Months before Horry schools gave $220 million contract, director helped future bidder
Communication regarding new school construction between Horry County Schools staff and the CEO of First Floor Energy began at least five months before the district’s board approved an initial design plan for the projects that would eventually be awarded to First Floor.
Emails between First Floor CEO Robbie Ferris and former HCS facilities director Matt Dean, acquired by The Sun News via a Freedom of Information Act request, appear to show a strong desire by both parties to work together.
The deal for five new schools is the subject of an active state law enforcement investigation, the district revealed earlier this month.
Previous Sun News reporting shows that the design process for what would become five new schools began as early as February 2014 with a steering committee that included Dean leading the way.
The first email between Dean and Ferris came on Apr. 25, 2014, when Dean forwarded Ferris the district’s plans to tour Dillon Middle School in early May as part of the design planning process.
“It was good meeting with you yesterday and look forward to receiving information from you related to delivery options of our capital plan and procurement options,” Dean wrote to Ferris.
Ferris responded that First Floor’s lawyer was working on how to get the district’s project done and noted that someone on his staff had already called and spoken with one of the district’s board members, though he doesn’t specify which one.
Ferris later asks if First Floor’s attorney can contact the district’s procurement attorney, but Dean responds that HCS’ procurement office will contact the state procurement office if it has any questions.
Previously released emails show Ferris was communicating with Keith Powell, an attorney contracted by the district, beginning in June 2014 primarily about procurement options.
Those emails were forwarded to SLED as part of its investigation. District spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier declined to say whether the emails between Ferris and Dean also were sent to SLED.
Those email communications include:
- Ferris forwarding Dean an email from First Floor’s attorney Brent Jeffcoat detailing how the district may be able to work within its procurement code to award the contract to First Floor as a sole source provider. “Your procurement folks need to vet it but if they like it, we can get it done without an (Request for Qualifications) or (Request for Proposal),” Ferris wrote.
- Dean telling Ferris that he needs to demonstrate how his financing methodology would benefit the district. “I forwarded your email (to our chief financial officer) and he does not feel this situation would be as favorable as the district going out to market for financing,” Dean wrote.
- The two discussing in detail the size and cost structure of the potential schools and how to best present the plan to district officials. “I will make the proposal visually appealing with pictures of schools, children etc....,” Ferris wrote.
Emails continued back-and-forth between the two through July 2014.
Dean, who resigned in March 2015, could not be reached for comment.
Ferris provided a statement to The Sun News through a public relations firm.
“My company and I proudly stand by our work and our performance, where we provided great value and service to the people of Horry County in an honest, ethical, and legal manner,” Ferris said.
Previous Sun News reporting shows the district’s board approved design plans for the new schools in September 2014, and then-board president Joe DeFeo, who died in May 2018, warned against a lengthy bid solicitation period, stating that “there are no more excuses to delay this timeline any more.”
The board did go on to delay its timeline though. Ferris presented a plan for energy-efficient schools during the board’s budget retreat in October 2014, and a few weeks later, the board threw out its design plans to include energy-efficient models.
The district put out its new Request for Qualifications in February 2015 with a budget of $161.7 million and chose four companies, including First Floor, in June 2015 that could submit bids with a deadline for early September.
The board then selected First Floor to build all five new energy-positive schools — Ten Oaks, Myrtle Beach and Socastee middle schools, St. James Intermediate School and Socastee Elementary School — in October despite it being the highest bidder at $220.6 million.
Rick Ott, senior executive vice president for M.B. Kahn Construction, which was the lowest bidder for the projects, said his company’s contact with district officials was limited to a pre-proposal conference, when all potential vendors were brought in to ask questions after the Request for Qualifications was released.
Horry County Schools’ Procurement Code does not address communication between district officials and a potential bidder prior to a solicitation for bids. The only reference to communication with bidders is in reference to after the solicitation is made, and it states that discussions may be conducted “for the purpose of clarification.”
A previous HCS procurement specialist told The Sun News in 2017 that potential bidders “should not be” in contact with entities developing solicitation documents while those documents are being developed.
Ott said he was aware during the process that some board members were pushing for First Floor, but he did not know about Dean’s communications with Ferris.
“If I knew going in (what I know now), we probably wouldn’t have bid at all,” Ott said, noting that his firm spent nearly $900,000 putting its bid together. “That’s money down the drain.”
Ott said he’s dealt with several different procurement processes, but none quite like the one in HCS, where the district bypassed its original budget by so much to select the highest bidder.
This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 4:14 PM.
