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The state board charged with overseeing Colorado’s spending of federal stimulus money on Thursday announced it was hiring an outreach coordinator to ensure some of the money reaches disadvantaged businesses.

And officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation told the board they will recommend the agency review how it handles complaints about road and bridge contracts and the use of these small, minority- and woman-owned businesses.

Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinator for Greeley-based general contractor

, will join the Colorado Economic Recovery and Accountability Board June 29, chairman Don Elliman said during a board meeting Thursday.

Her job is to ensure minority businesses are aware of contracts related to the stimulus package, Elliman said.

The moves come in response to a complaint from Hamon Contractors Inc. in Denver over a bridge repair project paid for with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Hamon lost a bid April 16 to rebuild two bridges over Interstate 76 in Adams County. The lowest bid for the contract came from Centennial-based

, which bid $8 million for the project, nearly 15 percent under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 million. State contracts are typically awarded to the lowest bidder.

But Hamon objected to CDOT awarding the project to Sema, saying Sema didn’t make a "good-faith effort" to hire enough minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 letter from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Team, to the accountability board.

CDOT reviewed the complaint, and Sema’s efforts to get minority businesses involved in the bridge contract. The review concluded Sema met the agency’s threshold for trying and CDOT formally awarded the project to the company, CDOT executive director Russ George said.

But CDOT wants to review how it handles future complaints about using disadvantaged businesses on state contracts.

Celina Benavidez, director of administration for CDOT, told the accountability board she will recommend the agency’s commissioners form a review committee involving members of the agency, interest groups, industry, the attorney general’s office, and federal transportation officials.

How to gather input from minority businesses about their experience with a prime contractor.

At the meeting, Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thanked CDOT for being willing to review the process.

Helga Grunerud, executive director of the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado, also praised CDOT’s move, saying, "We believe we’ve been heard."