Questions raised over state plane bid

10/15/2005

BY BRIAN BAKST
Associated Press
October 15, 2005

State auditors have opened a preliminary inquiry into a plane purchase by the Minnesota Department of Transportation after a company that didn’t get the contract and some state senators made accusations of bid rigging.

Legislative Auditor James Nobles said Friday it could take weeks before his office determines if a full-blown investigation is warranted. But a handful of senators, Duluth-based Cirrus Design Corp. and Gov. Tim Pawlenty have voiced disappointment over the way the plane deal was handled.

This summer, the state agreed to buy a 2005 Beechcraft Bonanza at a cost of $727,000, which was nearly $300,000 more than a model built by Cirrus would have cost. WCCO-TV first reported the transaction Thursday night, including a last-minute change in the bidding that gave Beechcraft an inside track.

Pawlenty told Cirrus executives during a private meeting that he regretted the way the purchase was handled. He told reporters Friday that he doesn’t suspect any wrongdoing by the state employees involved.

“The bid has already been awarded and the plane is about to be delivered, but you can’t unring the bell,” Pawlenty said. “But in hindsight, it would have been better to try to allow Cirrus to compete for this business.”

MnDOT’s Office of Aeronautics was in the market for a new plane to replace a 1978 Beechcraft. It uses the plane to monitor safety at small Minnesota airports.

MnDOT said the Beechcraft suited the agency’s desire for a bigger, beefier utility plane with a longer service life.

Cirrus executives were livid about how the bidding went. According to documents released Friday, the company had spent months preparing a bid only to see the specifications change days before the contract application period closed.

Cirrus thought it had met all the requirements, flew a plane to St. Paul for inspection and offered demonstration flights to MnDOT staff.

In an Oct. 3 letter to a state senator, Cirrus Vice President William King described the process as offensive and amounting to “fraudulent bid rigging.”

“We are aware that in business there are always those who cheer for your demise,” King wrote. “It is terribly hard, however, to hear such cheering coming from inside your own state Capitol!”

He continued, “This is a black eye for the state of Minnesota and a blow to one of its own upstanding businesses.”

Five lawmakers — four DFLers and one Republican — urged Nobles to take a closer look at the plane purchase.

“We’re not sure what happened here, but we clearly need to get to the bottom of it,” said Sen. Wes Skoglund, DFL-Minneapolis. “The people of Minnesota deserve to know whether the people entrusted to make contract decisions for the state are using procedures which are ethically, legally and fiscally above reproach.”

Nobles said the preliminary probe will involve data gathering but will stop short of subpoenaing documents and taking sworn testimony. His office routinely is called on to review contracts.