Anne Arundel County’s turf probe spurs bidding reforms

Three Anne Arundel high schools will have artificial turf fields, but the behind-the-scenes process of how the bids were awarded to the companies has sounded a call for reform so taxpayers dollars are used to their best advantage.

An audit revealed that contracts awarded to AmDyne Inc. did not follow county code, and Sunny Acres Landscaping Inc. failed to disclose lawsuits and questionable political ties before the contract was awarded.

The county’s code requires that businesses be allowed to compete for contracts of less than $100,000.

AmDyne Inc. secured two noncompetitive contracts — one at $83,000 and the other at $74,000 — to oversee bidding on installing three artificial turf fields at county public high schools.

For nearly 30 years, Anne Arundel has awarded these contracts on a noncompetitive basis, said County Executive John R. Leopold.

“For small contracts you don’t want to get bogged down,” he said.

“This is common practice in government at all levels for when you need expeditious completion.”

However, County Auditor Teresa Sutherland said in her report this week that the county should look into legislation to correct this “practice” and follow its code.

Now, the County Council is looking for ways to ensure the bidding process is competitive through legislation to revise the purchasing manual that governs how the county awards contracts.

“A lot of times the county gets comfortable with one or two companies, and because the bid is not competitive, we may not be getting the best quote,” said Council Chairwoman Cathy Vitale, R-Severna Park.

Sunny acres in question

However, the audit was prompted in May not by AmDyne Inc. but by Sunny Acres Landscaping Inc.

AmDyne was hired to make sure Anne Arundel got the best contractor to install the turf fields and picked Sunny Acres over 10 other bidders, because it had the lowest bid, the audit said.

Sunny Acres had no experience in artificial turf and its installation, but Sutherland said the contract did not require the prospective bidder to have this experience and allowed them to hire a subcontractor.

Sutherland found that Sunny Acres did not disclose two lawsuits filed against them, nor did they submit audited financial statements, which are requirements to enter into a bid.

Leopold, a Republican, said these were “minor technicalities.”

But Sunny Acres has political connections — the wife of company Vice President Lester Belcher III, Debbie, is on the Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee, and company President Lester Belcher Jr. is friends with Fred Schram, Anne Arundel’s director of Central Services, the agency that handles all county contracts.

Fifteen calls were made between Belcher Jr. and Schram, but the men swore under oath they did not discuss the project.

Belcher III said Schram and his father play golf together, according to Sutherland’s audit.

“I had nothing to do with their personal conversation,” Belcher III said. “I can promise you it would have nothing to do with this job because I handled every aspect.”

“We never discussed the contract,” Schram said. “If anything, I was talking to him probably about golf,” adding that he and Belcher Jr. are golfing buddies.

The good news, Sutherland said, was the contract with Sunny Acres was awarded properly in accordance with the county code.

Changes ahead

Leopold said he wants to change the code to conform to the decades-old practice, but the County Council is planning provide more oversight during bid processes

“Many amendments [to the purchasing manual] will be introduced over objections of the administration,” said Councilman Jamie Benoit, D-Crownsville.

Anne Arundel has seen some reform in its contracting arena. The council earlier this year approved posting detailed information about the contracts awarded by the county. That effort, led by Benoit, won praise from watchdog groups, who are eyeing the county’s reaction to the turf field audit.

“Anne Arundel is leading the state in many ways, and if this experiment works with the bidding process, it could be significant to the rest of the state,” said Ryan O’Donnell, director of Common Cause Maryland.

The three high schools receiving the turf under the Sunny Acres contract are Glen Burnie, Severna Park and Meade.

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