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RDA board hires three part-time advisers amid process questions
Summary
The Vineyard RDA approved three part-time advisors—Kim Cornelius, Keith Vincent and Jared Tamez—to provide construction, financial and environmental expertise after a public posting and interviews; some board members raised process and scope concerns about job descriptions and auditor involvement.
The Vineyard Redevelopment Agency voted to appoint three part-time advisers after a public hiring process that drew 16 applicants and five interviews. The advisory hires are intended to provide specialized expertise in areas identified during a recent audit of RDA operations: large-scale construction/contracting, financial modeling/forecasting, and environmental assessment/cleanup.
RDA subcommittee members said they advertised the roles for four weeks, screened applicants and interviewed five candidates before recommending the top three. The subcommittee explained the rationale: the RDA's portfolio includes roughly 700 parcels and complex triggers that require financial modeling; recent audit work showed gaps in construction oversight and environmental planning tied to property development near Utah Lake.
Board members also debated process details, including whether auditor Chris Harding had been instrumental in defining the adviser roles. One council member read a text message from Harding stating he had not been part of the hiring process; RDA members said Harding would train and advise the new contractors during the audit transition but would not conduct the hires.
The board approved Kim Cornelius, Keith Vincent and Jared Tamez as advisers. The hires drew some votes against them on process grounds; several board members urged clearer, discipline-specific job descriptions for future postings and asked staff to define sunset clauses or notice periods in advisor contracts. As presented, the hires are part-time, budgeted within an RDA advisors line (discussed earlier in the city budget) with a baseline $150,000 set aside for the three positions.
