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Council asks PCDC to pull Greenfield RFQ and schedule joint briefing
Summary
Council members and the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation’s executive director disagreed over procurement steps and timing for 'Project Greenfield.' Council voted to request the PCDC executive director take down the current request for qualifications/quotes and arrange a joint meeting to resolve roles and next steps.
The Pflugerville City Council voted to ask the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation’s executive director to take down a posted request for qualifications/quotes related to Project Greenfield and to schedule a joint meeting of the council and the PCDC board to align on procurement, scope and leadership.
Jerry, the executive director of PCDC, told council he had been briefed that Project Greenfield should be led by PCDC and that the project was presented internally as a “legacy project.” He said he was not aware of a newspaper notice tied to the RFQ posted March 26 and that some follow‑up items, including an invoice for about $36,000, arrived shortly after he started in the role. He described having raised concerns to his board about hiring an owner’s representative before the market analysis and feasibility work is completed.
City legal counsel told the council the city’s office had not issued a definitive legal opinion on whether the procurement process used by PCDC complied with applicable professional procurement law; counsel said the office explained what the law requires if certain facts are true but could not confirm those facts in open session. The council recessed for an executive session to discuss legal questions and returned with no action taken in closed session.
Council members expressed that PCDC and city staff had been talking past one another about procurement methods and leadership for the project. Some council members argued the city and PCDC need to decide which body will “drive” the project and to build consensus before moving ahead; others urged the council to proceed with the broader request for qualifications to secure a firm that could manage market analysis, feasibility, concept refinement and later phases.
After extended discussion, Councilmember (motion maker not named in the record) moved and the council carried a motion to request that the PCDC executive director take down the current request for qualifications/quotes and to schedule a joint meeting with the PCDC board, PCDC counsel and city staff at the next council meeting to clarify roles, procurement steps and next actions. The motion carried.
Council and PCDC discussed procurement channels: PCDC’s executive director said his practice had been to avoid hiring an owner’s representative until after feasibility work and warned that an owner’s representative engaged too early could lock the organization into a long relationship before market needs were clear. Council members and staff noted past local precedents (such as the Downtown East work) where external consultants provided market direction and later guided project pivots.
Council asked staff to provide the legal and procurement materials referenced in the earlier email exchanges and to prepare for a joint meeting that will include the PCDC board and counsel so both boards can resolve leadership and scope before reissuing procurement documents or declaring a new project budget or authority.
