The High Cost of Low Bids

Poole and Kent contended at the hearing that their solicitation methods were perfectly legal. Indeed, Dade's County ordinance 92-45, which sets guide-lines for the BBE Program, spells out no specific requirement that bidders negotiate directly with black subcontractors prior to the bid openings. Nowhere in the ordinance is it forbidden to use, as Pro-Built's Shendell put it, a "go-between" to bring onboard a minority subcontractor. In addition, officials from Poole and Kent asked at the hearing, how can the spirit of the law be broken if black contractors, ultimately, are used for the project? After all, Poole and Kent was quite prepared to use the black-owned M.A.R.S. Plumbing Contractors for the required thirteen percent participation.

And at the very least, adds Ed Smith, a senior vice president at Poole and Kent before he retired in October, P&K's solicitation practices are no different from anyone else's in the industry, including those of its chief competitor on this project, Harry Pepper & Associates. "We didn't do anything differently from Harry Pepper," says Smith. "They put their bid together the same way we did, so why are we the only ones getting screwed?"

Whatever the merits of Smith's complaint, it's clear that Harry Pepper & Associates made efforts to win over Adkins that Poole and Kent did not. The Pepper officials flew in to town to meet with Adkins -- after the bids were submitted and opened -- and they offered more money, $210,000 more, to be exact. They also told Adkins, according to his hearing testimony, "that they would have no problem with going up on my contract, if it was necessary to do more work, if they found they could utilize my services."

But Pierce, the economic development agency official, now says that the purpose of the hearing was to investigate Poole and Kent's bid, not that of Harry Pepper & Associates. And he says the decision to recommend against Poole and Kent was simple: no letter of intent, no compliance. Case closed. There were no extenuating circumstances to justify granting P&K's request for a deadline waiver, he believes. He also says if Poole and Kent had spent more time with Adkins before submitting a final bid, none of these problems would have occurred. As for Harry Pepper & Associates? "They did what they were supposed to do," Pierce insists.

The water and sewer department's Clemente, who had the final say on which bidder to recommend to the county commission, agrees with Pierce. He said in a recent interview that he recommended to the county commission that Harry Pepper & Associates be awarded the contract as the lowest "responsive" bidder because they secured a signed letter of intent within the allotted two days after bid opening -- and Poole and Kent didn't. The M.A.R.S. letter of intent was submitted after the deadline of August 2, and, therefore, didn't count. Clemente also says the threat of a lawsuit by Harry Pepper & Associates was on his mind. Clemente notes, "Pepper was the low responsive bidder, and so we felt that [had it been awarded to Poole and Kent] there would have been the potential for a legal challenge that would have delayed the project."

But according to retired P&K executive Ed Smith, Poole and Kent was considering its own legal challenge to the contract decision. The firm's attorney mentioned the possibility of filing a lawsuit, he says, but no action was taken. Even so, Smith is still angry at the maneuverings of Pepper and Adkins. ''Once the bids were opened and Pepper saw that Consolidated was both our minority sub and theirs, they went and renegotiated behind our backs, and then got us disqualified," charges Smith. "We had a deal [with Adkins] to do the job for a certain price and then the next thing we know he's claiming he's never talked to us before. It's as simple as that -- when he saw he could get more money from the second bidder, he just refused to sign our letter, even though it's going to cost a whole lot more than it should have."

Adkins and representatives of Harry Pepper & Associates declined to answer phoned and faxed inquiries from New Times. Broome, Pepper's executive vice president, says company policy forbids him, or any other employee, from speaking with the media. Executives currently at Poole and Kent also refused to answer questions from New Times; president William Thomas said in a faxed letter, "As to your questions, a formal hearing was held, and the depositions of all concerned parties are public record."

That record offers insights into Adkins's perspective. At the hearing, he denied any wrongdoing and says he was merely looking out for his own interests. "We felt the numbers were in place," Adkins testified. "I made a business decision."