A concerned taxpayer and employee of a bidding company, Laura Darre’, said she felt there was a possibility funds for Hunt Library were being misused as a result of bidding on eight doors.

The contractors for Hunt Library and N.C. State were soliciting bids for eight doors, including a 70 ft by 20 ft fire door, that would be kept in a closet, unless there was a fire, according to Darre’.

The controversy came from a difference in bids for the doors.  The company that Darre’ works for, Dougherty Equipment Company, submitted the lowest bid for the doors, however they were not selected, according to Darre’ and Cameron Smith, an associate director for capital project management with the University.

According to Darre’ she attended a meeting with representatives about the selection of the winning bid for the doors and was not pleased with what was said.

“I was in a meeting and witnessed a N.C. S.U representative state, ‘we are under budget on this project, and therefore it does not matter if we $460,000 extra for a side coiling fire door.’  As a N.C. taxpayer and an architect, there is absolutely no justification to needlessly spend almost a half a million dollars when there is another product that can achieve the same if not better results,” Darre’ said.

Darre’ said she was shocked to find that the Friends of Hunt Library are searching for donations for the library after the statement from the representative, who she would not name. 

“I find it ironic that the Friends of Hunt Library are still seeking donations when NCSU gives a misinformed representative the authority to accept the highest bidder and overpay nearly a half a million dollars for a door,” Darre’ said. 

Darre’ said the actual low bidder, who works with her, Ken Woods, is not upset about not getting the bid.

“This has nothing to do with not getting the project,” Darre’ said.  “We’re both North Carolina taxpayers and our money is being wasted. Everyone else is running around trying to save money, but these guys are wasting money.  I don’t know what’s going on, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people are taking handouts over this.”

Smith said that Darre’s company was not selected as the low bidder because they only included seven doors in their bid.

“Essentially what happened was there were three different bidders.  Darre’s company was the low bidders.  The two lowest bidders didn’t meet the specifications,” Smith said.  “We have negotiated with the third bidder to find a more fair and reasonable number.”

According to Smith, Darre and Wood met with University officials about why they were not selected as the low bidder. 

“N.C. State met with representatives of the lowest bidder that was not selected and explained the situation and why a product substitution was not appropriate,” Smith said.  “Negotiations with the winning bidder have actually lowered the cost for the door in question as well as the entire door bid package to a fair and reasonable amount.  N.C. State made every effort to promote full and open competition and conducted the process in accordance with state statutes.”

The door bid package included eight total doors.  The winning bidder was Maxon & Associates who, after negotiations with the University lowered their bid by approximately $336,000, according to Smith.

The door package included eight total doors, one of which was a 70′(long) by 20′ (high) fire door that will enclose the main stairway of Hunt Library, according to Smith.

“Only one of the companies met the bid specification requirement,” Smith said.  “Therefore, that company was selected.  The other two companies submitted a bid that was lower than the winning bid, but their bid included a substitute fire door.  That door, while less costly, did not meet the specifications or drawings.”

According to Smith, the substituted door was larger than the requested door.

“The substitute door would have taken up more program space on two floors and would require a design modification in the building structure and a reconfiguration of the program space, resulting in additional design costs, loss of usable space and potential project delay,” Smith said.