New way of doing business surfaces
By now we all know the essentials of the three-year bridge inspection contract recently awarded to Fayette Engineering Co. Inc. by a 2-1 vote. Courtesy of Commissioners Joseph A. Hardy III and Vincent A. Vicites, the company was awarded a $219,498 contract despite the fact that another firm bid a much lower $178,376. In a miraculous mathematical calculation, Fayette Engineering was able to pull this off by using a little subtraction, offering to inspect the 11 smallest of the county’s 61 bridges for free, while also employing a little multiplication, in terms of higher PennDOT reimbursement for the remaining 50 bridges.
The upshoot, we were told, is that the county will end up paying $13,390l less under Fayette Engineering’s more costly proposal. So you can apparently go with a higher bidder and end up paying less. Go figure.
As an added measure of assuring things were squeaky clean, county manager Warren Hughes, whose son works for the contract-winning firm, purposely stayed out of the bid specification preparation process he normally handles.
The county may have hit upon something here. The scenario proves that bidders don’t have to bid on all the work listed in the specifications. They can choose to do some of it for free, basically undercutting the competition.
With that in mind, here are some headlines and stories we may see:
Engineering firm wins Fayette reassessment contract
In a surprise development, Fayette Engineering was awarded a $600,000 contract to perform the county’s reassessment slated to go into effect Jan. 1, 2006, beating out Cole Layer Trumble and several other accomplished mass appraisal firms.
The deal was sealed when the commissioners opened Fayette Engineering’s proposal and discovered that the firm was the only one offering to create 11 new tax assessment neighborhoods “for free.” In a joint statement, Commissioners Joseph A. Hardy III and Vincent A. Vicites said, “We just couldn’t pass up an offer like that.”
County manager Warren Hughes, whose son works for the winning firm, said he blindfolded himself as the proposals were being opened, so as to avoid the appearance of any conflict.
Engineering firm picked to perform county HR work
After offering to update 11 pages in the county employee manual “for free,” Fayette Engineering was selected as Fayette County’s new human resources firm, outdueling both Select HR and Felice Associates for that job.
Although Fayette Engineering submitted the most costly proposal at $219,498, county Bridge Department head Paul Nixon said his figures once again showed that the county would actually save money by going with the higher-priced firm, due to the reimbursement formula used by the state.
Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink, who voted no, said she was unaware of any state reimbursement for hiring human resources firms and asked Nixon why he was working on such figures when that isn’t even his department. Nixon said he would get back to her.
County manager Warren Hughes, whose son works for Fayette Engineering, said he drove his car in circles around the courthouse while the decision was being made, in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
Engineering firm selected for roof repair job
A hotly contested contract to repair the Fayette County Courthouse roof was awarded to Fayette Engineering because the company agreed to replace 11 shingles “for free,” a sweetener that the project architect said “was too good to ignore.”
Although Fayette Engineering also happened to submit the lowest bid, possible change orders could alter the final amount.
County manager Warren Hughes, whose son works for Fayette Engineering, said he went on a weeklong out-of-county vacation to avoid any potential conflict.
Paul Sunyak is editorial page editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached at (724) 439-7577 or psunyak@heraldstandard.com