypasses minority contractors. He’s demanding the county put the plans on hold.
Public Works officials, however, said they set up a fair process and chose companies experienced in completing the modifications that are needed, including two with whom the county has not done prior business. One of the companies is minority-owned, they said.
County Council President Dan Brady said the county’s bidding process was “not ideal, but it may be necessary.”
Before signing off on the plan, Brady and Public Works Committee Chairman Scott Tuma said they want more answers about the need for the modifications, what the changes will be and why the county opted against normal competitive bidding.
What’s the plan and why is there a time crunch?
The six companies selected — Gilbane Building Co., Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Turner Construction Co., ConstructAbility Inc., Albert M. Higley Co., and Geis Construction Inc. — could each get up to $5 million to complete various modifications at county buildings.
Costs covered by federal aid must be “incurred” by the end of 2020, according to guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury. If that doesn’t happen, the county would have to foot the bill for improvements, Public Works Director Michael Dever said.
The most widely used county building, the Justice Center, is re-opening some functions to the public next week, and Public Works officials believe a similar “soft opening” of services at other county buildings could happen in June. Budish, to date, has not made any formal announcements about those re-opening dates.
Temporary fixes to accommodate social-distancing are being put in place now, but as more services re-open throughout the summer and more employees return to work, the county needs a longer-term solution as soon as possible, Dever said.
The county’s normal contracting process would usually take 22 weeks, Dever said, but the county shaved it down to seven to speed things along. To that end, the county reduced the length of time it solicited proposals from about three weeks to 12 days.
What do skeptics say?
Said Turcer of Common Cause Ohio: “We know that we need to act quickly, as the need is very real. The challenge is weighing the urgent need with accountability.”
In interviews, some of the 13 companies not selected for the work acknowledged the time pressure involved in the expedited bidding might have affected the companies the county chose. Some said they were shocked that area companies, rather than national ones, were left out. All but one spoke declined to comment because their businesses rely on public contracts.
“I don’t fault the county,” said Dale Griffis, the owner of Cold Harbor Building Co. in Chardon. “I had certainly hoped that it would go to more regional companies. I’m sure [county officials] made their decisions based on whom they felt could do the most work the quickest. But I know that we could do that work.
“A $6 million job to a local company that really needs the work right now would mean much more than a $6 million job to a national company,” he said.
Edwards, of the American Center for Economic Equality/Black Contractors Group, sent an emailed letter to council members on Thursday demanding that the project be put on hold “until we have legitimate diversity and inclusion.”
Edwards’ email says that he and other groups, including the Cleveland Clergy Coalition and Pastors in Mission, find it “disturbing, offensive and disappointing that no black contractors were given a fair and equal opportunity to obtain not one single contract” on the project, the email says.
Edwards said there are capable black contractors who could complete the work as general contractors, rather than sub-contractors working with the six selected firms.
What does the county say?
In response to Turcer’s comments about expedited bidding, Dever and Nichole English, head of planning and programming for Public Works, noted that companies must compete still against one another and submit so-called “mini-bids” for projects over $200,000.
Projects under $200,000 will be given to companies on a rotating basis.
And no company is guaranteed to receive the full $5 million — awards will be based on the “mini-bid” process and individual project proposals, English said.
The “mini-bid” process opens up the opportunity for work for locally-owned and minority-owned subcontractors, English said. Each general contractor also must meet a 30% diversity-hiring goal, Dever said.
Each national firm that was selected has a local office in Cuyahoga County, Dever said.
Asked why the county didn’t use normal bidding for some work, Dever cited limited staff hours and the high volume of projects that are expected to be completed. Preparing and then responding to a large number of bids would require too much time — time that county employees and contractors could instead use to complete projects by the December deadline, Dever said.
What modifications are coming?
Final decisions aren’t in place for these modification projects, but work will likely include modifying courtrooms and jail cells, entryways, workspaces, and areas where the public conducts county business, Dever said.
It could also include replacing manual sinks and doors with automated ones, replacing ventilation or elevator systems, and upgrading technology, such as adding Wi-Fi to the county jail to make it easier to conduct remote hearings, Dever said.
The county is using two architects to help plan the changes which are keeping tabs on the latest best practices from the construction industry around retrofitting buildings to accommodate social distancing and other public health precautions, Dever said.
The county also intends to make many changes in a way that they won’t need to be reversed once the pandemic is over, English said.
What does County Council say?
Because this is the largest sum the Budish administration has considered funding through federal coronavirus aid, Brady opted against signing off on the emergency request himself, and instead introduced it to the council for a full public hearing process, Brady said.
“It’s too big. It’s too complicated. It needs review by council. I want to hear more.” Brady said. “I’m not skeptical, but I think it is ambitious, and it deserves explanation.”
The proposal will be heard on Wednesday by the Public Works committee and will be subject to approval by the full council.
Among the questions Tuma wants answered at this week’s hearing: Why the administration selected the contractors it did, why normal bidding couldn’t be used, and whether the modifications are in line with the intended use of the federal relief.
Said Tuma: “I understand there are time considerations, but when you’re talking about reconfiguring spaces as a result of this pandemic, you want to make sure it’s done right...We don’t want to go spend money and find out it was unnecessary.”
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