The French Market Corp. voted Tuesday to restart its search for a parking lot manager after accusations of favoritism scuttled the original process. But the decision did little to satisfy Jim Huger, owner of Premium Parking. "This whole thing stinks to high heaven," he told the French Market board, accusing it of intentionally steering the contract to the incumbent...
The French Market Corp. voted Tuesday to restart its search for a parking lot manager after accusations of favoritism scuttled the original process. But the decision did little to satisfy Jim Huger, owner of Premium Parking.
"This whole thing stinks to high heaven," he told the French Market board, accusing it of intentionally steering the contract to the incumbent manager, Standard Parking.
The French Market Corp. first sent out requests for proposals to manage three city-owned lots in March and narrowed the field to two finalists, Premium and SP Plus, a joint venture between Chicago-based Standard Parking and a local firm, Global Parking Systems.
The companies went before the board in May to make their final pitches, but the vote was deferred to June 17 after several board members expressed unease with the fact that then-interim director Ann Duplessis had added more than $178,000 in "adjusted costs" to Premium's original proposal.
"It gives me pause that you did add numbers to a proposal without the input of (Premium)," City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, a member of the French Market board, said at the May 28 meeting. "I'm not sure that's entirely fair one way or the other. I'd rather wait a month to make sure it's done right and we have a bid process that looks equitable, which I'm just not seeing."
To avoid the appearance of impropriety, the board and the Landrieu administration scrapped the June 17 meeting and opted to rebid the contract.
"Mayor Landrieu has completely reformed the contracting process at City Hall and city agencies from top to bottom," said Landrieu spokesman Tyler Gamble. "We award contracts based on what you know, not who you know. It is all part of having an open and transparent process. We believe we can ensure that happens by rebidding the contract."
Premium's proposal estimated that it would cost $432,710 to operate 628 spaces in the three parking lots overseen by the French Market Corp.
SP Plus submitted a proposal with a total cost of $527,075. The board voted Tuesday to extend Standard Parking's current contract on a month-to-month basis until a new firm is selected.
In her analysis of Premium's suggested budget, Duplessis said the New Orleans parking company failed to account for costs of landscaping, waste removal and group health insurance, so she added more than $48,000 to the proposal.
Premium chose L&R Security as its disadvantaged business enterprise partner, giving L&R 35 percent of the contract. However, the French Market already provides security, so this was an unnecessary budget allocation, Duplessis said. She added another $130,000 to Premium's proposal to make up for the difference, bringing the total cost of its bid to $611,262.
"I have never seen a process like this. This is new ground for me," Huger said when he addressed the board in May. "You have a bid process where you take my bid and the executive director adds costs to it."
Huger said he stood by the original cost of his proposal and would charge the French Market a fee only if he increased its net operating income.
"If you want, I'll guarantee in writing that I won't charge you a dollar more," said Huger, who accused Duplessis of steering the contract to the incumbent. "And if you don't make a dollar more you won't pay me a fee. That's why we did it this way, because we knew of the political games that take place in this city."
Duplessis said her adjustments were based on common business sense and gaping holes in Premium's proposal.
The proposals represent what it would cost the city to operate the three facilities. Each company then charges a fee based on the net operating income. Premium asked for 25 percent of new revenue, amounting to more than $80,000, while SP Plus required a monthly charge of $900, or $10,800 annually, in addition to a tiered revenue sharing model that could add up to $54,871.
The problem, however, is that the French Market Corp. did not provide Premium with all of the necessary information, Huger said.
The board approved a rate increase in April for the three parking facilities that could result in up to $500,000 in additional revenue in 2014. Huger said Premium was never informed of the increase so its proposal was based on revenue figures from 2012 instead of projections including the rate hike.
Duplessis said Huger should have been aware of the increase through the public meetings process.
Huger also said the method by which Duplessis graded each company's bid betrayed a bias toward SP Plus. He said she gave the locally based Premium a score of just 90 on the issue of its ability to maintain an office in New Orleans but gave SP Plus a score of 100 even though Standard is headquartered in Chicago.
Huger included this information -- in addition to claims that Standard includes hidden fees in its contracts, a charge the company denied -- in binders he sent to the French Market board members.
In response, the corporation's attorney, Henry Julien, sent Huger a cease-and-desist letter. "Communication is strictly prohibited between bidders and entities awarding contracts outside of the designated point of contact (and) duly noted meetings of the selection committee or full board meetings," the order stated.
"We took time to understand what happened to us as this bid was railroaded," Huger told the board Tuesday. "You sent us the binders back with a cease-and-desist letter. You can't tell me not to petition my government for redress. If you're a responsible public body just read the information and open a public investigation."
Huger said he will resubmit his bid but doesn't have any confidence that the process will be fair the second time around, even with a new executive director.
Duplessis announced May 30 that she was stepping down as interim executive director of the French Market Corp., effective June 14, to join Liberty Bank & Trust as senior vice president.
Ronnie Burns, owner of Global Parking Systems, is on Liberty Bank's board of directors.
The French Market Corp. -- the public agency that oversees the historic market along North Peters Street and the Upper Pontalba Building on Jackson Square -- has been searching for a director since Frank Pizzolato resigned in December over a management dispute.
His predecessor, Kenneth Ferdinand, had stepped down amid allegations that he misused the French Market Corp.'s credit cards, leading to public calls for greater scrutiny of the agency. An Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judge acquitted Ferdinand of theft charges in September.
The board has narrowed the director search down to four finalists and is expected to select a new director as early as next week.
Patricia Henry is serving as interim executive director.