The City of Frederick 2017 Election Buzz

George Wenschhof

George Wenschhof

No respite from politics for The City of Frederick voters following what may go down in history as the most raucous presidential election that clearly illustrated the deep divide in America.

Beginning soon, announcements by candidates for mayor and board of aldermen will begin to trickle out even though the deadline for candidates to file is not until July 3, 2017.  A petition candidate deadline is May 1, 2017.

The primary election will be held on September 12 and the general election will be on November 7, 2017.

There is growing frustration among voters with the current mayor and board who feel their city government, at best, has been status quo over the last 8 years under Republican mayor Randy McClement and a board of aldermen dominated by Democrats.

What is often said, is at least the mayor and board is free of the drama that existed during former Democratic mayor Jennifer Dougherty's administration.

However, there will be lots of issues that will receive discussion, among them and perhaps the main issue highlighted will be the lack of leadership displayed by nice guy mayor McClement. Also missing is a sense of togetherness and any vision for the future for the residents of what is now the second largest city in the state of Maryland.

The inability by the mayor and board to negotiate an extension of the baseball stadium lease would lead to a poorly executed Request for Proposals and the subsequent renaming of the field with less than artful signs, lack of job development for city residents, the shoddy handling of the downtown hotel/conference center development, little to no action on Blighted properties, another sloppy execution of a request for proposal on the extension of Monocacy Boulevard, a costly and unaffordable plan for the Hargett Farm park debacle, parking fine increases, hikes in water and sewer fees and removal of the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in front of city hall are all just a few of the issues sure to be discussed by candidates.

So what are the early rumors on who will enter the fray?  On the mayor side, Democrats already have several names that are surfacing.  Incumbent alderman Michael O’Connor has all but announced he will be running for the Democratic Party nomination.  His major obstacle will be he never differentiated himself from mayor McClement over the last seven years and if leadership is a skill he plans to run on, he has never shown it during his years in office.

Former one term and first woman mayor Jennifer Dougherty will likely run again.  She has been running since 1993 and has only won one time and that was back in 2001.  Likability is her biggest problem as is the fact she has been the Democratic spoiler in every race since 2005 when she was defeated in the Democratic primary. She became the first incumbent city mayor to be defeated by a candidate of her own party when another former mayor Ron Young defeated her.  She would not support Young in that general election and Republican Jeff Holtzinger would win.  In 2009 after losing to Jason Judd in the primary, she would again not support the Democratic nominee resulting in the election of Republican Randy McClement.  Apparently frustrated with the Democratic Party, Jennifer would run as an unaffiliated petition candidate in the 2013 election with former local reporter Katherine Heerbrandt helping her. Once again, she would split the vote, this time with Democratic candidate Karen Young, and leading to the reelection of Republican mayor Randy McClement. 

Reportedly, she will run as a Democrat this time.  All told, Dougherty is 1-7 in elections who in addition to losing 4 times for mayor also lost a bid for county commissioner and congress.  However, she is a tireless campaigner and would be competitive in this election.  

Another Democrat Roger Wilson, who received the plum job of county liaison to towns and municipalities by Jan Gardner when she was elected county executive has also given considerable thought to running for mayor. He ran for state delegate in the 2014 election and lost. His major problem is the optics of him running for mayor while being paid by taxpayers.  Because of this, the latest rumors have him rethinking and considering a run for alderman.  However, the optics problem remains and voters will not want a city alderman who is working in an appointed position with the county executive and as the county liaison to the city.  City-County agreements are often in front of the mayor and board for consideration, so remaining in his county position would be a difficult sell to voters wondering who he was representing, the city or the county?  His dilemma is to decide whether to give up a well paying position to run for city office.

It would not be a surprise to see downtown resident Peter Samuels jump into the race.  His dissatisfaction with what he refers to as the downtown hotel/conference center boondoggle might just be the catalyst to get him to run.

