An appeal filed by Soderholm Sales & Leasing Inc. over a year-old procurement for buses compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act will move forward with a merit hearing following Public Auditor Benjamin Cruz’s denial of a motion to dismiss the matter. The buses are being purchased for the Guam Regional Transit Authority.
The General Services Agency issued the bid in September 2019 and Monster Auto Corp., which does business as AutoSpot, was selected as the winning bidder. AutoSpot, as an interested party, moved to dismiss the appeal.
Soderholm has made several claims in its appeal, including that it was the lowest responsible bidder and GSA favored the higher bid from AutoSpot due to the company’s “close employment relationship” with the lieutenant governor, who is a former vice president of the company.
AutoSpot’s motion to dismiss stated that GSA reported Soderholm’s bid was rejected due to noncompliance with specifications.
“Specifically, the bid required the wheelchair lifts to be located curbside beside the front entrance but Soderholm submitted a bid for rear-facing wheelchair lifts. AutoSpot submitted a bid that complied with the specifications. Therefore, the bid was properly awarded to AutoSpot,” the company stated.
Soderholm also failed to provide evidence to back up other claims, including a claim alleging preference due to the ties with the lieutenant governor, Auto Spot stated.
Cruz said he could dismiss the matter because Soderholm did not file certain documents on time, but the courts could consider it an abuse of discretion.
“We are going to have a full formal hearing,” the public auditor said.
The appeal isn’t the only issue surrounding the bid, as the specifications also present a concern for a former GRTA board member.
GRTA submitted the specifications, which call for 14-passenger ADA-compliant buses with four wheelchair positions and a lift located curbside beside the front entrance.
Former board member Evelyn Duenas questioned the lift requirement, as ramps are easier to use for entry and offloading. Moreover, GRTA’s current wheelchair-accessible buses use ramps rather than lifts.
A 2015 Federal Transit Administration circular on ADA guidance stated that more and more transit agencies choose to acquire low-floor buses with ramps to accommodate wheelchair-bound passengers. Ramps also easily accommodate passengers with other mobility issues.
Ramps have a simpler design than lifts, are simpler to maintain and are easy to operate manually in case of power failure, according to the circular. However, the low-floor buses that use ramps often have less capacity than buses with lifts.
Celestin Babauta, GRTA executive manager, said the specifications are based on what GRTA feels will meet the requirements of Guam riders.
“We’re picking up riders at very difficult locations,” Babauta said. “The ramp is not going to be effective in laying out to allow wheelchair riders to board the buses. Even in Hawaii, they’re buying lift instead of ramp because of the way the roads (are).”
GRTA is trying to diversify its bus fleet to create flexibility when servicing passengers, he said. In terms of how this might affect maintenance, Babauta said there will be warranties with the new lift buses and when the warranties expire, “I have maintenance people who are capable to effectively maintain the buses.”
But according to Duenas, other than a prior lack of maintenance, there were no serious issues with using the ramp buses. She said she was “stunned” to learn that the specs left GRTA without final review from the board.
There was no quorum at the time the specs left the agency, however. Quorum wasn’t met until August 2019 and Babauta said he had been working on the bid since February of that year. The specs were at GSA by June 2019. Duenas wasn’t confirmed as a board member until July 2019.
Babauta said if a quorum exists, he works with the board so that board members understand what is being ordered and the costs associated, but he needed to act quickly to procure new buses, as they were needed and federal funds were available.
“I don’t want to be like the previous director, where he just sat down and waited for things to go by. I’m not like that. I’m proactive,” Babauta said.
Duenas said she spoke to Babauta about moving the bid specs without the board. She said she understood the need for new buses, but as far as needing to act without the board’s review, the current fleet was being maintained and Babauta was able to increase the number of buses on the road.
Duenas ultimately found herself removed from the board, however. A letter from the governor, dated Dec. 6, 2019, informed her that GRTA received two complaints that she had acted disrespectfully and used “cursory” language against other riders, as well as abused her position to accommodate her own transportation needs.
Duenas has said she was the victim, and another rider was antagonizing her. She said she was not provided an opportunity to respond to the accusations against her. Babauta did not comment on the issue, stating it was a personnel matter.
