Council Reconsiders Stalling Library

At press time, the San Jose City Council is preparing to revote on its plan to rebid the $7 million construction contract for an Eastside library. Councilmember Rose HeRrera submitted a memo on Friday calling for reconsideration of the June 23 vote taken on the eve of the July council recess. "I did that because there was a lot of concern about the process and there's no harm in having it heard again," Herrera said. "A lot of my constituents were asking questions about it. I'm not saying I'm going to change my vote. ... I just think it needs to be fully vetted. I'm very concerned about getting people to work and getting projects going." A wrench was thrown into Herrera's revote initiative, however, by a Building Trades Council memo saying the councilmember's 3:30pm request missed a 3pm courtesy deadline in the city clerk's office—which is set so clerks don't get everything at 4:59pm. Barry Swenson Builder was the low bidder of 22 contractors who submitted bids in the highly competitive process. The second lowest bidder challenged Swenson's bid, saying the structural steel contractor, while properly licensed, fell four months short of the experience requirement specified in an ambiguously worded part of the city's request for proposals. The rebid would slow down library construction by as much as six months, according to the city's head of public works, resulting in a likely completion in 2011 rather than 2010. The challenge was launched by Zolman Construction of San Carlos, which built San Jose's Mayfair library and ironically was targeted by a similar complaint in 2008. Two competitors and union officials at that time attacked Zolman's qualifications for a city construction contract, accusing Zolman of submitting an illegible subcontractor list with names crossed out and referring to a state complaint suggesting that Zolman made cash payments to workers to avoid paying prevailing wages and employment taxes. City staff recommended disqualifying Zolman based on false statements made on a prequalification questionnaire. The complaint against Swenson's subcontractor, Elmer's Portable Welding of Sacramento, says the firm lacks the required four years of experience. Even though the firm did the structural steel work on a Target store in Natomas, Calif., near Sacramento, in 2005, and a Sam's Club in Carmichael in 2006, that work should not count as experience because it was conducted before the welding firm received its C-41 license from the state three years ago, critics say. The case was made in a nine-page June 16 letter to the city from Weinberg, Roger and Rosenfeld, which describes itself on its website as the "largest union-side labor law firm in the country." The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce opposes throwing out the bids and starting again. "Protests filed by labor unions and one builder who submitted a more expensive bid were reviewed by staff, who found the complaints lacked merit," Chamber CEO Pat Dando wrote in a position piece. "But labor unions continued to protest, appearing before the City Council to claim one of the subcontractors did not have proof of sufficient experience — that was rejected by the city attorney and city staff. Yet a majority of councilmembers did what the labor unions asked and voted to toss the contracts and start over. Instead of boosting the economy and creating jobs." Mayor Chuck Reed and councilmembers Sam Liccardo, Pierluigi Oliverio and Pete Constant voted against the motion to scuttle the bids. Supporting the June 23 vote were councilmembers Nancy Pyle, Madison Nguyen, Kansen Chu, Rose Herrera, and Ash Kalra. Also voting in support of the measure was Councilmember Nora Campos, whose husband, trade union official Neil Struthers, urged the council not to grant Swenson the contract. The results of Tuesday's vote were not available at Fly's press time.

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