Former County commissioner and state delegate Galen Clagett’s name has also surfaced.  He ran for mayor 4 years ago and lost to Karen Young in the Democratic primary.  Throughout his time in office, he is known for getting things done so he may throw his hat in the ring when he sizes up the field.

A name that repeatedly pops up when I am talking to folks around town is Jim Racheff.  Jim is widely respected and someone who has been active in local Democratic politics.  He recently chaired the transition effort for county executive Jan Gardner, is chairing Gardner’s “Livable Frederick” Comprehensive Plan update and has served as chair of the city board of zoning appeals.  When I asked him recently if he would consider running, Jim told me his attention to his business would not allow him to do so.

City Democratic alderman Josh Bokee is another who is been talked about who will be entering the race for mayor.  He has let me know he will make his intention known prior to the end of the year. 

It is likely even more Democrats will come forward for mayor.

    

The question remains whether Republican Randy McClement will run again and if not, who will be the Republican candidate?  A rumor sure to stir up political buzz around town has Blaine Young moving to the city and running for mayor.  I heard this rumor immediately following the election of Republican Donald Trump as president.  Although said in jest, it is a type of move Blaine Young would make.  It is more likely, if McClement did not run for reelection; Republican alderman Phil Dacey would seek the job of mayor.

The buzz surrounding city alderman candidates will follow in another column.

Stay tuned.

Mayor and Board Sworn in Today

George Wenschhof

Randy McClement

The inauguration ceremony for the 61st administration of The City of Frederick takes place today.

The Weinberg Center will host the public event.  At 11:00 AM, Mayor Randy McClement (R) will be sworn in to serve his second term.  The board of aldermen will be consist of two Democrats who will enter their second terms; Kelly Russell and Michael O'Connor.

Joining them on the board will be newcomers; Phil Dacey (R), Josh Bokee (D) and former three term Democratic alderman Donna Kuzemchak.

It is expected Kelly Russell, who received the most votes in the election, will be made Mayor Pro Tem today.

Democrats, will once again hold a super majority on the board of alderman, while a Republican serves as mayor of a city that has a strong Democratic voter registration advantage.

Republican alderman elect Phil Dacey will be facing voter anger to the robo-calls made on behalf of his campaign that criticized Democratic alderman elect Donna Kuzemchak for failing to pay her property taxes on time.  Dacey has yet to comment on the issue.

Kuzemchak, once research has been done, may be setting a record for serving the most number of terms as alderman, when she serves her fourth term on the board.

She told me, when the seating arrangement was being set for the board of alderman, she requested a seat next to Dacey.

Stay tuned.

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Majority Should Elect Mayor of Frederick

George Wenschhof

Mayor Randy McClement

The off year City of Frederick election ensured another low voter turnout with incumbent Republican mayor Randy McClement winning reelection by receiving the votes of only 12% of the registered voters in the city.

The official returns show mayoral candidates received 8,354 votes out of 35,498 registered voters.

Even more important, with three candidates running for mayor, he did not receive a majority and won with a plurality of the vote.

The 4,121 votes McClement received fell short of a majority and were 49.56% of the votes cast.

Democratic mayoral candidate Karen Young received 2,586 votes (31.10%) and Unaffiliated candidate Jennifer Dougherty received 1,588 votes (19.10%).

The remaining 59 votes cast were write-ins, over and under votes.

Interestingly, the combined votes for Young and Dougherty equaled a majority of the vote (50.2%).

This is not to suggest the voters of these two candidates would join to support the candidate who received the higher number of votes.

What a large number of cities across the nation do in this situation is they require and hold a runoff election between the two candidates who received the top votes in the general election.

The one negative associated with a runoff election is the added cost to an election.

With this being the first time three candidates have run for mayor in The City of Frederick, it is unlikely runoff elections would be a common occurrence.

On the other hand, with Jennifer Dougherty paving the way and showing that running as an Unaffiliated candidate can be done, it may encourage others to do so in the future.

