ST. LOUIS 鈥 A city board Thursday questioned a series of consulting contracts worth nearly $400,000, signaling growing unease at the number of consultants being hired by the city鈥檚 economic development arm.
The board of the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Development Corp. tabled all of its agenda items Thursday, three of which related to hiring outreach and technical assistance consultants or approving firms for future work on a new $37 million grant program meant to spur investment in north St. 不良研究所导航网址 commercial corridors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e approving consulting contracts left and right at every meeting, and some of these people, I鈥檝e never heard of,鈥 said board member Loura Gilbert, who spent much of her 40-plus-year banking career working in St. 不良研究所导航网址 community development.
鈥淛ust giving me the name doesn鈥檛 do much for me. ... I know you had an internal group vet and make a recommendation. Still, are these all one-person firms? What鈥檚 their capacity? What鈥檚 their experience? We don鈥檛 ever see any of that.鈥
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SLDC has awarded at least six sizable consulting contracts in the last year. The agency has been tasked with managing several multimillion-dollar programs funded with the city鈥檚 infusion of federal pandemic aid, prompting some of those consultant contracts. But it has also turned to consultants for rebranding, strategic planning and operational review.
The were to help launch , which the Board of Aldermen passed in April.
A contract worth up to $200,000 with , owned by Maranda Witherspoon Richardson, was for 鈥渃ommunity outreach鈥 to spread the word about the grant program. Two other groups, Morgan Graves Consultants and Park Central Development, were to be approved for a short list allowing them to be hired later.
Another contract with the , a national nonprofit that works closely with the Urban League, was worth up to $175,000 for 鈥渢echnical assistance鈥 to help businesses and nonprofits in eligible areas apply for the grants. SLDC staff proposed adding Revby LLC and Pathways United LLC as future consultants.
Another resolution would have allowed hiring JAH Legacy Group LLC, Emerald Capital Strategic Advisors, Motley Waller LLP and Urban Focus Planning and Design LLC for real estate development consulting services for the program.
Daffney Moore, SLDC鈥檚 chief of staff, said hiring the consultants was 鈥渁 requirement that was based on legislation that we are following.鈥
SLDC Director Neal Richardson also said the need for outreach and technical assistance was spelled out in the north side corridor bill signed by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones in May.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 in that legislation, it clearly stated that SLDC will engage with a consultant to complete and conduct community engagement as well as provide technical assistance support to ensure that the community is aware of the program,鈥 Richardson said.
Asked where the ordinance prescribes that, a spokeswoman for SLDC pointed to the table at the end of the legislation itemizing the amount of money designated for each area. That list also appropriates $825,000 for 鈥淎rea Wide Benefit Projects, Planning, Marketing, Consulting.鈥
Richardson proposed tabling the contracts to gather more information on the companies for board members, which the board approved.
The corridor plan has already drawn scrutiny for a requirement that any grants awarded must receive a letter of support from the alderman representing that area. Three members of the Board of Aldermen were indicted in June in part for soliciting bribes in exchange for aldermanic letters of support given to a businessman seeking tax breaks and real estate through SLDC programs.
Some have called for changing that provision of the law, while others say it provides important local oversight. An incentive reform bill from Alderman Shane Cohn is expected to be taken up by aldermen in coming months, and the mayor is currently reviewing it, a Jones spokesman said.
鈥淪he has emphasized that any reform must increase transparency, promote community feedback, and eliminate real and perceived conflicts of interest,鈥 spokesman Nick Desideri said in a statement. 鈥淥ur office flagged this concern prior to the indictments, and is open to revisiting the program to address it while bringing in previously left-out neighborhoods when the Board returns.鈥