Date: March 21, 2024
The meeting was held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Chatham and convened at 5:30 pm.
Attendees: Joe Rogers – Chairman, Dick Camp – Vice Chairman, Frank Fox, Janet Bishop, Deborah Haymes, Delilah White, Donna Yeatts, Phil Mauger, Langhorne Jones, Marylin Waller, Anita Royston, and Dean Rogers. Margie Richardson attended as a non-voting member in place of Kell Stone. A quorum was present.
- Chairman Rogers welcomed latest members Anita Royston and Langhorne Jones and introduced Marylin Waller and Margie Richardson.
- Chairman Rogers announced that the purpose of the meeting was to vote on the selection of a consultant to conduct the growth and renewal study. He referred committee members to previous internal emails about the process and requirements for confidentiality. He again explained the process and confidentiality needs. The winning firm’s name will not be released until a contract is signed. The award amount and other firms’ names will remain confidential.
- Members were reminded of the procurement actions to date. Proposals were received from three firms. These were provided to committee members for review, review comments were consolidated, and the comments were provided to the firms for final proposals. The comments were accompanied by information developed by the steering committee during the proposal preparation, such as the development of ReimagineChatham.org brand and web site, a logo, and other actions that might influence their final submittal.
- Each member was offered the chance to comment on the responses of the three firms. After the initial comments, the field was reduced to two. Further discussion revealed that members could generally support either firm but there was a rather even divide between those who preferred either the larger firm or the smaller. In the interest of trying to obtain the best evaluation possible, the committee decided to invite each firm to provide a presentation on how they would approach the project and to participate in a question-and-answer session.
- Dick Camp will contact the two firms and set up possible dates for the interview sessions. Dates will be provided to the committee for comments to select the one that best suits the majority of members. The hope is to conduct the interviews within the next two weeks. The delay in the award schedule is deemed justified.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joe Rogers – Chairman