b'resident\'Article Cloak and Dagger Roofing By John Stephenson Inaof articles byrize,thecommissionfound thatbecomea marketingtechnique 1997,series formerMRCAPresidentL.B.therein fact been significantthatunfairlylimitscompetitive had Morrisappearedin thiscolumnwaste andabuseinnumerousbidding in the public sector at the thatexaminedvariousissuesroofingprojects.Soonafter thisexpense of taxpayers. This should roprietaryroofing relating to p or "closed"report, an article appearedin thenot only concern you as a specifications. InthecontextofOctober22,2000DaytonDailycontractor, butas a alsotaxpayer. those articles, proprietary specifi News that covered the New Jer T intent of this article is to he cationsweredefinedaswrittenseyreport andlinkedaddresstheissueof propriproject documents that require thevariousaspectsofetaryspecifications,not to use of certainor systemsthedirectlybashcertain manufacturproductsprobe singlebasedparticularre co. available only from aman to the Ohioers, inTm ufactu In other words, while theHickmanandItshould beapparent rer. specificationmaynotactuallyT com from the lin indiremcoks identify the products or man panies.T catedin this article ufac hat \'\'Oh, what tangledturer by name, they are restrictivearticlewasthatIhavespent webs we weave,or exclusionary in nature becausereprintedinsometimeonthe ofambiguouslangu and/orthe June 2001Internet rageesearching When first we prac technical hurdles that preclude theissueofthethisissue.During tice to deceive."use of products from other manu MidwestRoofer.thisprocess,Iran facturers.T r emco\'sacross some interest- SirScottIn hisMorris exploredresponsetotheinginformation Walterarticles, numeroustopicsincluding war Dayton Daily News regardinginvolving Weatherproof Technolothe ranties,pricingstructuresandar leenclosed in this issue ongies Inc., amanagetic isconstruction performancecharacteristicsofpage 45."addition to the above,ment company owned by Tremco In numberurchasing systemsfromGarland,Hickmanaof other published arti anda "p association" and TIt isto noteclesandatleasttwotelevisionknown as the Association of Eduremco.important thatatnotimedidMorrisevernews reports (WLWT-TV, Cincin cationalPurchasingAgencies suggest that any of these compa natiandKOB-TV,Albuquerque)(AEPA). You might take the time to nies wereinvolvedin any illegalhave addr the issue of pro visit www.aepacoop.org.Onthe essed activity or state that theirtsprietaryspecificationsinrecentsu ce, it seems that school disproduc rfawere in any way inferior to prod months, clearly indicating thattricts that purc directly from thishase notroved uctsfromothermanufacturers.debate isover.AEPA app vendors can realE ofthesecompanieswasObviously, there are a n rize substantial cost savings,and achumbegivenampleopportunitytoof problems relating to this issuehopefully this isthe. H case owrespond to those articles and boththatcanhave seriousconse ever,itis myopinionthatthis HickmanandGarlanddidso,quen for the roofing industry,pr must becarefully examcesocess while Tremco chose not to. Sinceincludingcontractors,manufac ined to e that n mal public nsureorthen,anumberofinterestingturersandcustomers.Evidencebiddingrequirementsarenot developments have taken place.detailed in the New Jersey reportbeingeffectivelycircu ted, mvenIn September of 2000, the N sug thatsomeindividuals,thus insulating the AEPA approved ewgests JerseyStateCommissionofincluding representatives of man vendorsmcompetition. fro openIs Investigationpublisheda reportufacturer contractors, architectsthis anschool districts or a s,boo for detailingtheirfindingsfromaandengineersareinvolvedincoup forPerhaps there is vendors? 1998investigationofp somewhatsurreptitious activitiesa reasonable explanationasto ublic school roofing projects indis for one important reason, money.howa manufacturerofroofing 39 tricts.Youcanread thereportMany (p most) of you haveproducts that operates aerhapsconstrucexperienced this first h Exclu tionman firmendsup onlineatwww.state.nj.us/sci/and.agement Roofing_Repor Tosumma- sionaryspecificationshaveContinued on page 27 t.pdf. 5'