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It
was disheartening, upon my arrival home, to hear of plans for a Wal-Mart to be
the latest savior for the Fredericktown Mall, a mall that has been beset with
misfortune.
During,
my visit to Sonoma County, California, I attended an organized community effort
to block a planned Wal-Mart expansion in Rohnert Park.
Interestingly,
the opposition invited Robert Reich; chancellor's professor of public policy at
UC Berkeley who also served as labor secretary from 1993 to 1997 under
President Bill Clinton to speak at a rally they had organized.
Reich
used the opportunity to highlight problems with the economy and to emphasize
the makeup of our communities and society is still decided by the people who
live in them.
Often
repeating the “we the people” preamble, of the U.S. Constitution Bill of
Rights, Reich urged those in attendance to “take back our economy and take back
our democracy”.
Specifically
addressing Wal-Mart and their claim to be a job creator, Reich said the global
retailer is a "net job destroyer" when it arrives in communities, adding
“that for every job they created, 1.4 jobs were lost in the surrounding area”.
The
typical worker at the nation's largest employer Wal-Mart makes $8.81 an hour
Reich said, and as a result of their low paying jobs, Wal-Mart employees were
more likely to live in less expensive suburbs, adding to congestion on the
highways.
Many
factors have contributed to the tarnish now existing on the once “golden mile”
area in The City of Frederick.
The
hard work put forward by members of the community, the Golden Mile Alliance,
and others to develop a vision for the future, should not be discarded on the
basis of an alleged purchase offer made by Wal-Mart.
Thankfully,
the city planning commission, in a 4-1 vote, denied the latest proposed zoning change
made by the owner of the Fredericktown Mall.
Hopefully,
the city board of aldermen will also deny the request.
If
anything, hard work needs to be continued to ensure efforts made to revitalize
the once vibrant golden mile is well researched with the entire community in
mind and with an eye to the future.
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The idea for a hotel and convention center located in downtown Frederick is hardly a new one and actually dates back over thirty years to the days when Democrat Ron Young was mayor of The City of Frederick, Maryland.
Today, the absence of coordination and defined purpose for the project put forth by City of Frederick Republican Mayor Randy McClement threatens to derail a potential crown jewel project. This project could serve as an anchor, alongside the bustling Carroll Creek development, further strengthening an already vibrant downtown.
Muddying the future of a downtown hotel has been an unfortunate series of recent events ranging from a bungled request for a lobbyist, a signing of a poorly communicated memorandum of understanding and the floating of the idea of raising the hotel tax from three to five per cent.
Determining the feasibility, where to locate it and how to pay for it would all seem like reasonable steps to follow before proceeding haphazardly on a project of this magnitude.
After the feasibility of the project is determined, what is needed for a project of this significance is to hold open discussion on what role the city should take (partnership role and with whom, whether to purchase site, providing some level of funding, waiver of permitting fees, reduced taxes, etc.), allowing for public input, leading to consensus on the way to proceed.
A task force appointed by the mayor has done a lot of solid work, only to have its efforts soiled by these latest series of events.
The unsubstantiated request for a lobbyist by City of Frederick Republican mayor Randy McClement received intense public criticism, including from this writer, and according to several sources, the lobbyist has withdrawn his request, illustrating the inappropriateness of the request.
The rush to sign a memorandum of understanding, which took place at the last mayor and board meeting, left many wondering why this was needed now and what, if any, obligations were attached to it.
What followed, was the announcement by Democratic state delegate Galen Clagett (District 3-a) asking the Tourism Council of Frederick County to support his intention to file a bill to increase the hotel tax in Frederick County, raising an estimated $700,000 annually.
In a lengthy interview, Clagett informed me of his intention, saying he believed the city should own the land where the hotel would be built.He added he further believed future hotel tax funds received after the hotel site was paid, could be used for the construction of an aquatic center located in the recently acquired city park land, and a theater in the round on a portion of Carroll Creek.
All wonderful ideas, but apparently put forward without support.During a telephone interview with Democratic state senator Ron Young (District 3), he said ”asking county hotels to pay for competition against them does not make sense and he would not support it.”Young added he did not believe the other city delegate; Republican Pat Hogan would be in favor of raising the tax either, making it unlikely the county state delegation would support the idea.
Also, left out in the rush to push a raise in the county hotel tax were a discussion and a vote of approval by the mayor and board on the idea.Let’s not forget city voters may not like the idea of buying land for a hotel at a time when city coffers are strained.
Young said he strongly supports the construction of a downtown hotel and still believes a convention center would also work, but other funding sources need to be considered.
The updated feasibility study and the memorandum of understanding is needed to request a one million grant from the state stadium authority.
It would appear the board of directors of The Tourism Council would be wise to delay a vote of support on the increase of the Frederick County hotel tax.
