City staff to draft RFP for alternative response task force after contract funds and scope discussion

City staff briefed the Urbana City Council on Nov. 25 about next steps for the Alternative Response Task Force after the city’s prior consultant ended its contract. Will Kultrowski provided the update and said $55,100 remained unspent from the previous contract and could be used toward a new facilitator or partner. He added that the FY2025 budget contains additional funds earmarked for alternative response work.

"There are $55,100 remaining unspent from the previous contract that council may elect to use on finding a a new partner or a new facilitator," Kultrowski said. He described the typical procurement approach for this kind of work: staff will develop a detailed scope of work, issue a request for proposals (RFP) on the city’s procurement portal, evaluate proposals and select a vendor. Kultrowski recommended forming a cross-functional project team — including one or two council members — to help draft the scope, evaluate proposals and oversee implementation.

Councilmembers asked about billing from the prior consultant and what partially completed deliverables could be transferred to a future vendor. Kultrowski said earlier bills reflected monthly work across overlapping deliverables, that earlier deliverables were complete and that the final two deliverables were partially complete; he said staff had requested that the prior consultant share compiled materials for handoff to a future facilitator.

Councilmembers volunteered to serve on the project team to help draft the RFP; staff said they would circulate an initial draft after the Thanksgiving break. No formal vote was taken at the Nov. 25 meeting; the briefing was informational and outlined a procurement timeline and steps for council input.