The Port of Bellingham’s recent contracting practices have raised additional concerns about commissioner oversight and budget transparency, as two recent high-value contracts appear to have bypassed advance commissioner review and standard budget protocols.
Neither the $99,435 contract with Maul Foster and Alongi, Inc. (MFA) nor the earlier $99,396 Conflux Associates agreement show evidence of commissioner discussion prior to their presentation for approval, despite port spokesperson Mike Hogan’s assertion in an email to The Northern Light that “Port commissioners have the opportunity to ask Port staff questions about agenda items in advance of and/or during commission meetings.”
The port’s handling of budget allocations for these contracts has also drawn scrutiny. While port economic development director Tyler Schroeder indicated that “lapse” in his department’s budget would cover the unplanned MFA study, no funding source was identified for the Conflux Associates contract before its approval. This raises questions about whether the port is following proper procedures in identifying funding sources before contract approval.
These financial and oversight concerns compound existing questions about the port’s contracting practices. Officials have yet to produce convincing evidence of competitive activity for either contract, despite state law requiring documentation of competition for personal services contracts between $50,000 and $200,000. Both contracts were priced just below the port’s $100,000 policy threshold that would trigger formal competitive bidding requirements. (The port did produce a “draft for internal review only” dated January 22, 2024, from a company called EnviroIssues for a “Public Support Engagement” campaign priced at about half the Conflux contract cost.)
Hogan commented on a story in The Northern Light (Port OKs another just under $100k, no-bid contract – October 16, 2024), saying that the MFA contract’s end date of December 31, 2024 “was not an error.” It had been described in the article as “an apparent bit of sloppiness.” Hogan stated that operating budget contracts can only run through December 31 of the current fiscal year, calling it “a budgeting and operating requirement.” In response, The Northern Light asked why, in that case, the Conflux Associates contract term extends to August 31, 2025. The port has not yet explained this discrepancy.
The MFA contract calls for a study of industrial lands and employment in Whatcom County. During the October 15 meeting, commissioner Michael Shepard questioned how this study differs from previous analyses and its justification given current budget constraints.
In a response to a public records request seeking documentation of the port’s request for an industrial study proposal and evidence of competitive evidence for the MFA contract, port public records manager Marlena Hicks told The Northern Light a response would be forthcoming on Thursday, October 24.
The pattern of contracts priced just under bidding thresholds, lack of advance commissioner review, unclear funding sources and absence of evidence demonstrating competitive bidding has raised concerns about transparency in the port’s contracting procedures. The Conflux Associates contract’s structure – initially proposed for a three-year term at $298,200 but cut to one year at $99,396 with annual renewals – has particularly drawn attention as a potential circumvention of bidding requirements. According to state law, ports are prohibited from “structuring” contracts to avoid formal bidding procedures.
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