In February, Wilmington City Council awarded a contract to Saffo Contractors, Inc. to undertake a rehabilitation project on the Front Street Bridge. The bridge, which runs through the downtown CFCC campus between Red Cross and Hanover streets, was built in the 1960s and requires a deck replacement and assorted cleaning, painting, and other repairs.
According to the city’s agenda documents, Saffo Contractors became the lowest responsible bidder after another company, Paragon Building Corporation, withdrew from consideration.
Documents provided by the city through a public records request show that the city told Paragon it planned to reject its bid because it wasn’t a “responsible bidder.” Paragon pushed back strongly, but ultimately withdrew — though, interestingly, the city now says it considers Paragon eligible to bid on future projects.
Most members of city council did not respond to a request for comment, but the two who did — David Joyner and J.C. Lyle — said they stood behind the city’s process and the ultimate decision.
The bid vote
Paragon’s bid had been $2.28 million, about $166,000 less than Saffo Contractors’ bid for $2.45 million. A third company, Florida-based Southern Road and Bridge, entered a significantly higher bid of $3.7 million.
Because Saffo Contractors is owned by Mayor Bill Saffo’s brother, Nick Saffo, the mayor recused himself during the February 17 meeting.
“Although I would not derive any benefit from awarding this contract and do not have any personal financial interest in Saffo Contractors Incorporated, the company is owned by a member of my family, so in order to prevent any appearance of impropriety, I would make a motion to recuse myself from voting on this particular item,” Saffo said.
Following Saffo’s recusal, the remaining council members unanimously approved a contract for Saffo Contractors.
Both leading up to and after the vote, WHQR received a number of questions from listeners and readers, who asked why Paragon had withdrawn its bid.
Notably, it was at least the second time Paragon and Saffo Contractors had bid on this bridge project. In June of last year, city council unanimously agreed to put the project out for a bid again, since one bid lacked NCDOT prequalification and the others were over budget (meeting minutes don’t specify which bids were which).
Bidding on a contract like this requires time, energy, and money, as well as detailed cost projection for the bridge rehab, based on over 40 different project components. Some asked, why had Paragon pursued the project only to drop it?
Getting documentation
The day after the vote, on February 18, WHQR filed a public records request (PRR) for communication between the city’s purchasing manager and Paragon.
And then we waited.
Over the next four and a half months, WHQR checked in with the clerk’s office every month to inquire about the status of the PRR. The clerk’s office looped in several other top city staff, including City Manager Becky Hawke, the deputy city manager, finance director, and city attorneys.
At the end of June, the city responded to the PRR, providing five emails. Three were brief procedural emails. The other two were more relevant.
The first email was sent by Daryle Parker, the city’s purchasing manager, to Paragon President Bob Morgan on December 23, 2025, acknowledging that Paragon was the lowest bidder, but stating that “staff have determined that [the company’s] bid for the Front Street Bridge Project is not responsible based on Paragon’s performance on prior City projects.”
The letter cited concerns about past projects, “namely the Empie Fire Station Project, after which Paragon was disqualified from bidding on City construction projects, the Eastwood Road Multi-Use Path Project, and the renovations for the 4th Street building being leased to the WMPO [Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization].”
The letter concluded, “the City Manager will recommend that Paragon’s bid on the Front Street Bridge Project be rejected,” at the upcoming meeting, “based on Paragon not being a responsible bidder.”
The letter’s subject line was marked “protected,” which does not exclude it from public records requests, but would have kept it from appearing on the city’s public email terminal (which has since been permanently decommissioned).
Paragon pushed back
In a response sent on December 29, 2025, Morgan disputed the city’s “responsibility determination,” saying it was important “that the record accurately reflect the facts.”
Morgan’s letter noted that the WMPO renovations were not managed by the city, and wrote that the project, which was an adaptive reuse of a historical building, “encountered significant and unforeseen challenges.” Despite that, Morgan noted the project was a success, winning a preservation award from the Historic Wilmington Foundation last year.
The other projects, Morgan said, "occurred over a decade ago and do not reflect Paragon’s current operations, personnel, or capabilities.” His letter noted that the Empie Fire station project took place in 2012 and ultimately led to "arbitration, which was resolved in Paragon’s favor.” The Eastwood Road project, he pointed out, dated back to 2005. Morgan also wrote that Paragon recently completed improvements for the Portia Miles Hines Park (a contract it was unanimously awarded in 2021).
While Morgan didn’t reference other government contracts, New Hanover County confirmed that Paragon had been disqualified over a decade ago in 2015. The company requested reinstatement in 2024. Though initially denied by the county’s prequalification committee, Paragon appealed and “following a review of supporting information, the county approved Paragon's reinstatement in December 2024,” according to a spokesperson. Paragon is currently eligible for county projects, and recently started work on the Echo Farms tennis court expansion.
Concluding his letter, Morgan argued that the city did not offer “specific, documented findings” or any “termination for cause, unresolved default, or current deficiency in Paragon’s financial capacity, technical expertise, bonding, or staffing.”
Morgan “respectfully request[ed]” that the city postpone any recommendations on the bid and meet to discuss the issue. He noted that only two contractors — presumably, Saffo Contractors and Paragon Building Corporation — have consistently bid on the project.
“In such a limited bidding environment, it is particularly important that the procurement process remains transparent and that decisions avoid the appearance of inconsistency or unfairness,” he wrote.
Morgan’s email cc’d the city manager, attorney, and a Raleigh-based attorney who deals in construction and contract law.
What happened next?
It’s not clear if a meeting ever took place, but Paragon did withdraw from the bidding process.
Morgan declined to comment, and the city provided little additional information. Interestingly, a spokesperson did confirm that Paragon is “still considered eligible to bid on future contracts,” in contrast to the December letter sent by Parker.
The city declined to answer additional questions, including why the city’s expressed intent to disqualify Paragon was never discussed publicly, and whether there were any negotiations about the company’s participation in this particular bid.
Last Friday, WHQR contacted Mayor Saffo and city council, including Parker’s letter to Morgan and his response, to ask if they were aware of this communication between the city and Paragon prior to the vote — and, if not, whether it would have made a significant difference. We followed up earlier this week.
Councilman David Joyner said he had not been aware of the communication between Parker and Morgan. But he said he stood by the decision.
“After reviewing the history of Paragon’s work on various projects for local governments over the past several years, I am satisfied that their withdrawal on this project was appropriate due to its size and scope. I am also satisfied that they should remain eligible to bid for future, smaller projects,” Joyner wrote in an email. “My top priority is for Wilmington to improve our infrastructure, including City-maintained roads and bridges. I will always advocate for a competitive bidding process to keep costs low. Likewise, the competitive bidding process should ensure that the contractor delivers the project on time, in budget, and to the high standards our community deserves.”
Councilwoman J.C. Lyle said that while she could only speak for herself, she was confident in how the contract was handled.
“Having administered millions in public funding during my time as a nonprofit leader, I'm especially cautious around any conflicts of interest, both actual and perceived. I've noticed the same from the rest of City leadership since I've been on Council,” Lyle wrote in an email.
She confirmed she had not been aware of the full backstory of Paragon's bid, but said she was satisfied with the information provided by staff.
“So, this agenda item was under careful scrutiny throughout the entire process. Council was provided the level of detail we usually see for these items, which did not include all of the correspondence provided in your PRR, nor would we have expected it,” Lyle said. Staff answered all questions to our satisfaction, and I believe we acted in the best interests of the City's taxpayers,”
No other council members responded.
Below: Correspondence between the City of Wilmington and Paragon Building Corporation.
