Consultants Billed IndyGo $1.3 Million For Red Line Work

The initial Red Line bus rapid transit line may still be in the talking stages, but IndyGo has paid out close to $1.3 million already in consultant fees related to the project. IndyGo delivered to Advance Indiana in response to a public records request three professional services agreements it has entered into to date. Those included contracts with CDM Smith, Energy Systems Network and Caldwell Van Riper, which will total well in excess of $3.3 million when fully-satisfied.

The contract with CDM Smith has been by far the most costly to date. IndyGo has paid the global engineering firm based in Boston, Massachusetts nearly $1.1 million of its potential $3 million contract. The local contact on the project is Michelle Gottschalk, a long-time INDOT engineer who faced no bar from post-employment work with a firm that does millions of dollars in business with her former employer. According to her Linkedin page, Gottschalk is responsible for "developing and maintaining relationships with the state and municipal clients in the INDOT and municipal public works markets." Gottschalk went to work after new reports raised concerns about the firm hiring away INDOT's deputy commissioner, Sam Sarvis, who claimed he had done no work with CDM Smith during his time at INDOT.

Contract documents provided by IndyGo indicate several minority firms were assisting CDM Smith on the contract. The largest minority subcontract is with VS Engineering for $300,000 to aid in traffic signal designs, roadway design and survey work. The Indianapolis-based firm is owned by Sanjay Patel, who has contributed close to $100,000 in campaign contributions to various candidates and party committees over the years for his pro rata share of minority contracts. A $214,000 minority subcontract for communication design was awarded to Clifton, Weiss & Associates of Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. There was also a $30,000 subcontract awarded to Hammond-based K&S Engineers for geotechnical services.

An estimated $300,000 professional services contract was awarded to a local PR firm, Caldwell Van Riper, which has already been paid $146,000 for its services. CVR agreed to subcontract $60,000 of the project work to a black-owned business with ties to the local Democratic Party, Engaging Solutions.

A third and final contract was entered into with Energy Systems Network, a nonprofit organization run by former Mitch Daniels crony, Paul Mitchell. ESN has been paid $22,500 to date. Interestingly, Mitchell listed as ESN's references Herve Muller of the Bollore Group and Michael Brylawski of Vision Fleet. These were two corrupt, illegal contracts entered into by the Ballard administration with ESN's hands all over it. In any other state in America, there would have been criminal indictments handed down long ago for such flaunting of public bidding laws as occurred with the Bollore's Blue Indy exclusive electric car sharing deal and Vision Fleet's electric car fleet lease with the City of Indianapolis. But this is Indianapolis where a select group of insiders are granted immunity from prosecution when they collude with corrupt politicians to defraud taxpayers.