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Grants Pass council disqualifies Pathways to Stability, advances Elk Island for homelessness grant
Summary
After hours of debate about RFP requirements and property control, the Grants Pass City Council voted to disqualify Pathways to Stability and move forward with second-place applicant Elk Island Trading Group, directing staff to require the same property verification previously required of Pathways.
The Grants Pass City Council voted to disqualify Pathways to Stability from consideration for the Addressing Homelessness grant and to advance the second-place applicant, Elk Island Trading Group, after an extended council debate about whether applicants had secured property and whether the procurement process permitted a last-best-offer rescore.
City staff had told the council that Pathways had the highest average score in earlier reviews but had not provided the documentation required by the RFP to show control of the N Street property. City staff also reported that at a county administration workshop a different entity had expressed interest in the N Street parcel and that a county commissioner stated the county was not negotiating with Pathways. Stephanie Nuttall, who presented the staff update, told the council: "We actually can, under procurement law, obtain a last best final offer from applicants," but said the rules set limits and the city would follow the procurement process it chose.
Council discussion split along questions of process and practicality. Supporters of moving to Elk Island argued the city needed a workable site and urged unity and progress. Opponents said none of the three finalists had fully secured a property at the time of scoring and that allowing Elk Island to proceed risked repeating operational problems or provoking legal challenges from the highest-scoring applicant. "We have a drug problem," Councilor Eric said in the debate, arguing for programs that change outcomes rather than preserving the status quo.
After the motion to request new final offers and rescore failed, the council approved a motion to disqualify Pathways and move forward with Elk Island. The council asked staff to require Elk Island to provide the same property verification the council had required of Pathways, and staff outlined a tentative schedule: a draft agreement ready by Nov. 10, notice to council Nov. 19, a protest period through Nov. 26, and an executed contract by Dec. 1, with a six-month completion window to June 1.
Next steps: staff will prepare the draft agreement and an RFP addendum reflecting schedule and verification requirements; the council set direction that no contract would advance without property verification in hand.
(Reporting notation: votes and some roll-call details were recorded aloud during the meeting and are summarized above; the motion to advance Elk Island was carried by council vote.)
