Concerns... Public Engagement or Charrette Charade?
The Concern:
The members of the City Council are considering funding a half-million-dollar consulting contract without following the public procurement process and best practice of putting contacts out to bid. There has been no public hearing on this issue, and no attempt to seek public comment. Instead, the City Council has been pressured by the Administration to approve the funding in haste, supposedly to "get ahead" of property speculator Robert Korff, even though his projects could be submitted and approved well before the proposed 13-month consulting project was completed, and even though the consultant's final report proposed zoning changes might very well end up facilitating Korff's proposed massive projects. (It's been reported that, in addition to Washington Place, Korff intends to build more than 400 units in West Newton Square, more than 500 behind Whole Foods on Washington Street, another 700 at Riverside, and is still buying properties to demolish and densify.) The City Council needs to hear from residents promptly, as they will vote on April 2, 2018 on the following item:
#85‐18 Appropriate funds to develop an action plan for Washington Street Corridor
HER HONOR THE MAYOR requesting authorization to appropriate and expend five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) from Free Cash for the purpose of developing an actionable plan for the Washington Street Corridor that addresses land use, economic development, transportation, fiscal impacts, and other issues that may arise, as well as a new zoning district(s).
There are two main issues of concern with this appropriation request – the no-bid contract aspect and whether spending $500,000 for this purpose at this time makes sense.
The members of the City Council are considering funding a half-million-dollar consulting contract without following the public procurement process and best practice of putting contacts out to bid. There has been no public hearing on this issue, and no attempt to seek public comment. Instead, the City Council has been pressured by the Administration to approve the funding in haste, supposedly to "get ahead" of property speculator Robert Korff, even though his projects could be submitted and approved well before the proposed 13-month consulting project was completed, and even though the consultant's final report proposed zoning changes might very well end up facilitating Korff's proposed massive projects. (It's been reported that, in addition to Washington Place, Korff intends to build more than 400 units in West Newton Square, more than 500 behind Whole Foods on Washington Street, another 700 at Riverside, and is still buying properties to demolish and densify.) The City Council needs to hear from residents promptly, as they will vote on April 2, 2018 on the following item:
#85‐18 Appropriate funds to develop an action plan for Washington Street Corridor
HER HONOR THE MAYOR requesting authorization to appropriate and expend five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) from Free Cash for the purpose of developing an actionable plan for the Washington Street Corridor that addresses land use, economic development, transportation, fiscal impacts, and other issues that may arise, as well as a new zoning district(s).
There are two main issues of concern with this appropriation request – the no-bid contract aspect and whether spending $500,000 for this purpose at this time makes sense.
FIRST, the no-bid contract aspect of this appropriation is concerning. Newton taxpayers have the right to expect that their elected officials will spend tax dollars in the most cost effective way while also guaranteeing that the money is spent procuring the highest quality services possible. Authorizing a no-bid $500,000 contract does not help accomplish either one of these goals. No-bid contracts are not best practice for a fiscally responsible municipal government. Between January 2016 and January 2018, the City of Newton spent more than $6 million on no-bid contracts (see below). That is unacceptable, and must end now.
Public procurement of services is best done through a competitive bidding process to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption, to allow all vendors equal access to the chance to work for Newton, and to allow Newton's elected leaders, city staff and taxpayers the opportunity to learn about what various vendors have to offer at different price points. The city will not be obligated to accept the lowest bid, but knowing that there is a competitive process will encourage applicants to submit their best offers.
If the new administration had requested a public bidding process in January, bids could have been received by now. Failure to follow best practice should not be rewarded with a pass, as it will just encourage more of the same. Moreover, a few more weeks to put it out to bid now and get bids in response added to the timeline of a 13-month contract won't cause harm, especially as there is nothing about this scope of work or the timeline that prevents any property speculator from submitting an unwanted development proposal well before the consultant's work is finished in any case.
If the new administration had requested a public bidding process in January, bids could have been received by now. Failure to follow best practice should not be rewarded with a pass, as it will just encourage more of the same. Moreover, a few more weeks to put it out to bid now and get bids in response added to the timeline of a 13-month contract won't cause harm, especially as there is nothing about this scope of work or the timeline that prevents any property speculator from submitting an unwanted development proposal well before the consultant's work is finished in any case.
