Local vendor raises alarm as Alaris Center moves ahead with $3.8M video board purchase

A local business owner told the council he was surprised the Alaris Center awarded indoor LED video boards through the Sourcewell cooperative without a local RFP, and several council members urged review of the procurement.

Josh Goldaddy, president of Lucent HD, said he learned the Alaris Center approved purchase of new indoor displays with a base bid of $3.8 million (up to $4.5 million) from Daktronics and that the work did not go through an RFP process. “The amount of 3,800,000 for a 1 to 1 replacement, seems extremely inflated to me,” he said, urging the council to ask questions about competitive bidding.

City staff and the city administrator explained the Alaris Center used Sourcewell, a cooperative buying group that maintains pre-vetted supplier lists and can speed procurement when timelines are tight; staff said Sourcewell’s process previously solicited proposals and that Daktronics was the registered provider for this category. The administrator said the decision passed through the Alaris Center commission and finance committee and that the city is authorized to use buying groups. Several councilors said they would have preferred a local RFQ/RFP and asked staff to circulate the executed contract and consider thresholds for future Sourcewell purchases.

Councilors and staff also discussed whether the indoor and outdoor boards needed to be the same brand for compatibility and whether local vendors had a fair chance to compete. Staff said the inside boards were at end of life and parts were becoming harder to source. The council requested a copy of the contract for review and signaled interest in future policy guidance on cooperative purchases.