The mayor’s executive assistant; Josh Russin explains the mayor wants to move forward on this project in this term and roughly spelled out the process the mayor wished to follow. Russin indicated the needed economic update of the feasibility study will be received in March.
Included in the process Russin sent me, was a Request For Information (RFI), which would be utilized to identify the land the hotel would be built on.Interested owners of appropriate parcels of land located downtown could submit their property for consideration.A “to be determined” rank and review criteria would be used by a city committee who would select the parcel.
Democratic Alderman Karen Young, who was the first to object to the hiring of a lobbyist, said she was concerned about the proposed site selection process, preferring a professional with specific hotel/convention center experience, be utilized to determine the optimum site. She suggested the consultant being used to update the feasibility study be considered to help identify the site, as they are experienced in this field.
She also stressed to me her support of the overall project.
The good news surrounding the concept of a downtown hotel is that much support exists.The Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Council of Frederick County are two significant organizations who have signaled overall support of the project.
What is needed now is for the mayor to slow the process down and take control of this project.Communicating more effectively with city voters and all parties involved is a must.
First, the update of the feasibility study needs to be received, reviewed and shared with the public.If, this shows the project is doable, the mayor should move forward with his board of alderman, the other stakeholders in this project and the public to determine what role the city will play.
Then, a reasonable timeline to implement the project should be developed.
A project of this size is sure to have lots of intrigue, ranging from politicos wanting to leave a legacy to property owners jockeying to have their site selected.
All the more reason the mayor needs to conduct the process with care and full transparency. This would help ensure a successful project with the greatest benefit for the city and its residents.
Speed is not the issue – doing it right is.
Stay Tuned….
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One has to wonder these days, what is going on in city hall in The City of Frederick, Maryland?
Republican Mayor Randy McClement followed his bizarre scheduling of a city workshop on an ill advised discussion on a vote by mail election, held days before Christmas, with an equally disturbing request for $28,000 to pay for a lobbyist, held just days after the New Year celebration.
Advancing the idea of a hotel/convention center to be built in downtown Frederick is a good idea.It has the support of the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Frederick Partnership as well as Frederick Tourism.
In addition, a symbolic memorandum of understanding was reached between the city and county governments; the signing of which was a mere formality.Bipartisan support is also there from the Frederick County state delegation, signaling strong support to assist in obtaining available state funding for the project.
However, once again the Mayor has clearly shown an inability to effectively advance an issue by consistently failing to communicate with his board of aldermen and with the voters who put him in city hall.
The latest request for money to pay for a lobbyist was hastily put together and poorly justified, with the belief the votes were there for quick passage.Interestingly, the lobbyist job duties listed by the mayor were mostly administrative in nature and easily handled by existing staff.
The renegotiation of existing airport leases to bring them to market rate is but one of the administrative duties listed to justify the hiring of a lobbyist. This is a federal requirement for the release of 13.6 million in federal funds for the planned airport expansion. This requirement has been known for some time and the fact this has not been done reflects poorly on the mayor.
With the Frederick county state delegation already on board, a lobbyist is not needed for this project.
Standing in the way of quick approval for the lobbyist request was Alderman Karen Young, who in spite of support from her three Democratic colleagues on the board, cried foul and asked the simple question; “Why was this needed”?
A good question considering the wheels had already been greased for advancement of a hotel/convention center in downtown Frederick.
When I spoke with Alderman Young she told me she had never been talked to in regard to the hiring of a lobbyist.Young has made no secret she is weighing the possibility of running for mayor in 2013.All the more reason Mayor McClement should have spoken to her.
What is needed, more than a lobbyist, according to multiple sources is an update of the feasibility study for the project which was done several years ago.At a cost of around twenty-five thousand, the update is needed to help secure available state funding for the project.
The mayor would be wise to drop the ill advised request for a lobbyist and instead clearly explain the need for an update of the feasibility study, asking for private and public funds to pay for it.
Two years into his first term, Mayor McClement continues to shun the media, refusing to hold press conferences and only communicating with his board of aldermen by holding individual monthly meetings with his executive assistant always present.
This is a less than satisfactory manner, to accomplish anything of merit, for the citizens of Frederick.Instead, his approach has led to many questionable outcomes.
Whether, it was the long dragged out clumsy Request For Proposal for the lease of Harry Grove Stadium which resulted in a less than satisfactory lease for city taxpayers, the lengthy and inconclusive Fraternal Order of Police negotiations, a bicycle path to nowhere on W. Seventh Street, a highly questionable vote by mail proposal, the inability to secure millions in federal funds for the airport expansion and now a unexplainable need for a lobbyist, the mayor continues to fail to exhibit the basic management skills required of his office.
The City of Frederick deserves better leadership - voters should demand it.
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Scheduling, a city workshop on an issue as important as a city election a few days before Christmas should raise voter's eyebrows.
Spending money to implement an unproven ballot by mail election, fraught with fraud possibilities and vote manipulation would be folly for The City of Frederick. Particularly, when only a small per cent increase in voter turnout would result.
