CONSTRUCTION Minority hiring discussed

At issue is the amount of work being done by minority-owned companies.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Downtown's redevelopment agency is considering what to do‚ if anything, about low minority participation in a construction project.
The executive committee of the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. spent 21/2 hours Wednesday on the issue. An hour of talk was spent in closed session concerning possible lawsuits over the topic. Raised voices could be heard at times.
In the end, the committee opted not to make any recommendation to the full board. Instead, the discussion will continue, said G. Richard Pavlock, CIC president.
Options range from doing nothing to removing the contractor -- Jance Construction of Mentor -- from the job. CIC also could levy fines or bar Jance from receiving future work.
CIC will continue working with Jance to assure the company is meeting the standard of making good-faith efforts to hire minority companies, said Jason Whitehead, CIC executive director.
At issue is the amount of work being done by minority-owned firms on the $7 million Mahoning County Children Services Building under construction at West Federal and Hazel streets.
Minority companies have $17,000 in contracts on the project with a potential to receive only a couple more contracts worth a few hundred-thousand dollars at best, said William M. Carter, executive director of the Youngstown Area Development Corp. The agency is paid to monitor minority hiring on the project.
Here's the problem
That pales compared with the city's minority hiring guidelines, which call for up to 35 percent minority participation, he said. At the high end, minority companies should be getting $2.4 million in contracts on the CSB project, Carter said.
The small amount of minority work shows that Jance has failed to meet the contract's standard of good faith, Carter said, suggesting the company should be removed from the project.
"I'm talking about being fair," he said.
Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, agreed, saying the contractor has to try harder for minority companies.
Jance strongly denies it has failed to act in good faith. To the contrary, the company has gone beyond reasonable efforts, said Andy Natale, a lawyer for Jance.
The company has worked with Carter and delayed signing contracts with subcontractors trying to accommodate minority companies, he said.
Contract deadlines throughout the project have been tight and will continue to be squeezed, he said.
It's to the point that Jance likely faces extra costs that will come out of profits to get the building done on time and avoid fines from CIC for failing to finish, Natale said.
Jance has done what it can to bring in minority companies and still get the project done on time, Natale said.
"We have tried to give fair and more than fair looks at [minority companies] in this area," Natale said.
rgsmith@vindy.com