Finance committee backs contract award to Odyssey Construction while questioning building authority procurement and outside counsel arrangements

The Providence City Committee on Finance on Jan. 20 recommended approval of a contract award to Odyssey Construction but spent substantial time questioning whether the Providence Public Building Authority (PPBA) can procure outside contracts independently of council oversight and how the authority retained outside counsel.

Committee members voted to recommend the resolution authorizing the City Council to approve a contract award handled by the Board of Contract and Supply. The meeting record and committee packets provided the contract paperwork and a one-page memorandum related to fee agreements and the retainer of an attorney identified in the materials as Mr. Salvador; the committee marked those documents into the record during the meeting.

Why it matters: Council members said the procurement approach used by the PPBA and the arrangement under which outside counsel were paid raise oversight and ethics questions for elected officials who want visibility into how public construction dollars are spent. Committee members noted that, under current law, the PPBA’s procurement authority is created by statute and that changing whether the authority must use the Board of Contract and Supply would require a change in state law.

Discussion details and committee direction Committee members told colleagues that the solicitor’s office and staff (including an attorney named Megan DeSanto) had researched the matter and that a legal opinion from Mr. Salvador was presented to the committee. Committee members emphasized that the solicitor’s office itself does not select or retain Mr. Salvador for the PPBA and that the authority’s payment processes are separate from the city’s solicitor office, an arrangement members said the committee should better understand.

Members expressed concern that, under current authority, the PPBA is not always subject to the Board of Contract and Supply or to the council’s typical procurement review, and that oversight is therefore limited. Several committee members said the only path to change that legal status would be through state legislation amending the enabling statute creating the PPBA.

Formal action Without taking additional policy action the committee voted to recommend approval of the contract award and to forward the recommendation to the full City Council. The committee also formally accepted and marked into the record the memorandum and related documents concerning the fee agreement and the retainer arrangement for outside counsel.

Next steps The committee recorded its recommendation for the contract award and said members or staff would follow up with the PPBA to clarify the authority’s procurement practice and the mechanics of how outside counsel are retained and paid. Committee members said they may pursue further inquiry or legislative options if the arrangement remains a concern.