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Milwaukee preps for minority contracting preference

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:28:39 +0000

By Marie Rohde Milwaukee is cautiously building toward a law that would direct more public contract money toward women- and minority-owned companies. The caution stems from a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established lawmakers must prove past or present discrimination before creating a race-based program. Furthermore, according to the ruling, those programs must be [...]

Politics could again cause sewer fix to go down the drain

admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:53:55 +0000

By Marie Rohde

staff writer

Dick Wanta, the executive director of the Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association, gave members of the commission that oversees the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District a history lesson the other night.

County Materials expands reach in concrete industry

admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:36:42 +0000

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By Marie Rohde The pending sale of American Concrete Pipe to County Materials Corp. is forcing underground contractors to assess the industry’s power structure. “There’s still a lot of competition,” said Dennis Siegle, executive director of the Wisconsin Concrete Pipe Association. “The biggest ones aren’t U.S. companies, and it’s nice to see a Wisconsin business [...]

Sewerage district funnels $20 million to ease flooding (UPDATE)

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:28:35 +0000

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By Marie Rohde Property owners wanting a flood of relief from sewage backups during heavy rains will see a dribble instead. They also could get a bigger tax bill and may be forced to spend thousands of dollars to fix the laterals that connect private properties to municipal sewers. The commission that oversees the Milwaukee [...]

Contractor group vows to lobby Congress to ban bid preferences

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:56:14 +0000

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By Marie Rohde The Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association will ask Congress to ban bid preferences by amending the Clean Water Act, the association’s top official says. Richard Wanta, WUCA’s executive director, said the Milwaukee city ordinance has cost taxpayers an additional $83,087. “That would fix a lot of potholes or buy some new squad cars,” [...]

Milwaukee targets contractor for city site

Joe Yovino — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:14:39 +0000

By Sean Ryan An attempt to use a city property to lure a construction company to Milwaukee must overcome the business trends that push contractors away. A Milwaukee Department of Public Works proposal would free up a 2-acre lot at West Holt Avenue and South 21st Street to be sold to a private company. The [...]

Powers Lake Construction files for bankruptcy (UPDATE)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:49:09 +0000

By Paul Snyder Twin Lakes-based Powers Lake Construction Co. Inc. has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Jerry Kerkman, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Kerkman & Dunn representing Powers Lake Construction, said the construction and excavating contractor expects to know by July the details of a proposal to restructure more than [...]

Milwaukee County inches toward bidding preference

Joe Yovino — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:37:04 +0000

By Sean Ryan Milwaukee County soon could give a bidding advantage to the contractor that hires the most county residents for a project. The goal of the county resolution, sponsored by Johnny Thomas and Theo Lipscomb, is to eventually offer a preference to public works contractors that hire people who live in the county and, [...]

Industry groups support wage law changes

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:41:52 +0000

By Paul Snyder Three contractor groups are aligning themselves with the Department of Workforce Development in support of changes to the state’s prevailing wage law. Those groups — the Construction Business Group, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association and the Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association — have filed a motion to support the law changes under review [...]

Local preference fight fails again

Joe Yovino — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:41:15 +0000

By Sean Ryan Contractors trying to win public works contracts in Milwaukee are continuing their attempts on multiple fronts to overturn the city’s local preference law. American Sewer Services Inc., Rubicon, and United Sewer and Water Inc., Menomonee Falls, on Wednesday lost the fourth challenge to the city’s decision to award a contract to Milwaukee-based [...]

Contractor targets Milwaukee with federal lawsuit (UPDATE)

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:18:19 +0000

By Paul Snyder Underground Pipeline Construction Inc. intends to sue the city of Milwaukee for discrimination in failing to award a sewer contract to the company even though it was the low bidder for the job. The city instead enforced its local preference law and awarded the contract to Milwaukee-based MJ Construction Inc. According to [...]

Local preference lands on national stage (UPDATE)

Joe Yovino — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:24:19 +0000

By Sean Ryan The battle contractors are waging against Milwaukee’s preference for local bidders has sparked nationwide opposition to similar laws across the country. “This isn’t just in Milwaukee,” said Elaine Middleton, executive director of the Associated Utility Contractors of Maryland. “It’s just that Milwaukee seems to have been slapped by it hard.” So far, [...]

City faces local preference criticism (UPDATE)

Joe Yovino — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:49:57 +0000

By Sean Ryan A Milwaukee alderman is defending the city’s preference for local bidders against criticism from Milwaukee 7, a group formed to promote regional cooperation. “It seems any type of legislation or a policy objective that benefits the city of Milwaukee, it seems that that somehow gets deemed as anti-regional,” said Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, [...]

Green building puts some in the red

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:01:48 +0000

By Sean Ryan Wisconsin Public Service Corp. is considering furloughs and layoffs to offset declining revenue yet still supports green construction that will cut into demand for the utility’s electricity. Barb Nick, WPS’s senior vice president of energy delivery and customer service, said the utility can absorb the immediate hit because energy efficiency projects will [...]

Contractors prep for local preference showdown

Rick Benedict — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:38:41 +0000

By Sean Ryan sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com A Tuesday court hearing represents the one chance contractors will have to kill a Milwaukee bidding preference because city leaders remain steadfast in their support. The chances are slim to none the Milwaukee Common Council will reverse the law, said Richard Wanta, executive director of the Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association. The [...]