Committee reviews 38 contract submissions, highlights BEAD broadband funds and $11 million disaster housing allocation

The Joint Interim Committees met in February 2025 for a contract review session chaired by Senator Greg Roberts and considered 38 contract submissions from state agencies, including amendments that add federal broadband (BEAD) funds and $11,000,000 in disaster‑recovery construction funds.

Meg Fiedler, general counsel for Adeccah, told the committee that an amendment to Adeccah’s contract with CTC adds terms and funds for the state broadband program and three federal programs tied to BEAD. "This amendment adds terms for several of the programs and adds funds for the state program and 3 of the federal programs," Fiedler said. Maureen Neighbors, identified in the meeting as a division chief, confirmed the committee that the BEAD program would be moving forward and that the pause discussed at the federal level should not stop the state from proceeding.

The committee also reviewed a CDBG amendment related to hurricanes Sally and Zeta that, according to a presenter, adds an additional federal appropriation and allocates $11,000,000 to direct construction costs for the housing program. The same contractor amendment pattern appeared in a separate disaster‑recovery contract that shifts previously administrative funds into direct housing program funds for Dallas and Autauga counties and updates contract language to reference 2 CFR part 200.

State Department of Education items drew discussion about sole‑source and limited‑response procurements. Tina Hammes said the department had solicited dozens or hundreds of responses on several RFPs but in some cases received one or two offers. She described a sole‑source arrangement with Tuskegee University tied to an Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant and explained that Tuskegee was the principal investigator and the only provider currently able to serve as the program’s trainer. "Tuskegee University is currently the sole trainer for the ECS course, and as principal investigator for the EIR research, this is who was placed into the grant to apply for the grant," Hammes said. The department also presented a sole‑source contract with Kathleen Haney Consulting to lead a quasi‑experimental efficacy study for the Pathways for Alabama Computer Science EIR proposal; committee members pressed whether other evaluators could perform that work.

Food‑program compliance contracts were presented as RFPs with small numbers of respondents. The department said Myers & Stauffer would conduct federally mandated compliance reviews for the summer food service program and the child and adult care food program; solicitation counts on those items were described as large but with two or three responders.

Procurement and submission problems were raised repeatedly. Committee members and staff flagged submission errors and mismatches between cover sheets and contract documents on multiple items. Environmental Management said it had terminated an earlier vendor that could not meet RFP requirements and moved to a second vendor able to provide Microsoft‑based services; Russell Kelly of Environmental Management apologized for prior submission issues. Several presenters acknowledged they would follow up to correct documentation.

Agency staffing and spending questions surfaced during contract discussions. Randy Grissett, consumer board member for the State Board of Auctioneers, noted the board reduced a management services contract by 14 percent to about $96,000; when asked about license revenue he said the board’s annual license revenue was about $115,000–$120,000 and total revenue closer to $140,000–$150,000. In the Forestry Commission presentation, Scott Rouse described a new contract for a medical director to help expand "wilderness first aid" and employee medical training; Rouse said the physician contract would cost about $34,000 for two years and is intended to improve on‑the‑job emergency response for field employees.

Historic Commission contracts included an RFP award to Colliers Engineering to help preserve easements near historic properties and a sole‑source $50,000 contract with the Cahaba Foundation to support an event tied to Lafayette’s visit. Chad Stinson of the Historical Commission explained the foundation’s community presence as the rationale for sole source selection.

Not all items advanced at the meeting. The committee chair noted that of 39 submissions, one was pulled by the agency (the transcript cites a counseling board contract and later references that the Security Regulatory Board item was pulled). Several other items were identified as pulled during the session; committee staff said those would return after corrections.

The committee adjourned after the presentations. The transcript does not record roll‑call votes on the individual contracts during the excerpted discussion; presenters routinely fielded questions but the meeting record in the provided transcript ends with adjournment.

The meeting included repeated committee requests for clearer procurement documentation, additional justification for sole‑source contracts, and follow‑up on apparent RFP or cover‑sheet errors. Several presenters said they would return with corrected paperwork or that future RFPs would be issued when current contracts expire.

The committee scheduled a follow‑up and indicated it would meet next month; no formal outcomes or recorded vote tallies appear in the provided transcript excerpt.