$73 million Miami International Airport bid nets $94 million payout

Procurement to run a Miami International Airport baggage system for which the former contract was enmeshed in scandal took a problematic new twist as commissioners approved a $94 million deal with the same bidder, who had asked $73 million for the job.

The increase of more than $21 million from the bid in May 2020 to final commission unanimous approval Nov. 15 took a circuitous route as county officials ranked and scored offers, decided to negotiate with the two top proposers, then requested better offers and discovered that both firms when asked for better bids raised prices about 15%.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wrote to commissioners that the increases were “due to inflation rates and Covid-19.” Commissioners awarded the contract to John Bean Technologies Corp. of Chicago for a baggage handling system and operation at the airport that deals with 19,000 to 31,000 pieces of luggage daily.

The contract does not cover baggage handling for American Airlines, which carries about two-thirds of all airport passengers and maintains its own system.

The five-year contract for $94,239,235 has five one-year options to renew. It includes the request for a better offering at 15% higher than the first offer plus a $7 million allowance for parts and a $3.5 million general allowance.

The county’s current contract, also with Bean for essentially the same job, is $66,120,459 for seven years, which includes the original five-year term and two one-year renewals. It expires Dec. 16.

Documents given to commissioners before they voted noted a report from the county’s Office of Inspector General stating “that John Bean had questionable relationships, prohibited communications, and non-compliant practices regarding improper communications during the procurement process for the current contract… In response…, John Bean stated that the firm took proactive steps to reinforce an understanding of the policy requirements associated with ethical business conduct and legal compliance with contract terms. The county met with John Bean on Jan. 22, 2021, and discussed John Bean’s commitment to corporate responsibility and accountability.”

The May 6, 2019, 200-page report from Inspector General Mary Cagle on the first Bean contract and the process under which it was obtained was scathing.

“This investigation has exposed a process rank with greed, bias, cronyism, and undue influence,” she wrote. “The actions brought to light by this investigation prove that those involved had no appreciation or respect for the rules and regulations enacted to ensure governmental transparency, impartiality, and accountability.”

That report cited “non-compliant pass-through practices” and said it “sheds light on a variety of questionable relationships, prohibited communications, non-compliant practices and [Aviation Department] failings.”

“The ethics violations and other transgressions detailed herein are a procurement embarrassment,” Ms. Cagle wrote. The study, she noted, resulted in three persons being prosecuted for ethics violations.

Aviation Director Ralph Cutié, who was not in that role when the criticized expiring contract was approved, told Miami Today he served on the selection committee that ranked Bean first for the new contract and that Bean does good work. He said the Office of the Inspector General was involved in the new contract “from day one” and he was comfortable with the selection process.