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Subcommittee reviews two ratification requests: Gainwell WIC payments and UA Fort Smith marketing contract
Summary
The committee reviewed a $310,000 ratification request to pay Gainwell Technologies for WIC system services and a ratification to renew a UA Fort Smith marketing contract after an expiration; staff provided background and the university answered questions under oath.
The ALC Review Subcommittee reviewed two ratification requests described in an Office of State Procurement cover letter: a Department of Health ratification to pay Gainwell Technologies $310,000 in outstanding invoices for online administration and modifications to the state WIC (Women, Infants and Children) system, and a University of Arkansas at Fort Smith request to ratify and extend final-year marketing services after an inadvertent contract expiration.
Staff described the Gainwell ratification as arising from a delay and miscommunication about the proper procurement method. The Department of Health requested sole-source designation; OSP initially reviewed the vendor forms and determined the work should be procured normally, but allowed the vendor to begin work while procurement questions were resolved. Don Adams, chief of staff for the Department of Health, told the committee Gainwell has supported the state's WIC electronic health record for 18 years and that the system is proprietary and maintained by Gainwell, which the department said leaves Gainwell as the only vendor able to perform certain modifications. The packet included a new original contract and sole-source justification paperwork for committee review.
On the UA Fort Smith ratification, Kerry Tucker, vice chancellor for finance and administration at UA Fort Smith, testified that the marketing contract expired on June 30 and the expiration was overlooked. Tucker said the error was an internal oversight, that the university plans to implement a contract-review meeting in March to avoid recurrence, and that she was aware of no other expired contracts. Representative Kavanaugh asked the university to come forward; Tucker answered questions directly from the dais.
Committee members asked no additional procedural motions specific to the ratifications during the public discussion recorded in the transcript; both items appeared in the out-of-state/in-state contract listings and supporting documentation in the goldenrod packet.
