The city of Portland is moving forward on a two-year-old plan to increase diversity and equity in contracting by using money collected from major construction projects to advance opportunities for minority contractors and workers.

Portland City Council is set to authorize $2,234,786 set aside from three major city projects to administer phase one of the Community Opportunities and Enhancements Program (COEP). It has two main areas of focus – providing a path toward stable, high-paying construction jobs for women and people of color in the trades, and providing technical assistance to support disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned and emerging small business (DMWESB) and service-disabled veteran business enterprise (SDVBE) firms.

Following the City Council’s approval of the COEP in November 2017, the Office of Management & Finance (OMF) and the Office of Equity and Human Rights (OEHR) in 2018 began developing the program and initiated a request for grant applications for money from the pilot projects. Mayor Ted Wheeler subsequently halted the process and ordered OMF and OEHR to partner with Prosper Portland in developing the program as a means to reduce administrative costs by leveraging the collective experience of multiple bureaus and thereby maximizing available dollars.

The three city bureaus have reached agreement on a memorandum of understanding that clarifies each of their roles in the program. They now will work together to administer the first phase of the plan with funds using 1 percent of total eligible costs from three pilot projects: the Portland Building reconstruction, Washington Park reservoir improvements, and the 10th & Yamhill parking garage renovation.

A Community Equity and Inclusion Committee will be established to provide oversight and advice on how to allocate COEP dollars. After administrative costs, the money will be allocated with 25 percent going toward grants to assist DMWESB/SDVBE firms and 75 percent to workforce assistance for minority workers; those funds will be issued by Prosper Portland, which may subcontract some or all of the workforce assistance efforts to Worksystems Inc.

City Council is expected to soon authorize an intergovernmental agreement between OMF, OEHR and Prosper Portland for administration of the COEP, as well as authorize OMF to utilize money set aside from a Community Benefits Plan from the Washington Park reservoir improvements that predates the COEP. Prosper Portland anticipates issuing requests for proposals in early March and completing the RFP process in April or May.

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The Oregon Department of Transportation released its last week. People interested in submitting feedback have until April 30.

The study is intended to help ODOT run its federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. One resulting recommendation of the study performed by Keen Independent Research is to include all certified DBE businesses in the group eligible to work on federal construction contracts. Currently, only specific ones may work on such projects.

O’Neill Electric’s Maurice Rahming, an advocate for minority participation in public contracting, has looked at the study and plans to submit comments to ODOT, as he has done previously for similar studies. He said it’s concerning that this one shows gradually declining utilization of minorities in DBE awards from 2011 to 2015, from 15 percent to 6 percent.

“It shows we’re going in the wrong direction,” he said. “We’re actually going backwards and getting worse.”

Rahming added that it’s concerning that phone bank surveys were used by Keen Independent Research to compile work availability data. One flaw with that method is that personnel at large firms can be spooked by the use of an out-of-state phone number

Upcoming public meetings will take place in La Grande, Bend, Medford and Eugene. Portland’s meeting will be held April 11 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs’ office, at 731 N. Hayden Drive.

Comments will also be received online at ODOTDBEstudy.org, via emails to info@ODOTDBEstudy.org or by phone at 503-660-8865.

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