GPSM was fairly awarded engine contract

General Pacific Services Marianas holds the position that it was fairly and legally selected by the CUC Engine Selection Committee to provide a new engine to replace Engine 8 at Power Plant 1. The Selection Committee, headed by deputy general manager William Gilmore, arrived at its decision after reviewing a total of four proposals and proper considerations of the emergency nature of having adequate power generation for the ratepayers of the CNMI. The backpedaling by Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Sirok is unfortunate, given that GPSM and its team members, including Fairbanks Morse, answered all request for additional information and clarifications of its proposals. Inaccurate information was given to members of the Senate and the House committees that did not state all the facts.

As the sole 100 percent owner of GPSM, I formed the company in March 2016 to participate in construction opportunities in the CNMI, including projects being undertaken by Alter City Group, Paraisu Corp., Rota Pacific Development, and Saipan Pacific Development. To date GPSM has completed over $2 million of billable work in 2016. GPSM currently has over $5 million in replacement value equipment in the Mariana Islands. Clearly, GPSM has made a significant investment in the CNMI and is eager to improve the quality of life of the people of the Marianas Islands.

As a woman and a small business owner, I was deeply offended by the discriminatory and sexist comment against me by Rep. Ed Propst, insinuating that I am a woman with no experience. What does my gender have to do with this? As a native American Lumbee Indian woman, I own multiple businesses in Guam and the CNMI. Most notably, I am the sole owner of Pacific Waste Systems, a commercial trash hauling company in Guam. I have owned PWS for over 14 years, which generates over $8 million in revenue. GPSM is a subsidiary business of General Pacific Services, LLC, incorporated in Guam since 1996. As a general contractor, GPS has been involved with numerous contract procurements both with the local and federal government. Our families, including my husband and his father, have been successfully involved in numerous capital improvement projects throughout Micronesia, including several projects in the CNMI.

In forming GPSM, a registered notary was required to authenticate the signatures of myself and Ms. Smith. This was properly and legally done in March 2016 by Mrs. Roberto. She was only performing a government function as a notary public and did so almost a year before any RFP or RFQ was considered or issued. Accusations of wrongdoing against her are totally unfounded. With regards to Philip Roberto, he is neither an employee nor owner of GPSM. He even offered to resign as vice president to avoid any conflicts, but legal counsel indicated that it was not necessary as it is virtually unavoidable to not be related to people in the CMNI. He has since been removed as an officer of GPSM.

The illegitimate concerns over Fairbanks Morse were totally unnecessary and they were raised just to try and disqualify GPSM. Fairbanks Morse is the authorized distributor of MANN Engines for the U.S. territories and was supplying the engine as part of the “team” of industry professionals that would “supply and install” the engine on a turnkey basis for CUC. The continued use of the word “partnership” by Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Sirok are totally misleading. It was made very clear to the CUC Selection Committee that GPSM was the “sole responsible party for the engine” and Fairbanks Morse has nothing to do with it other than providing the engine at the price negotiated by GPSM. This was never clarified to the Legislature and only clouded the issue and creates more unnecessary controversy.

Furthermore, it should be noted that most, if not all, of the existing engines in Power Plant 1 are MANN engines. It makes perfect sense to consider purchasing the same type of engine. The CUC power generation personnel are already familiar with this engine type and should know that it would be easier for them to perform the necessary maintenance and repairs in the future. Assertions that Fairbanks Morse engine was more expensive than the Wartsila engine are inaccurate. GPSM factored in all costs, including taxes, in its proposal. The Wartsila proposal did not factor taxes into its proposal, which explains the disparity in pricing.

An emergency still exists with the CNMI’s power generation system; this was certainly exposed during the most recent typhoon and persists today. GPSM simply responded to a request by the CUC and was deemed qualified to deliver an engine in the required timeframe in order to avert any further damage to a fragile power system. Weeks have now passed since this RFQ closed, the emergency situation persists and there is no resolution in sight. Was GPSM set up to fail, given there were no complaints until after we were awarded the contract? Is this bid being set up for another business entity? Are there other business interests being served by attempting to cancel this RFQ? GPSM is looking forward to a fair and equitable resolution that we believe will result in the same outcome of GPSM being awarded the contract.

Amellia Toelkes
Owner, General Pacific Services Marianas