No-Bid P.R. Contract for El Toro Hits Flak

A $2.9-million, no-bid contract proposal to help provide information and shape public opinion for a commercial airport at El Toro has bewildered county observers and angered two anti-airport supervisors, who challenged the expenditure.

The “sole-source” contract is expected to be offered to Amies Communication, an Irvine public relations firm run by John G. Amies, a former brother-in-law of pro-airport lobbyist Bruce Nestande.

The contract was recommended by Local Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Gary Simon, who is in charge of El Toro planning, and goes before the Board of Supervisors for approval Tuesday.

Shirley Grindle, one of the county’s top political watchdogs, called the contract “disturbing” and said the three pro-airport supervisors--a majority--seem to follow their own rules when it comes to building an El Toro airport.

“I don’t understand it,” Grindle said. “I think that all these things need to be treated evenly whether it’s an airport issue or a John Wayne taxicab issue, so that the county will get the best price that competitive bidding brings.

“It’s odd that when it comes to El Toro and the airport issue, these supervisors seem to leave their brains outside the door,” she said.

Simon, who was hired in January, said he received proposals from other public relations firms, which he evaluated but did not seek formal bids for. He cited a Sept. 25 deadline to finish an environmental impact report on the abandoned El Toro base as the reason for not soliciting bids.

In the next few months, the county must provide information about noise and other environmental concerns, hold workshops and spread publicity reaching thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of county residents, he said.

In addition, no taxpayer funds are being used for the contract, he said. The money is from revenue generated by nonaviation sources at John Wayne Airport, such as parking and concessions, Simon said.

Grindle and other county observers called the contract a backward step in the county’s procurement process. Not since the years before the county bankruptcy have such lucrative contracts been doled out, they said; the county incorporated a rigid system of checks and balances in 1994.

In fact, Supervisor Chuck Smith, who as last year’s board chairman created an advisory panel to study the county’s procurement system and make recommendations to the board. “What’s odd to me,” said Supervisor Tom Wilson, an El Toro airport opponent, “is what happened to the procurement process? The RFP [request for proposals] process?”

Simon said Nestande, a former supervisor and a leading airport proponent, had “absolutely nothing to do with” the recommendation to hire Amies Communication.

In an interview, Nestande said his former brother-in-law, “Grif” Amies, had been married to the sister of Nestande’s wife but has been divorced for two years. “I’ve never lobbied for him and not talked to any supervisor or Gary Simon. I have had zero involvement in the process.”

Simon said that had he sought a formal bidding process, it would have added an additional five months to the environmental impact report.

The county’s procurement policy “allows for sole-source contracts, and of course it’s up to the board to make the decision,” Simon said.

Department directors can approve contracts up to $25,000 without seeking the board’s approval. Simon said, however, that a no-bid contract is permissible under the county’s guidelines given that the elected supervisors have the ultimate authority to approve or deny.

Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, an airport proponent, said she and Smith had visited Amies Communication to meet with the firm’s officers and ask questions. Though she did not evaluate other public relations proposals, she said, the county has acted with “due diligence” regarding evaluations.

She plans to favor the contract because the county needs to “put out fair and truthful information” to the public in anticipation of the September deadline for El Toro’s environmental impact report.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who with Wilson makes up the board’s anti-airport minority, challenged the expenditure in view of an April 17 memo to Simon from the county’s internal audit department. In the memo, a budget request from the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, which recently won $5 million from the county for a 15-month blitz to promote an airport at El Toro, was denied because it failed to provide detailed information on a proposed publicity campaign.

Simon said he got information from 12 public relations firms but narrowed it to four finalists. Amies Communication had a portfolio that showed experience with a military base closure, real estate developments and other projects that Simon said were directly related to El Toro.

The firm has been involved in real estate and land-use projects for more than 15 years, said spokeswoman Jessica Spaulding. Recently, the company promoted the Southern California Logistics Airport, a cargo operation on the site of the closed George Air Force Base in Victorville.