WS Chronicle

Marshall/Witherspoon

BY TODD LUCK 

THE CHRONICLE

Forsyth County Commissioners split 5-2 in their Monday, March 14 meeting on a contract to repair the Sheriff’s Office parking deck.

The two dissenting commissioners, Walter Marshall and Everette Witherspoon, objected that Frank L. Blum Construction Company, the lowest bidder, did not meet the 10 percent minority and women business enterprise (MWBE) participation goal. The second lowest bidder, which was about $8,000 higher, exceeded the MWBE goal.

“When you’re dealing with public dollars, then you have the responsibility to meet these MWBE goals,” said Witherspoon.

The contract is $841,969 to repair structural issues in the sheriff’s parking deck. The Sheriff’s Office is located in the former Phillips Building, which was built in the early 1970s. The Sheriff’s Office moved into the renovated building in 2013 and issues with the parking deck were discovered the next year. The deck continues to be used with problem areas being roped off. The repairs involve removing and replacing steel and concrete, as well as providing a protective sealant to prevent moisture from seeping in.

Everette said that larger jobs that require a variety of disciplines like the renovations of the Forsyth County Library, which is also being done by Blum Construction, usually have no problem meeting MWBE standards. He said it’s smaller, specialized jobs like the parking deck repairs that keep coming in below the MWBE goal.

Ten percent minority and women contractor participation is a goal but not a requirement, as long as the bidder can meet county standards for “good faith efforts” to try to get MWBE participation, which Blum did according to county officials.

Both Witherspoon and Marshall said they believed the requirements for  MWBE participation  and the standards for good faith efforts on County projects are too low, especially when compared to other counties.