The Rockland County Business Journal filed a lawsuit against Rockland Green (the former County Solid Waste Authority) alleging that it illegally withheld documents requested under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
A story on its website states, “As part of a series of stories RCBJ has been reporting on regarding Rockland Green’s takeover of animal management in the county and the construction of a new animal shelter on Ecology Road in West Haverstraw, RCBJ sought information on how Rockland Green selected the contractor for its controversial $18 million animal shelter project. The information sought was part of research designed to help the public understand the authority’s decision-making, as well as to oversee Rockland Green’s spending and other actions.
“Specifically, last December, RCBJ sought two sets of records from Rockland Green: (1) the bid documents and submissions from contractors seeking to build the shelter; and (2) notes of the committee assessing the bids supporting its determination made to accept or reject a submitted bid.
“In awarding the contract to build the shelter, Rockland Green rejected a lower bid in favor of O’Connor Construction of Pinehurst, North Carolina, a contractor that had never built an animal shelter. In the process, Rockland Green disqualified a number of other bidders. RCBJ wants to know why.”
Read more here.
