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Housing board pauses website award decision as bidders flag security and data concerns
Summary
The Block Island Housing Board decided to wait until March 17 to evaluate website RFP responses after several potential bidders signaled concerns about security and data‑collection language in the request for proposals. Board members agreed to accept phase‑1 bids only and to revisit the RFP if submissions are insufficient.
The Block Island Housing Board agreed Tuesday to wait until the March 17 bid deadline before awarding a website contract after learning several potential bidders were hesitant about security and data-collection requirements in the request for proposals.
Mark Maguire, Chair of the Block Island Housing Board, said the RFP had been split into two phases and that phase one — the immediate website build — was intentionally scoped to avoid some of the more complex security requirements. "Phase 2 may be awarded in a different manner, but just focus on phase 1," Maguire said.
Why it matters: The website is intended to support the board’s work on potential projects and public outreach. If the security language in the RFP discourages vendors, the board risks delay in standing up an official site and in collecting community interest data.
Board members reported at least four firms had expressed intent to bid but said some companies declined or paused because of insurance and security language. Chris Warfel, a board member, suggested bidders could submit a phase‑1 proposal limited to public information and defer any data‑collection or secure‑storage work until a later phase. The board discussed alternative approaches to gathering prospective tenant information — for example, collecting names and contact details off‑site by email or by phone rather than storing personal data on the website.
Next steps The board will review proposals after the March 17 deadline and decide whether to award a contract, negotiate changes with bidders, or reissue a revised RFP that narrows or clarifies security requirements. Board members said they prefer to see what bids arrive before changing the RFP and noted that security requirements can be negotiated during contracting.
Board members also discussed interim ways to collect community interest without embedding personal‑data collection in the website, including separate email intake and small, manual lists maintained by staff and board members.
