91视频

Planned Parenthood last week declined a $73,893 federal Community Development Block Grant slated to help pay for construction of the agency’s $8.5 million regional health center in Glenwood.

Accepting the money would have required Planned Parenthood to pay prevailing wages to all construction workers under the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which the agency’s leadership didn’t realize until after the general contractor had put the project out to bid to subcontractors.

鈥淲e can’t go back and rebid the project at this point,鈥� said Cynthia Pappas, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. 鈥淎nyone in the construction industry would understand that.鈥�

The CDBG grant had been earmarked to pay for a bio-swale stormwater treatment system, but instead it will be returned to the community development grant fund. The system will remain in the construction plans, however, and Planned Parenthood plans to market the facility’s many green building features to its donors in hopes of finding the bio-swale funding elsewhere.

Crews are on schedule to pour the slab on Nov. 3, and Chambers Construction has been making 鈥渋ncredible progress,鈥� Pappas said, because the weather has remained relatively rain free so far.

鈥淎ll of the sub-contractors were chosen through a competitive process, and PPSO is very supportive of paying prevailing wages,鈥� Pappas said. 鈥淲e’re committed to ensuring that all of the workers on the project are fairly compensated.鈥