Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 9, 1993 TAG: 9304090188
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TAP EXEC TO BE HOTEL'S LOCAL JOB LINK
Alvin Nash hopes to dispel the notion that the construction contracts for the Hotel Roanoke project will be hashed out privately with little chance for local and minority-owned businesses to get part of the work."There are a lot of suspicions about done deals in the back room," Nash said Wednesday. "But I hope to persuade people that this is not true."
Nash will work full time in the next six months trying to help ensure that local workers, subcontractors and suppliers get part of the contracts.
"This isn't going to be easy, but I want to make sure that it is a community project," he said.
Nash, deputy director of Total Action Against Poverty, will take a leave of absence from his TAP post to work full time on the hotel project.
Nash's salary will be paid by the city while he is working on the hotel and conference center project. Nash, who will have an office in Downtown Roanoke's building on First Street, will begin his temporary assignment on May 1.
City Manager Bob Herbert has also announced the formation of a special assignment team to work for the city on the conference center, which will be part of the hotel project.
Team members will be Brian Wishneff, chief of economic development, who will lead the effort; Beverly James, city librarian; and Kim Duncan, executive secretary in Economic Development.
Nash, a Roanoke native who has worked for TAP for 15 years, said he will try to negotiate contracts for local businesses, especially small and minority-owned firms.
"We will do everything we can to make sure that there is a level playing field for everyone," he said.
"It will be more than just monitoring bids and procedures. It will be negotiations with contractors."
Although the first two contracts - for asbestos removal and demolition work - are expected to be awarded to a firm outside the Roanoke Valley, Nash said he still hopes to negotiate a deal for part of the workers for these contracts to be hired locally.
David Van Blaricom, construction manager for Faison Associates, said the two contracts will be awarded to Falcon Inc. of Laurel, Md., or Insulated Services Inc. of Richmond because their bids were the lowest.
Nash said he will work with the Virginia Employment Commission and the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce to identify workers and businesses who might be interested in the hotel project.
Herbert said the major contracts won't be awarded for several months.
Nash will work with Ron Leeper, director of small and minority contracting for F.N. Thompson, Charlotte, N.C.
F.N. Thompson and J.M. Turner and Co., a Roanoke Valley firm, are the main contractors of the hotel project.
Nash said he will be working to break down the contracts where possible into smaller ones which would benefit small and minority contractors who might not be able to meet larger-package requirements.
Mayor David Bowers said he is encouraged by the city's and Virginia Tech's desire for wider participation by local and minority businesses. Tech was given the hotel by Norfolk Southern Corp.
"This project will have unprecedented community involvement," Bowers said.
With the aid of Nash and Leeper, Bowers said, he's confident that all local subcontractors and minority businesses can be identified and given a chance to bid.
But some union leaders said they are skeptical that everyone will have an equal opportunity to get part of the work.
C.W. Toney, president of Painters Local 891, said the city should require that all bids be opened publicly and read aloud.
Herbert said the bids on the conference center will be opened publicly because it will be financed entirely with public funds.
Herbert said he has created the special team to work on the conference center because there are many details to be resolved.
"These individuals are experienced, management employees who will be temporarily reassigned to the conference center project," Herbert said.
The team will work with Nash and oversee the development of the conference center from a physical and operational standpoint.
The group will also visit other conference centers, meet with potential users of the center to determine their needs and protect the city's financial interests.