Business & Tech
Detroit Water Department Lifts Bidding Ban on Macomb Contractor
The DWSD Board of Water Commissioners voted Jan. 11 to lift a suspension on five of the 14 companies it deemed non-responsible bidders in connection with the indictments against former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has lifted the bidding suspensions of five contractors, including the Macomb Township-based , following an appeal by the five to the DWSD Board of Water Commissioners on Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A total of 14 contractors had been declared "non-responsible bidders" by the department in December due to references in the indictments against former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, reports Crain's Detroit.
Other contractors whose suspensions were lifted include: DLZ Laboratories Inc., Inland Waters Pollution Control Inc., Lakeshore Engineering Services Inc., and Walbridge Aldinger Co.
Find out what's happening in Macomb Townshipfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
against the DWSD in an effort to be taken off the department's blacklist.
On the same day it lifted the suspensions of five companies, the DWSD board also voted to join against Kilpatrick and others for damages in alleged overcharges paid in the 2004-05 repair of the 15 Mile Road sewer interceptor in Sterling Heights.
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By joining the Macomb lawsuit, DWSD expands it to cover $218 million worth of contract and contract amendments awarded from 2001 through 2007, according to Crain's Detroit.
This move also means DWSD is now in pending litigation with at least six of the 14 companies it suspended in December.
According to Crain's Detroit, this court motion "specifically excludes D'Agostini, which was already a defendant in the Macomb lawsuit, from most of the 11 counts it alleges in the department's complaint."
Mark McAlpine, an attorney representing D'Agostini, told Crain's Detroit Wednesday:
"They (the DWSD) do have one claim against us for a kind of aiding and abetting, and I'm not sure yet if that's a valid cause of action for them. This seems to be predicated on a belief that D'Agostini shared some of its work on the Sterling Heights project with (Kilpatrick friend and private contractor Bobby) Ferguson, which didn't happen.
"We're going to be giving Detroit an opportunity to correct that mistake, and we'll happily help out with getting them all the facts for that."
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