Committee to ask Select Board to authorize up to $10,000 for copyediting of Richmond community forest management plan

The Chair said the committee would ask the Select Board to authorize up to $10,000 to hire a copy editor to prepare the Andrews Community Forest management plan for public review and Select Board consideration.

Why it matters: The committee said a professional copyeditor would consolidate drafts and remove duplication, shorten appendices and prepare a polished document for public consultation; members said town staff advised that an early, clear budgeting request would speed procurement and avoid later delays.

The committee reported meeting with town staff, including Josh Anderson, to align the draft request for proposals with town procurement rules. The Chair read the proposed message to the Select Board, saying the committee "is seeking approval for an expenditure not to exceed 10,000 for copyediting" and suggesting an equal division of any expenditure between the Ambrose Community Forest account (the chair cited a balance of approximately $29,500) and the town's conservation reserve fund. The committee asked the Chair to send that draft to Josh so it can be placed on the Select Board agenda.

Members discussed procurement detail and timing: they noted town advice against publishing a strict upper limit in the RFP (to avoid skewing bids), reviewed the importance of specifying evaluation criteria beyond price, and agreed the RFP should allow three weeks for proposals and two weeks for Select Board approval of the recommended bidder. The Chair outlined a nine-week estimate from RFP publication to delivery of a first edited draft (three weeks to collect bids, two weeks for award, four weeks for the copy editor's first pass).

Committee members emphasized that the copy editor's role is editorial and administrative, not to re-author substantive policy decisions: "we're not giving away our response," one member said, noting the committee will retain responsibility for content changes after public and stakeholder review. The committee agreed the copy editor should check for duplication between core text and appendices but not substitute for policy decisions that must return to the committee or Select Board.

Next steps: The committee will finalize and submit the draft RFP and the accompanying email to town staff this week so it can be placed on the Select Board's next meeting for provisional authorization of the expenditure. The committee also tasked the work group to refine the timeline and to prepare to evaluate bids once the RFP is posted.

Ending: The committee did not record a formal vote on sending the draft to the Select Board at the meeting beyond consensus to proceed; members expected to follow up by email with staff to get the item onto the Select Board agenda.