Federal Stimulus Program Pours $54 Million Into Wine Train Project

[happy_liberal]

But the main action today is in Napa, where, without competitive bidding, this unusual construction company won a $54 million federal contract to build a new railroad bridge and other structures for the famed Napa Valley Wine Train tourist attraction.

This is the world of Anchorage-based Suulutaaq Inc. Because the company was founded by Alaska natives, it enjoys special access to federal contracts.

That's how it obtained one of the biggest federal stimulus contracts in California - a key segment of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' flood-control project on the Napa River....

A Walnut Creek construction executive whose firm built a prior phase of the flood-control project said the government likely overspent by millions when it negotiated a contract with Suulutaaq rather than seeking competitive bids.

Meanwhile, investors aggrieved over the bankruptcy of the South Carolina dot-com called Sailnet said they were surprised to learn of former CEO Samuel Boyle's new job as CEO of Suulutaaq. Boyle did not mention having construction experience or ties to Alaska tribes, they told California Watch. Some said Boyle's involvement in Suulutaaq boded ill for the Alaska firm.

"My comment to anybody connected to this thing - if Sam Boyle is involved, watch out," said Arizona venture capitalist Kent Mueller, who said he lost more than $1 million in Sailnet. Based on that experience, "I would not invest a nickel with this guy," Mueller said.

Suulutaaq officials declined to be interviewed. In response to written questions, the company issued a statement saying that taxpayers were getting a "fair and reasonable" price on the project. The statement said that although Boyle lacked "specific construction experience," he had "invaluable business experience" to make the Napa project a success.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/31/federal-stimulus-program_n_443621.html

[happy_liberal]

1. It would be nice if this actually helped native americans but...

"Advocates say the program has provided crucial economic development for impoverished Alaskan tribes. It's a way of redressing centuries of grievous wrongs against them, they say.

But critics have complained that the no-bid contracts provide relatively few jobs and little investment income to the tribes while costing taxpayers a fortune.

The companies employ few Alaska natives and "rely heavily on non-native managers," McCaskill claimed. Thus the firms create relatively few jobs for the people they are supposed to benefit, she argued.

McCaskill also contended that some of the companies "may also be passing through work to their subcontractors." In those cases, the companies were collecting a profit simply because they had special access to federal contracts, not because they were performing actual work, she said....

Brosamer, the Walnut Creek contractor, said the public was paying a premium for the project, saying, "It would have been a hell of a lot cheaper if they had put it out to bid."

But the quality of the construction is first rate, Brosamer said, because Suulutaaq subcontracted much of the job to the giant Peter W. Kiewit & Co. engineering firm, which is also a contractor on the Bay Bridge.

"The reality is, Suulutaaq isn't doing much," Brosamer said, "They've got some staff on the job, and they're running some subs, but Kiewit is doing the work."

Federal records show that Suulutaaq is paying Kiewit $28.1 million - 53 percent of the total stimulus contract. Suulutaaq is keeping about $20.4 million, or 38 percent of the total. The rest, about $4.7 million, goes to other subcontractors, all from the lower 48 states...."



This stumulus could have so helped provide jobs...but instead it looks like a big giveaway/political favors just like the wars to the military industrial complex...

[happy_liberal]

2. This is a democratic plan so we like it?

another interesting story..

Boeing Reaps Stimulus Millions to Clean Up Site It Was Fined for Polluting
http://www.propublica.org/article/boeing-reaps-stimulus-millions-to-clean-up-site-fined-for-polluting-111