The city election issue is not a new one and discussion should focus on increasing the city's anemic voter turnout.
I have advocated for some time the need to move the city election to coincide with the presidential election cycle.
This move, by The City of Frederick would result in tripling the 24 per cent voter turnout in the 2009 General Election.
An added plus could be the cost savings to city taxpayers resulting from combining the Frederick voting with the presidential election. The ability to use the same polling locations would put an end to the city’s questionable and awkward move to use primarily churches; as polling locations in the 2009 election.
What further obfuscates the issue, is discussion by various interests suggesting nonpartisan elections and the blather; “voters would not be as informed if the city election was held at the same time as the presidential election”.
Unaffiliated voters are a significant and growing segment throughout the country and have valid concerns to ballot access. Unless, open primaries (all voters allowed to vote for any candidate in any party) are held, unaffiliated voters are unable to participate in primary elections.
The reasonable counter argument by political party operatives is; primaries are for political parties to determine their candidates in the general election and it makes no sense for non-party voters to determine who their candidate will be.
The suggestion to move to nonpartisan elections is another attempt to deal with the dissatisfaction of the Unaffiliated voter.However, numerous independent studies have shown the result is lower voter turnout, illustrating that this is not an answer to increasing the vote in The City of Frederick election.
A more reasonable approach would be to allow a much easier process for an unaffiliated voter to run for office, thus creating an opportunity for all unaffiliated voters to vote for their candidate.
The silliness surrounding the notion that moving The City of Frederick election to coincide with the presidential election would result in less informed voters is without merit.
The ridiculous argument that city issues would be lost in the clamor of a presidential election has no basis in fact.
First, how does one determine who an informed voter is?The voters who made up the twenty-four percent who participated in the 2009 city election were most likely informed by the candidates who won that election.
There was a time, mostly prevalent in southern states, when efforts were made to determine informed voters, resulting in restricted ballot access.Thankfully, due to legal rulings, these efforts were eventually discontinued.
Interestingly, there has never been a complaint of uninformed voters from the candidates for numerous county elected positions who appear on the ballot in the state of Maryland election.
Additionally, local media do not cover the Presidential election, relying on national news reports to keep their readers abreast.Local media reporters would be available to cover the city election at the same level they do at present in an off election year.
In reality, the excitement of the national election will result in more attention to the local city election.
Keeping voter turnout low is a control issue for those in power and it is way past time for this to come to an end in The City of Frederick.
If the goal of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen is to truly increase democracy, the answer is to move the election date to coincide with the Presidential election cycle – city voters deserve no less.
Stay tuned….
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Prior to meeting with City of Frederick administrator Josh Russin and Public Information Coordinator Susan Harding last Friday, Stephanie and Jen of 7th Street Starbucks, where I often write, pointed to an article in the Frederick News Post and said "you need to write about this!"
The article was about how the owner of the downtown restaurant Volt wanted to open up a restaurant in the long vacant property which once housed the grocery store Carmack Jay's on North Market Street. The stumbling block being an estimated $200,000 water and sewer impact fee.
Interestingly, after my last meeting with Josh and Susan, I wrote about the city considering instituting a payment plan for impact fees to hopefully spur business expansion. I added "The devil will be in the details as the city looks at how they can secure a guarantee for payment".
During our meeting last Friday, Mr. Russin informed me the proposal is still being "flushed out" with consideration of a 25 per cent down payment with payment plans up to four years with a monthly or quarterly payment option. Payment would be secured by a certificate of insurance and/or a guarantee by the owner of the property.
A city mayor and workshop meeting held last week further discussed the issue and it appeared approval of the proposal would be forthcoming.
According to Russin, review by staff and aldermen is near completion and it is likely the proposal will be placed on the November 3 mayor and board agenda for a vote.
A payment plan makes sense, especially during a difficult economic climate, as a way to help encourage business growth in the city.
Russin indicated that although a recent new restaurant paid their water and sewer impact fee in excess of $200,000, the city realizes a payment plan option is a more business friendly approach.
However, a $200,000 water and sewer impact fee for a new business is steep even if a four year payment plan is implemented.
During our conversation, I discovered the impact fee originated as a way to pay for the estimated 120 million in required water and sewer system improvements over the next twenty years.
Improvements include a 53 million nutrient enrichment reduction upgrade along with costs associated with the water agreement the city negotiated following a building moratorium instituted due to inadequate water supply.
In addition to the newly created impact fees, existing property owners saw their water and sewer bills increase by 10 per cent.
A thought I threw out for further research and discussion was requesting from the state General Assembly a special taxing authority for The City of Frederick.
Creating an specific enterprise fund paid by an increase in the transfer tax on the sale of property within the city to raise funds to pay for the required infrastructure improvements may be another way to raise the needed funds.
