In choosing a builder and architect for the proposed minor-league Braves stadium, Gwinnett County made its picks in an unusual way: The man who runs the Gwinnett Center, who wasn't a county employee, called four handpicked companies and asked for proposals.

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Then a handful of appointed officials and others got together in private and figured out which companies they liked better for the $45 million stadium, being built with taxpayer money.

No request for proposals. No public bid review. No specific criteria for judging the proposals. And no public meeting or public vote.

County officials say everything they've done is legal and was necessary for a fast-track project, but others, including a former governor, are questioning whether it's the most prudent way to commit millions in public money.

The Board of Commissioners in January approved the project and turned over control to the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, which the county attorney said is not bound by county purchasing laws. Further, the GCVB has experience in such projects, building and now overseeing the Gwinnett Arena.

GCVB officials said they took expedited steps to find a construction team because they're under a tight deadline set by the Braves to finish the stadium by April 2009.

In January, the GCVB disclosed it had picked Dallas-based HKS Inc. to design the stadium and Barton Malow Co. of Southfield, Mich., to manage its construction. GCVB officials say they are now negotiating a contract with Barton Malow that could pay the team of stadium contractors — including HKS — and subcontractors a percentage of the construction costs, or several million dollars.

GCVB board Chairman Richard Tucker said it could have taken two to three months to go through a request for a proposal process that local governments such as Gwinnett County follow for construction projects.

Governments publicly solicit competitive bids and proposals to ensure that taxpayers get the best value for their dollars.

Of the five county commissioners who voted to give the GCVB control of the project, two said they were comfortable with the way the contractors were selected. Three others did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Critics say the project deserves more scrutiny.

"This thing is being done quite quickly, and, as such, one certainly has to wonder whether the taxpayers are going to get the return on this that they should," said Bill Bozarth, executive director of Common Cause of Georgia, a government watchdog group.

Bill Anderson, president of the Atlanta-based Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia, said there are Georgia-based companies that are "more than qualified" to do the stadium work.

He talked about the importance of issuing public requests for proposals. "Especially when it is involving ... publicly funded pro-jects it is just a good standard to follow to show that everyone was given a level playing field, that it is open competition and free enterprise," Anderson said.

In selecting contractors, Tucker said his board relied on Preston Williams, who at the time served as Gwinnett Center's general manager and reported to the GCVB but was employed by SMG, a Philadelphia-based company that manages sports venues. Last week, the GCVB hired Williams as its new general manager.

Williams, who oversaw construction of the Gwinnett Arena, said he got the ball rolling for the Braves ballpark by calling officials at Barton Malow and HKS and two other companies headquartered outside of Georgia, Turner Construction Co. and HOK.

He said he chose them because they have experience doing this type of work. The GCVB followed a similar process in selecting a construction management firm for the arena, Williams said.

All four submitted proposals, according to documents obtained by the AJC under Georgia's Open Records Act. The four companies each have substantial experience with ballparks. Williams said he recommended Barton Malow to the GCVB's executive committee and it approved his recommendation.

That committee heard presentations from the two architectural firms before opting for HKS, Williams said. Representatives from Barton Malow and the Braves were also present for those presentations, GCVB officials said, but they did not vote. Braves executive vice president of business operations Mike Plant said he was comfortable with the companies the GCVB selected, noting the ball club has previously worked with HKS and Barton Malow.

Barton Malow and the GCVB will follow competitive bidding practices in hiring subcontractors, Williams said.

State law requires "government entities" to do several things before issuing contracts for certain public works projects, including publicly advertising them and awarding them based on evaluation factors listed in the requests for proposals.

A spokesman for the Georgia attorney general's office declined to comment on whether the GCVB complied with state law when it selected HKS and Barton Malow.

The GCVB is a nonprofit corporation that receives county taxpayer funds to support its operations and includes two of Gwinnett's elected commissioners on its board.

Yet, it is not required to comply with state contracting requirements for public works projects because it is not a government entity, said Paul Hardy, an attorney with the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Also, that state contracting law does not apply to architectural design or construction management, said state Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), chairman of the House Civil Judiciary Committee and the city attorney for Sandy Springs.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes, a longtime attorney who has represented several Georgia cities, has a different view. He said quasi-governmental agencies like the GCVB are generally bound by state purchasing laws when they do work on behalf of counties. The agency isn't legally required to issue requests for proposals for "professional services" such as architectural work, Barnes said, but he questioned how the GCVB went about hiring Barton Malow.

"You cannot cloak a true construction project within the idea of 'professional services' and defeat the bidding requirements," Barnes said.

Gwinnett County Commissioners Bert Nasuti and Lorraine Green, who both serve on the GCVB board, said they support how the contractors were selected.

Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and Commissioners Mike Beaudreau and Kevin Kenerly did not respond to requests for comment.