COLUMBIA (WACH) - We first told you about a no bid contract awarded by the City of Columbia to a public relations firm last month. The firm, PJ Noble and Associates, is being hired to consult on the city's North Main Street construction project.
A WACH-Fox investigation revealed two more no bid contracts from the same agenda. City Manager Steve Gantt told us the projects did not have to go through the procurement process because they fell under the "professional services" exemption.
BP Barber, located in Richland County earned a $227,000 contract to build new pipelines at the Columbia Canal water treatment plant. Raleigh, North Carolina based Hazen and Sawyer got a 1.7 million dollar contract to work on upgrades to Columbia's wastewater treatment plant.
A person who works for a Columbia engineering firm told us these kinds of projects probably could be done for less money, but couldn't say for sure because he says their firm was left out of the procurement process. Gantt returned our call Wednesday, unfortunately we were unable to talk with him.
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