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DRAFT MINUTES COMMITTEE ON MINORITY AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 24, 1996 12 NOON
PRESENT: CHAIR: Clinton I. Young, Jr. Members: Lois Bronz, Bob Darcy STAFF: Lynne Creighton, George Gretsas, Dan Rodriguez
OTHERS: Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins John A. Jones, and Hal Fitzpatrick, African American Men of Westchester, Tim Williams and Reginald Walker, Minority Contractor’s Association of Westchester, Bruce Lord and Cornelius Sadler, Yonkers Minority Business Association, Mary Prenon, Westchester Business Journal, Lou Kirven, Empire State Development Corp., Albert E. Williams and Dr. Benjamin Dyett, African American Advisory Board
The meeting was called to order at 12:15pm by Mr. Young, who extended greetings to all in attendance. Mr. Young explained that he called those present to the meeting over what appears to be the admnistration’s blatant disregard for the policy of the County of Westchester and the Laws of the State of New York enacted to encourage the meaningful and significant participation on County contracts for business enterprises owned by persons of color and women.
Mr. Young said that having met with the Minority Contractor’s Association and the AAAB regarding this matter, he brought their questions back to the committee, who then asked Administration and has not received any response. Mr. Young also explained that there has been no satisfactory resopnse to several letters written to the admnistratrion.
Mr. Williams said that the Minority Contractor’s Association supports Legislator Young and the committee in their efforts to implement the compliance of Executive Order #8. Mr. Williams also said that his company has a commitment to work with Legislator Young in whatever capacity they can to access opportunities for minority contractors of doing business with the County as well as the State of New York.
Mr. Young gave a summary of Executive Order #8, saying that it is a directive from the County Executive to promote minority and women-owned businesses and their participation of County contracts.. He also said that Executive Order #8 is also part of the Directory of Minority and Women-Owned Businesses.
Mr. Young summarzied Mr. O’Rourke’s response to his letter Dated September 17, part of which states that the County Executive would not send anyone from Administration to this meeting.
DRAFT PAGE TWO MINUTES COMMITTEE ON MINORITY AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 24, 1996
Mr. Darcy wanted to know how a determination is made as to which firms bid on which contracts, and Mr. Young replied that that process was done by department, which should use the Directory on Minority and Women-Owned Businesses in seeking bids on proposals from minority and women-owned firms to be included on the bid process. After further discussion on this matter, Mr. Young asked Mr. Lord to address the committee.
Mr. Lord was concerned about the fact that when bids are posted or they are informed about the various bids, they don’t usually find out about the bid in time to put the paperwork through. Mr. Lord feels there should be some kind of mechanism to monitor the process to be sure that minorities are included in the bidding process, and that the County Executive should be concerned that there is much more participation from minorities.
Mr. Sadler is concerned about the process of getting contracts through a bid, saying that after two years, the Yonkers MBA received one contract from the County.
Mr. Burke said that his organization is a non-profit computerized tutorial center in Peekskill, that teaches and trains women who abuse drugs and alcohol to get their GED. They are given skills to obtain jobs. Mr. Burke said that with Executive Order #8 the Administration is not being farsighted enough nto see that with the minority contract job opportunities are created.
Mr. Jones feels that his organization, the African American Men of Westchester, should request a meeting with the County Executive, and put pressure on him by involving the media, etc.
Mrs. Bronz said that the County Executive may not be personally aware of the larger picture, and thinks that a face-to-face meeting will help to enhance the dialogue, as he can speak to the issue directly.
Mrs. Stewart-Cousins feels that the Board should do some resolutions to help the County Executive redefine what Executive Orders mean and put the mechanisms in place that help implement the order.
After further discussion on this issue, Mr. Young assured everyone that the committee would look into alternative ways to find a solution to the existing problems, and entertained a motion to adjourn at 1:30pm, moved by Mrs. Bronz, seconded by Mr. Darcy.
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