BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer
On December 13th, the Tampa Sports Authority released a list of the four finalists their selection committee will be interviewing for a security contract at Raymond James Stadium for all events held at the stadium for a 3-year period. The security staff would consist of 10 people.
The finalists are Allied Barton, Aegis, First Coast Security and G4S .
Sable One Investigations And Security, owned by Michael Hadley, also took part in the process for the contract, but wasn’t selected as one of the finalists.
Hadley contacted TSA to inquire about the process for filing a protest on the selection process.
“I was told by Eric Hart (TSA Director) that a protest process was not in place and he would explain to me what I needed to do to file a protest.
“Hart told me about the process, but I later discovered that there is a document that outlines the procedure for filing a protest and I felt I was entitled to that document. I was told I had five days to file my protest with the committee.”
Hadley said he was told to first notify the evaluation committee of his intent to file a protest, then after a decision has been rendered, submit his protest to the Director of Purchasing for TSA.
“I filed my protest December 13th and now I have five days to [private]protest to Hart, then after that to the board.
“I think this process can go on for 30 days to deny someone due process.”
“I’m also upset that none of the four finalists are located in Florida, and all have litigation issues regarding personnel and their job practices.
“I have a right to know who is on the evaluation committee, and how the selection process works. I have requested all notes, tapes and documents from the selection committee. They have five days to make those items available to me.”
Eric Hart said Hadley was sent an e-mail with the protest procedure.
“He has the full written policy. When he returns it to us, the process begins. He can later request a public hearing if he’s not satisfied.
“Mr. Hadley has met with us repeatedly through this process and has sought a contract before with the sports authority. He wanted the process changed, and we told him that wasn’t going to happen. He’s also made a public records request.”
Hart wants Hadley to be careful, but he may be putting himself in a position where he could be disqualified.
“First of all, there was never a bidding process. It was a Request For Purchase (RFP). Mr. Hadley’s company rated well in some areas, and not well in others.
“Currently, G4S has the contract. They are also one of the finalists. We do this as a public process and we rate the RFP based on what people submit to us.[/private]
