Transit agency's requirements take the cake
San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, February 18, 2007
phillip matier andrew rossIf red tape were edible, the folks over at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority would be feasting in style.
Awhile back, the authority put out a bid for the estimated $2,000 worth of cakes and pastries it serves up at office parties every year. Not just any bid, but a 33-page-long bid.
Among the specifications:
-- Each cake must be delivered with a basic theme or adornment (flowers, streamers, colorful border, etc.).
-- Cakes must be available in a minimum of 11 flavors (peach, lemon and banana nut among them).
-- They must have a minimum of 21 fillings (including peach, pumpkin and chocolate cream), with a minimum of six toppings (peanuts, jimmies and coconut, etc.).
-- They must come in a minimum of seven shapes and sizes.
What's more, the agency has the right to refuse any cake that is the "incorrect size, shape (or) design" or has a "foul odor."
As you might imagine, no bidders responded.
VTA spokeswoman Jayme Kunz called the specificatKunzchecklist a case of somebody having "taken a need to follow process to an extreme level."
Agency General Manager Michael Burns, who used to run San Francisco's Municipal Railway, apparently agreed. Burns hadn't known about the guidelines ahead of time, officials said, and pulled the bid before it could go out again.
By the way, Kunz said she had hoped weKunze calling about better news for VTA -- the state just awarded the transit agency $364 million to get the engineering going on a BART link to Silicon Valley.
"We were going to have a cake to celebrate," she said.
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