Colorado stimulus board boosts minority-outreach effort - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-based general contractor , will join the Coloradop Economic Recovery and Accountability Boarxd June 29, chairman Don Elliman said during a boarcd meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensure minority businesses are aware of contracts related to thestimulux package, Elliman said. Officials with the Coloradpo Department of Transportation told the board they will recommenc the agency review how it handles complaints aboutg road and bridge contracts and the use ofthesde small, minority- and woman-owned businesses. CDOT's move came aftedr Hamon Contractors Inc.
in Denver raised concerns aboutg a bridge repair project paid for with moneyh from the American Recovery andReinvestment Act. Hamonn lost a bid April 16 to rebuild two bridgees over Interstate 76 inAdams County. The lowestf bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-based , whichn bid $8 million for the project, nearlyt 15 percent under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 State contracts are typically awarded to the lowest bidder.
But Hamob objected to CDOT awarding the projecyto Sema, saying Sema didn’t make a "good-faith effort" to hire enough minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 letterr from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’sz Economic Recovery Team, to the accountabilityt board. CDOT reviewed the complaint, and Sema’sd efforts to get minority businesses involved in thebridgse contract. The review concluded Sema met the agency’sd threshold for trying and CDOT formally awarded the projectr tothe company, CDOT executive director Russ Georged said. But CDOT wants to review how it handlee future complaints about using disadvantaged businesses onstatre contracts.
Celina Benavidez, director of administration for CDOT, told the accountabilit board she will recommenthe agency’s commissioners form a review committee involvingh members of the agency, interest industry, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportatioh officials. How to gather input from minority businesses about thei r experience with aprime contractor. At the Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thanked CDOT for being willing to revieqthe process. Helga Grunerud, executive director of the Hispaniv Contractorsof Colorado, also praised CDOT’s move, saying, "We believ we’ve been heard.
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