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The Associated Press State & Local Wire

April 7, 2008 Monday 9:31 PM GMT

Rubio, Department of Transportation spar over turnpike plazas

BYLINE: By DAVID ROYSE, Associated Press Writer

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL

LENGTH: 876 words

DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE Fla.

The state agency that runs the Florida Turnpike is at odds with House Speaker Marco Rubio over the
way contracts are awarded for providing food and gasoline at the turnpike's eight service plazas.

The turnpike agency says it wants to combine the contracts so that one vendor can bid to run the food
and gas concessions at the plazas. That's one way of luring vendors willing to spend money to make
needed renovations at the 1980s-era facilities. Officials say it's an industry trend, and it makes financial
sense.

Rubio says that's anticompetitive and shuts out small Florida businesses that want to be players in the
turnpike concession. One of those small Florida businesses happens to be owned by one of Rubio's
friends but the speaker says that's not his motivation and is defending his position.

Even if Rubio wins the fight and manages to keep the state law the way it is ensuring separate contracts
he wouldn't have any say in the awarding of the actual contract, he points out. That would still be up to
the Department of Transportation, which means Rubio's friend, Max Alvarez, may not benefit.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, a division of the state Department of Transportation, has been pushing for
more than a year to consolidate the contract.

Currently they're bid under separate contracts and one company, HMSHost Corp., has the food service
contract, while another, Florida-based Martin Petroleum, has the gasoline business. The contracts expire
at the end of this year.

Turnpike officials say the change is needed to lure major private-sector bidders who run similar joint-
concessions in other states and who, frankly, have lots of money. They want a company to take over the
concession and put as much as $200 million into upgrading the plazas. Many major industry players
aren't willing to put that kind of money forward if they have to split the plaza contract.

And the turnpike's director of concession management, Rick Nelson, notes that in the past when the
agency has sought to get gas stations at the plazas rebuilt as part of the contracting requirements,
nobody bid for the gas business.

Officials at the turnpike agency insist that it's an agency idea that the service plaza business is moving
that way around the country. They point to several other states, including Pennsylvania and Maryland,
that are seeking one vendor to run service facilities.

Rubio says the proposed change is probably being pushed by a big vendor who wants to take over the
plazas and make more money.

And if one company could take over the whole plaza business it would shut out companies like Sunshine
Gasoline Distributors, a family-owned Miami company run by Alvarez, a Rubio supporter.

Rubio, R-West Miami, acknowledged he'd spoken with Alvarez's company about the issue but he insisted

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he isn't "greasing the skids" for anyone, arguing instead that it just seems unfair.

"There's only a handful of companies in the world set up to do that" meaning run a successful food
service operation and gas stations, said Rubio. "The list of people who could potentially bid on a
mega-contract is much smaller than those who can bid now."

Turnpike officials dispute that idea.

"I think you would see a lot more interest," if they're consolidated, said the turnpike's Nelson.

James Ely, executive director of the turnpike, said the primary goal isn't to help any particular vendors,
but to provide a better place for drivers to get a bite and wake up in the middle of what can be a boring
drive. And to get a private company to pay for it.

"I would rather use the private sector model than taking money off a guard rail project or resurfacing,"
Ely said.

Rubio notes that even if the contracting law doesn't change, there's no guarantee Alvarez' company
would bid, or would win if it did.

"The Legislature doesn't award bids, and I don't have any influence over the bid process," Rubio said
Monday.

Questions about Rubio's interest in service plaza contracting were first reported Monday by The Miami
Herald. The language about how the contracts are to be awarded is spelled out in legislation that goes
along with the state budget known as "proviso language."

The newspaper also noted that turnpike officials have at least one ally in favor of the change, Sen. Dan
Webster, R-Winter Garden.

Nelson Diaz, who represents Alvarez as a lobbyist, said his client isn't hiding his interest. Alvarez bid for
the gasoline contract once before and lost out, and may bid again.

But Diaz said even if Alvarez doesn't bid, he is concerned about the policy. Shutting out smaller
companies that might be able to seek the business is anticompetitive, he said. Diaz said he also believes
only two or three companies tend to bid on the joint-service plaza contracts around the country.

One of those is the current Florida food vendor HMSHost, which is projected to reap $6.6 million in food
revenue from its Florida contract this year. Florida turnpike officials say HMSHost, part of a major
multinational company, has some agreements in other states to run the entire plaza business, but
contracts the gas part out to gasoline-only companies, something that could happen in Florida as well.

Officials from HMSHost, based in Bethesda, Md., didn't immediately respond to a request for comment
Monday.

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