"Philadelphia Airport firm gets a 2d chance"

Saturday, October 8, 2005

Airport firm gets a 2d chance
The firm, connected to the mayor's brother, was high bidder on a contract
renewal. It will be rebid.
By Marcia Gelbart
The Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer


In an unusual move yesterday, Street administration officials announced they
would toss out proposals from two competing companies for a $50 million
airport maintenance contract, and instead call for new bids.

The decision to start over gives a second chance to the company now doing
the work - a company with ties to Mayor Street's brother - to hold onto the
deal for another four years.

Although no final decision had been made, that company, Houston-based
Philadelphia Airport Services, had submitted a bid $2.3 million higher than
its rival, Elliott-Lewis Corp. of Northeast Philadelphia.

Now it's back to the drawing board for both.

The reason city officials are beginning again stems from dissatisfaction
inside the mayor's office with Elliott-Lewis' piecemeal approach to meeting
a goal of 25 percent minority participation.

The administration said it decided to use this lucrative - and controversial
- contract to send a message that it wants minority companies to do more
meaningful work.

"I have short patience for situations where we are awarding nominal
contracts that are not strengthening these companies," said top mayoral aide
George Burrell, who has a role overseeing how the city meets
minority-participation goals.

"It's not just the flow of dollars... . It's, Are they getting enough to
grow their company, to hire people, to increase their capacity and get new
challenging work to build on?"

To meet the 25 percent goal, Elliott-Lewis distributed the work among about
a dozen different companies, with most getting no more than 1 or 2 percent,
according to administration officials.

"In the past we've accepted that as a good-faith effort," said city
Procurement Commissioner William Gamble. In this case, as others, the plan
was also approved by the city's Minority Business Enterprise Council.

"But we are looking at trying to change the focus of minority subcontractors
so that they do more than just the labor aspect... . That's no longer
acceptable," he added.

Gamble provided information only about the Elliott-Lewis proposal because it
was the low bid. No information was available about how its rival met its
minority goals, except that Philadelphia Airport Services has partnered with
a local minority-owned company, U.S. Facilities.

That company is partly owned by former City Controller Thomas A. Leonard, a
major Democratic fund-raiser, and businessman Willie Johnson, one of the
mayor's longtime financial backers.

Gamble said that the apparent policy change that led to the rebid was "a
joint decision," and that it occurred after a meeting last month involving
himself, Burrell, Michael Williams, head of the Minority Business Council,
and Vince Jannetti, acting finance director.

"For too long, I think people have been comfortable," Burrell said. And
referring to the mayor's call last spring for increased participation by
minority-and women-owned businesses, he said, "Our message is: No. We have
not done all we need to do."

New minority specifications will be made in the forthcoming call for bids to
be issued after Oct. 21. In the interest of time, Gamble said, the city
again will consider proposals only from Elliott-Lewis and Philadelphia
Airport Services.

In the interim, the city extended the existing contract, which was to expire
Sept. 30, for an additional three months.

Philadelphia Airport Services was awarded that contract in 2001, with help
from T. Milton Street, who had been hired as a lobbyist by a local firm,
General Asphalt Paving Inc., which is no longer partnered with the company.

Subsequently, Milton Street was hired by Philadelphia Airport Services as a
$30,000-a-month consultant, although company officials said he is no longer
affiliated with them.


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