The transfer tax fee is shared equally between a buyer and seller so for example; a 1/2% increase would result in a $500 increase on the sale of a $100,000 property with the buyer and seller paying $250 each.
As all residents in the city are benefiting from the necessary upgrades, a transfer tax may be another way in which to raise the needed capital.
The taxing authority would have a sunset provision and end when the funds needed to pay for the improvements had been obtained.
Stay Tuned...
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"Ugly, and painful to watch" was the description given to me by one who watched The City of Frederick, Maryland mayor and board meeting last night.
In an embarrassing display, which made the "Bad News Bears" baseball team from movie lore look good,The City of Frederick Aldermen voted 3-2 to approve a ten year stadium lease with the Frederick Keys.
The vote, mirroring the feelings of the aldermen prior to Mayor Randy McClement issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP) back in February of this year.
A motion made by Alderman Karen Young to start the process over due to the flawed RFP process which was seconded by Aldermen Shelley Aloi, failed by a 2-3 vote.
Along the way, Aldermen Aloi brought up email communication she had as a result of the recent public information requests made by the two local newspapers.
Aloi indicated she had several emails which showed The Frederick Keys had communicated with one of the Aldermen during the RFP process. This appeared to be a clear violation of the prohibition on communication with city elected officials or staff placed on respondents to the RFP. At the very least, Aldermen Aloi felt the alderman in question should recluse themselves from the vote.
This led to a discussion as to what was the time frame when the respondents to the RFP were not allowed to communicate.
When asked if this negated the RFP award process, city attorney Sandra Nichols appeared confused and asked for a ten minute recess to discuss, which was granted by the mayor.
Thirty minutes later, the mayor and board returned and Sandra Nichols stated the mayor had decided to move on with the vote.
Apparently, the mayor indicated he believed the prohibition on communication extended from the time the RFP was issued and the date a contract was signed.
An interesting reasoning by the mayor, when the city sent a letter to Frederick Atlantic LLC, informing them they had not been awarded the bid after the review committee made their decision months ago.
In addition, evidently based on information released by the freedom of information requests, the mayor said both respondents to the RFP had numerous communications with the city.
One would think, whether one or both violated the prohibition on communicating, the action would have negated the process. With the mayor's reasoning, two wrongs do make a right.
And move on they did; to a discussion of The Keys lease.
Various items in the lease were discussed with maintenance requirements to the city of the stadium scoreboard being among items which prohibited Aldermen Aloi from voting for the lease.
Prior to the vote, the three aldermen who voted for the lease; Carol Krimm, Michael O'Connor and Kelly Russell all defended their vote. Krimm and O'Connor defending the city staff who rated the proposal with Krimm pointing out she went and questioned each staff member of the RFP review committee, saying other Aldermen could have done the same.
Krimm also pointed out the mayor unilaterally decided to issue a RFP for use of the stadium. As if, that made a difference on how the award process unfolded.
An indignant Alderman O'Connor even stating the stadium lease was not the most important decision for The City of Frederick. Hardly, an excuse for an inept approval process.
The important part Krimm missed is discussion with review committee members should have been part of the public process and done in the open for all city voters to see and hear. Something, I called for repeatedly during the sloppy award process.
Young and Aloi repeated their assumption the city did not break even with the lease and the award process had been flawed.
After Alderman comments concluded, Mayor McClement called for the vote, with the resulting 3-2 vote, hardly a surprise.
Congratulations go to the Keys along with best wishes as they hold a two game to one lead over the Kinston Indians in the league championship series. One more win would earn The Keys the Carolina League Championship.
Let's hope how this stadium lease extension played out is not an indication of what the future bodes with the current mayor and board. City residents deserve better.
Stay tuned...
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Last Friday was my first official press meeting with The City of Frederick, Maryland executive assistant Josh Russin and public information coordinator Susan Harding. The once a month meetings a outcome of a previous conversation I had with Russin. Russin and Harding will also be meeting once a month with Patti Borda of The Frederick News Post and Katherine Heerbrandt of The Frederick Gazette.
This comes as Russin has also instituted regularly scheduled meetings between the mayor and members of the board of aldermen.
It turned out to be a free flowing conversation with Russin discussing some areas he wished to mention and with me asking questions as we discussed the politics of city hall.
While, I commend them for having the regularly scheduled conversations with local press and aldermen, I was disappointed in their answer to my question as to when Mayor Randy McClement would begin meeting regularly with the press - their answer was "We are working on it".
McClement certainly does not need to mimic the once a week press conferences held by former mayor Jennifer Dougherty; who believed in open government, but once a month would be a good start.
Interestingly, the Harry Grove Stadium lease was never brought up by Russin and after repeatedly bashing the city for their inept Request For Proposal (RFP) process in numerous columns, I also let it pass in this conversation.
