CCAC Cancels Bids Deadline

The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) cancelled today’s deadline for bids on the construction of the K. Leroy Irvis Science Center after nonunion contractors raised concerns about the procurement process. The facility would provide health care and science education on the Pittsburgh Northside Campus.
Spokesperson David Hoovler says nonunion contractors were concerned with CCAC asking for 90% union employees in its labor agreement with the contractor. He says they do not feel they’ve done anything illegal or wrong. “It was not the intent to shut out any particular firm from bidding on the project, and we just want to be sure that’s clear.”
Hoovler says many local county projects have been done with very similar agreements, specifically the new stadiums, which were built with project-labor agreements.
Up until today, he says the changes are a result of meeting some requirements that had come through from the inspection and approval of the city, relating to fire code and such. “This [cancellation] will just enable some of those changes just to be incorporated into the main specification.”
Hoovler says CCAC hopes the cancellation will not delay the construction of this $21 million project significantly, which is set to open for the spring of 2012. “There is a great need for it to help provide the state of the art science, technology and health care education that our students really deserve.”