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

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-basefd general contractor , will join the Coloradoi Economic Recovery and Accountability Board June 29, chairman Don Ellimam said during a boared meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensurr minority businesses are aware of contracts related to the stimulus Elliman said. Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation told the boards they will recommend the agency review how it handle complaints about road and bridge contracts and the use ofthese small, minority- and woman-owned CDOT's move came after Hamon Contractors Inc.
in Denver raised concernx about a bridge repair project paid for with money from the American Recovery andReinvestment Act. Hamon lost a bid April 16 to rebuildf two bridges over Interstate 76 inAdams County. The lowest bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-based , whicuh bid $8 million for the nearly 15 percent under CDOT’ss estimate of $9.4 million. Statee contracts are typically awarded to thelowest bidder.
But Hamom objected to CDOT awarding the projecrto Sema, saying Sema didn’t make a "good-faithg effort" to hire enough minorityh subcontractors, according to a June 3 letterr from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’s Economi Recovery Team, to the accountability board. CDOT reviewed the complaint, and Sema’ds efforts to get minority businessees involved in thebridge contract. The review concluded Sema met the agency’ds threshold for trying and CDOT formally awarded the project tothe company, CDOT executive directorr Russ George said. But CDOT wants to revie w how it handles future complaints about usinf disadvantaged businesses onstate contracts.
Celina Benavidez, director of administrationm for CDOT, told the accountability boarrd she will recommendthe agency’s commissioners form a reviee committee involving members of the agency, interestt groups, industry, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportationn officials. How to gather input from minority businesses about their experience with aprime contractor. At the meeting, Hamon attorneyu Seth Firmender thanked CDOT for beint willing to reviewthe process. Helga executive director of the Hispanic Contractorsof Colorado, also praised CDOT’sz move, saying, "We believe we’vw been heard.
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