SECOND, is the question of whether hiring this, or any, consultant, at this time, to decide the future zoning, density and appearance of Washington Street is in the best interest of Newton residents and taxpayers. There are many reasons why the answer might be “No”:
- We are already paying other consultants to do public engagement and write a new zoning ordinance for the entire city, so hiring a consultant to write new zoning for Washington Street only is redundant.
- It is not clear that the existing zoning along Washington Street is a problem. No one in City Hall has made a case for why it might be a problem, nor has anyone in City Hall asked taxpayers if we want the zoning changed or if we are willing to pay to have a consultant decide how to change it.
- The Principle Group’s submitted budget is skimpy on details (see budget below* or in official agenda) and looks like line item costs were inflated for the purpose of reaching $500,000, which was known to be the maximum amount the Mayor was willing to spend. The fact that the consultant initially came in with a price of $750,000 so the Administration could “bargain” him down to $500,000 only makes the price more suspect.
- If the intention is to for the Principle Group to create a plan for Washington Street before a certain property speculator can submit any more large, apartment projects for consideration, the 13-month timeline of the consultant's work won't prevent the speculator from doing anything he intends to do. (It's been reported that Washington Place developer Robert Korff plans to build more than 400 units in West Newton Square, more than 500 behind Whole Foods on Washington Street, another 700 at Riverside, and is still buying properties to demolish and densify.) If the City Council simply put a halt to the speculator's plans by refusing to vote for up-zoning changes and Special Permits for his proposals, there would be plenty of time for a public planning process for Washington Street, perhaps with no consultant, a better consultant, or at a lower price.
- Newton’s Planning & Development Department, as currently led, has a pro-developer, high-density urbanization ideological focus at odds with the suburban village, tree-lined qualities of Newton that residents chose when they chose to live here. If the outcome of a Priniciple Group charrette process does not square with the Planning & Development Department's high-density development vision, it’s unlikely the public's vision will prevail. Why should Newton taxpayers pay $500,000 for a consultant to legitimize a high-density urbanization re-zoning plan that will result in changes the public doesn’t want?
- The Principle Group has been presented as the only suitable consultant by Newton’s Planning & Development Department, mostly on the strength of the company’s work promoting the densification of Somerville’s Union Square. Some Somerville residents and aldermen have reported that the zoning changes that came out of the Union Square planning process reflect what U-2, the preselected developer for Union Square, wanted to build, and the pro-development Somerville mayor's predetermined goals for the amount of development desired. The Principle Group was competent at producing renderings of different options, but does not seem to have any special skill at bringing the general public into the planning process. Communication with the public, such as notification emails, etc., about the Union Square planning process, were done by the City of Somerville, not the Principle Group.
- The Newtonville Area Council is currently in the midst of a public planning process for Washington Street, at no cost to taxpayers. It could be a model for village-based planning by resident groups in the villages through which Washington Street passes. The resident and local business feedback is being collected without professional planners and consultants steering the process towards a pre-determined, high-density urbanization outcome. The City Council should support such grassroots, resident-led planning processes, rather than authorizing vast sums to be spent on consultants working to advance a high-density agenda most residents don’t want.
- No bid contracts are not best practice for fiscally responsible municipal government. Public procurement of services is best done through a competitive bidding process to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption, to allow all vendors equal access to the chance to work for Newton, and to allow Newton's elected leaders and city staff the opportunity to learn about what various vendors have to offer at different price points. Between January 2016 and January 2018, the City of Newton spent more than $6 million on no-bid contracts. That is unacceptable, and must end now.
* Principle Group's 2-Page Budget for the $500,000 No-Bid Washington Street Consulting Project:
What You Can Do:
You can demand an end to no-bid contracts, overly expensive consulting contracts, and a commitment to authentic resident-led planning by speaking up, and by writing to express your views to Mayor Fuller at rfuller@newtonma.gov and to the City Councilors via City Clerk David Olson at dolson@newtonma.gov
You can demand an end to no-bid contracts, overly expensive consulting contracts, and a commitment to authentic resident-led planning by speaking up, and by writing to express your views to Mayor Fuller at rfuller@newtonma.gov and to the City Councilors via City Clerk David Olson at dolson@newtonma.gov