Latest news with #StephanieMcGarrah
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
State will hear firm's protest of Helene homebuilding management bid
A chainsaw operator cuts down debris collected from the bottom of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on April 14, 2025, to make it easier to load into dump trucks for disposal. The submerged debris is made up of vegetative and man-made debris washed into Lake Lure when Hurricane Helene impacted the area. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Michael Davis) North Carolina officials have agreed to schedule a hearing with a firm that is protesting how the state awarded a key hurricane rebuilding contract, according to the company. IEM International, which is based in Morrisville, filed a complaint in late May about the contract to manage homebuilding efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. The firm believes its bid for the contract was improperly disqualified. State officials have said IEM did not submit proper financial documents. A spokesperson for IEM told NC Newsline that the firm's request for a hearing had been granted. The NC Department of Commerce, which is overseeing the contract, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. State officials awarded the $81.5 million contract to Horne LLP, a Mississippi-based firm. The award has quickly come under scrutiny from state lawmakers, who cite Horne's involvement in past troubled recovery efforts. It is not yet known when the hearing will take place, or the broader timeline for IEM's protest. The firm has requested that the contract be re-bid; the Department of Commerce has said it believes 'this procurement was conducted fairly.' North Carolina rules state that the meeting between the state and IEM will be scheduled within 30 days. After the meeting, the state will decide if further review of the contract is needed. In its original statement detailing the protest, IEM said it believed its bid's disqualification was 'highly irregular and concerning.' The firm's bid, obtained through a public records request, shows that it provided a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow data from three fiscal years. It added: 'As a privately owned company, IEM's financial statements are not public. IEM can provide to DCR [the relevant Department of Commerce division] upon request.' State officials have cited a 2024 appeals court ruling that bars agencies from asking vendors for more information once bids have opened. Stephanie McGarrah, who is leading the Department of Commerce division that oversees Helene contracts, said during a hearing that it meant the state could not adequately follow up on IEM's financials.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NC firm says its bid to manage Helene homebuilding was improperly disqualified
Flood debris piles left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Bat Cave, North Carolina. (Photo by) A North Carolina-based firm that submitted a bid to manage the state's Hurricane Helene homebuilding program is alleging that its proposal was improperly disqualified. IEM International, which is based in Morrisville, said in a statement to NC Newsline that it had filed a complaint with the NC Department of Commerce, which oversaw the contract process. And the firm is seeking to have the critical contract re-bid. 'The decision to disqualify IEM's compliant proposal without review or scoring is highly irregular and concerning,' the firm said in its statement. The NC Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment sent Friday. State officials awarded the contract earlier this month to Horne LLP, a Mississippi-based company, for $81.5 million. The firm is charged with implementing a $1.4 billion federal housing grant and overseeing multiple construction contractors to rebuild from the deadliest storm in state history. Horne's selection has already drawn scrutiny from state lawmakers after the firm's previous contract, part of a troubled rebuild process in eastern North Carolina, was not renewed. IEM was one of four other bidders on the state's solicitation for Helene. But its bid was deemed 'non-responsive' due to inadequate financial information, according to state officials and documents. 'The vendor did not submit required financial documentation, and per DCR's legal analysis, it was deemed non-responsive,' according to a memo from the department. That same memo shows that IEM's bid was not formally graded. IEM said in their statement that the firm 'approached this (solicitation) with the seriousness it deserves,' and had provided 'three years of audited financial data.' A copy of IEM's full offer, obtained by NC Newsline through public records request, includes a page that details the firm's balance sheet, income statement and cash flow data from three fiscal years. The firm checked 'yes' when asked if the financial figures were based on audited statements. Under a section of the bid asking for a link to annual reports, the firm wrote: 'As a privately owned company, IEM's financial statements are not public. IEM can provide to DCR upon request.' Financial details for Horne, whose bid was awarded and also obtained through public records, were redacted. The firm appears to have included pages of consolidated financial statements from 2022 and 2021 in an appendix to its bid. Stephanie McGarrah, who leads the Department of Commerce division tasked with Helene recovery, told lawmakers on Thursday that she was 'personally very disappointed' about the result of IEM's bid. 'There are very few vendors in this space, and they had partners we were familiar with,' McGarrah said. And asked if she would re-bid the contract with the knowledge of a recent settlement agreement by Horne, McGarrah said she would not. 'I do think we made the right decision,' she said. IEM's proposed partners included Deloitte, Fahe, and Tetra Tech, according to the bid. And the firm had proposed tapping multiple partners based locally in western North Carolina: B-K Construction and Brucemont Communications. According to North Carolina's administrative rules, a bidder can submit a protest within 30 days of an award being granted, detailing their reasoning and supporting documents. That protest is received by the 'executive officer' for the department that made the purchase — in this case, Commerce. That official can determine the protest is 'meritless' and refuse a protest meeting within 10 days. If the protest meeting is granted, it will be scheduled within 30 days of the bidder's request. Details of the decision, regardless of outcome, are sent to the state purchasing officer, David O'Neal. IEM, which has contracts globally, has worked with the state before. The firm won a bid in 2018, after Hurricane Matthew. Three years later, it sued ReBuild NC, the troubled office that oversaw hurricane recovery in eastern North Carolina, for failing to pay related to contract work. That case was settled outside of court. IEM Helene bid
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration approves Governor Stein's plan for hurricane relief in western N.C.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) — The Trump Administration approved Governor Josh Stein's Housing Recovery Action Plan for western North Carolina. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved North Carolina's Action Plan for a $1.4 billion grant to help those in western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene. Compared to other states, North Carolina submitted its Helene Action Plan to HUD in the shortest amount of time following a major hurricane. 'This is great news for western North Carolina,' Governor Josh Stein said. 'I thank the Trump Administration for moving quickly to approve this plan so we can get busy rebuilding people's homes.' Approving the plan was the required next step for North Carolina to receive federal funds from the CDBG-DR grant award, which was announced in January. After HUD certifies the state's financial controls for the program, North Carolina can sign the grant agreement and start using these funds for housing and economic revitalization. 'We've learned so much from the many people and organizations that have taken time to offer their suggestions, and I'm grateful for everyone's participation so far,' Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Stephanie McGarrah said. 'We know the road to full recovery will be a long journey, but the Department of Commerce and my team are ready to get to work.' The state's federally approved Action Plan can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
