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Asheville hires whitebread firm from Denver to conduct minority business study

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“Racial disparity” analysis will cost city $320,000
By Roger McCredie
Managing Editor

The City of Asheville has engaged BBC Research and Consulting, of Denver, CO, to evaluate city contracting practices with regard to minority-owned businesses.
BBC will begin work next month on a “disparity study” designed to show how well the city succeeds – or doesn’t – in awarding contracts to minority- and female-owned businesses. The project is expected to take a year and will cost the city $320,000. At the end of the day, the study is expected to provide city officials with a blueprint for implementing a race-based system for awarding city work contracts.

The project has been triggered by a perceived need to overhaul the city’s existing Minority Business Program as work advances on the ambitious River Arts District development plan. Concern has arisen in some quarters that black contractors, in particular, might not get a fair shot at bidding on riverfront projects, given what some have said i…
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City rejected lowest bid on new study Because ‘It wasn’t high enough,’ consultant says

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Winning company’s $320,000 quote is more than double lowest number By Roger McCredie Managing Editor The head of the consulting firm that offered the lowest bid on the City of Asheville’s recently-commissioned racial disparity study says he was told his company lost the contract “in part because we weren’t charging enough.” It’s a curious disqualification considering that state law requires municipalities to accept the lowest “reasonable” bid in such situations. The low bid on the analysis project came from Drakeford, Scott & Associates of Durham, whose submitted quote was $151,200.  But the city hired BBC Research and Consulting of Denver, CO, to conduct the year-long examination of how it awards construction contracts.  BBC has said it will do the work for $319,948 – which is more than double Drakeford, Scott’s price but in fact the second lowest price tag among the six companies who submitted bids. Still, a bid that is $169,948 higher between lowest and next-lowest bids has left the …
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Asheville's champagne taste exceeds its beer budget

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Ineptitude and Mismanagement Lead to $26 million budget over run for River Arts District improvementsLast week it was announced that the City of Asheville will have to make drastic reductions in their plans that were meant to improve 2.2 miles on Riverside Drive along the French Broad River because the actual construction bids came in at double the amount to taxpayers than the City estimated. This project is called "RADTIP" which stands for River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project.  
The original figure was $26 million from the City taxpayers plus $24 million from grants for a total estimated cost of $50 million. The new figure? Double the portion from city taxpayers to $52 million for a grand new total of $76 million.  
Since the City doesn't have an additional $26 million, it has to scale back, reduce, cut its plans or what the City has coined "value engineer" the entire RADTIP project.  
Mismanagement and Ineptitude
This is the latest and largest …
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