Because your email to her did reference "contract." Her response did not.
Contracts are not "awarded." In general layperson's terms, someone might say they "won the contract," or that a contract for a job was "awarded to them." But a contract is a legal document memorializing an agreement between parties. The contract is "executed" when the parties have signed it. However, an executed contract may or may not then be enforceable, depending on whether there are conditions precedent that must be satisfied first. My understanding and belief is that there was an executed contract between Fresno and MDE.
If the council approved the MD Energy bid at that vote would MD Energy have receive the contract? As far as I know, no other companies were being considered at that vote, to challenge MD Energy for that contract.
I would say the answer would be yes, and the contract would have awarded to MD Energy.
If that is true, then the statement would have to be considered correct.