Report blasts mayor on turf bid

The Street administration violated a crucial tenet of the city's constitution by only seeking one bidder to install an artificial surface at Veterans Stadium, according to a report released by City Controller Jonathan Saidel.

According to Philadelphia's Home Rule Charter, multiple bidders must be sought for a city contract. Saidel charges this simply did not happen when the city awarded a contract to Southwest Recreational Industries, which installed the artificial turf NeXturf in Veterans Stadium.

The contract has come under intense scrutiny since faulty drainage of the new surface caused the cancellation of the Philadelphia Eagle's pre-season opener with the Baltimore Ravens. According to Saidel's report, when the city used a sole-source bid to award the contract to Southwest, NeXturf's manufacturer, it violated a basic statute of Philadelphia law.

"By the terms of the [Home Rule] charter, sole-source (non-competitive) bidding is the exception, rather than the rule, and is only permitted when the product to be produced is unique..." the report reads.

The report goes on to complain that NexTurf is not a unique product, as there "are many manufacturers of artificial turf."

After an embarrassing cancellation of the Eagles' pre-season game, the drainage problem was fixed by pouring asphalt over the field's baseball cutouts, which was then removed before baseball games. Saidel's report calls for the city to hold Southwest responsible for the cost of this conversion.

Saidel, the city's financial watchdog, said yesterday that Philadelphia was entitled to do this by its contract with Southwest.

"I think that Southwest violated their warranties, and because of that violation, they should be responsible for additional costs," Saidel said.

Procurement Commissioner Louis Applebaum agreed that additional costs should be payed by Southwest.

The conversion process "was the additional cost, and that we will certainly receive compensation for from NeXturf," Applebaum said.

However, Applebaum did not agree that the sole-source contract was in violation of the Home Rule Charter.

"The Home Rule Charter does allow sole-source bids," Applebaum said. "We still feel strongly that the sole-source bid was appropriate."

The city has maintained that NeXturf was the only available turf that fit the needs of the Vet, which requires a turf that is less than one and a half inches thick due to the placement of its bleachers.

However, Saidel's report said that the city most likely awarded the contract to Southwest because Ewing Cole Cherry Brott -- the architectural company hired to do product evaluations of possible turfs -- had a long history with Southwest.

Saidel said he does not feel there was any "malicious intent" in using a sole-source bid, but instead feels the incompetency of those involved in awarding the contract is to blame.

"What could look like conspiracy ends up being just incompetency," Saidel said.

According to Saidel, the city was largely cooperative during his investigation. When Saidel opened his investigation in August, he issued subpoenas to several city officials for information regarding the deal, including Mayor John Street, but said that the behavior of some members of Street's staff necessitated this action.

"Unfortunately members of his staff were not being cooperative, and that's why I had to issue the subpoenas," Saidel said.

City Council is currently holding hearings to look into the NeXturf contract. According to Dan Fee, spokesman for City Council President Anna Verna, Verna agrees that Southwest should be made to pay the cost of the conversion process.

"If NeXturf was found to not fulfill their contract or not provide the services that they promised, then yes, they should be held responsible," Fee said.

However, Fee said Verna wanted "to find out more" before deciding whether a sole-source bid was warranted in this contract.

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