Over the
next 20 years, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District faces $4
billion worth of reconstruction and improvement
projects.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>More minority businesses would get a piece of those contracts if MSD board trustees pass new diversity goals proposed last week.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>At the Oct. 20 stakeholders’ committee meeting, the board presented a draft proposal that would increase the minority business enterprise (MBE) utilization to 25 percent for construction and professional services. Essentially, the proposal would separate MBE goals from women business enterprise (WBE) requirements, which were previously a combined 25 percent. WBE goals are now at 5 percent.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The proposal also suggests setting “boots on the ground” goals for minorities at 25 percent and women at 6.9 percent.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In June 2007, the U.S. government and the State of Missouri filed a civil action against MSD, which alleged that the district had been in violation of the Clean Water Act by discharging untreated sewage from its collection system through combined sewer overflows and constructed sanitary sewer overflows.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>As per a consent decree filed in July, MSD agreed to improve its sewer system and treatment plants at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion over 23 years.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Come April, one way or another, the African-American community is going to be asked to pay its fair share of the cost of meeting the consent decree that MSD entered with the EPA,” said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis NAACP branch.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“If we have to pay our fair share, then no one should have any problem with us asking for our fair share of the work that our dollars are going to create.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Stakeholders – including the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis, NAACP, various engineering associations and minority contractors – have been collaborating with the board and MSD on creating the new participation goals since the spring. Yet, some have expressed last-minute concerns with parts of the plan.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Len Toenjes, president of the AGC of St. Louis, said he was concerned that the “good faith” effort requirements for the workforce participation would be too easy to bypass.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“If you give people wiggle room, they are going to take it,” Toenjes said. “More definition needs to be added so it could be measured accurately. Contractors are used to bidding on specifics and details every day of the week. It should be an objective ‘good faith’ effort so the potential for front companies is minimized.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>James Buford, vice chair of the MSD board and president/CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, and MSD board chair Bob Berry have been leading the effort to raise the participation goals. Buford said the goals must be accompanied by more staff to enforce them.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We’re all fighting for strong ‘good faith’ procedures so that we don’t just set goals,” Buford said. “The reason it has taken us so long is that we are trying to work out something that we can all agree to that strengthens MSD’s ‘good faith’ plan.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>MSD is governed by a six-member board, with three members appointed by the mayor of St. Louis and three by the county executive of St. Louis County.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>With the negotiations going on so long, some wondered why the AGC didn’t raise their concerns sooner in the process. Toenjes also objected to creating a tiered system for MBE contractors and setting equal participation goals for the construction and non-construction contracts. He also suggested waiting until the first of the year to establish new requirements.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We all had an opportunity to at least have some input on what the proposal turned out to be,” Pruitt said. “It was disappointing to hear AGC express some concerns about the policy for the first time, after being at the table for all these months. I think it is disingenuous.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Ramona Dickens, manager of MSD’s diversity programs, said the district could not comment on the proposal until after the board votes on it.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Buford said with so much work scheduled for the next 20 years, it is no time for MSD to have low participation goals. Against the standard argument that there are not enough minority companies in town to meet a 25-percent requirement, Buford said MSD is not restricted to St. Louis. However, the agency will hire minority vendors from the area first.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Why should we penalize the ones we have here and lower the goal? That makes the wrong statement about our city,” Buford said. “You should set your goals to where they should be, which is at a fair share for minorities, and then find ways to hit your numbers.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Pruitt said MSD has never put out a job that didn’t have a bidder. If the participation goals are too high for certain companies, they don’t have to bid on them.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The chairman and vice chair are doing everything in their power to get this right,” Pruitt said. “It’s going to come down to the rest of the board supporting their direction.”