WSR 97-01-052

ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION

Cite as: AGO 1996 No. 18

[November 26, 1996]

washington state convention and trade center - state agencies - public works and improvements - contracts - competitive bidding - authority of state agency to vary from bidding procedure.

Where the Legislature has authorized expansion of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center but has conditioned funding upon the receipt of contributions from a public or private co-developer, and has imposed further conditions which render it economically impracticable to call for public bids on those portions of the expansion project which will be "jointly" used by the co-developers, and the Convention and Trade Center will call for public bids on those portions of the project that are intended for its use as a state instrumentality, the public works laws are sufficiently flexible to allow the "joint" portions of the construction project to be designed and built by the co-developer without call for public bids.

James R. Ellis

Chairman, Board of Directors

Washington State Convention & Trade Center

701 Fifth Avenue #5000