Work group moves to finalize RFP to hire investigator for African Meeting House review

The African Meeting House Investigation Procurement Work Group directed town procurement staff to prepare a request for proposals and evaluative criteria to hire an external investigator to review a prior inquiry into the African Meeting House, the committee said during a recorded meeting.

The committee asked procurement staff to draft the RFP and circulating schedule, then return the document for the group to redline before public release. Cindy Hsu, the town’s deputy procurement officer, told the group, "I do have resources as well to reach out to to see if anybody else has done anything similar to this, which may help build that scope as well." Brian, a town staff member leading procurement logistics, said the town typically allows a 30-day response window and that for this procurement they would likely give "probably 45 days" to submit proposals and plan for a question-and-answer addendum process.

The work group’s discussion focused on three main choices: the scope of work the investigator should cover, minimum qualifications and conflict-of-interest exclusions. Committee members agreed the group will define the scope of work used in the RFP; one committee member summarized that the committee’s charge is "to find an investigator to investigate how the investigation went," and that the committee will write the scope. Members debated whether the RFP should include a minimum firm‑age or minimum law-enforcement experience requirement and whether firms that previously worked for the town or the district attorney should be disqualified.

Town pro…