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Trustees question retail-strategy contract, seek six-month review and clearer cancellation terms
Summary
At the June meeting, trustees pressed staff on a retail-strategy contract (item F2J), asking for a six-month performance review and clearer cancellation language after learning the vendor will provide monthly reports and the fee is $50,000 per year.
Trustees at the Village of University Park’s June 24 meeting pressed staff for clearer terms and oversight on a proposed retail-strategy contract tied to economic development. Board members asked whether the village could terminate the engagement early, requested a six-month performance review, and sought confirmation of regular reporting.
The contract under discussion would engage a consultant to provide hands-on retail-recruitment services and monthly progress updates. Staff said the selected vendor had been the most responsive among those they consulted and that the fee is $50,000 per year; the three-year contract term was discussed as a cumulative $150,000 if fully executed. Staff told trustees the agreement allows termination upon 30 days’ written notice.
Trustees asked whether the village had issued a formal request for proposals (RFP); staff said no RFP was issued but that staff had met multiple firms and judged this vendor to be the most responsive. Multiple trustees said that, regardless of immediate cancellation rights, the board should build in a formal six-month performance review to evaluate the vendor’s community outreach, lead generation, and milestone delivery.
One trustee also asked staff to work with the village attorney to add contract language that would specify financial exposure if the village terminates the agreement in year one or year two, and to clarify what, if any, deliverables would constitute grounds for nonpayment. Staff offered to insert requested verbiage and have attorneys review it before final execution.
Background materials presented with the agenda show partial payments already disbursed and that the village will not be required to pay the full three-year amount up front. Trustees sought clearer documentation on payment timing and the vendor’s scope, saying those details should be explicit in the contract and that monthly reporting should include measurable performance indicators.
The board did not vote to stop the item; staff said they would return with clarified contract language and attorney review. The item remains on the agenda for final action pending those clarifications.
