Updates on Outreach
Parks library representatives attended a meeting at Bradley
House apartments but no one showed up despite door-to-door outreach on
Apartment staff’s part. Kate is planning a storytime on Sunday, Feb 24 instead,
with snacks, where she will be distributing info from both the rec center and
the library. In addition, Kate and Betsy will work to set up a meeting with the
apartment managers of surrounding complexes to see what additional outreach we
can do at these locations.
Parks has also met with young people using the library’s
homework center. For the most part, the youth using the library are not using
or are unaware of opportunities at Conway. A meeting is also scheduled with one
of the local scout troops to talk about what youth want to see at the local rec
centers. And meetings are being set up with youth groups already at Conway.
District 1 is setting up an additional meeting with the
elders group for the coming weeks. (Please note that on Monday, February 25 at
6:30p, there will be a community meeting at Conway to update neighbors and get
more feedback – everyone is welcome to attend.).
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| the old totlot - things are improving! |
RFP (Request for
Proposals) Draft
In general, the task force was quite pleased with the
current draft of the Request for Proposals. The tone of the RFP is positive and
presents the potential partnership as an opportunity. Some minor changes were
suggested by community members, and the draft will remain open for revisions
for a few more days, if other suggestions come up. The task force feels that
the RFP has come a long way from the first draft to express the desires of the
community. Parks restated that this RFP will become a template for future
partnership requests.
Next Steps – The Process
for Determining a Partner
The discussion then focused on what happens once the task
force says the RFP is ready to be opened to the public. A department of the
City (Contract and Analysis Sevices and a legal team) will review the draft to
make sure that it meets the legal requirements the City has. The request will
then be posted on the City’s website and distributed to a standard list of
contacts (media and potential partners…) for announcement. In addition, anyone
(task force member or community member) can send a link to the request to any
potential partner he or she thinks might be interested and a good fit. The
request will initially remain open for 60 days.
During that 60 day period, potential partners may be
submitting proposals and/or seeking clarification on the request. The
clarification requests will be fielded by Parks. In addition, if a potential
partner wants to tour the Conway site, they can contact Mike Devilliers at
Conway to set up a time to do so.
The task force will receive updates on the number of
proposals that have been submitted as we move through the 60 day period, but we
will not know who has submitted a proposal until the 60 days are up. At the end
of the 60 day period, a next-meeting-date of the task force will be set and the
proposals will be distributed to the task force members in preparation for that
meeting.
At the meeting, the proposals will be ranked according to
the set criteria in the RFP, and a short list of potential partners will be
selected for interview. The interviews will involve all members of the task
force. When the interviews are completed, all the task force members will also
be involved in final selection.
The important thing for the community to know is that
community members have been, and will be, involved in this selection process
from beginning to end. This has been a unique process for the City of St. Paul,
and we look forward to such collaboration in the future, starting early in the
process of any decision affecting our neighborhoods.
Please note that the specifics of the RFP cannot be released
to the neighborhood until it is ready to be released to potential partners.
This is a legal requirement of the City’s RFP process. The community should be
assured that the CAG members and District 1 continue to gather input from residents
(and businesses) about what programming should look like at Conway and in the
neighborhoods generally.
Again, please join us Monday, February 25 at 6:30p at Conway
Rec Center to hear a complete update and to give input. You can also contact
the district council to give comments or suggest potential partners – district1council@aol.com or
651.578.7600.
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