It would be wise for the city mayor and board of alderman to address this issue.

After all, requiring the mayor to receive a majority of the vote has a democratic ring to it.

Stay tuned.

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Clagett, Young Spend Most in City Election

George Wenschhof

The second candidate campaign finance reports submitted yesterday showed Maryland delegate Galen Clagett spent $82,000 in his losing effort to win the Democratic Party nomination for mayor of The City of Frederick. His contributions included a late $5,000 donation from himself.  The balance in his campaign account was $1,771.

Karen Young, who won the Democratic Party nomination, reported raising a total of $71,000, spending $53,000 and led all candidates moving on to the General Election with $18,535 in the all important cash on hand.

Republican Mayor Randy McClement reported raising a total of $27,310, spending $12,500, with a balance of $14,753.

Unaffiliated mayoral candidate Jennifer Dougherty, who did not participate in a primary, reported raising a total of $12,890, spent $6,604 with a balance of $6,235.

In the first finance report, Clagett reported receiving $20,000 from entities associated with Marvin Ausherman and $10,000 from entities associated with Pleasants Constructions.  Young reported receiving $7,500 from entities associated with local businessman John Fitzgerald.

I was the first to report this and call for an amendment to the candidate contribution law to close the loopholes that allowed candidates to receive greater funds than the amount ($2,500 for mayor, $1,000 for alderman) allowed by law.

In addition, I sent a pledge request to all of the General Election candidates for them to abide to the “spirit of the law” for the remainder of the campaign.  In my first review of the second finance reports, it appears none of the candidates used any of the loopholes available to them, which is a good sign.

On Wednesday, the city mayor and board workshop will discuss changes to the law to eliminate these loopholes.

Republican Phil Dacey ($18,000) and Democrat John Daniels ($13,000) led the alderman candidates in funds received.  Dacey had $8,801 cash on hand and Daniels $6,525.

Interestingly, Dacey was the only candidate to report paying individuals to go door-to-door for him.  This is an allowable expense, but not one that has been used by candidates in previous city elections.

Daniels and Dacey were also the top alderman candidate fundraisers in the first candidate finance report.

Incumbent aldermen Kelly Russell(D) and Michael O’Connor(D), who are heavily favored to win reelection, reported $3,255 and $5,253 cash on hand.

Josh Bokee, who came in third in the Democratic alderman primary, reported raising $9,756, spending $7,019 with a balance of $2,729.

Fraternal Order of Police FSK Lodge #91 followed up their endorsement of Democratic aldermen candidates Michael O’Connor, Kelly Russell, Josh Bokee and John Daniels with a $500 contribution to each.

All of the candidate campaign finance reports may be read online at The City of Frederick website.

The next candidate campaign finance reports are due Tuesday October 29, one week prior to the election on November 5.

Stay tuned.

 

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Online Poll on Downtown Hotel/Conference Center

George Wenschhof

Republican mayor Randy McClement has long promoted the construction of a downtown hotel/conference center.

Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett (D), who is also a candidate for mayor, has also supported building the hotel/conference center.

A recent report by the consultant hired by The City of Frederick showed a funding shortfall of $10-12 million.  I wrote about this here.

The poll gives you four options; you can say "Yes", "No", You support the city "building a parking deck" or the city should provide "waivers on taxes, permit fees".

This issue will become a focus of the city election.

Weigh in on how you feel on this issue - the poll will run a couple of days and is located in the right hand margin of the home page.

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Mayor Proud of Keeping Taxes Level without Sacrificing Services

George Wenschhof

Mayor Randy McClement

When I asked Republican Mayor Randy McClement “what he saw as his most significant achievement(s) during his first term in office and what he would like to accomplish if reelected?” he spoke of keeping taxes level without sacrificing services.

Throughout the first four years as mayor of The City of Frederick, his number one issue was balancing a budget when faced with a significant deficit.  His first year, the city faced a $6 million deficit, followed by $8 million, $12 million and $9 million over the next three years.

