Notice of Request for Proposals
Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Request for Proposals for Facilitation Services
For
The Special Committee to Consider Renaming of Airport Road
Request for Proposals for Facilitation Services
Bid: Q05-05
The Town of Chapel Hill is seeking proposals for facilitation services in connection with the work of the Special Committee to Consider Renaming of Airport Road.
The Town Council voted to establish the Committee at its June 14, 2004 meeting. Please see Attachment 1 for the motion adopted by the Council. The Council appointed the Committee at its September 13, 2004 meeting. At the same meeting, the Council also voted to select Option Four as a plan for proceeding with the work of the Committee. Please see Attachment 2 for a description of Option Four.
The Council wishes to provide professional facilitation of the Committee’s work and wishes to receive proposals from persons interested in providing such services. Proposals should include a plan for preparations prior to the first meeting of the Committee; a suggestion as to how many meetings of the Committee would be necessary and how the meetings would be organized and conducted; recommendations for involvement of persons who applied for appointment to the Committee and were not appointed, but who remain interested in the work of the Committee; provisions for preparation of reports after meetings and a final report to the Council; estimated hours of work and costs involved; the qualifications and experience of the persons who would provide the facilitation services; and such other information as is considered useful.
The Council wishes to receive a final report from the Committee by late November or early December; and, the Council is concerned that the costs of facilitation services be kept to a reasonable level.
A link to additional background information will be available by September 23 on the Town’s website www.townofchapelhill.org. In addition, the Town Clerk [email protected] is able to provide a DVD version of the televised discussion of this subject that took place at the September 13 meeting.
Proposals should be submitted to:
Facilitation Proposal
Attn: Coco Hall
Finance Department
Town of Chapel Hill
306 North Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516
Proposals will be considered if submitted by Monday, September 27, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.
Motion adopted by the Town Council on June 14, 2004.
That the Council appoint a special committee to consider the petition submitted by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP and to develop recommendations for appropriate memorials to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by appointing a committee composed of:
· Members of the Council
· Members of the NAACP
· Residents of Airport Road
· Diverse group of citizens at large
· Persons familiar with the history of the community, the facilities involved, the person(s) being honored, and other contextual issues.
who would meet to arrange and conduct public forums, workshops, and such other meetings as would be useful in developing options and recommendations for the Council's consideration; and that the opportunities for participation by citizens interested in participating in the proposed re-naming and any related matters be widely publicized through multiple media; and that the Committee conduct its business at the deliberate pace necessary for effective civic process.
ATTACHMENT 2
MEMORANDUM
TO: Town Council Members
FROM: Kevin Foy, Mayor
SUBJECT: Appointment of Special Committee to Consider Renaming of Airport Road; Employment of Facilitator
DATE: September 13, 2004
COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE
In our discussion at the last Council meeting, the Council agreed that it would be useful to consider options for composition of the Special Committee to Consider Renaming of Airport Road. I offer the following for consideration.
Option One: Appoint 20 members with the composition originally considered by the Council this past June:
· The Mayor and two Council Members
· Four members of the NAACP
· Four persons who are residents of Airport Road or who operate a business on Airport Road
· Two persons familiar with the history of the community, the history of Airport Road, the social history of the United States, African American History, the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or other contextual issues
· A diverse group of seven citizens at large
Option Two: Enlarge the group and appoint 25-30 members with the same general composition as recommended in Option One.
Option Three: Appoint all persons who apply, about 60 people at the time of this writing.
Option Four: Appoint a 20-person committee with the composition originally recommended; provide all of the materials received by the committee to all of the other persons who applied for appointment, both electronically and in print form; conduct committee meetings in facilities adequate for the committee and attendance by all interested, with print form materials available for all in attendance; post all committee materials on a website; include a time on the agenda for each committee meeting for public comment; and, engage the applicants not appointed to the committee as a focus group for discussion and feedback on key issues, ideas and proposals. I also recommend that we ask WCHL to broadcast all of the committee’s meetings and that we ask The Peoples Channel to either telecast the meetings live or through tape delay.
I recommend Option Four. I believe that such an arrangement would allow the committee to conduct its work with good participation and at a reasonable pace while involving a larger number of citizens in the process.
EMPLOYMENT OF FACILITATOR
I believe that it is essential that we employ an experienced facilitation team to help the committee in the organization and conduct of its work. The charge of the committee is challenging. The immediate issues and underlying issues that inevitably must be discussed are difficult to discuss in an open, honest, civil and constructive manner.
The costs of facilitation services, including gathering information prior to the first committee meeting, facilitating committee meetings, conducting focus group meetings and assisting the committee in the preparation of a report to the Council will be substantial, in the range of $15,000 to $25,000. The cost is justified because of the difficulty and time required for the work and the potential long term value of a good work process and product.
I propose that the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and a Council Member work together to select a consultant and, with assistance of the Manager, negotiate a contract for facilitation services.
CONCLUSION
Attached for reference is a copy of the motion adopted by the Council to initiate the appointment of the committee. We and the community need to move forward with this important work.