HARRISBURG, Pa. — Note: The video is from July 10, 2023.
Harrisburg mayor Wanda R.D. Williams issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the Harrisburg City Council's decision to reject Alexander Building Construction Company as the construction manager for the restoration and reconstruction of the red brick building heavily damaged by fire last year at Broad Street Market.
The council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to reject the Harrisburg-based company's bid to manage the project, citing "equity" concerns in the process used to select the company.
In a statement issued Tuesday night, Williams called the council's decision "careless" and claimed that it would set back the brick building's restoration even further.
"Alexander was chosen because it scored highest on the independent scoring system which has awarded public projects for decades," Williams said in her statement. "When Council expresses concern in the decision, administration officials...met multiple times with members of Council to provide information.
"Instead, by rejecting Alexander as the market's construction manager, not only are they denying an experienced, well-regarded business based in the City of Harrisburg, but of the firms which submitted proposals, they are saying no to the one with the most experience handling historic architecture, fire restoration, and projects of this size and scale."
According to reporting on the Council meeting by Pennlive, council member Jocelyn Rawls, one of the five members to vote against Alexander's proposal, cited a lack of "diversity and perspective" on the selection team. She also claimed the selection process included unnecessary criteria, awarded improper points during the selection process, and failed to include the city's equity and compliance director.
The company was also reluctant to work with local vendors and contractors, Rawls said.
According to Pennlive, Rawls was joined by Council President Danielle Bowers and members Crystal Davis, Ralph Rodriguez, and Lamont Jones in voting against the selection.
Shamaine Daniels and Council Vice President Ausha Green voted yes on the resolution.
"The reckless decision by these city councilors this evening to not award the Broad Street Market construction manager to the most qualified proposal -- the one with the experience and support of the Central Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council -- means vendors will have to wait even longer to get back into their permanent home, and city residents will watch the one-year anniversary of the fire come and go without any work being done," Williams said in her statement. "The selection process now goes back to square one. It also sends a message to our friends in organized labor that the city council does not value their opinion on one of the most pressing construction projects that the city has faced in decades."
Eric Hagarty, Chair of the Board of the Broad Street Market Alliance also issued a statement after the council's decision.
"Ten months after a tragic fire burned down one of Harrisburg’s greatest assets, we are deeply disappointed that City Council has failed to select a construction manager to begin the reconstruction process," Hagarty said. "Harrisburg’s own Alexander Building Construction Co. was chosen by Mayor Williams’s administration after receiving the highest score in the standard independent scoring process used to award public contracts at all levels of government. Despite Alexander Building Construction Co.’s decades of experience overseeing the construction of major projects like Beaver Stadium, Chocolatetown at Hershey Park, and the Lancaster Medical Center, City Council members inexplicably rejected the independent selection.
"City Council’s decision means that the procurement process will have to be redone and reconstruction of the Brick Building will not begin for at least another six months. Local small businesses who were displaced by the fire will continue to go on without income and the community members who depended on the Market for their groceries in an area otherwise defined as a food desert by the USDA will have to wait even longer now - despite on-the-record admissions by many members of Council that Alexander Building Construction Co. had the most qualified proposal.
"At every step of the process since last year’s fire, Central Pennsylvania has stepped up to help the Market. Local businesses have donated materials, labor, funds, and expertise. Mayor Williams’s administration and state officials have marshaled support every time they have been asked. We urge Harrisburg City Council to do the same and meet this moment, respect the urgent needs of the community, and reconsider tonight’s decision.”