[September 03, 2011] Lawmaker says he set up contact between school board's West and corporate bidder Tweet Sep 03, 2011 (The Kansas City Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A key Missouri lawmaker says he set up controversial discussions between outgoing Kansas City school board president Airick Leonard West and a company bidding on a multimillion-dollar school district contract. Rep. Mike Talboy of Kansas City -- a Democrat and House minority leader -- said he set up the discussions after meeting with a representative of Schneider Electric this summer. The company representative, he said, wanted to talk about "what they could offer" the district in the process of awarding an $85 million contract for retrofitting schools with energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment. "I was asked by them if I could make an introduction to someone at the school district," Talboy said. "It is the type of referral that I make about three times a week. ...What they talked about, I have no idea." In the aftermath of Superintendent John Covington's resignation last week, board member Arthur Benson accused West of interfering in administrative business, saying he caused the district to abort the bidding process and even prompted Covington's departure. Covington, however, left primarily to take a job in Detroit, and the district says reasons for dropping the bid process were unrelated to West's involvement. At the time of Talboy's request, the school district was considering seven companies, including Schneider Electric, for the contract on what it calls the Cornerstone project. District policy and bid documents forbid any contact between potential vendors and board members before such contracts are signed. But after Talboy's intercession, a Schneider representative exchanged phone calls and a lengthy email with West discussing methods for evaluating project bids. "We hope these thoughts and questions will help better define this process and selection," the company's August memo to West says. The company says the approach was proper. "We believe that all of our interactions have been appropriate and consistent with the bidding process," said Schneider Electric spokeswoman Jeannie Birdwell. West said he was unaware at first that France-based Schneider Electric was already in the bidding process. He said he called the company's representative in Lenexa, Peter Hinkle, only to connect him with members of the district's staff involved in the project. Hinkle responded with the long email about best practices in such projects. West said he forwarded the information to Covington. West included a note to Covington, saying, "I think they bring up some interesting points but discerning the merit of them is your task, not mine. Please read an(d) consider -- particularly their take on insourcing rather than outsourcing maintenance -- as their ideas are likely to influence some of the questions I ask about our progress with Cornerstone." But school district administrators, aware of the no-contact policy, were alarmed, records show. "The company that participated in this exchange will be disqualified from the bidding(s)," Covington wrote West. "As I have told my team, we are going to be transparent in everything we do and while this is an unfortunate result, failure to take this step undermines the credibility of the district." When West declined to provide the name of the company, Covington's chief of staff filed an open records request. The district has since rejected all bids on the project and is reassessing its plans, but for reasons unrelated to the email exchanges with Schneider Electric, said district Chief Operating Officer Michael Rounds. The bids overall were falling short of the district's expectations for long-term cost-effectiveness, Rounds said. The district used three tiers of consultants to help analyze the bids in what is a massive undertaking, he said. The project, similar to one carried out at other school districts and the University of Central Missouri, relies on taking on debt that is paid back over many years with money saved in lower energy costs. The district had hoped to start work in October, but now Rounds says the district might take care of urgent needs out of its existing budget and rethink the Cornerstone project before possibly taking new bids. Birdwell, the Schneider Electric spokeswoman, said her company believes it is still under consideration. Talboy said he set up the discussions involving West and the company after other lawmakers mentioned their work with Schneider Electric. He said he had no relationship with Hinkle before or since. Talboy, though, said he eventually called West, alerting him that the Schneider Electric representative would be in touch. Hinkle, who did not reply to messages left by The Star, referred questions about the meeting to Birdwell, who declined to comment. To reach Dave Helling, call 816-234-4656 or send email to [email protected]. To reach Joe Robertson, call 816-234-4789 or send email to [email protected]. ___ (c)2011 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]