Munilla Construction Management — a frequent county bidder doing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of 
projects — will likely get an additional $6 million and a one-year extension Thursday for “miscellaneous” renovations and repairs at Miami International Airport.
Just like that. No open bidding, no competitive process. Just $6 million more for work that they just didn’t get to and that needs to get done.
Sure, the item is actually before the Miami-Dade Commission’s Economic Development and Tourism Committee, but once it’s passed there it will likely pass the full commission as early as next week. There’s even language in the “change order” ordinance that says Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez can execute the adjusted contract without subsequent approval from the board. Ladra takes that to mean it only needs one reading.
Basically, according to all the whereases on the ordinance, MCM was hired on a “miscellaneous construction contract” for identified projects at the airport, but then got sidetracked — or even reassigned — to different work due to the growth at MIA and was unable to finish all the work it was hired for. So now, their friend Carlitos is giving them a break. Rather than go out to bid again, like the county will have to in a year anyway because the growth is going to continue — and, for some reason, there is another item on this committee agenda rejecting six bids for “miscellaneous construction” — Gimenez wants the commission to give MCM, his pals, another year and another $6 million in airport work.
How long was the original contract? It doesn’t say on the materials provided in Thursday’s agenda. But when Ladra looked up the contract number on the county’s website, we found another change order request from 2014, with a recommendation from Gimenez that the four-year $50 million contract go up by a whopping $30 million. I can’t tell if it was approved or not.
But then last year, on March 8, the mayor recommended that the contract be extended for a year and for $10 million more. So does that mean that MCM, with Thursday’s approval, has gotten two extra years and $16 million more for “miscellaneous” work?
This item Thursday is an emergency, of course, because the contract expired last month and the county could be left with nobody to make as-needed repairs at the busy, growing airport. How can you let this expire? For two years in a row? Will someone please tell me again what a great administrator this mayor is?
Or is it, more likely, that he let the urgency happen because the company is owned by familia.
Munilla Construction is owned by Pedro Munilla and his brothers, who Ladra has been repeatedly told are related to Gimenez through marriage. They give generously to the mayor’s multiple election campaigns and his political action committees. But they give to a lot of electeds, at the county and also municipal levels. I guess it’s a small price to pay for county work.
From 2009 to 2014, according to the change order from that year, MCM had been awarded at least $176 million in county contracts.
One has to wonder how much of that is in change orders.
Miami-Dade Mayor’s pal gets $6 mil extension on contract added by Ladra on
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Really? Doug Hanks is an apologist for Chucky Gimenez? I haven’t seen it?
THEY ARE MORE THAN PALS, THEY ARE RELATIVES.ALWAYS WAITING TO BE NEEDED (TROUBLED SON EMPLOYED BY THEM WHEN IT WAS NEEDED) SO AS ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF THE FAMILY, THAT WAY WHEN I FINISH MY TERM THEY WILL GIVE A NICE $ GIFT.
Please do a better job at reporting or finding reliable sources. Read Douglas Hanks article in the Miami Herald posted on March 16th for reporting that’s more aligned with the facts. What you wrote is baseless and shameful and partly the reason why society is where it is today; blindly influenced by ridiculous news stories that can be easily fact-checked.
Mr. or Ms. Truth, first you must recognize that Ladra’s story was an “advance” of the issue, which means it was before the meeting took place. Doug Hanks wrote about it afterwards, with all the benefit of all the handwringing that took place in front of him but that I knew was coming precisely because I am, indeed, well sourced.
Nothing that happened changes what I wrote. And, in fact, I will include the link to Doug’s story here (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139020948.html), in which the county, after the story came out in Political Cortadito, says the contract just HAD TO be awarded to Munilla because of a typo in the bidding documents. A typo they only noticed too late in the game to say anything. But Munilla just happened to be ready for it.
Again, at worst this is smoke and mirrors bullshit to cover up for the gifting of a contract to a friend and family plan member and, at best, it is woeful mismanagement from a mayor who campaigned on his administrative experience.
The only difference between me and you (and Doug, really) is that you believe everything they tell you.
Love, Ladra
Doug Hanks is just an apologist for the Gimenez regime. No different than Miriam Marquez, Bernadette Pardo, Jimmy Cefalo, Michael Putney and the rest of the usual media parrots in this county who “go with the flow” and “do not make waves” to continue to draw a paycheck. Once, journalism was considered a fine art. Just refer back to Watwrgate. These days, the only good thing left to do with the Herald is line the bottom of bird cages.
At times I wonder how those similarly corrupted Cuban figures felt in 1959 when Castro came in and stole everything they had previously stolen. Wonder about the look on their faces when their world got turned upside down. Judging by the crime and corruption we see in this county every day, I imagine the Munillas and their ilk would have fit perfectly in that 1959 Havana scene.
MCM is always at the birthday parties and barbecues of all of the elected’s… They need the money so they can keep buying birthday gifts… Gift the fella a break… Our politicians have needs and deserve good friends, such as Munilla…
The bid process must be followed explicitly as by local law!!! No more ands ifs or buts…