I read that the Alaska Department of Administration recently awarded a $4.5 million contract to Tandem Motion, LLC, a Washington state company formed less than a year ago. It sounded like the bid award occurred on a fast-track basis and that Kelly Tshibaka, the Commissioner of Administration, submitted a letter of support for the award of this contract to Tandem Motion as part of that company’s response to the official RFP.
The reason given for this unusually speedy award was that the federal funds needed to be spent by the end of this year; apparently there is the possibility of a two-year extension of the contract for an additional $6 million, at rates between $250-500 an hour. There are enough questions about this fast-track contract award that an unfair labor practice charge has been filed by the Alaska Public Employees Association. It also appears these same questions likely provide a sound basis for a legislative investigation of these unusual dealings.
Brad Owens
Anchorage
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