Company files suit against Lordstown over contract

Conflict of interest is at the heart of the dispute.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — A lawsuit filed by a construction company, if successful, could jeopardize a $10 million sanitary sewer project in Lordstown, the village solicitor says.

Danco General Constructing Inc. of Lordstown filed the complaint Tuesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court seeking a restraining order against the village from finalizing a contract with Fabrizi Trucking & Paving Inc. of Valley City, Ohio, to construct a portion of a sanitary sewer.

Danco also wants the court to award it a $1,027,341 contract — one of five on the project — to construct the sanitary sewer lines on the village’s east section. Fabrizi’s bid was $1,194,052.

Lordstown Solicitor Paul M. Dutton said the village will respond to Danco’s allegations.

Mayor Michael Chaffee added that “the project doesn’t need any glitches at this point.”

Dutton said the village can’t open Danco’s bid because it would violate Ohio ethics law involving a conflict of interest.

Daniel E. Wilson, Danco co-owner, is the son of Councilwoman Mary Jane Wilson, who is also chairman of village council’s utility committee.

Danco’s complaint says the company submitted its bid based on specifications issued by the village’s consulting engineering firm and its experience in excavation work.

“Mary Jane Wilson neither offered nor provided any information to Danco about the project ...,” the complaint asserts.

Dutton countered that Mrs. Wilson asked him about six weeks ago if her son could bid on the sewer project.

The solicitor explained that he didn’t believe Danco could bid because Mrs. Wilson was involved in discussions about bid specifications with the engineer and estimates of the cost of the project that aren’t public knowledge.

Mrs. Wilson, Dutton said, then asked for a written opinion from the Ohio Ethics Commission.

The commission responded to Dutton on Aug. 6. It ruled that state law “prohibits a public official from participating in any decision or using her position to secure authorization of any public contract in which a member of her family may have an interest.”

It also said that if Mrs. Wilson were to resign from the committee, there would be no ethics violation.

In a Sept. 18 letter from Danco’s attorney, Edward L. Lavelle of Warren, he said that it is his understanding that Mrs. Wilson will resign from the committee in order to remove even the appearance of any impropriety and that Danco’s bid should be considered.

Dutton said that Mrs. Wilson already has confidential and proprietary information about the contract despite any resignation from the committee. Dutton has asked for an ethics commission clarification.

Village council has voted to award the five contracts, including the one to Fabrizi, without considering Danco’s bid that wasn’t opened.

The $10 million loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority under the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency could be in jeopardy, Dutton added.

To finalize the loan by Dec. 13, the village must provide documentation that it has tentatively awarded contracts to the successful bidders.

“Any delay will torpedo this loan,” Dutton said.

Contacted Tuesday, Mrs. Wilson said a possible conflict of interest wasn’t discussed when the project was initially proposed because her son had done previous work for the village. They were smaller jobs that didn’t require bidding.

When the question about a possible conflict of interest emerged, she offered to resign from the committee, she said. But Dutton told her “it’s too late.”

Then, Mrs. Wilson wanted an ethics commission opinion, she said, noting that she hasn’t received any confidential or proprietary information and that committee meetings are public.

“I’m between a rock and a hard place,” Mrs. Wilson said. She has tendered her resignation from the committee, but council hasn’t accepted it.

Her resignation was based on legal advice provided to her, but she declined to say who provided it.

yovich@vindy.com