The signing of a $70 million sole-source federal contract awarded to a Rampart village corporation subsidiary has been delayed by at least a week.
Federal officials won't say why it was put off. Linda Douglass, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Alaska, would not answer any questions on the issue.
Fairbanks-based Northern Taiga Ventures Inc., a subsidiary of Rampart's Baan o yeel kon Corp., was set to sign a contract with the U.S. Army Alaska for construction and maintenance work on Fort Wainwright on Sept. 17. As of Sept. 19, the contract had not been signed.
Northern Taiga CEO Kevin Krauklis said on Sept. 17 he expected the document to be ready to sign by Sept. 21. He has heard that the delay is due to funding issues with the task order.
“I'm not aware the contact has been put on hold,” he said. “As far as I know, it's on its way up here.”
Northern Taiga Ventures Inc., NTVI, is certified through the SBA's 8(a) small disadvantaged business program. As an Alaska Native corporation, it falls under the rules that allow it to receive federal contracts that have not gone out for competitive bid.
In its 2006 annual report, NTVI parent company Baan o yeel kon Corp. noted its success was largely due to its relationship with the Maryland-based company Bold Concepts, a company that Krauklis said was as an “8(a) incubator.”
NTVI president and board chair Rick Evans told shareholders that Bold Concepts “provided NTVI with marketing access to scores of contracting officers and project managers at dozens of government agencies, a working capital loan for operating when traditional bank financing was not available, reasonably priced insurance with real coverages, project managers whose experience is used for marketing and successfully performing contracts, substantial working relationships with quality subcontractors and vendors, and $50 million in aggregate bonding required for construction projects, all without putting the BOYK portfolio at risk.”
The report said NTVI subsidiaries had a contract for consulting services “to include project management, estimating, sales and general and administrative services.”
Gregory Wims, vice president of public affairs for Bold Concepts, said his company is a consulting firm for small businesses.
“We're not a shell operation,” he said. “We have a strong operation that's been around for more than 18 years. I can't talk about money because of our contractual agreements, but I can tell you that we don't work in percentages.”
Wims said Bold Concepts helped NTVI put together a strategy for the Army contract.
“I want to make it clear that we didn't market for them,” he said. “We don't have anything to do with how NTVI markets their company.”
Krauklis said Bold provides expertise and backroom support to get Native corporations off the ground. He said it's not unusual for small Native corporations to get help. When Krauklis was hired, he went looking for a company like Bold Concepts. He said for the most part, he's happy.
“It's not perfect, but it's worked out well,” he said. “With Bold Concepts' assistance, we've been able to fund distributions and dividend checks to 95 percent of our shareholders.”
According to Bold's Web site, the company provides compliance consulting, marketing and sales, financial planning and technical services “for promising small businesses participating in federal government programs.”
Bold Concepts had provided the audited financial information relating to NTVI for the parent company's 2006 annual report. The report said that NTVI's revenues were $32 million, a 48 percent increase over the year before. Profit after tax more than doubled, to $600,000.
This is a notable improvement over the company's portfolio in 2003, when NTVI's net worth was at $19,000. The company was worth more than $1 million at the end of 2006, according to the annual report.
Those proceeds have allowed NTVI to pay money back to its parent company, which in turn helps the shareholders, the report said.
Wims said Bold Concepts has a great relationship with NTVI, but because of the distance between Maryland and Alaska, they're not looking to add any additional Native corporations to their portfolio at this time.
On its Web site, Bold claims to monitor “unique compliance issues with the Anchorage SBA office.”
Karen Forsland, district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration Anchorage District Office, said she had not heard of Bold Concepts, and could not comment.
When Krauklis decided he needed help with strategy for NTVI, he contacted Tim Sharp, business manager for Laborers Union Local 942 in Fairbanks, who helped point him in the right direction.
Krauklis said Sharp was instrumental in linking NTVI with Bold Concepts. As business manager for the local union, Sharp had worked with Rick Evans and the people on the board of NTVI.
“I called our international union office (in Washington, D.C.), and they referred us to Bold,” Sharp said.
Sharp said Bold helps give young, smaller businesses their start by assisting with marketing, negotiating contracts and facilitating relationships.
“In terms of marking and connections, even providing office space for new companies, Bold has been though it so many times,” Sharp said. “Without help, how else could a small, one-trick pony from Rampart get these sorts of opportunities? NTVI is finally coming into their own. They're on the cusp of putting their own shareholders to work.”
The union is involved with the Army contract.
“We represent a good number of the workers who will actually be doing the work,” Sharp said. “We're also helping train shareholders to take those jobs they wouldn't be able to do otherwise.”
NTVI's contract with the U.S. Army will primarily focus on building renovation work.
If the contract goes through, this will be NTVI's first large-scale contract in Alaska. Previously, the company had worked with a diversified base of clients in the federal government, such as NASA, the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and the General Services Administration, among others.
“This contract is important to us because it's in Fairbanks, where approximately half of our shareholders actually reside,” Krauklis said. “It will allow us to employ our shareholders.”
He said that out of roughly 200 shareholders, he's received letters of interest from 15 of them. But NTVI's ability to employ its shareholders depends on funding and how the work matches up with shareholder capabilities.
NTVI will work with RIM Architects-Alaska and Coffman Engineers, both based in Anchorage.
Alaska Journal editor Melissa Campbell contributed to this story.
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