Court project limits local contractors
I wanted to give my two cents on your article regarding the
courthouse project and the potential local contractor involvement,
as well as make you aware of the way the Construction Manager for
the project Kitchell, an Arizona-based company, answered a question
regarding local involvement.
Based on your article only four out of the 183 firms qualify and
of those four, two will be competing against each other, so a total
of three firms or 2 percent, of those scopes of work have a
possibility of being awarded to a local company. Is that really
good news? Can you really spin that as a good thing? I do not see
it as such and think it is really sad for our community with 20
percent unemployment and more like 30-plus percent in the
construction industry. A $30 million dollar project will be
constructed and I believe little to no direct funds will come back
into the community, very sad.
Furthermore the court has hired an out-of-town company to manage
the work and they themselves have made it difficult. Their
pre-qualification package has made it almost impossible for the
locals to work on the project. This question was asked at the
pre-bid meeting which Kitchell held on March 9, 2011,
”
Is there any incentive to the trade contractors to use local
subs and/or supplies
”
, and their answer was
”
no.
”
They could have answered it in a manner which would encourage
contractors to use locals, but they chose to just say
”
no.
”
I sure wish the Pinnacle would talk to the local construction
industry of whom this affects rather than the court, who is going
to try and put a positive spin on the project, but 2 percent,
really, is that good? I sure do not think so.
Damon Felice
President, Association of San Benito County Contractors
Court project limits local contractors
I wanted to give my two cents on your article regarding the courthouse project and the potential local contractor involvement, as well as make you aware of the way the Construction Manager for the project Kitchell, an Arizona-based company, answered a question regarding local involvement.
Based on your article only four out of the 183 firms qualify and of those four, two will be competing against each other, so a total of three firms or 2 percent, of those scopes of work have a possibility of being awarded to a local company. Is that really good news? Can you really spin that as a good thing? I do not see it as such and think it is really sad for our community with 20 percent unemployment and more like 30-plus percent in the construction industry. A $30 million dollar project will be constructed and I believe little to no direct funds will come back into the community, very sad.
Furthermore the court has hired an out-of-town company to manage the work and they themselves have made it difficult. Their pre-qualification package has made it almost impossible for the locals to work on the project. This question was asked at the pre-bid meeting which Kitchell held on March 9, 2011, “Is there any incentive to the trade contractors to use local subs and/or supplies”, and their answer was “no.” They could have answered it in a manner which would encourage contractors to use locals, but they chose to just say “no.”
I sure wish the Pinnacle would talk to the local construction industry of whom this affects rather than the court, who is going to try and put a positive spin on the project, but 2 percent, really, is that good? I sure do not think so.
Damon Felice
President, Association of San Benito County Contractors
Cries for Justice
Muffled by the shouts of anti-government protesters, NATO air strikes, partisan debates on Capitol Hill on American intervention in Libya, and the words of defiance spoken by Libya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi, are the cries for justice from Americans whose family members, friends, and loved ones perished aboard Pan-Am Flight 103 in 1988.
Lest our country forget, 189 Americans died when their plane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Some years later Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi of Libya was convicted of acting alone in the terrorist act, albeit he received assistance and support from Gadhafi’s government.
Sentenced in 2001 to a life prison term, he was released from a Scottish prison in 2009 on “compassionate grounds,” claiming that he had only months to live in his battle with terminal cancer.
As al-Megrahi departed for Libya, the opportunity for justice for the victims and their families seemed to dissipate with the plane’s contrails. Their disappointment, frustration, and anger were underscored when al-Megrahi arrived in Libya to a hero’s welcome, and further incensed by the fact that al-Megrahi still survives.
As Gadhafi’s government struggles to retain power, those of his inner-circle are beginning to defect, including Moussa Koussa, a foreign minister, who arrived in London last week and who reputedly orchestrated the Pan Am bombing.
His defection and our current intervention in Libya provide an opportunity for our administration to seek the justice that has so far eluded the Pan-Am tragedy. Instead of offering immunity and horse-trading with an agent of terrorism, we have the responsibility to demand and pursue justice.
When explaining to the American public the reasons for our involvement in Libya, President Obama stated that when our “values are at stake, we have a responsibility to act.” Now is the time to act, for as nation built upon democratic principles and ideals we value justice, both for the living and the dead.
Let us not turn a deaf ear to the cries of our fellow Americans; rather let us share the yoke of their grief and pain. Moreover, we owe it to those whose tears and sorrow will never be wiped away and consoled by the hands of time.
Frank J. Perez
Hollister
