DOWNTOWN ARENA Board to vote on bids for several projects

One company's attorney is threatening a federal lawsuit.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control was to vote todayon a recommendation from the public works department to reject bids for landscaping and irrigation work at the Youngstown arena project.
That move has the law firm for one of the companies seeking the work threatening a federal lawsuit against the city.
The city opened proposals March 8 for seven arena projects, including landscaping and irrigation.
People's Choice Landscaping, a minority-owned firm based in Youngstown, submitted the apparent lowest of three bids for the job with a $110,761 proposal. The engineer's estimate for the work is $194,800.
But People's was the only company to submit a proposal with a required bid bond. Instead, the company had a letter of credit from the city human relations commission.
The next lowest bid for the work came from Landscape By Design of Hubbard at $169,780.
In a letter to the three-member board of control, Carmen S. Conglose Jr., deputy director of public works, requests the body reject all bids and readvertise for the services.
His reasons
Conglose's reasons for the request include:
* Material changes to the contract that affect the scope of the work and basis of award.
* More than 60 days have expired since the bid opening and the city has the right to refuse an extension of time for awarding the job.
* He believes the city can receive a more competitive price by readvertising.
* Readvertising will allow the city the chance to meet government requirements regarding the use of small, minority- and women-run businesses.
Kathleen Slavens, deputy law director to the public works department, said People's Choice made numerous errors in its proposal, and the city made some mistakes as well.
The rebidding of this job is to encourage participation of small, minority and women-run businesses in the arena project, and to amend the project's specifications, she said.
"We want to encourage minority participation," Slavens said.
People's Choice is the only minority-run company to submit a proposal to the city for work at the downtown arena, she said, and should be given a chance to do the work.
John C. Ross, the Canton-based attorney for Landscape By Design, sent at least three letters to Slavens objecting to the decision to rebid the work.
Ross wrote in a letter May 17 that minor changes are being made to the proposal, but the real reason for the rebidding is to give People's Choice "another opportunity to bid" the job. He added that the city is rebidding the job "in bad faith and discrimination."
In the same letter, Ross wrote that "it would appear that my client is about to become the victim of unlawful bid steering by the city."
Threatening legal action
If the city doesn't award Landscape By Design the contract, Ross wrote that "we will initiate an action to enjoin the award and performance of the rebid contract, alleging bad faith and discrimination. Further, I believe such a cause of action can allege a violation of federal law and thereby grant jurisdiction in the United States District Court to hear such a claim."
Ross lists six problems with People's bid in an April 28 letter to Slavens. He wrote that People's submitted its proposal under the wrong bid package number, it failed to identify the project's scope of work, it failed to include an affidavit saying it doesn't owe the city any back taxes, it didn't sign a required hold-harmless agreement, it had no-bid bond and didn't acknowledge receipt of an addendum, required under the bid document.
In a Friday letter to the board of control, Conglose wrote that the board has discretion in this case to reject all bids and readvertise, and it's in the city's best interests to do so.
skolnick@vindy.com