Audit of the Department of Conservation and Recreation Overview of Audited Entity

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Overview

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) was created in 2003 by the merging of its two predecessor agencies, the Metropolitan District Commission and the Department of Environmental Management. DCR is authorized by Section 1 of Chapter 41 of the Acts of 2003. It operates under the direction of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and is responsible for the administration and oversight of state parks, forests, reservations, and recreational facilities (e.g., campgrounds, swimming pools, and bike trails). According to its website, DCR’s mission is “to protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well-being of all.”

For fiscal year 2020, DCR had 2,615 full-time employees; 2,159 seasonal full-time employees; and state appropriations of $97,061,517. For fiscal year 2021, DCR had and 2,722 full-time employees; 2,189 seasonal employees; and state appropriations of $103,520,022.

Construction Contract Management

DCR is responsible for contracting with contractors and overseeing state construction projects, which are governed by Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws or Section 39M of Chapter 30 of the General Laws, depending on the type of work performed by the general contractor. The following construction contracts were awarded during the audit period.

DCR Construction Contracts Awarded July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021

Fiscal Year	Contracts under Chapter 149 of the General Laws	Contracts under Chapter 30 of the General Laws	Total
2020	$   6,345,816	$    39,700,460	$   46,046,276
2021	21,670,658	65,260,464	86,931,122
Total	$ 28,016,474	$ 104,960,924	$ 132,977,398

Contract Bidding Process

DCR is responsible for ensuring that woman workers and minority workers, as well as minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) and woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs), are fairly represented and included in its construction projects. The workforce participation and business ownership goals for women and minorities are included in the request for proposal to bidders.

According to Section 44A(1)(G) of Chapter 149 of the General Laws, construction contracts must include workforce participation goals. The Executive Office of Administration and Finance has issued an administrative bulletin, “Equal Opportunity and Non-discrimination on State and State-Assisted Construction Contracts,” effective March 18, 2009. Section III of an attachment to the bulletin states, “The participation goals . . . shall be 15.3% for minorities and 6.9% for women.”

DCR is also responsible for ensuring that its contractors achieve a 10.4% business ownership goal for women and minorities on its construction contracts. Contractors are required to provide supporting documentation to DCR, stating how they intend to use any Supplier Diversity Office (SDO)–certified³ MBEs and WBEs they plan to hire to work on a project. The documentation includes letters of intent documenting expected expenditures for each MBE or WBE on the project, a schedule of workforce participation, and SDO certification letters stating that the subcontractors are certified MBEs or WBEs. DCR uses a third-party vendor to oversee its entire bid process. This includes collecting the above documentation from bidders. DCR does not have access to individual bids until the bidding has closed.

During the bidding process, DCR may determine that the workforce participation and business ownership goals are unachievable. If this occurs, DCR may reduce or waive the workforce participation and/or business ownership goals in the request for proposal.

The contractor may also determine during the work that it will not meet the business ownership goal for women and minorities. In this case, the contractor must submit a waiver or reduction request to be approved by DCR, listing a reason for the inability to meet the goal. Examples of reasons are a lack of available MBEs or WBEs to perform the work in the area where the project is occurring or an inability to receive commitments from MBEs or WBEs to perform the work.

After the bidding is closed, the third-party vendor provides the winning bid documentation to DCR. DCR reviews the package to ensure that it is complete and submits it for internal approval from its Legal and Administration Department and Finance Department. DCR creates a contract with the bidder to be signed by its commissioner and the bidder, which creates the contract.

Business Ownership Goal Monitoring

DCR assigns a project manager to oversee an active construction project. One of the project manager’s duties is to monitor the business ownership goal and help the contractor achieve it.

To track progress toward the business ownership goal for women and minorities on each contract, DCR requires its contractors to send completed quarterly Certificates of Payment that list the total amounts the contractors have paid to certified MBE and WBE subcontractors during the current quarter.

DCR forwards the Certificates of Payment to SDO with its submission of its SDO comprehensive annual report so that SDO will have the payments made to MBE and WBE contractors on DCR’s construction contracts for the entire fiscal year.

Additionally, construction contracts include terms that apply if the contractor fails to meet its business ownership goal for women and minorities. According to Part III Section 8A of DCR’s standard construction contract, DCR may do the following in that case:

(1)  suspend payment to the Contractor of an amount equal to the value of the work which was to have been performed by an [MBE or WBE] pursuant to the Contractor’s Schedule of [MBE and WBE] Participation but which was not so performed . . . and/or

(2)  suspend the Contractor’s performance of this Contract in whole or in part.

3.    SDO is a state agency that seeks to increase opportunities to minority- and woman-owned businesses in the Commonwealth. SDO certifies a business as diverse in order to increase the ability of the diverse business to obtain government contracts.

Date published:	November 3, 2022