Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Herbert Chappelle, who owns Century Sales Inc. in Blue Ridge, said his $11,000 contract to supply some of the kitchen equipment for the conference center was proving to be more trouble than it was worth.
The time he would have had to spend coordinating installation of the equipment and preparing drawings of it for the food service consultant would have eaten up any profit, he said.
"It was in my best interest to withdraw," he said. "It was strictly a business decision. I did it for reasons important to Century Sales."
Chappelle's withdrawal likely will cost Roanoke about $3,000, the difference between Chappelle's bid and other bids for the same equipment, said Beverly James, bidding coordinator.
Jim Harvey, a former councilman who is chairman of the Conference Center Commission, was visibly upset by Chappelle's decision, which was accepted by the commission at a meeting Tuesday.
"It's going to cost taxpayers additional money," Harvey said. He noted that the city had gone to special effort to split the kitchen equipment into several groups to give small businesses a better chance to bid on it.
"If we weren't concerned about local participation, we would have picked one vendor," Harvey said.
James had more bad news about bids, too. There were no bids submitted for the lighting and draperies in the conference center, so those will have to be rebid, she said.
She surveyed four firms who purchased bid packages but didn't submit bids and learned they didn't bid because they didn't think they had a chance.
"They felt there would be too much competition from larger firms," she said.
And larger firms apparently were uninterested because of the small quantity of draperies needed - about 20 sets. Business is better, and companies are being more selective of what they bid on, said David Van Blaricom, who represents the project developer, Faison and Associates of Charlotte, N.C.
Van Blaricom said he is encountering a similar paucity of bids with Faison projects he is overseeing in other cities.
On a more positive note, James reported that eight companies want to provide the furniture needed for the center, and all are local except for one company from Florida.
The news was also good about business booked into the conference center through 1998.
So far, there are definite reservations for events involving 26,245 people, said Gary Walton, hotel manager. Many of the events also involve the use of hotel rooms, he said.
by CNB