Low bidder vows lawsuit over paving contract

Steve Marcus

Parts of the Las Vegas Beltway fall short of freeway standards. The County Commission voted 5-2 on July 21 to award the upgrade project to Las Vegas Paving, whose bid is $4.6 million more expensive than competitor Fisher Sand and Gravel. Fisher plans to seek legal action against the county for its decision to go with the higher bid.

By Joe Schoenmann (contact)

Sunday, July 26, 2009 | 2 a.m.

After last week’s tumultuous County Commission hearing during which attorneys for Fisher Sand & Gravel protested losing a highway widening contract to Las Vegas Paving, which bid higher, a Fisher attorney warned a lawsuit will be filed against the county.

The company says it met state and county bidding standards and deserves the $112 million job.

Of course, some commission members think that had Fisher come out the winner, Las Vegas Paving would have sued.

Seems to make sense, doesn’t it? Everybody wants to sue somebody, especially when hundreds of good-paying jobs are on the line for work that will take two years to complete.

That’s, more or less, what County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said after he was asked whether he was concerned that Fisher might sue over losing the contract.

“No matter how we voted, we were probably going to get sued,” he said.

Is that true?

Not according to attorney James Barker, who represented Las Vegas Paving.

A day after the hearing, Barker said that had the company not prevailed, it had no intention of suing. He said the company was prepared to accept whatever the commission decided, “and move on.”

•••

Potential candidates for the still-warm County Commission seat of Rory Reid — he’s running for governor but hasn’t yet announced it — keep popping up.

Rory Reid

Last week we told of three potential candidates: police officer/union chief David Kallas, plumber/union chief Greg Esposito and Ron Newell, chairman of the Clark County Planning Commission.

We can add at least one more.

Who else wants to join the County Commission as the county deals with one of the worst economic stretches the state has seen?

Democrat Mary Beth Scow, past president of the Clark County School Board who, after serving 12 years on the board, was term-limited out of that job last year.

So why is Scow considering a run for Reid’s seat?

“I’ve just been encouraged by several people … and it’s another opportunity to serve the public,” Scow said.

Any other potential candidates?

Another name whispered in the halls of the Clark County Government Center is Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas. Like Scow, he is term-limited out of his elected position. Also, much of his Assembly district is in Reid’s commission district.

But there’s one little problem — his house is not in Reid’s district.

Manendo said he was thinking about running for the commission but has instead decided to seek the seat of Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, who is also term-limited out.

Sounds like a vicious circle — term-limited politicians running for new seats vacated by term-limited politicians.

Term limits aren’t the end, they’re a new beginning.

•••

More than two years ago, Commissioner Susan Brager sounded a warning about businesses making unrealistic promises to get airport contracts. Her colleagues ignored her warning and approved a pact with RELAY-Ayala’s LLC, which promised to pay millions to McCarran International Airport for a news and gifts concession.

Turns out Brager was right.

RELAY-Ayala’s won the right to negotiate a contract with the airport in 2007, beating several prominent local lobbyists/attorneys and businesses to win the space at the airport. The likes of former Gov. Bob Miller were on hand to make the case for his client, Hudson Group.

The scene was vastly different Tuesday, when with little discussion the commission terminated RELAY-Ayala’s contract.

Did Brager say “I told you so?”

Not quite. Late last week, though, she expressed frustration that her concerns had been realized.

“I think it’s exactly like I predicted,” she said Friday. “I mean, I’m not happy ... the bid was out of line. I can’t really put this one on the economy.”

Is everything related to the bad economy these days? Or is that just a convenient excuse for everything from foreclosures to bad-hair days?

In the contract, RELAY-Ayala’s promised to pay to the airport annually $2.4 million, or 30 percent of gross revenue, whichever was greater.

Hudson promised $100,000 less.

More important, Brager and others were astounded that the company had promised so much, when two months before it won the contract, Ayala’s was set to promise only $1.3 million in annual rent. Two months later it came back with the big money offer.

County transcripts of the meeting, which aren’t always accurate, quote Aviation Director Randall Walker saying “they must never come back and ask for relief on this contract.”

They didn’t.

On April 6, the airport filed a notice of default against the concessionaire.

Last week, the contract was terminated.

And now, the airport says, the company owes the county $567,000.