Montana Dakota Construction Services Group Inc. owns both companies, Chapel noted. The city’s bidding specification forbid bidders to submit “more than one proposal from the same partnership, firm or corporation under the same or different name,” Chapel said in its complaint.
Wagner is to install a system of video cameras, a data center, and electronic door-access controls at the airport in a largely federally funded project to replace outdated security equipment.
The Dayton Daily News, through a public records request, obtained the letters between the companies and the city that detailed the dispute.
The Dayton City Commission approved the contract with Wagner-Smith in mid-November. Work is to start by year’s end and should be done by the end of 2010, city officials said.
Chapel declined to comment for this article. Airport officials also declined comment, citing the legal issues.
ESI withdrew its bid for the project this summer, informing the city in a letter that ESI realized it had mistakenly understated its estimate by omitting a $418,272 subcontractor expense.
Wagner-Smith defended itself in its response to the city. Wagner said that it and ESI are separate corporations, each with its own work force, corporate office and employer tax identification numbers. Wagner said that Chapel failed to cite any basis for denying subsidiaries of a parent company the right to bid on the same public project. Wagner also said that Chapel’s bid was $611,000 more than Wagner’s offer.
“The public interest is served when two competitors, even if affiliated, such as Wagner and ESI, have the opportunity to bid on projects such as this,” James Fortkamp, Wagner’s president, wrote in his letter to city officials.
ESI’s bid was $5,499,679 and Wagner’s was $5,571,322, airport officials said. The remaining cost in the $6.1 million contract is for a maintenance agreement and spare parts for the security system, airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes said Friday, Nov. 27.
The project funding includes $4.8 million from the Federal Aviation Administration and $1.3 million in aviation capital funds, generated by the airport’s operations.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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