BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin is raising concerns over what she believes is a lack of transparency and recruiting being done by the firms responsible for the construction of the new $1.5 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills.
Chairwoman Baskin is especially frustrated with news that the Gilbane/Turner construction team is falling short when it comes to including minority, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses in the "once in a generation" project.
"We need to see some efforts where the outreach is more direct, where the outreach is more intimate," Baskin told 7 News Anchor Jeff Russo on Monday. "Time is of the essence. $600 million is out the door so far. My question for the Gilbane/Turner team is of that money how much of that money has gone to subcontractors, how many minorities, how many women, and how many of them are local from Buffalo, New York?"
Chairwoman Baskin first explained her concerns to the Buffalo News.
Just last month Empire State Development issued a letter to the Buffalo Bills noting that the project is "well below their expected performance" in meeting their 30 percent Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Utilization Goals.
"It's a 36 percent goal when you include the disabled veterans. That is supposed to be met," said Baskin. "Traditionally what we do on a construction project is that we put together packages that show that we made an effort, that we tried. We can't do that. The stakes are too high. The stakes are too high nationally. The stakes have been too high locally. For us to take $850 million of public money put it in this once-in-a-generation construction project and just try to include folks," said Baskin.
Chairwoman Baskin says her office is being told that there are local minority, women and veteran contractors who are ready to work on the new stadium but as of now but are not being contacted.
"That's what my office phone is telling me every single day," said Baskin. "'We don't know how to navigate the website', 'we thought Chairwoman that you fought hard to make sure that the packages, the bid packages that came out for the stadium, were going to be customized for the small contractor.' That is true. That is in a legal document. That is in the construction coordinating agreement that passed between the state, The Buffalo Bills, and the county. But is this work being done?"
Chairwoman Baskin added that she is equally as frustrated by what she believes is a lack of transparency.
"I don't have those answers right now, and even if I had them I would hang my hat on saying that none of us would be impressed. We have to do a better job," said Baskin.
Last week Baskin sponsored a resolution in the Erie County Legislature to survey local contractors about their involvement so far. The resolution passed unanimously.
"Are they aware of how to find out how to bid on stadium construction packages? Do they know when these outreach sessions are happening? Are these outreach sessions at a time where it's convenient for them as a working contractor who owns a small business and who comes from a marginalized background to go all the way out to Orchard Park and learn about a possible opportunity," said Baskin, who added, "They have to care about not just putting forth a good faith effort but beating these goals."
Time is of the essence.
"Construction may have just started but we've spent over $600 million. Who has been contracted to get that money? Are they out-of-state consultants? Are they contractors from other parts of the country? How many local people are being engaged and awarded contracts? Just because a project takes three years to build, it doesn't necessarily mean it takes three years to decide who is going to do that work over the next three years. That's what I am concerned about. I am concerned that over the next six months, we are going to be making decisions about the next three years and those decisions will not include the community that I represent, or our most vulnerable communities who need and deserve this work"
So what happens if those requirements are not met?
"There will be liquidated damages. That means that Gilbane and Turner Construction will have cost the Bills millions in money that has to be paid back to local government," said Baskin, who added that her frustration lies with the construction firms, not with the Buffalo Bills, "I know I have the support of the Buffalo Bills in this arena, because I've had conversations with them about it, and the Bills have an excellent history of philanthropic giving to the Buffalo region. It's this construction firm. They are the ones that the Bills have hired. We need the Bills to put more pressure on them. I intend to put pressure on them."
Contacted for a response Buffalo Bills Manager of New Stadium Relations Kelly Seward referred 7 News Anchor Jeff Russo back to comments recently made by Kathryn D'Angelo, the Bills' General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business Administration.
"There's a lot of opportunity left on the table," D'Angelo told the Buffalo News, adding that only 10% of the stadium's construction contracts have been awarded to this point.
Gilbane/Turner are the acting general contractors for the $1.5 Billion stadium project and offered a similar response when contacted by 7 News.
Gilbane/Turner released a statement through a spokesperson which said in part.
“We are in the very early stages of this project with less than 10% of construction contract values awarded to date. On the work already awarded and on upcoming work, we will continue to facilitate sessions that connect larger contractors with smaller companies to maximize opportunities for inclusive participation on this project. We expect connections built through these sessions will result in further opportunities for MWBE, SDVOB, and other local firms to participate on the project."
"We are committed to having an open and inclusive process for participation in this project and are proactive in reaching out to New York State-certified minority-, women- and service-disabled veteran-owned and local businesses. We have held outreach and information sessions to engage diverse vendors, suppliers, and contractors. These sessions were attended by 630 people.", added Gilbane/Turner.
Both the Buffalo Bills and Gilbane Turner are encouraging firms interested in participating in the stadium construction project to visit the project website at www.buffalobillsnewstadium.com
Interested firms are also encouraged to take part in the upcoming "Meet the Primes" session being held on August 1 and 2. Details are available under the "Contract Opportunities" section of the new stadium project website.
