Providence “Piggyback” Lease Worth Hundreds of Thousands "Inappropriate" - and Unravels on Elorza

Providence “Piggyback” Lease Worth Hundreds of Thousands "Inappropriate" - and Unravels on Elorza

A series of emails show how Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare’s office guided a city vendor on how to customize a “piggyback” contract that ensured the lease would be awarded.

Now, questions are being raised about the deal, one top City Council member is calling the deal inappropriate and the head of the company claims Jorge Elorza's administration did not keep its word. 

The emails between Albert Peterson, owner of American Safety Programs & Training, Inc. and top city officials including Pare, recently departed Brian Hull, and top police officials outlined how city officials would shepherd Peterson through the bidding process to win the “piggybacked” contract of $60,000 annually.

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Hull recently departed Elorza’s administration after first being suspended in February for improper actions -- Hull suddenly resigned amidst a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into his program.

Now, the Peterson contract with the city has been flagged by members of the Providence City Council.

“Per the city’s contract accountability law in which contracts get red flagged, we’ve put a hold on this particular contract,” said Finance Chairman John Igliozzi.

“Due to intimations of potential improprieties, what the [Finance] committee is going to be asking the city solicitor's office to do, is to review this matter and advise accordingly,” said Igliozzi.

“If there is any inappropriate action on any city employee — then we expect the city law department to take swift action. There appears to be a Brian Hull-situation going on here,” Igliozzi added. 

Pare’s Office Guides Contract

The emails link Pare’s office to the special lease deal.  In one of the dozens of emails between Peterson and Pare’s Deputy Commissioner Elaine Richards, Richards instructs Peterson on the terms and price of the structure of the agreement.

Richards writes on August 8, 2018:

Al,

The pricing per week for the fire academy is $2,683.33. If you agree to hold that same pricing for the Police Academy, I will try to piggyback the Fire Academy Award.

If you agree, I will need a letter from you stating that you will hold the pricing as awarded to the Providence Fire Training Academy at $2,683.33 per week for the rental of the facility for exclusive use of the Providence Police Training Academy, The terms and conditions will be the same as the Providence Fire Academy award. You understand the Providence Training Academy is to begin (sic) in early January of 2019 and run for a period of twenty-four weeks.

Thank you,

Elaine

Peterson responded in an email the same day in an email:

“Elaine I agree to the terms thank you very much.”

Just two days after the email exchange creating the “piggyback” agreement, a letter was sent by Richards and co-signed by Providence Police Hugh Clements asking Elorza, who chairs the Board of Contract and Supply, requesting the $64,400.

The Providence City Charter requires, “All such contracts made on behalf of the city, the price or consideration of which shall exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) shall be made by the board of contract and supply on the basis of sealed bids solicited through public advertisement…”

But, this “piggyback’ contract circumvented the competitive bidding process.

As the months went by there were numerous emails between Providence Police officials and other members of the Elorza administration outlining build-out costs and designating specs.

 

Elorza “Not Happy with the Situation”

A May 29, 2019 email from Peterson to top Elorza appointee Sabrina Solares-Hand, the Director of Operations for the City, showed Peterson was having issues with the arrangement:

Good morning Sabrina,

I am having a very difficult time resolving an agreement between ASP & Training and the City. We are currently housing the Providence Police Department Training academy. However we are not being properly compensated for this. I did speak to Mayor Elorza at the University Club fundraiser the other morning. He is not happy with this situation. He said that he wanted me to resolve this with you. Can we please meet to discuss a resolution to this problem. This is causing me a severe financial hardship. I look forward to talking to you soon.

The Elorza administration had no comment on the dispute between Peterson and the City of Providence.

A month after Peterson’s email to Solares-Hand, Peterson wrote a two-page letter to top Elorza officials. “Not only have the recruits and training division been using the space, they have not made payments for heat, AC, water, sewer, electricity, cable, internet and phones. I have been covering those expenses too while waiting for ‘the process’ to take place for me to get paid.”

“The ‘process’ of and request for proposals (RFP) in search of a facility took place, I submitted myriad and I was the lowest qualified bidder by $300,000. Now the process has stalled and the reasons for that differs depending on who I talk to,” Peterson wrote in his letter.

In the letter, Peterson said he was ending the relationship with the city, barring officials from entering his space and withdrawing his bid. "At this point, I can no longer continue to allow the use of my facility without just compensation. And, I must insist that any use of this building going forward will require a written agreement in a manner acceptable to American Safety Programs & Training to do so."

Peterson went on write, "Therefore, please be advised that by close of business on June 28, 2019 (4:30 PM) any and all personal (sic) and/or property belonging to the City of Providence must be removed..."

And, Peterson notified the Elorza administration he was "withdrawing the 'bid' I had submitted for the rental of my facility."

Peterson did not respond to repeated requests for an interview for this story.