I do know Peter Hernandez head of AECOM. I corrected him at a meeting years ago, when he was city manager, saying that Arthur Lamb Jr. Road on Virginia Key is not called "Sewer Road." He was calling it "Sewer Road." He was not very happy with me. Other than that we have not ever talked. Maybe "hello". My spouse worked for him briefly years ago. I do think he is a good man but I do not know his qualifications for this bid. Nor do I know CH2M's qualifications. I just know something happened that may not have been kosher. I think it put the Mayor in a hard place (that is why he asked for all these ethics opinions) and I think he is trying to make right of it. Some say he should divide the work between the two companies (I think it was Barbara Jordan, at the meeting Lynda Bell said she was "concerned" 14 times in less than 3 minutes).
Anyway I have no leg in this race. I have nothing to gain, I just feel something went on that made the Mayor uncomfortable and me as well. This is too big a contract to not do right by it ($1.6 billion and don't think it won't skyrocket). It is like the Shrink Wrap contract. I had no leg in that race either but there was controversy.
In my blog of November 11th I think the Ethicist Anthony Alfieri made a compelling argument. You can read it in the post.
I even made a video of Anthony Alfieri talking about Moral Hazard. That is how impressed I was with him.
I have lost faith in our ethics department to find anything NOT OKAY. However they did say:
Joe Centorino, executive director of the Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, said allowing one of the two bidders, CH2M Hill, to directly contact members of a selection committee to submit more than 400 pages of additional documents “contributed to a serious public trust problem with this solicitation.”
Also the acting OIG said:
They don't sound real sure nothing was wrong. So fuck all of you who are accusing me of favoring one company over the other. This is a $1.6 Billion dollar contract. Let's do the right thing. On Lynda Bell, I accept that I do not favor her, but on this one - let's do it right.
12 comments:
Did I say Fuck? Didn't even know that I did. LOL
I read this post all the time while drinking my big gulp and smoking my cigarettes and I almost spit out my over salted scrambled eggs when I saw your "f" bomb. Please watch that.
Lynda Bell "concerned" 14 times was hysterical. Is she trying to outdo Javier Douto?
I think it is a crapped up deal. I don't see under a cone of silence how anyone but the contract staff could be contacted.
When a person writes a bid or a grant you don't go back with a "oh yeah, I forgot something" and mail in additional information. It is too freaking bad. You and your company loses.
I am sure if the people involved in the second mailing (CH2M) were NOT county insiders, they would have been kicked to the curb in a matter of seconds. Peter Hernandez, head of AECOM, knows that and he is not stupid.
From my stand-point, the people getting special treatment are the ones that got away with the contract. Shame on the County Staff for allowing or being bullied into fraud and corruption.
Joe Centorino, executive director of the Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, said allowing one of the two bidders, CH2M Hill, to directly contact members of a selection committee to submit more than 400 pages of additional documents “contributed to a serious public trust problem with this solicitation.”
Dear Joe: What sad-sad day for your commission when they dance around the truth. The problem with our elected officials and the staff is afraid of them, is that the powers-that-be are not told the truth, plain and simple.
This county should be commended for for it's literary commitment(or literal embodiment) to the Emperor Has New Clothes.
Everyone is so focused on the choice between these two firms that we are overlooking the obvious question: why do we need an outside firm to manage the capital program of the Water and Sewer Department?
Don't we have a Department Director and a crew of highly paid executives running the department? Why can't they manage these projects? Are they complete numbskulls? Well, if they can't handle the responsibilities of managing the department, fire them and get some real administrators.
Garrett Sloan would have never needed to spend millions of dollars on consultants to tell him which projects to do first - he knew how to run a water and sewer department. This is a disgusting waste of money.
Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
The fact that the county attorney issued an advisory opinion stating that CH2MHill was permitted to transmit the information is a key fact.
If a bidder cannot rely upon such an advisory opinion, which is common practice among both bidders and staff, then how will procurements proceed?
The mayor may not like the opinion rendered but he has a duty to support the folks that work for the county unless the opinion is clearly erroneous. Centorino said that the appearance created was not a good one, but he never said that CH2M violated county procedures.
Once you get to a point where appearances of violations render bids invalid, then there are no rules...only opinions.
BTW, glad you didn't write F$%& Lynda...would have blown milk out of my nose.
Footnote 3 on page 4 of Centorino's memo:
"It should be noted that a representative of CH2M contacted the County Attorney's Office prior to the supplemental submission of documents and was informed that the submission was permissible. Such a showing of good faith in avoiding a Cone violation should effectively avoid any enforcement action by the Ethics Commission
against that representative, even if a Cone violation is ultimately found by the Ethics Commission."
The tenor of the memo generally is that the process should be reformed, but it clearly exonerates the bidder. Remember, Gimenez requested this opinion from Centorino. One might ask why the Mayor would request an opinion and then essentially institute another review immediately afterward. Maybe he didn't like Centorino's opinion?
Who would agree with Centorino?
"So Close to the United States" says - do the math.
$12Bill worth of work coming out, lost your firts stab at it...don't be greedy. Leak your wounds and divert your energy towards the next one! Oh I forgot your antics might comeback to hunt you guys, very smart move AECOM !!!
CH2M ACTED IN AN ETHICALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY INAPPROPRIATE MANNER. AMONG ANY REASONABLE AND ETHICAL PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONER THIS IS OBVIOUS. THAT THE MAYOR - FOR WHOM I VOTED AND WHO HAS BEEN A CONTINUING DISAPPOINTMENT - DID NOT SIMPLY RULE THAT THE ACTIONS OF CH2M WERE JUSTIFICATION FOR REJECTION OF THEIR RESPONSE, IS INEXCUSABLE. WE ELECT PEOPLE TO MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS, LIKE THIS ONE, NOT TO SEND IT OFF TO SOME DEPARTMENT OR COMMITTEE TO STAY "SAFE". CH2M ABUSED AND MANIPULATED THE GROUND RULES TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE AND THAT IS PROFESSIONALLY REPREHENSIBLE. THUS, THEY SHOULD SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCE OF HAVING THEIR PROPOSAL REJECTED IN ITS ENTIRETY IMMEDIATELY, AND BY MAYOR GIMENEZ, AND NOT SOME COMMITTEE.
TED
Post a Comment