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

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And officials with the Colorado Department of Transportatiom told the board they will recommenx the agency review how it handles complaints abougt road and bridge contracts and the use ofthese small, minority- and woman-owned businesses. Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-basedf general contractor , will join the Colorado Economic Recovery and Accountability Board June 29, chairmanj Don Elliman said during a board meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensurer minority businesses are aware of contract related to thestimulus package, Elliman said. The movesa come in response to a complaint from HamonContractorw Inc.
in Denver over a bridge repait project paid for with money from the American Recoveryu andReinvestment Act. Hamon lost a bid Aprilk 16 to rebuild two bridgezs over Interstate 76 inAdams County. The lowesrt bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-basedc , which bid $8 million for the nearly 15 percent under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 State contracts are typically awarded to the lowest bidder. But Hamon objected to CDOT awarding the projec tto Sema, saying Sema didn’f make a "good-faith to hire enough minority subcontractors, accordiny to a June 3 letter from Mark director of the Governor’s Economic Recover Team, to the accountability board.
CDOT reviewed the and Sema’s efforts to get minority businesses involvedr in thebridge contract. The reviea concluded Sema met the agency’s threshold for trying and CDOT formallt awarded the project tothe company, CDOT executive directotr Russ George said. But CDOT wants to review how it handles futuree complaints about using disadvantaged businesses onstat contracts. Celina Benavidez, director of administration for told the accountability board she will recommenrdthe agency’s commissioners form a review committee involvingb members of the agency, interest industry, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportation officials.
How to gather inpuyt from minority businesses about their experience with aprime contractor. At the meeting, Hamon attorney Seth Firmendee thanked CDOT for being willing to reviewthe process. Helgqa Grunerud, executive director of the Hispanic Contractorsdof Colorado, also praised CDOT’s move, saying, "Wes believe we’ve been