Howdy Folks,

The judge threw out the challenge to the contract for the Washington Monument
scaffolding.  The text of the Washington Post article from today's paper
follows.

Lisa
--------------------------------------------

Monument Renovation Plan Is Upheld
U.S. Judge Dismisses Challenge of Contract

By Gabriel Escobar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 31, 1998; Page C03

A suit challenging the contract to renovate the Washington Monument was
dismissed yesterday by U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who said he
saw nothing illegal or arbitrary about the deal struck by the National Park
Service.

The suit, brought by a company that finished second in the bidding, alleged
that the contract selection process was flawed, that its bid had been
unfairly underrated and that the winning design is unsafe.

But Hogan, ruling from the bench on a motion to the dismiss the suit, said
nothing presented in the court file or at yesterday's hearing supported the
allegations. "I don't see any arbitrary or capricious behavior, or illegal
behavior," Hogan said.

The company that sued, Worcester Brothers Co. Inc. Fred H. Eisenbrandt
& Associates, had also cited the recent collapse of a scaffolding tower in
New York City to buttress its claim that the project for the monument is
unsafe. The same scaffolding company, Universal Builders Supply Inc., is a
subcontractor for the monument project, but Hogan ruled that the incident
in New York was "irrelevant."

The winning bid for the renovation was submitted by Rockville-based
Grunley-Walsh Joint Venture. Several documents detailing the
administrative assessment of the bidders and other matters are sealed
under a court order. Yesterday's hearing revealed some details of the
bidding process that are not normally discussed publicly.

The Park Service's instruction to prospective bidders emphasized that the
government was most interested in the technical abilities of the companies
and that price was a secondary consideration. The final three bidders,
however, were deemed so close in their technical proposals that the
decision was made based on cost. "The governing factor was, in fact,
price," Gerson B. Kramer, the counsel for Grunley-Walsh, told Hogan.

That disclosure could be important over the next few months. Right now,
the cost of doing the masonry work on the monument is not known
because any damage can be assessed only after the scaffolding is erected,
beginning next month.

The Park Service has more than $6 million for the current phase of the
renovation -- raised through corporate donations. Kramer, in an interview,
said Grunley-Walsh's bid prevailed because the venture had lower fixed
costs. Kramer said that, as a result, the amount of money left for repairing
the stone was greater than with other bidders.

Sam Gdanski, the attorney for Worcester Brothers, said he will appeal
Hogan's ruling.