HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Harrisburg City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve a construction manager for the Broad Street Market rebuilding project, reversing its vote from two weeks ago.
The Council had voted 5-2 to reject the Alexander Building Construction Company as the construction manager on May 14.
City council members Crystal Davis and Ralph Rodriguez, who voted against Alexander in the initial vote, changed their minds and brought up the re-vote on Tuesday.
"Since then, I've dedicated at least a solid week of meetings to gain a better understanding of Resolution 26 in totality," Rodriguez said to explain his vote change. "I met with unions, businesses, residents, association presidents, and then many, many more, to do my due diligence in regard to Resolution 26."
The three council members who voted no—Jocelyn Rawls, Lamont Jones and Council president Danielle Bowers—cited a lack of equity and inclusion in the selection process, calling for more community members to be included.
Councilwoman Rawls went on to say that while she was not opposed to Alexander itself, a discrepancy in numbers from a rubric used in during the selection sullied the overall process.
"My rubric was different than everybody else's," Rawls said. "I have the original. They all had new copies because someone went into the system and changed a number. I will not allow you all to go down in mud. Mud sinks. I will not allow you to go down in mud because a process wasn't followed with integrity and honesty and respect."
Mayor Wanda Williams explained that there had been a typo in the original rubric sheet on a single number, and the new rubric had the corrected number. The Mayor also hit back at the notion of a lack of integrity in the selection process.
"Let me assure you that there is nothing illegal about the process," Mayor Williams said. "And let me mention also that I am the mayor, and you are the executive body, I have the right, and the power to choose the construction manager for the project."
The Mayor also hit back at criticism that Diversity and Inclusion Officer Ken Singleton was not included in the selection process for the construction manager.
"Mr. Singleton did not need to be on the front end of that," Mayor Williams said. "He needs to be on the back end where he is making sure that compliance is be upheld and being done. That's my decision, not your decision."
The Alexander Building Construction Company has agreed that 30% of its contractors on the project will be minorities and locally owned businesses.
The Broad Street Market Alliance applauded the decision in a statement, saying that the appointment now puts the market back on track to reopen its brick building in 2026 after the fire which severely damaged it last year.
“One of the hallmarks of leadership is the ability to change your mind when presented with new information,” the statement from Eric Hagarty, Chair of the Market Alliance read. “We applaud City Council for doing so following several productive conversations about their initial concerns, and an outpouring of support for the Market from the community."