City Workshop on Harry Grove Stadium Lease Highlights City Hall Problems

George Wenschhof

The dysfunction which exists at city hall was on display at last week’s workshop when newly hired city administrator Josh Russin made a poor attempt to present the details of the proposed Harry Grove Stadium lease with the Frederick Keys.

Apparently, City of Frederick Mayor McClement’s interpretation of the city charter as it relates to the relationship between the aldermen and the mayor is “I am the administrator and you are not”. Instead, the mayor views the aldermen literally as the legislative body as strictly defined in the city charter.

As Russin was repeatedly unable to answer questions asked by city aldermen Karen Young and Shelley Aloi in regard to The Keys contract, it became obvious the city aldermen had been kept out of the loop in regard to the recommendation process by the RFP review committee and subsequent contract negotiations with The Keys.

A similar situation is also currently playing out in the stalled contract negotiations between the mayor and the Frederick Order of Police.

In regard to the stadium lease, some of the aldermen were upset initially for they were not consulted before the mayor unilaterally issued a Request for Proposals (RFP). After considerable venting by some of the aldermen, the mayor allowed for their input in the writing of the RFP.

After allowing for input, which included, bonus points awarded to a team who was affiliated with a major league baseball team, communication from the mayor with the aldermen and the public stopped.

Who was on the city RFP review committee was never disclosed and there was never a presentation of the two offers received at a city workshop so the aldermen and public could see the difference in the two proposals which had been submitted.

Only, after a freedom of information request was filed by the Frederick Gazette, were the two proposals given the light of day, but not the scrutiny they deserve.

Only now, as Mr. Russin struggled to explain financial details of the proposed contract with The Keys is the comparison of the two offers beginning to emerge.

While, a “home field advantage” is understood in regard to the stadium lease, what transpired brings a whole new definition to the term.

Under questioning from alderman Young and Aloi, Russin failed to explain why The Keys were given the first $150,000 in parking revenue to offset utility fees when the offer from Frederick Atlantic indicated they would pay 100% of the utilities.

In addition, revenue splits on naming rights to the stadium, capital expense obligations, advertising on portions of the stadium and whether an analysis had been done on the more “up front” ($245,000) lease money offered by Frederick Atlantic LLC; were all questions the city administrator was unable to answer in a satisfactory manner.

Interestingly, a study obtained by the city on stadium naming rights and advertising was shared with The Keys during contract negotiations. However, the study was never given to Frederick Atlantic LLC until managing member John Lavoie asked for a copy at the city workshop held last week.

Russin repeatedly sought to compare the new Keys contract with their existing agreement, often citing the increase in the current $30,000 yearly lease amount.

What should be asked for and has never been done is a public presentation of the two offers received.

What is important to note is The Keys were not competing with themselves; they were competing against another entity.

A question I had was answered when after the workshop last week, Alderman Young asked city attorney Saundra Nichols in an email "I have a procedural question. Don't we (the Aldermen) have to accept the recommendation of the evaluation team's choice before we start modifying the proposed contract?".

The email response from Nichols stated "There is not a separate step for accepting the recommendation of the evaluation team. The Board of Aldermen is typically presented with the proposed final contract".

The city attorney response along with the approach taken by Mayor Randy McClement in governing may be technically correct.

However, the residents of The City of Frederick deserve more transparent and open government.

When I spoke with Frederick Atlantic LLC managing member John Lavoie the day after the city workshop last week, he said “the scoring of the RFP Review Committee did not account for the depth or substance of the proposal they tendered“. He added “they had tendered a proposal far superior to The Keys”.

Prior to approving a lease agreement with The Keys, the aldermen would be wise to request a detailed presentation from Mr. Russin of the two proposals received.

At a minimum, when negotiating the terms of the agreement with The Keys, the comparison should be with what was offered by Frederick Atlantic LLC and not the existing lease with The Keys.

After all, it was the inadequacy of the existing lease and failure to negotiate by The Keys which led to the RFP being issued.

In the future, let’s hope for more transparency from the mayor along with a move from him to communicate more fully with the city aldermen and involve them in the decision making process – city residents deserve it.

Stay tuned..

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