However, I will add the latest news in regard to the stadium lease is both Katherine Heerbrandt (first) and then Patti Borda filed public information requests with the city to obtain email/correspondence between the aldermen and John Lavoie (Managing Member of Frederick Atlantic LLC) and ( General Manager Dave Ziedelis of The Frederick Keys).
Heerbrandt requested correspondence from aldermen between the dates August 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011.
Borda requested any correspondence between city officials and staff between the dates of February 16, 2011 and September 2, 2011.
The RFP which was issued on February 16, 2011 spelled out the respondents and city elected officials and staff were not to be in contact during the review and award process.
It will be interesting to see what a review of the correspondence shows and if a predisposed position becomes apparent by any of the aldermen as to their position in regard to the lease of the stadium.
What would also be interesting is if a request will be made for the correspondence that took place between Mayor McClement, former city administrator Rick Weldon, Ziedelis and Lavoie. The extension of the current lease with The Keys broke down when Weldon was city administrator.
Meanwhile, the vote to ratify the lease is scheduled for Thursday at the mayor and board meeting.
I will now return to my discussion with Russin and Harding - Below are some of the topics discussed:
Fraternal Order of police (FOP) Contract - Russin stated Mayor McClement and city attorney Sandra Nichols were handling this and he was not involved in the negotiations so he was unable to answer specific questions I asked in regard to what had been holding up the agreement. However, Russin added he believed they were close to resolution. I took that to mean an announcement will take place this week.
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City reached agreement with State Police on a lease for use of a Hanger at Airport. Previous lease had been free - new lease in the $21,000 range. FAA requiring city to own and have leased hanger space before future airport expansion money to be released. City also met in closed session to agree to buy back from Frederick County Government a hanger which the city already has tenants in line at market rate.
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15 member Golden Mile Alliance Board set to be announced this week. Modeled after the successful Downtown Frederick Partnership. I suggested using resources from Maryland Municipal League to see how other similar sized communities around the country were handling the redevelopment of areas which had experienced a decline.
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Requests for letters of interest to serve on a ad hoc Task Force appointed by the mayor on the issue of "Blighted and Neglected Properties" will be announced. The committee will be tasked with coming up with suggestions over a three phased period of 100 days each. Examining land value tax will be part of the discussion.
Land Value Tax was promoted by Ken Berlin in his unsuccessful bid for city aldermen two elections ago and local activist Alan Feinberg has also long promoted the use of a Land Value Tax.
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Payment plan for water and sewer impact fees in the works to hopefully spur business expansion by reducing the up front costs. The devil will be in the details as the city looks at how they can secure a guarantee for payment.
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Hargett farm for use as city park was brought up briefly. Appears mayor and aldermen have reached an agreement on portions of the land for a future school, aquatic center and open space. Remaining land could still be sold - the city can control zoning and a most likely scenario would be commercial. Interestingly, former owner; Developer Donald Pleasants, retains a first option if the city would decide to sell the twenty acre parcel.
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City Lease/Sale Policy - has been circulated for comments several times among city staff and aldermen - is now close to being presented at mayor and board meeting for a vote.
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In closing our conversation, I asked if a system was in place to track issues which had been brought up for consideration at city mayor and board workshops.
My concern is voters should know if the mayor has decided against moving an issue forward and why.
I pointed out obviously the mayor controls the agenda and it would be interesting to see what issues had been brought forward in workshops since McClement took office and the disposition of each at the present time.
I referenced the charter rewrite committee the mayor had chaired under the former Jeff Holtzinger administration and wondered why their recommendations had never been presented at a mayor and board meeting for a vote.
In addition, I asked about the status of the suggested move of the city election date to coincide with the presidential election, which I have promoted for several years.
Both Josh and Susan felt it was a good suggestion to have a tracking system in place and indicated they would pursue implementing it.
Time did not permit me to ask about progress toward a sustainable City of Frederick, shared use pathways, funding availability for capitol improvements and more.
All in all, a good first meeting. As is often the case in politics, questions and conversations lead to more questions.
What remains missing in the Mayor McClement administration is a over arching vision or the existence of goals he wishes to achieve for the City of Frederick.
This week will be a busy week for Russin and Harding. Russin will be getting married and Harding is off to Italy for a well deserved vacation.
No wonder there are so many items scheduled on the mayor and board meeting agenda for Thursday.
Stay tuned...
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The owners of The Frederick Keys out lasted and out maneuvered The City of Frederick as they secured a favorable long term extension for the use of Harry Grove Stadium as their home field ball park.
Watching the video broadcast of the mayor and board workshop held last week, it became apparent, the mayor and a majority of the aldermen were content to move forward to ratify a less than satisfactory lease.
The perfunctory vote will take place during the September 15 mayor and board meeting.
Unless, legal action is pursued, questions raised by the competing team for the use of the stadium will never be answered.
Frederick Atlantic LLC Managing Member John Lavoie’s email which contained his concerns over the award process and subsequent lease negotiations with The Keys was read into the minutes as Lavoie requested, but his questions were never answered.
