Colorado stimulus board boosts minority-outreach effort - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-basef general contractor , will join the Colorado Economic Recoveru and Accountability Board June 29, chairmah Don Elliman said during a board meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensures minority businesses are aware of contracts relatecd to the stimulus Elliman said. Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation told the boarde they will recommend the agency review how it handlese complaints about road and bridge contracts and the use ofthesde small, minority- and woman-owned CDOT's move came after Hamon Contractorw Inc.
in Denver raised concerns abouf a bridge repair project paid for with mone y from the American Recovery andReinvestment Act. Hamoh lost a bid Apripl 16 to rebuild two bridges over Interstatde 76 inAdams County. The lowest bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-baseed , which bid $8 millionj for the project, nearly 15 percentf under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 State contracts are typically awarded to the lowesf bidder.
But Hamon objected to CDOT awarding the projecrto Sema, saying Sema didn’t make a "good-faith effort" to hire enouggh minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 letter from Mark director of the Governor’s Economic Recovery to the accountability board. CDOT reviewed the complaint, and Sema’es efforts to get minority businessesx involved in thebridge contract. The revieq concluded Sema met the agency’s threshold for tryingf and CDOT formally awarded the project to the CDOT executive director RussGeorgs said. But CDOT wants to review how it handlese future complaints about using disadvantaged businessex onstate contracts.
Celina director of administrationfor CDOT, told the accountabilith board she will recommen d the agency’s commissioners form a reviea committee involving members of the interest groups, industry, the attorneh general’s office, and federal transportatioh officials. How to gather input from minority businesses about theirr experience with a prime Atthe meeting, Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thanked CDOT for being willing to review the Helga Grunerud, executive director of the Hispani c Contractors of Colorado, also praised CDOT’s saying, "We believe we’ve been heard.
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