ST. LOUIS — The city’s economic development arm is now using new procurement rules for the rollout of a north St. Louis grant program after its board sharply questioned its consultant hiring practices.
The move appears to have saved some money.
St. Louis Development Corp. officials last week were forced to table three resolutions seeking approval of $375,000 in consulting contracts after board members complained they hadn’t heard of some of the companies and wanted more information before taking any action.
Among the contracts that drew questions last week was one for $200,000 with the firm of , led by Maranda Witherspoon Richardson, to conduct “community outreach†and marketing for the new, $37 million program.
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On Thursday, the SLDC staff came back with a new recommendation, pitching , led by Marnee Morgan, for the work. Morgan Graves will charge $135,000 — $65,000 less than the proposed contract with MWR. The resolution also dropped a proposed “short list†of other firms SLDC staff could have tapped for future work without additional board approval.
Because the grant program is using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, SLDC’s ARPA compliance manager Lorna Alexander told the board the agency must follow the “more restrictive†federal procurement policies.
“When you go out for bid, you have to provide or award the contract to the lowest qualified bidder,†Alexander said. “In this case, once we had the three finalists … we did a second review, a more thorough review, and we selected Morgan Graves.â€
Alexander presented the consultant contract resolutions Thursday. Last week, SLDC Chief of Staff Daffney Moore had been the staff member in charge of the resolutions. She was not in attendance at the meeting Thursday.
Last week’s meeting wasn’t the first to see SLDC board members pushing back on consultants SLDC has sought to hire. In January, the board amended a $36,000 contract with Baker Tilly to revamp development incentive policies after members raised concerns that Comer Capital was a subcontractor. Comer had worked as a financial adviser for many deals involving the St. Louis Treasurer’s Office when Mayor Tishaura O. Jones was treasurer.
No representatives of the firms SLDC wanted to hire last week were present during that meeting to answer questions from board members. Morgan, of Morgan Graves, was in attendance Thursday, and she took questions about her firm’s work in the city. Morgan Graves has an existing contract with SLDC related to Opportunity Zones and has worked on a project over the last eight months with , a group of institutions focused on community development in several north St. Louis neighborhoods.
Another proposal Moore presented last week to approve a short list of real estate developer consultants was not brought back before the board Thursday.
SLDC also dropped a proposed short list of firms for “technical assistance†consultants to help businesses apply for grants through the commercial corridor program. But the agency retained a proposed contract worth up to $175,000 for the work with the the , a national nonprofit that works closely with the Urban League.
Alexander said the commercial corridor program has received about 50 applications since June 1.
“It’s really important for us to get a firm on board that can provide technical assistance to these businesses,†she said.
The NDC will oversee Urban League staff and use the League’s new St. Louis Entrepreneurship and Women’s Business Center to assist applicants, Alexander said.
The Board of Aldermen this spring approved using $37 million in city ARPA money to establish the program, earmarking amounts for 11 of the north side’s main commercial roads. Businesses and nonprofits can apply for grants for business operations or to fix up storefronts in the areas. The local legislation also carved out $825,000 for “planning, marketing and consulting.â€
Board members seemed satisfied with the changes and the additional information staff gave them about the consultants.
“There is definitely a thorough process that was taken on these resolutions and providing that information to us as board members makes it easier to digest,†board member Sean Spencer said.
SLDC Director Neal Richardson said the extra help is needed to get the funds to businesses, and the two firms approved Thursday have “proximity†to the community.
“It would have been simple for SLDC to move forward without these consultants providing this technical assistance support or providing this community engagement,†he said. “But we’re working in communities that have been historically disinvested, underserved, businesses that have been marginalized. We need to take a moment to recognize that we can’t force these dollars out the door without doing our due diligence.â€
