Colorado stimulus board boosts minority-outreach effort - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-based general contractore , will join the Colorado Economic Recovery and Accountability Board June 29, chairmanb Don Elliman said durinhg a board meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensurre minority businesses are aware of contracts related to thestimulus package, Ellimanj said. Officials with the Colorado Departmentf of Transportation told the board they will recommenc the agency review how it handlea complaints about road and bridgr contracts and the use ofthese minority- and woman-owned businesses. CDOT's move came after Hamon Contractors Inc.
in Denvetr raised concerns about a bridgd repair project paid for with money from the Americam Recovery andReinvestment Act. Hamon lost a bid April 16 to rebuild two bridges over Interstater 76 inAdams County. The lowest bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-baser , which bid $8 million for the project, nearly 15 percent under CDOT’es estimate of $9.4 million. State contracts are typicallh awarded to the lowest But Hamon objected to CDOT awardintg the projectto Sema, saying Sema didn’t make a "good-faithy effort" to hire enough minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 letteer from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’sw Economic Recovery Team, to the accountabilit board.
CDOT reviewed the and Sema’s efforts to get minority businesses involved in the bridge The review concluded Sema metthe agency’s threshold for tryingg and CDOT formally awarder the project to the company, CDOT executive directo r Russ George said. But CDOT wants to review how it handlees future complaints about usingy disadvantaged businesses on state Celina Benavidez, director of administrationj for CDOT, told the accountability boars she will recommend the agency’ commissioners form a review committee involving membera of the agency, interest groups, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportation How to gather input from minority businesses abouy their experience with a prime contractor.
At the Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thanke d CDOT for being willing to reviesthe process. Helga Grunerud, executivre director of the Hispanic Contractors of alsopraised CDOT’s move, saying, "Wee believe we’ve been heard."