Audit Finds MAA Robot Purchase Does Not Compute

The Maryland Aviation Administration bought six customer service robots for use at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport without a competitive bidding process, one of several irregular purchases highlighted in a recently released audit.

Rather than have an open bidding process for the robots, the agency asked two vendors to provide technical and cost proposals, then chose one of the vendors for the $588,000 purchase after consulting with its parking services vendor, according to the report from the state’s Office of Legislative Audits.

The agency also did not notify the state’s Board of Public Works about the purchase.

The robots were meant to roam the terminal at BWI, providing customers with directions and travel information, as well as help in processing parking payments, the audit said.

But after arriving in November 2018, as of June 2019 they were sitting in a room because they weren’t compatible with the network used by MAA. It wasn’t clear Friday if the robots have ever been deployed.

MAA’s management told the auditors that they didn’t believe competitive bids were needed since the robots were bought through a parking services contract that generated revenue. The agency does have an exemption from state procurement rules for revenue-generating contracts, but the audit found that the purchase didn’t apply under the exclusion and the robots should have been competitively bid.

The administration also had its parking services vendor procure $1.1 million of construction services for MAA facilities, rather than get the services through a competitive process.

In a response submitted for the audit, the MAA said that it’s reviewing the scope of robot services and function before their full deployment.

It also said that as of June 2019, it has discontinued using revenue contracts for capital expenditures or equipment purchases.

The audit also found that the MAA failed to review the expenses of its concessions management vendor, with $552,000 in questionable or inappropriate payments.

The vendor gets tenants for the BWI terminal, mostly food and shops, arranges leases, and collects rent, among other responsibilities. The revenue came to $18.4 million in 2018.

The money is supposed to be used for marketing and promotions that will benefit all tenants, but the audit found $111,000 in contributions to unidentified local and state politicians, and $50,000 in payments to the vendor’s registered lobbyist.

The report also found $391,000 in “community expenses” such as sponsoring golf tournaments and donations to charities or nonprofits that weren’t justified in the contract.

In its response, the MAA said it would review documentation for the expenses and have the vendor reimburse the marketing fund for any inappropriate payments. The agency will also require monthly reports and more closely monitor expenses from the fund.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter:

@RMarshallFNP.

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