AMPUp Advisory Committee - Oct 10th, 2024

Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/35282/18.

Review Meeting Minutes

The Committee amends and adopts minutes from their September 12, 2024 meeting.

Discussion: RFP Responses

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker introduces Rebecca Gruber to the group. Pending confirmation by the Arlington Redevelopment Board, Ms. Gruber will replace Mr. Gowin on the Committee.

Ms. Ricker informs the Committee that we have received six proposals for the master plan update RFP. A few of the proposals were innovative, a few were for typical master plan processes, at least two recommended working with high school students, and one suggested devoting an entire chapter to climate change and sustainability.

(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber is pleased to see six responses. It shows that organizations are interested in working with us, and that says a lot about Arlington as a community.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd noticed that one of the proposals mentions a 9/13 RFP addendum. He asks what that is.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she received a number of questions from one of the applications; the addendum contained answers to those questions.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd felt the submissions offered a wide range of hours. In general, he feels like the respondents are offering a range of solutions.

(Cheryl Miller) Ms. Miller noticed that MAPC's proposal had caveats about not carrying certain types of insurance. She asks if that's okay.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that MAPC is a quasi-public agency. Because of that status, a contract with them would have different details than one with a private agency.

(Cheryl Miller) Ms. Miller says she was impressed with MAPC's diversity statement.

(Ann LeRoyer) Ms. LeRoyer says that most of the firms have some sort of past connection to the town. Ms. LeRoyer says she can't make the time commitment for the selection process, but asks how the committee will work.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that selection committees have an odd number of people; typically five. For this task, she's considering a seven-member committee. Her initial thought was to include the two ARB members (Mr. Benson and Mr. Revilak), two staff (herself and Ms. Suarez), and three members of the advisory committee. She is open to other configurations, though. The selection committee would evaluate the proposals according to the five questions set out in the RFP, and conduct interviews.

(Paul Selker) Mr. Selker thinks that sounds reasonable. He asks if the selection committee could consider other things, like master plans the applicants have worked on in the past.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says we can consider the applicant's past work, and there's nothing stopping us from reaching to communities they've worked with. The selection committee isn't confined to looking at material in the proposal. She thinks one of the interesting elements is how different consultants worked with different kinds of communities. Some planning efforts involved larger cities, and some involved smaller towns.

(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber asks about the extent to which the larger Arlington community can have input into and understanding of the selection process.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she's open to suggestions on how to do this. She notes that the selection process should be wrapped by November 30th or so.

(Angelique Bradford) Ms. Bradford says she was under the impression that the AMPUp advisory committee would be acting as representatives of the public.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says we could post the submissions on the town website, and provide an email address for comment submissions. We might not get much feedback, given the volume of submissions, but we can provide that opportunity.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd suggests putting out a statement after we've chosen the consultant. He'd prefer to emphasize the public engagement aspects after the consultant has been chosen.

(Grant Cook) Mr. Cook agrees with Mr. Revilak. He thinks it's okay to put the submissions up and provide a way for people to submit comments, noting that the submissions are likely public record. He thinks it's appropriate to make a statement after choosing a vendor. He thinks the committee's work should be open, and there will be time for more aggressive outreach later.

(Cheryl Miller) Ms. Miller is concerned that having a heavy presence of staff and board members could reduce diversity on the selection committee. She'd prefer more advisory committee members, and fewer staff and board members. She understands that experience is also a consideration, and isn't sure how to square that circle.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson points out that ARB members are also residents of the town.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the ARB will have to adopt the master plan, so she felt it was important to include them in this process. The ARB is currently made up of three men and two women, and she thinks it's generally representative of Arlington. She says the Redevelopment Board was not was not vetted in the same way as this committee, but some of those seats require particular areas of expertise. Two ARB members are on the AMPUp Advisory Committee; the other three either didn't have time or weren't interested.

Mr. Ricker would like Mr. Boyd to be involved, as he's the chair of the committee. She says that Ms. Hartman, Mr. Selker, and Ms. Bradford have also expressed interest.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd would like to understand the process between now and November 30th. He asks if we'll be reviewing the proposals and conducting six interviews?

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the selection committee will rank each respondent. She was thinking of interviewing the top three firms, but we could interview all six if the selection committee felt that was important.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd asks if the interviews would be 60--90 minutes each.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker thinks that's about right.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd asks if the selection committee would have group deliberations after the interviews.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that will probably be the case.

(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber notes that any deliberation notes will probably be public record.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker agrees, as this is a public process. She wanted to come away from tonight's meeting with an understanding of who would be on the selection committee.

(Angelique Bradford) Ms. Bradford asks if the work could be divided up among committee members.

(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber thinks the selection process could proceed in two steps. A larger group might review the responses to identify the top three or four applicants, and a smaller group would do the interviews.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker hopes that other advisory committee members can look at the submissions, take notes, and provide suggestions to the selection committee.

(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber says she didn't want to lose perspectives of the larger and more diverse group.

(Paul Selker) Mr. Selker says that decision-making can be unwieldy in large committees. He hopes that individual opinions can make their way to Mr. Boyd and Ms. Ricker, for sharing with the selection committee.

(Ann LeRoyer) Ms. LeRoyer says she'd like the ability to comment, but can't make the time commitment to serve on the selection committee. She hopes she'll be able to submit comments for the selection committee to take under advisement.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she'll email the RFP addendum, along with the selection rubric.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak believes that November 30th will arrive more quickly than we expect, and that he's heard enough interest to fill all of the selection committee seats. He makes a motion regarding the selection committee's compositions: Ms. Ricker (from staff), Mr. Benson and himself (from the ARB), and Mr. Boyd, Ms. Gruber, Ms. Hartman, and Mr. Selker (from the advisory committee).

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson notes that Ms. Gruber hasn't been confirmed by the ARB, so her position on the selection committee would be contingent on ARB approval.

The motion is adopted unanimously. The selection committee will consist of Ms. Ricker, Mr. Benson, Mr. Revilak, Mr. Boyd, Ms. Gruber, Ms. Hartman, and Mr. Selker.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker asks if there are any objections to posting the consultant proposals on the town website.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests checking with town counsel, as the selection process is still open.

New Business

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has been reading Medford's master plan. He's impressed by how much park land they have per 1000 residents.

Meeting adjourned.