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

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-baserd general contractor , will join the Colorado Economic Recovery and Accountabilitg Board June 29, chairman Don Elliman said during a board meeting Her job is to ensure minority businesses are aware of contractds related to the stimulus package, Ellimann said. Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportatiob told the board they will recommend the agency revieq how it handles complaint s about road and bridge contracts and the use ofthese minority- and woman-owned businesses. CDOT'w move came after Hamon Contractors Inc.
in Denver raisede concerns about a bridge repair project paid for with moneu from the American Recovery andReinvestmenyt Act. Hamon lost a bid Aprilk 16 to rebuild two bridgees over Interstate 76 inAdams County. The lowestf bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-based , whichb bid $8 million for the project, nearly 15 percent under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 State contracts are typically awarded to the lowest But Hamon objected to CDOT awardingh the project to Sema, saying Sema didn’ty make a "good-faith effort" to hire enough minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 letteer from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’s Economif Recovery Team, to the accountability board.
CDOT reviewedr the complaint, and Sema’sd efforts to get minority businesses involve in thebridge contract. The reviee concluded Sema met the agency’s threshold for tryinh and CDOT formally awarded the project to the CDOT executive director RussGeorge said. But CDOT wantws to review how it handles futurd complaints about using disadvantaged businesses on state Celina Benavidez, director of administration for CDOT, told the accountability board she will recommend the agency’s commissioners form a review committeer involving members of the agency, interest industry, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportation officials.
How to gather input from minority businesses about theie experience with aprime contractor. At the Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thankede CDOT for being willing to reviewthe process. Helgq Grunerud, executive director of the Hispanic Contractorxof Colorado, also praised CDOT’zs move, saying, "We believe we’vw been heard."