Randy told me he changed the process to zero based budgets and as a result, every year the city came under budget.  During tough economic times, the mayor said city staff did an excellent job.

McClement said that while there are some indicators the economy is improving, he believes his focus, if reelected, will continue to be on the financial health of the city.  Randy noted that city housing permits were up by 800 and he was hopeful that next year state real estate tax assessments will increase, resulting in added revenue for the city. He told me the city was $6-8 million behind in road repair projects, that he would like to fund.

However, he was still concerned of the ripple effect the 20% federal government cut resulting from sequestration will have on the local economy.

On my facebook page, I mentioned I was interviewing the mayor and asked for questions. One question came from city resident Ed Hinde who asked: "What's his Vision for the city, and how does he intend to bring that to reality?"

Randy answered that vision and reality were two things.  The mayor added he wanted to maintain the charm and character of the town which were main reasons people visit and live here.

He also wants to keep moving forward with building economic vitality throughout the city and referenced the development of the small area plan for the Golden Mile and the East Frederick Rising plan on the east side.

In regard to the nearly $200 million underfunded city pension and other post employment benefits programs (OPEB), the mayor said he had created a citizens task force and a city employee task force to provide recommendations.

The recommendations that have been implemented will result in a goal of 80% funding for the programs within 20 years, which will be an increase from the current 50% funding level.  Randy said there was still more that can be done and he was considering additional changes.

As to economic development, McClement said completing phase II of the Carroll Creek project was a priority.  Randy was pleased to tell me the city obtained a $3 million federal grant, the city matched with all but $700,000 coming from the city with in kind services provided by city employees.

The mayor pointed out that when phase I of the Carroll creek project was completed it was estimated the economic growth benefit to the city was $50-51 million.

When it came to public safety Mayor McClement said he was pleased with his selection of Police Chief Thomas Ledwell.  When I asked him what he was doing to reach the funding level of 141 officers, he said the 2014 budget included funding for two academy trainings.  Current police levels are at 119.

In regard to the need to build a new police headquarters, the mayor told me due to changes in technology, he would rather have more officers than a new headquarters.

However, Randy said they have a study on what was needed and are always looking for a place to go.

He added they are currently evaluating the feasibility of consolidating some offices on an infill lot the city purchased from the Board of Education on Haywood Road.

Another question I received on my Facebook page came from Vanessa Rini-Lopez who asked: "As a fiscal conservative, how does he reconcile his support of a waste-to-energy (incinerator)?"

McClement told me he has never taken a position on the decision by the Frederick Board of County Commissioners to build an incinerator to handle waste disposal.  He added there would be a need to come up with an option other than trucking waste out of state.

During his term in office, Randy said the city has increased recycling and is moving to once a week trash pick-up for city residents.

At one point during my interview, I asked the mayor what he attributed to the large field of candidates running against him for mayor.  A total of six candidates are vying to replace Randy McClement as mayor; including two former mayors, two aldermen and one state delegate.

He agreed it was probably the largest field of candidates running for mayor in a city election and could not say why so many were running other than it was probably different reasons for different candidates.

The one hour interview went by quickly with many questions remaining to be asked.  The mayor has agreed to meet with me throughout the campaign.

Stay tuned.

 

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On last Day of Filing, Aloi and Hirsch File for Mayor

George Wenschhof

Alderwoman Shelley Aloi

Republican alderwoman Shelley Aloi, who kept voters wondering what office she would be running for, made her run for mayor official on the last day candidates could file to run for office in The City of Frederick election.

Carol Hirsch, a Democrat, also filed for mayor.  With, the additions of Aloi and Hirsch, there are now four women and three men running for mayor.

The possibility now exists three women could face each other in the General Election in November, which would be a first for the city.

Aloi, who has been critical of Mayor Randy McClement during her term as alderwoman, continued her derisive comments of the mayor telling me, in an interview, “The City of Frederick cannot take four more years of the mayor”.

