On Tuesday, the Springfield City Council approved an amended contract with Greentrac, LLC for the demolition of forty blighted properties in the city. The ordinance had been the subject of extensive debate because Greentrac had submitted only the second-lowest bid; the lowest responsible bidder had was overlooked for contradicting the city’s local minority hiring goals.
Alders belonging to the City’s Black caucus expressed their misgivings about choosing either bid; after more than an hour of argument about the situation, an amendment proposed by alders Shawn Gregory and Lakeisha Purchase was approved, specifying that Greentrac must provide a Commercially Useful Function for the contract. The city also requires that 33% for the contracted demolition work must be minority hires.
