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Equity office flags River West project for low RPP participation; other large projects report mixed inclusion results
Summary
OEI reported that most major projects are meeting inclusion goals, but it issued a noncompliance notice to the River West Apartments and Food Accelerator project for low RPP participation and accepted a developer remediation plan.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) presented quarterly human resources and inclusion compliance reports for several large projects and said most are meeting or exceeding goals — but that the River West Apartments and Food Accelerator project was issued a noncompliance notice and is working on a remediation plan.
OEI staff (Miss Reed) summarized the portfolio of projects and their inclusion metrics. Filer & Stoll (the Beecher project) — a 567‑unit affordable housing development in the 14th Aldermanic District — reported professional services inclusion at 67% and strong workforce numbers, including RPP and apprenticeship participation that exceeded ordinance thresholds. Representatives from Prism Technical and Bear Real Estate Group said several contractors on that project are meeting RPP and apprentice targets.
Thrive on King (6th Aldermanic District) and the MLK Library apartments also reported strong inclusion performance: Thrive on King showed apprenticeship participation at 95% and SIA apprenticeship over 100%; MLK Library apartments were near the RPP goal (the month‑end report showed RPP with bonus at 39% and SIA above 50%), and development teams said they expect final certification to meet targets as the construction workforce increases.
OEI said River West Apartments and Food Accelerator (file 240‑192) was substantially underperforming on RPP (reported at 12% in an earlier report) and initially received a noncompliance notice. Project representatives told the committee they have undertaken on‑site outreach and reported some improvement: by the end of December the project had increased RPP to about 16% (the development team described hiring management and maintenance staff who are RPP‑eligible and said they are recruiting for additional longer‑term positions). Developers also said that some workers had been used on site prior to certification (which prevented those hours from counting toward RPP totals) and that certifying workers after the fact is a continuing challenge.
Carla Cross, an inclusion consultant who appears on multiple project reports, said scattered‑site and small‑contractor projects can present challenges for RPP targets because small firms often employ only a few workers and may not add headcount in the way larger commercial contractors do. OEI noted it is stepping up outreach and certification efforts — including on‑site notarization and support — and recently added a business analyst (Maria Rodriguez) focused on RPP certification and employer engagement.
Committee members asked about enforcement and contractor accountability. Developers and OEI said they treat inclusion requirements as mandatory; staff described options for tracking, certification and referrals to workforce programs (including Employ Milwaukee and OJT supports) and said OEI had issued the River West noncompliance notice to prompt a remediation plan. Aldermen asked OEI to include union vs. non‑union apprenticeship counts in future reports; OEI staff said the city’s labor‑compliance system does not automatically flag union membership but staff will work to provide that breakdown where possible.
Committee members moved to hold several OEI reports to the call of the chair for follow‑up and further documentation; OEI and development teams committed to ongoing reporting and corrective actions for the River West file.
