Nov 13, 2002 By Amy Karpinsky 4 min read

In anticipation of eventually moving the headquarters of the county’s Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation service to the Connellsville Airport, the county commissioners took action Tuesday to temporarily move the operations space into a nearby location. At the request of Michelle Shumar, director of the department of Human and Community Service and FACT, the commissioners voted to place on today’s agenda a motion to enter into a lease for an area formerly used by Montgomery Wards at the Laurel Mall. The action was taken during the commissioners agenda meeting.

Shumar said the lease will cost $2,000 a month and does not include utilities. She said the location includes 5,022 square feet, for a cost of $4.77 per square foot. Shumar said electricity and water will be needed at the site but not telephone service, because employees use mobile radios.

In response to a question from commission chairman Vincent A. Vicites about using space at the airport now, Shumar said there wasn’t space available “under roof” at the airport. She said the rented space will be used for bus maintenance and for operations. Currently, buses for the program are being housed at the county bridge department.

Plans are to construct a building at the airport but Shumar said that facility may not be available for at least a year. The county airport authority has already included the facility as a part of its master plan. The site that is being considered wasn’t previously designated for aviation use.

Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh said renting at the Laurel Mall “makes sense” because it makes use of space at the vacant mall and centralizes the FACT hub. He added that the current head of the Bureau of Aviation is not in complete agreement with the proposal, but Vicites said it can be done if certain requirements are met.

Regarding the project to move the site to the airport, Shumar said a request for proposals was sent out and will be opened later this month. She said meetings have been held with various transit representatives.

“I’m thinking we’re poised. We have money under a grant application,” she said. Shumar added that the proposal should be able to move forward once things are cleared up with the BOA.

To date, amounts of $225,000 and $445,000 have been secured. Shumar said separate funds are available to use for the rent.

Regarding another building the county plans to construct at the airport, the commissioners discussed either keeping or rebidding and RFP for engineering services for a new building for the county emergency management agency.

The county previously awarded a contract to Sleighter Engineering to handle construction and engineering of a pre-fabricated metal building. Cavanagh said the problem is that some proposals put a cap on the bid amount and some didn’t. Another firm that submitted a proposal, Michael S. Molnar Associates, has protested the bid proposal saying the RFP was not clear.

Cavanagh said he spoke with assistant county solicitor John S. Cupp Jr. about the matter and Cupp recommended rebidding the issue just to be safe.

County manager Warren Hughes said since it was an RFP and not a bid, it is up to the commissioners about how to handle it. Vicites said he believes the county could face legal repercussions, but he is not willing to go back on a contract award. He said that Sleighter has already started work. Vicites added that Molnar’s bid didn’t include a specific bid amount.

Commissioner Ronald M. Nehls said the county should admit if it made a mistake by putting out an unclear RFP and correct it.

Cavanagh also said that the department heads shouldn’t be making decisions about contract awards. He said Barney Shipley shouldn’t be making the decision regarding who should be awarded a contract. Although Cavanagh wanted to rebid the project, no action was taken.