BUFFALO, N.Y. — In total, $850 million New York taxpayer dollars are going directly into the construction of a new Buffalo Bills stadium, including $250 million from Erie County.

"This is important to have MWBE (Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises) inclusion on this project because of the amount of public dollars that went in to make this project come to pass," County Legislature Chair April Baskin said.

As part of its agreement with the county and the state, the organization agreed to a goal of 30% of contracts and subcontracts going to minority and women-owned businesses. Baskin said she wants to find out if the Bills are making the required good faith effort.

"Right now I'm getting a lot of feedback from my community that they are confused,” she said. “They are not aware of the opportunities, and meanwhile we're building a stadium and we're awarding bid packages so something's got to happen.”

Construction joint venture Gilbane/Turner is managing the project, which is already underway. Baskin said $400 million in contracts have already been awarded, but last month Empire State Development issued a letter to the Bills noting the project is "well below their expected performance" with regards to MWBE inclusion.

On Thursday, the county Legislature unanimously approved a resolution directing the county to survey certified local MWBEs about their level of awareness and comfort in accessing the opportunities.

"I have heard ... that there are some strides and plans being made and that is why the extent of my resolution is just a survey," Baskin said.

She said the Legislature will look at further steps if the survey returns negative responses. Baskin said the state and county ultimately could collect hundreds of millions in damages if they determine there is not compliance.

"That is the compliance departments from ESD and from the county that make those decisions, but I'll tell you this, if you get a survey back that shows that there's a large population of minority and women contractors who are not even aware of their opportunities, it's going to be pretty hard to prove that you made a good faith effort," she said.

ESD forwarded the letter it sent to the Bills on June 20. At the time, less than $250 million in contracts had been awarded.

Its review, at that point, determined shortfalls of roughly 13% for minority-owned businesses, 11% for women-owned businesses and nearly 6% for service disabled veteran enterprises. ESD encouraged the organization to work with the state to improve efforts on the second and third round of bid negotiations.

Gilbane/Turner released a statement Friday, saying:

"We are committed to have an open and inclusive process for participation in this project and are proactive in reaching out to New York State-certified minority-, women- and service-disabled veteran-owned and local businesses. We have held outreach and information sessions to engage diverse vendors, suppliers, and contractors. These sessions were attended by 630 people. Earlier this month we attended a MWBE Expo hosted by the Empire State Development agency in downtown Buffalo. During the Expo we participated in a keynote presentation and panel discussion on the stadium project to build inclusivity for MWBE SDVOB participation on construction of the stadium. Our next “Meet the Primes” session will be held August 1 and 2. Details will be posted on our project website www.buffalobillsnewstadium.com

We will continue our formal outreach program to ensure MWBE, SDVOB, and other local firms have a clear path to participation on this project.

We are in the very early stages of this project with less than 10% of construction contract values awarded to date. On the work already awarded and on upcoming work, we will continue to facilitate sessions that connect larger contractors with smaller companies to maximize opportunities for inclusive participation on this project. We expect connections built through these sessions will result in further opportunities for MWBE, SDVOB, and other local firms to participate on the project. These sessions and other business engagement discussions are critical to making sure we can responsibly and effectively procure and execute this complex and exciting project. In addition, we meet with officials from the county and the state on a regular basis to collaborate on how to optimize participation.”

Firms interested in participating should visit our project website at www.buffalobillsnewstadium.com to share their company information, register their interest, and learn more about upcoming events and opportunities."

The Bills organization did not immediately return a request for comment.