(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Well-known Cleveland attorney Fred Nance negotiated the $282 million Quicken Loans Arena renovation deal for Cuyahoga County. Now his law firm is slated to serve as lead counsel for the county's sale of bonds for the project -- without publicly bidding out the contract.
The no-bid deal to pay $325,000 for bond counsel bothers Cuyahoga County council member Jack Schron, who questioned the arrangement.
"It just seems to me awkward that we were just asked by the law director to amend language that would take us out of competitive bidding and you were the one who negotiated on behalf of the county," Schron told Nance, global managing partner of Squire Sanders Boggs at a meeting Tuesday.