On June 14th, 2018 Lacey Goetz, PE and President of Integral Engineering Co. had the honor and privilege of meeting with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock in a round table discussion. Lacey, as well as a select group of people from the design professional services industry, were invited to participate in a conversation with the Mayor about the utilization of Certified Minority, Women, Small, Emerging, and Disadvantaged Businesses on City and County of Denver construction projects.
In the upcoming years, the City and County of Denver has an unprecedented “cadence of projects” planned with an estimated expenditure of around two billion dollars. These include projects at the Denver Zoo, Denver International Airport, Public Works and Parks and Recreations. Unfortunately, history shows that larger projects tend to go to large consulting firms, many of which are headquartered out of state.
To gauge the availability of local talent in comparison to utilization on City projects, the City has begun a disparity study. With the results of this study, the City will be better positioned to set realistic, achievable goals for small business participation. These goals are crucial to maintaining the viability of the Denver metro area small businesses. In the round-table discussion on June 14th, the Mayor expressed interest in learning about barriers to small business participation from all aspects: small businesses, prime consultants, and professional organizations.