In addition, during the workshop held last week, Alderman Shelley Aloi methodically compared the proposed lease by The Keys to their existing lease, pointing out the new proposed lease was not an improvement.
The financial analysis from Alderman Karen Young which showed the city stood to lose money over the term of the lease also had little sway on the mayor and remaining aldermen.
All of which signals the deal is done and The Keys are staying put.
Congratulations are in order for The Keys negotiating team who secured their support among the aldermen prior to when the Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by the mayor.
Being a lifelong Baltimore Oriole fan, I am pleased to see their single-a affiliated team remain in The City of Frederick. Albeit, with terms less than desirable for The City of Frederick and the stadium lease agreement stubbornly reached after much wrangling by The Keys.
As one who was raised in The City of Frederick, it was embarrassing to watch the sloppy manner in which the RFP process transpired; much of which resulted due to lack of communication.
McClement earned my kudos for issuing a RFP after lease extension negotiations broke down with The Keys earlier this year.
However, a thumbs down now goes to Republican Mayor Randy McClement and city administrator Josh Russin for their repeated stumbles throughout the RFP process.
All of which has shed light on an even bigger problem at city hall.
Since becoming mayor, McClement; a self proclaimed student of the city’s charter, has often pointed out to questioning aldermen, the mayor is the elected administrator and the board of aldermen is the elected legislative body.
It was the same three aldermen who questioned the mayor’s unilateral issuance of the RFP for the use of the stadium, who will most likely vote to ratify the lease with the Keys on September 15.
While, the mayor is technically correct as to the roles of the elected city officials, it was The Keys negotiating team who showed they knew how to count to three.
This lack of communication by the mayor with the aldermen will continue to plague city residents who want issues dealt with in a timely and effective manner.
Whether it is the ratification of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract, what to do with the boondoggle property the former administration purchased for use as a Park, or how to redevelop the neglected and rapidly deteriorating west end of the city, communication has been lacking as well as a lack of clarity of the action to be taken on each issue.
Without, a theme or "vision" for The City of Frederick promoted by the McClement administration, a lackluster and seemingly adrift city government has been the result over the first twenty months since the all new mayor and board took office.
New city administrator Josh Russin informed me that after recent discussions with the mayor, he will begin to schedule regular meetings between the aldermen and the mayor to facilitate communication.
Let’s hope the young man has better success with this effort than he did in negotiating the stadium lease.
In these challenging times, city residents deserve better from their elected officials.
Stay Tuned…..
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In my column last Wednesday, I wrote about how the Request for Proposals (RFP) and award process for the lease of Harry Grove Stadium by The City of Frederick reminded me of the famous comedic routine by Abbott and Costello; "Who's on first".
Noticing the City of Frederick had the lease of the stadium as an agenda item for this coming Wednesday city workshop, I emailed city administrator Josh Russin for specifics to be discussed.
He replied indicating the city lease negotiating team will present to the mayor and board of aldermen a draft lease which does not include any additional revenue sources (dropping parking revenue) and requires The Keys to pay utilities. You can read my email to Mr. Russin and his replyhere.
Interestingly, five months after the lease is finally ratified, Russin indicates the city and The Keys will negotiate terms for additional revenue sources such as parking, advertising and naming rights.
Why the additional revenue could not be agreed upon over the last several months of negotiations remains a mystery. One sticking point had been the Keys offer to receive the first $125,000 (later reduced to $115,000) of parking revenues before splitting revenues with the city. This was to offset their annual cost of utilities.
The upcoming five months from October through February are not baseball playing months in our area of the country so one would assume the utility fees will not be significant during this time.
The other team to respond to the RFP was Frederick Atlantic LLC. Monday, Managing Member Jack Lavoie, sent a detailed email to the mayor and board expressing his dissatisfaction with the award process. Mr. Lavoie added he will be unable to attend the workshop on Wednesday and asked for his email be read into the record.
Lavoie points out what I mentioned in my last column, The Keys did not offer to pay utilities in their RFP submission, stating in his email "The proposed Lease does not comply with competitive bids & the RFP terms tendered under a sealed bid by the Keys. This results smacks of collusion and "back-room" dealing."
In a column published on 8-21-2011, I proposed a series of four steps, which if taken, were intended toresult in a fair outcome to both bidders and the city.
One of the steps involved a discussion by the mayor and board on what additional revenue sources, if any, were acceptable.
Updated (in bold) 8-30-2011 8:45 AM ET
Another one of the steps I suggested was for the mayor and board to agree on and use a projected expense cost to the city for the stadium. This would then be used to compare to the offers received.
This morning, I received from Alderman Karen Young a financial spreadsheet showing the bid received from Frederick Atlantic LLC, far exceeds in revenue to the city, what was bid by The Keys. You can read it here.
