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Finance committee names reviewers and backs five-year grant-writing contract
Summary
The Gardner Finance Committee reviewed the panel that evaluated proposals for grant-writing and lobbying services and moved forward the committee's unanimous recommendation for a three-year contract with a two-year renewal (five years total) with Keller Partners; the contract will enter signature phase and does not require full council approval.
The Gardner City Council Finance Committee on Jan. 15 reviewed the committee membership that evaluated proposals for grant-writing and lobbying services and heard that the review panel unanimously recommended a three-year contract with a two-year renewal for a total potential term of five years with Keller Partners.
The committee roster presented to the finance panel included Councilor Henman, Anne Eagle (executive director of Growing Places) and Dr. Stephanie Marchetti; the city's staff said those reviewers were chosen for "their extensive background in grant writing." The mayor's office told the committee the review panel "did unanimously vote to recommend on a 5 year contract."
The mayor's representative said the recommended contract is a three-year initial term with the option to extend for two additional years and that the agreement is in the signature phase. The representative told the committee that Keller Partners will meet with department heads in the city once a year in person to review priorities, and will hold a standing virtual meeting every two weeks with city grant staff to review and draft applications. Katie Jablonski and the mayor's office were identified as regular contacts for the biweekly work.
Committee members asked how the process will work after a contract is finalized; staff said the final contract will be provided to the council for information but that the council does not need to approve the fully executed contract. The committee record says the recommendation to award the multi-year contract came with unanimous support from the review panel and moved forward through the finance committee process.
Background: the city said the grant-writing work aims to align grant applications with the capital improvement plan and departmental project lists to increase the number of applications submitted. The city acknowledged it has not won every application but said submitting more proposals has increased overall funding success.
No dollar amounts for the contract were stated in the committee discussion in the transcript packet; staff said detailed contract materials will be included in the final contract package when circulated to councilors.
Ending: The committee advanced the reviewer appointments and the panel's recommendation for a multi-year contract to the administrative/signature stage; city staff said they will circulate the final contract copy for council information after execution.
