This article has also been translated to Tagalog.

The DASG Senate put off approving $22,000 to place vinyl covers over its bicycle corrals on Oct. 22, sending the proposal back to its finance committee to look into “serious issues” with its procurement process, namely a conflict of interest.

Operations Specialist and Student Activities Coordinator Dennis Shannakian said Foothill College Director of College Operations, Edgar Tovar, sent him the quote on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

DASG Chair of Finance Alan Ma, 19, electrical engineering and computer science major, asked the senate to send the request back to his committee and said it “ought to look into” the quote more. The senate passed Ma’s motion unanimously in the Student Council Chambers.

“There are serious issues with how the quote for this proposal was (procured),” Ma said.

The quote, which will expire Friday, Oct. 31, would have covered labor costs for assembly and installation for brand new frames, as well as a three-year limited warranty on the new structures; the four structures from the last set of coverings remain standing outside the Registration and Student Services building, with only the coverings blown away.

This is despite the district having a section on work orders and service requests, shifting labor costs away from the district and college, and onto the student government.

The senate would have pulled the money for this project from its pool of special allocations, which DASG Accountant Lisa Kirk said had $152,441 remaining as of the finance committee’s Oct. 20 meeting.

The DASG Bike Program, which the student government launched in 2011, previously had two of its corral coverings blown away by heavy winds; first in 2023, then again in December last year. The Office of College Life put in the recent funding request to fund new coverings to protect bikes in the corral from further damage.

Before the college installed bike coverings, the student government dealt with elemental damage to the bikes. In October 2019, former DASB Bike Coordinator Casey Cosgrove and Environmental Sustainability Chair Steve Hoang reported the issue, noting repairs cost $12,655.20 in spring 2019. 

The corral has gone 10 months without a cover, leaving bikes exposed to the elements and causing rusted gears, deformed handlebars, fogged gear indicators and broken e-bike electronics.

“The first time (the covering came down), it was insurance that replaced it,” Shannakian said at the Oct. 20 meeting. 

At that meeting, Shannakian said that “to his knowledge,” DASG didn’t have an alternative. Shannakian also said the Office of College Life did not do a background check on Top Choice Builders before sending the quote to the finance committee.

“That (doing background checks) is not part of our responsibility,” Shannakian said in an interview. “We (the Office of College Life) work through the district and hope that they have done what they are supposed to. Different areas of the district have different expertise.”

Edgar Tovar declined to comment, redirecting to Joel Cortez, director of facilities and maintenance. Cortez then redirected to Foothill-De Anza Public Information Officer Ellen Kamei, who wrote that the district found a conflict of interest.

“It was determined that an employee involved in obtaining quotes had a personal connection to one of the vendors,” Kamei wrote in an email. “The employee immediately recused themselves from any further involvement.”

Kamei later clarified that she was writing about Edgar Tovar, and that he had recused himself by Oct. 14.

Robert Tovar is listed as CEO of Top Choice Builders and the now-defunct Tovar Concrete; Tovar Concrete lost its right to do business in the state starting Jan. 1, as it fell out of good standing with California’s Franchise Tax Board and the state suspended its business license. 

Records from the California Secretary of State’s office show Tovar Concrete, which claimed 40 years in business, was only registered on Dec. 11, 2019, and did not file its required statement of information since 2021.

Tovar Concrete’s website lists Enrique Tovar as founder and said Robert Tovar “took the reins,” saying the business began in 1984. Top Choice Builders also cites 1984 as its start year but does not mention the Tovars. Records show Robert Tovar registered Top Choice Builders with the Secretary of State on Aug. 15, 2024, before the state suspended Tovar Concrete’s license. 

Both companies list 1090 Lincoln Ave. in San Jose as their address, though Google Maps and other businesses at the lot show Top Choice Builders does not appear to have to have an office there.

Additionally, Top Choice shares the same logo as the now-defunct Tovar Concrete.

The quote Top Choice provided to Edgar Tovar listed 1285 Matterhorn Drive, the same address used by Tovar Concrete, legally Bellavaju Corporation. 

Although the district’s “Contact Us” page listed Interim Director of College Operations Oscar Guillen by April 30, meeting minutes from May 6 show Edgar Tovar has acted in Guillen’s role.

“That (Kamei’s email) was the first I heard anything about Edgar (Tovar) recusing himself,” Shannakian said. “Edgar (Tovar) was still emailing me on Oct. 13.”

In a call, Kamei said facilities could bring items to DASG “early in the process” to seek funding.

“At that point (Oct. 20), when it (the coverings) came to the student government finance committee, the project was still under consideration,” Kamei said.

Shannakian said he first put in a work order for the corral in January, which the district closed in April; he put in a second request, but facilities and college operations only returned with an option in early October.

“No one contacted me about anything,” Shannakian said. “They (facilities) wanted to find something that would be more durable. They (facilities) did not want to have to replace them (the coverings) regularly.”

Kamei wrote that the district did not move forward with the project and did not award a contract.

“The process was halted before any commitments were made,” Kamei wrote.

Kamei also wrote that the bike corral was not subject to the district’s bidding process, as its cost of $22,000 fell under the $220,000 threshold California lawmakers set on Jan. 1. It also does not meet the district’s statutory bid threshold of $114,800.

Michael Salinas, the representative who provided Edgar Tovar with the Top Choice quote, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Robert Tovar declined to comment after repeated requests.

“Stop harassing me,” Robert Tovar wrote in a text.