At the end of the first year, Alderman Young's financial projections show The Keys offer resulted in a net loss to the city of $62,948 and Frederick Atlantic LLC was a plus $83,852. Over the ten year period, her projections show a loss of $629,480 from The Keys offer and a plus $148,520 from the Frederick Atlantic LLC offer.
It is not too late for the city to discuss and reconsider their awkward award process to date and see if there is a better way to finalize the Harry Grove Stadium lease.
Stay Tuned...
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In what is playing out in a similar manner as the famous Abbott and Costello classic baseball comedic routine of “Who’s on first”, the already muddied and confusing Request For Proposals (RFP) process has taken yet another turn.
Months after the city announced The Frederick Keys had won the RFP and a city lease negotiation team announced, the city remains without a ratified lease for the use of Harry Grove Stadium.
City of Frederick Mayor Randy McClement has now announced the city is dropping the negotiation with The Keys over revenue splits of parking revenue.Instead, the mayor says he now wants to go back to what was in the original RFP.
Seems, new city administrator Josh Russin, who was leading the city negotiating team was not having any better success in dealing with The Keys than his predecessor, Rick Weldon.
Interestingly, it was the failure by former city administrator Rick Weldon and the city to negotiate a satisfactory extension of the existing lease with The Frederick Keys which led Mayor McClement to issue the RFP.
The 120 day period the bids were require to stay in effect per the RFP, has now expired, making one wonder what the mayor is referring to when he says he wants to go back to the original RFP.Why were lease negotiations taking place outside of the RFP is another good question.
When I informed John Lavoie, Managing Member of Frederick Atlantic LLC of the latest development he said the following in an email I received last evening; “saw the new Gazette article today ..
If that is all recent info from the Mayor, the City's pending course of action is possibly illegal and confusing at best. If taken at face value, this will now totally ensure that the proposed Keys Lease does NOT comply with their RFP submission and that the Mayor and Aldermen are all active and knowing participants who have orchestrated this flawed RFP, engineered a closed process and concluded a one-sided auction in concert with one of the bidders- The Keys club.”
In a follow up phone conversation with Mr. Lavoie, he indicated it was fine for me to publish verbatim what he had stated in his email.
The announcement by the mayor comes after The Keys negotiated terms with the city which had them receiving the first $150,000 in parking revenue to reimburse them for the estimated annual cost of utilities at the stadium.This was later dropped to $125,000, before the mayor announced, at the last minute, he was pulling the discussion of the Harry Grove Stadium lease from the scheduled workshop last week.
Next, to appear was a financial analysis from Aldermen Karen Young which indicated the city’s financial cost to operate the stadium was not covered by the offer made by The Keys and showed Frederick Atlantic LLC offered a better deal for the city.
What followed was a motion by Aldermen Carol Krimm, which was unanimously approved, at the mayor and board meeting the next day, to release minutes of the private mayor and board meetings pertaining to the stadium lease.
What was the startling disclosure that resulted from this action? – The Keys were to receive extra points in the evaluation of their proposal due to their affiliation with a major league baseball team.The person who suggested the added weight to be given to The Frederick Keys was Alderman Karen Young.
Hardly a surprise, as this was clearly spelled out in the RFP evaluation criteria which was provided to the bidders.
In addition, over the last six months, gossip was spread around town by supporters of both teams. One, persistent rumor had The Frederick Keys for sale and/or leaving town.
The responding rumor involved original owner of The Keys; Peter Kirk, who is now affiliated with Opening Day Partners who has a strong relationship with Frederick Atlantic LLC. Kirk had a past relationship with former City of Frederick Mayor Ron Young, with the rumor suggesting this would make his current wife; Alderman Karen Young a supporter of Frederick Atlantic LLC.I wrote about both rumors in a column dated 4-20-2011.
Casting aside all of the smoke and mirrors one has to ask; where do all these theatrics leave the city?
According to the side-by-side comparison (prepared by John Lavoie; Managing Member of Frederick Atlantic LLC) of the two bids received by the city; The Frederick Keys did not offer to pay for utilities and Frederick Atlantic LLC offered to pay 100%.
So, with the recent announcement from the mayor, do the mayor and board of aldermen now intend to accept an offer from The Keys that does not include payment of utilities?Or, do they intend to alter the bid received from The Keys and include payment for utilities?Is this a fair approach in the RFP award process?
Where does this leave the city in regard to additional revenue streams?Clearly, one of the purposes of issuing the RFP was to see what reasonable additional revenues could be utilized for the benefit of the city.
Meanwhile, the question remains as to whether the city will receive enough money from the lease to pay for their operating expenses of the stadium.
Another unanswered question which remains is how did the secretive RFP review committee come up with their evaluation of the two proposals in the first place?
No request was made by the committee to have representatives of the two bidders give an oral presentation (allowed under the guidelines of the issued RFP) to them.
This oral presentation would have allowed the committee to get all their questions answered in regard to additional revenue streams and to also make sure they were comparing “apples to apples” when evaluating what was arguably a difficult RFP to rank.
