Equal Opportunity Review Commission approves multiple procurement plans, including four-part construction project and citywide phone system

At its August 2025 meeting, the Pittsburgh Equal Opportunity Review Commission approved several procurement plans, including a four-part construction package, repairs and preventive maintenance for the First Avenue parking garage, and a citywide phone- and voice‑in‑the‑cloud project.

The approvals came after staff presentations and brief questions about contractor participation and minority‑ and women‑owned business (MWBE) outreach. Commissioners conducted roll-call votes and moved each plan forward without further negotiation.

Why this matters: these contracts authorize work and spending that will affect multiple city facilities and systems and include MWBE participation commitments the commission monitors for compliance.

What the commission approved - Multi-component construction project (four plans for the same overall project): the commission approved all four components — general construction, plumbing, HVAC and electrical — as separate plans for the same project. Staff said each component showed good participation. The commission moved and approved the motions and staff confirmed the plans “pass.” - First Avenue garage repairs and preventive maintenance: the commission approved CPS Construction Group’s specialty structural repair plan; staff emphasized the specialty certifications required for structural repairs and said the prime self‑performs many elements while subcontracting where feasible. - Citywide phone/cloud calling rollout (professional services): the commission approved the contract presented by the prime (identified in the meeting as a firm working with Cisco licensing and a distribution partner for hardware). Commissioner Dr. Cushman said she would abstain from voting on that item because of a personal conflict disclosed on the record.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting) - Multi-component construction project (four component plans): Approved (roll calls during the meeting showed affirmative votes; staff announced each “plan passes”). - First Avenue garage repairs (CPS Construction Group): Approved (roll call; plan passes). - Citywide phone/cloud calling rollout (professional services): Approved; one abstention reported (Dr. Cushman); motion passed by roll call.

Discussion and context Commissioners asked questions focused on contractor participation and whether prime contractors had subcontracted every sub‑contractable portion of specialty projects. For the First Avenue garage repairs, the prime (identified on the call as John Frato, president of CPS Construction Group) described the work as specialty structural repairs that require prequalification and certifications; he said CPS self‑performs much of the specialty work and subcontracts where appropriate.

For the citywide phone project, staff and the prime explained most of the project cost will be licensing (purchased directly from the vendor) and hardware will be sourced through a distribution partner; the prime said discovery will determine the final count of physical phones and that hardware purchases will be procured from minority- or women‑owned distributors where possible. A commissioner disclosed a conflict (spouse employed by Cisco) and abstained from that vote.

Next steps Approved plans were recorded as passing during the meeting; staff will proceed with contract execution and implementation steps described in each project package. Commissioners asked for continued reporting on MWBE participation and any subcontracting gaps, which staff said they will provide in future updates.

Ending: Several commissioners praised staff for outreach and participation results and the chair closed the agenda item after confirming each approved plan had passed roll-call voting.