Fairground Work Ok’d Despite Law Violation Electrical Project Was Done Without Competitive Bidding

Even though it violated state law by not being competitively bid, a $119,000 fairground improvement contract was approved in a split vote of the Spokane County Commission on Tuesday.

Commissioner John Roskelley voted against approving a contract with Canter Electric Inc. of Spokane. The company installed an electrical system for RVs this spring. Commissioners Phil Harris and Kate McCaslin voted for approval.

“It just didn’t sit too well with me how this was done,” said Roskelley, who noted his vote was a protest. He made his comments after the commission meeting.

This spring, Canter began installing the system, which was supposed to lure a motor-home convention.

The convention went elsewhere, and in April the county received a letter from Dick Harmon of Rebound, a Seattle-based labor watchdog group, warning the county he thought the project was illegal.

After county staff investigated, it became clear the project should have been competitively bid and not done under Canter’s routine maintenance contract with the fairground.

Competitive bids are open to any qualified company. The competition can lead to a lower price for the county.

It still isn’t clear who authorized the work.

“There is no one person saying I took control of this project and ran it through,” Roskelley said. “That’s the hardest pill to swallow.”

Though the project was done in violation of state law, the county has a clear legal obligation to pay Canter, said Jim Emacio, county attorney.

Approval of the agreement was also necessary to activate various warranties and performance bonds that give the county some protection if the work is later found to be faulty.

, DataTimes