A presentation from the review committee to the mayor and board in a workshop also never took place which would have allowed a clear picture to unfold.If, the aldermen or mayor had questions, they could have been answered at that time.
Whether what has transpired to date with the RFP process has been legal or not is best left for lawyers to decide. Let's hope it does not come to that.
In my column published on Sunday, I presented a series of steps which, if taken, were intended to result in a fair outcome to both bidders and the city.
Instead, city taxpayers are left wondering, Who’s on first?
Stay Tuned…
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The handling of the lease of Harry Grove Stadium by the City of Frederick has raised more questions than was intended since Mayor Randy McClement issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) back in the spring of this year.
Rather than dwell on the less than satisfactory manner the award process has been to date, it would behoove the mayor and aldermen to examine the options available to them to ensure the city ends up with the best terms available for the use of the stadium – city residents deserve no less.
Public scrutiny of the terms of the lease agreement being negotiated by the city with The Keys has highlighted significant income differences to the city in various areas compared with the terms proposed by Frederick Atlantic LLC.Some of these areas were discussed in my column published on August 17, 2011.
In that column, I also pointed out the mayor and board of aldermen had never really discussed the pluses and minuses of charging for parking, stadium naming rights, and various billboard advertising options which have been identified as potential revenue streams for the city.
The lack of effort by the city to limit excessive pricing of concessions at the stadium was another disappointment discovered as the award process/lease negotiations have played out.
Rather than conduct a do-over of the issuance of the RFP, the possibility exists for the mayor and/or board of aldermen to require a few additional steps be taken prior to the ratification of the stadium lease.
While, the city RFP review committee has recommended The Keys and lease negotiations are taking place with them, no formal action has been taken by the mayor and board to affirm/confirm the recommendation by the review committee.
In addition, no lease agreement has been presented to the mayor and board for an official vote.
The intent of these proposed additional steps prior to ratifying a lease agreement would be to ensure the city receives the best lease possible from the two respondents to the RFP.
Prior to continuing lease negotiations with The Keys, discussion should take place in the next city mayor and board workshop with an agreement to implement the following steps:
First, review the Harry Grove Stadium financial pro forma (AL v. Keys and Proposed Keys Lease) prepared by Aldermen Karen Young – confirm the projected city expenses portion with city financial staff – instruct RFP review committee to use the projected city expenses when they evaluate clarified lease offers received in step three.
Second, decide on what additional revenue streams are acceptable to the city.This would include naming rights and a determination on “what” is available to be named, parking revenue, billboard advertising, and the price of concessions.
Third, instruct the RFP review committee to request private and separate oral presentations from both bidders (allowable under the RFP issued) to clarify their proposed terms based on the agreed upon additional revenue streams from the decisions made in the mayor and board workshop in step two.
This is important as City administrator Josh Russin in an article written by Katherine Heerbrandt in the Frederick Gazette was quoted as saying "The changed items — the split in revenues for signs and parking — were not part of the selection committee's purview, and only came up in the negotiations process."
In addition to clarifying proposed revenue splits on the agreed upon additional revenue streams, if any other areas of the submitted proposals need to be discussed to ensure “apples are being compared to apples”, the review committee would have the opportunity to do so at this time.
Fourth, have the RFP review committee (or a designee, if privacy is preferred) present in a mayor and board workshop, their ranking of the two proposals and their subsequent recommendation.
Unless, objection to the recommendation is heard from a majority of the aldermen at the workshop, the finalization of the lease agreement would then take place to be formally ratified at a following mayor and board meeting.
These steps should have been taken in the first place to ensure transparency and to preserve the integrity of the Request for Proposal process.
It is not too late for them to still happen – city residents deserve it.
Stay tuned…
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During an impromptu meetingwith The City of Frederick administrator Josh Russin Monday morning at Starbucks, where I often write, a variety of topics were discussed. One, which caught my attention was when Josh asked me what I felt about about him beginning regularly scheduled meetings with members of the media. Russin mentioned he believed the meetings would allow for individual questions and answers on topics of interest from members of the media. He further added he intended to use Susan Harding more in the role of Public Information Officer. A position, if my recollection is correct, was eliminated during the Republican Jeff Holtzinger administration.
Ms. Harding has long been employed in the mayor's office, working for both Republican and Democratic administrations and is well suited for this role.
I, of course agreed with Josh - who would oppose more transparency from an administration who has been anything but open with the press?
I received an email the next day from Ms. Harding to set up our monthly meeting date and time. I noticed on the email her official title is Public Information Coordinator.
In responding to and confirming the date and time for my meeting, I added this was a good proactive step, but a regularly scheduled press conference by Republican Mayor Randy McClement is also needed. Hopefully, that will also transpire in the near future.
City residents deserve open and transparent government and kudos to Russin for reaching out to the media.
Stay Tuned...
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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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