December 30, 2020
By Karen Velie
San Luis Obispo County has spent years violating competitive bidding rules related to government grants by the San Simon Community Services District. Now, the state of California has ordered the county to investigate as it serves as the administrator for the three grants.
Allegations that the district failed to get a bid for the contract work began in 2017. Residents and local activists in the area asked San Simeon officials and the SLO County Council to investigate the district’s alleged failures to place major contracts in the district. However, public officials rejected his efforts.
San Simon CSDA began applying in 2016 for a grant for an upgrade on its water system. Two years later, during the San Simon CSD board meeting on June 18, 2018, District Manager Charles Grace asked the board to approve a ન 225,960 non-bid agreement.
The contract for the engineering and design of the drinking water reservoirs, according to the minutes of the meeting, will go to Phoenix Engineering. The board voted unanimously to approve Grace’s request.
During public meetings, residents complained that the district government had failed to comply with code 45 45૨ 29.12, “all architectural and engineering services will be provided regardless of the expert, competitive selection process.” San Simon CSD officials replied that the contract is not for engineering or design, but for professional services, from which they can provide the only source of work.
Prior to the board meeting, San Simon resident Henry Krzyuk arrived at the state regulator’s office to clarify the need to bid. State policy analyst Alexandria Green noted in an email that if the contract was for business services and not for engineering or design, it would still have to bid even if the cost exceeded $ 45,000. In this case, the contract was for 5 225,960.
SLO County joined in July 2019, when it entered into an agreement with San Simon CSD to manage and distribute the grant. The agreement was approved by SLO County Councilor Rita Neal.
Krzyzuk then asked Neil to investigate the issue of the note-bidding agreement. He emailed state controllers’ office fees about the need to make contracts for the services of more than 45,000 professionals to bid, while district legal advisers Natalie Frylac and Jeffrey Minneri backed the decision not to bid. Letter to Neil September 30, 2020. Mineri and Fry Laik are members of the law firm Adamsky, Moroski, Madden, Cumberland and Green.
“There is no evidence of a proper, competitive selection process for this engineering work under the Grant Agreement and state law,” Krzyuk wrote in the letter. “There are a number of objections to this single sourcing on record.”
On October 14, Neil informed Krzyuk that he would not investigate the issue based on Miner’s interpretation of the law and the state controller’s email, which contradicted Miner’s interpretation.
“While reviewing the information, it appears that you disagree with the legal interpretation made by the attorney for the San Simon CSD as well as the information provided to you by the State Comptroller’s Office Fees,” Neil wrote, stating that the state agrees with Mineri. .
To investigate the failure to bid for crabs, Krzysztof turned to the state’s water resources department, which provided the grant. As a result, the state ordered the county, as administrator of the grant, to conduct an investigation.
On Dec. 21, the county ordered the district to respond to a lengthy notification of questions and record requests for three state grants approved by the state in the past four years, according to a letter from SLO County’s interim director of public works, John Diodati. In addition to asking questions about the district’s lack of a competitive bidding process, the county’s questions also focus on San Simon Hurst Ranch to build its water facility without its relief facility.
The county’s six-page information check features three state integrated regional water management grants of $ 362,431, 17 7,177,750 and rants of ,000 500,000. One of which was the award based on the status of the deprived community of San Simon.
SLO County FAQs and document requests include:
- A copy of SSCSD’s current procurement policy and policy at the time the agreement was signed with Phoenix Civil Engineering to work on the Well Head Treatment Project.
- A survey showing the location of a well head treatment project
- SSCSD Any member of the board or SSCSD. The fact or probability of any part of it being built on land not owned by the SSCSD in the Employee Well Head Treatment Project or Fees and the SSCSD. Information about when to provide notifications to. District or DWR
- Documentation of the process by which SSSDA selected Phoenix Civil Engineering to work on the reservoir expansion project.
- Land Use Permit and Grading Permit from County San F. San Luis Obispo
- A detailed written response supported by a legal analysis of the applicable rules, including but not limited to Section 452929.12 of the Government Code, and must be accompanied by any and all information supporting its response by the SSCSD.
- If the Wellhead Treatment Project complies with the standard conditions for both the Proposal 84 Fund Agreement and the Proposal 84 Grant Agreement and states in both the Funding Agreement that a Wellhead Treatment Project was built entirely on the San Sim San CSD property, a detailed written Feedback. Grant agreement.
San Simon CSD officials have until January 20, 2021, to comply with the county’s request for information.
