PORTSMOUTH
Construction of the new Simonsdale Elementary will come in more than $1.5 million under budget, according to the winning company's bid.
In a vote of 5-3 on Monday, the School Board awarded the contract to McKenzie Construction Corp. The company is slated to build the school for about $14.1 million.
That was the lowest bid from the 10 businesses vying for the work, officials said.
The total cost for the project had been estimated at about $18.75 million, Assistant Superintendent Dan Pendarvis said. Of that, construction costs were estimated at about $15.8 million, he said.
Board members Mark Whitaker, Elizabeth Daniels and Costella Williams voted against the contract. Board member Keith Nance Sr. was absent.
McKenzie is neither a small, woman-owned business nor minority-owned business, school officials said.
McKenzie has pledged to spend at least 8.4 percent of its total contract price with small and women-owned businesses to help get the school built, according to a division document.
Whitaker said that leaves out minority vendors. A document included in the Simons-dale bid packages defined minority business enterprises as "firms which are majority owned by minorities, women, and qualified disabled individuals."
Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of the month, and the new school is expected to open in 2011. It will replace a school built in 1946.
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excuse me
When I vote for School Board members it is to elect the best possible candidate to oversee the Portsmouth Public Schools. Period. No more, no less. I do not elect these people to steer construction projects to their buddies, friends and family. If Dr. Whitaker and his associates are so keen on affirmative action, maybe they should resign as School Board members and pursue another vocation more suited to their dreams, their hopes and aspirations.
No Excuse is Correct for Continued Practices of Racism
Not only do we elect school board members to oversee education, we elect them to oversee every aspect of the school system. The first and foremost is a quality education for all students as well as equity and fairness in all business practices. I would bet you a dime to a dollar that you never voted for Dr. Whitaker or any person of color. All your posts since I have been reading them, have the same threads of negative racism regarding any person of color. Thank God, Dr. Whitaker does not need you to get elected in Portsmouth.
feel free
To list any of the companies of the 10 that made bids that are minority owned. Were there any? If so they must not have submitted the low bid. What I see when I read your post is if a minority owned company did make a bid it should have gotten it regardless of the bid. I see who the racist is and it is not I.
To Feel Free
Again, you missed the point. It doesn't matter to me whether a minority gets the bid. It matters to me that the process is fair and transparent and advertised in the places that should be advertised. If after doing due diligence and if you were the only one that bidded for the project, that would be fine with me even though I see strong threads of racism running through most of your comments.
jb
The most common thread in my posts are the terrible way this city is run and the fact that Portsmouth spends 51 million a year on Social Services. Since Portsmouth has a majority African American population (according to Portsmouths website) anything I say about city government is going to sound racist to you. That's fine with me. Reverse the population figures and my posts would still read the same. And as to your comment that Dr. Whittaker didn't need my vote, he may not have but he got it just the same in his last election.
When will he learn!?
Will someone please help Dr. Whitaker understand that in a cash strapped city, the most important thing is to get a quality job done at the best price....not funnel jobs to minority owned businesses!
Unfair Bid !
That is an unfair bid, the Contractor did not meet the criteria.
Granted, I don't believe in determining the best man for the job based on race. The Minority clauses should be illegal and were ruled that by the Supreme Court in the 70's.
But the requirement was it had to be a mostly Minority company. As is with most Federally funded projects.
I know of a bunch of companies that would have bid this project, but didn't because they didn't meet requirements.
Not a level playing field.