MINUTES OF THE SMALL CONTRACTOR OUTREACH
AND OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM (SCOOP) COMMITTEE MEETING
Feb. 9, 2006
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Chair Tu called the SCOOP Committee meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Committee members present were Chair Tu, and Directors Lewinger, Linden, and Sundram. Absent were Committee members Croucher and Johnson. At that time there was a quorum of the committee. Also present were Directors Dixon, Thompson, and Steiner. Staff present was Deputy General Counsel Gallien, Director of Administrative Services Young, SCOOP Manager Yanushka, Administration and Controls Manager Hartnett, SCOOP Management Analyst Carmona, and SCOOP Representative Maynard. Others present were Gunnar Schalin and Tim Warren of the Contracting Opportunities Center, and Mike Kane of Jacobs Engineering.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SCOOP COMMITTEE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 15, 2005
Director Lewinger moved, Director Sundram seconded, and the motion passed unanimously to accept the minutes from the SCOOP Committee meeting of November 15, 2005.
REVIEW THE SCOOP QUARTERLY REPORT FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2006
Ms. Yanushka reviewed the SCOOP quarterly report covering the period from July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. She reviewed the various events that staff attended, as well as small business participation on Water Authority contracts.
Director Lewinger asked if it would be worthwhile to reflect the percentage of small business participation on contracts over a certain dollar amount (large), as compared to participation on contracts under a certain dollar amount (small) in future SCOOP reports. Chair Tu stated that this issue would be reviewed over the next several quarters when the next Committee goals were set.
PRESENTATION ON THE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES CENTER (COC)
Mr. Schalin, Executive Director of the COC, presented an overview of the COC and the sponsorship benefits received by the Water Authority. He pointed out that three of the sponsors of the COC were the City of San Diego, Otay Water District, and the Water Authority. He mentioned that the COC provided free technical counseling, educational services, and bid and solicitation services to assist small business with understanding government contracts.
Director Sundram requested a matrix showing the participation from small business in the north county.
STAFF PRESENTATION ON GOOD FAITH EFFORTS TO CONDUCT OUTREACH ON WATER AUTHORITY PROJECTS
Ms. Yanushka presented the outreach enhancements that Water Authority staff would implement to “close the loop” on small business outreach efforts. SCOOP staff would follow up with all of the companies listed on the good faith efforts list to verify that the prime had notified each company, and if not selected, had explained the reasons for non-selection. Staff would also invite subs to Business Focus Group meetings to give input on outreach, the bidding process, and provide suggestions for improvement.
Directors asked questions regarding the responsiveness of primes during the bidding process. Ms. Gallien stated that if a prime had not conducted their good faith efforts, or did not follow the requirements of the RFP regarding outreach in the selection of subcontractors, the prime could be considered non-responsive, and could be disqualified from the bidding process.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the SCOOP Committee, Chair Tu adjourned the meeting at 9:56 a.m.
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Yen Tu, Chair
SCOOP Committee
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