She added McClement had not made the tough decisions in regard to the underfunded city employee pension and other post employee benefit (OPEB) programs. 

Estimates are the city pension plan is underfunded by $78 million and OPEB is underfunded by $104 million.

A total of seven candidates filed for mayor and 15 for alderman.  The City of Frederick website has a list of the primary election candidates here.

Only two incumbent aldermen filed for reelection.  They are Democrats Michael O’Connor and Kelly Russell.

 

Incumbent alderwoman Carol Crimm (D) did not file for reelection and is heavily rumored to be running for state delegate.  Delegate Galen Clagett (D-district 3-a) is running for mayor and has already announced he is not running for reelection for delegate. 

 

Incumbent alderwoman Karen Young (D) joins Shelley Aloi (R) in challenging McClement for mayor.

Voters will elect a mayor and a five member board of aldermen.  The primary election is September 10 and the general election is November 5.

Stay tuned.

Young Heavy Handed with City Alderman over Proposed Citizens/Montevue Sale

George Wenschhof

Blaine Young

The proposed sale of Citizens Care and Rehabilitation Center and Montevue Assisted Living, already beset with legal questions surrounding deed restrictions on a sale, has now entered a new contentious stage.

In a strongly worded official letter, dated June 11, 2013, Frederick Board of Commissioners President Blaine Young (R), used strong language when addressing the members of The City of Frederick board of aldermen, who oppose the sale of the Citizens/Montevue complex.

Young points out in the letter the county has assisted the city in numerous projects over the years and asks for the aldermen whom oppose the sale if they will agree to provide city funds for half of the projected annual $6 million loss the county has been spending to supplement the facilities.  The full text of the letter can be read here.

When I asked Mayor Randy McClement (R) his response to Young’s letter, he sent me an email saying “The BOA at the Wednesday June 12th Workshop, requested that this topic be placed on a future workshop for discussion. I am working to schedule that workshop."

Democratic alderman Michael O’Connor responded to my inquiry by saying “City taxpayers are county taxpayers, so the residents of the City of Frederick are already participants in the support of Citizens and Montevue, which I think is appropriate.

 

O’Connor added “the City has not taken a formal position on the proposed sale, but I do not believe the action a majority of the Board of County Commissioners appears determined to follow through with is in the best interest of our community, the citizens (of the City and county) who call these facilities home, those who may need this care in the future, and the legacy of all the past volunteers and residents.”

 

Young did not respond to a phone call or text message prior to publication. What is unknown is whether a vote was taken by the Board of County Commissioners supporting this letter being sent to the city or whether Young acted unilaterally.

The Frederick Board of Commissioners have set a June 25 public hearing where they will decide whether to move forward with the sale and if they will disband the board of trustees who oversee the facilities.

A July 9 Frederick News Post editorial, says in part, “Both measures need to be tabled. 

This is a complex issue that encompasses not only moral and historical elements, but also legal ones.

The trustee’s board has asked the Maryland attorney general’s Office for a formal opinion on the legality of the sale.  We hope the office will also weigh in on the commissioner’s move to remove the trustees board.  This is an area of state law the county’s own attorney noted as vague and could lead to a legal challenge.”  I agree.

On Friday June 14 at 1:00 PM ET, the League of Women Voters of Frederick County will host an informative discussion of the financial analysis of selling the Citizens and Montevue facilities.

It will be held in downtown Frederick at the C. Burr Artz Library Community Room, located on the first floor.  For more information, click here.

Plan to attend.

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City of Frederick Hotel – What’s The Rush?

George Wenschhof

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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Interesting Times at City Hall

George Wenschhof

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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Keys Steal Home

George Wenschhof

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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Harry Grove Stadium Lease Act ll

George Wenschhof

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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What’s The Next Step with Harry Grove Stadium Lease?

George Wenschhof

Originally published 8-21-2011

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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