Council approves $199,330 contract to craft economic development strategic plan

The City Council voted to authorize the city manager to execute a contract with HR&A Advisors and subcontractors Kearns & West to prepare an economic development strategic plan for East Palo Alto, with a contract amount not to exceed $199,330 and a term through Dec. 31, 2025.

Assistant to the city manager Denise Garcia summarized the procurement and evaluation process and the staff recommendation. Garcia stated that staff reviewed eight proposals and invited the top four to interview; "staff is recommending HRNA and Kearns and West based on a thorough review and analysis" and recommended a contract "not to exceed a $199,330" to develop the plan. Consultants from HRNA emphasized an equity-focused approach, community co-creation, and outreach methods that include multilingual engagement, pop‑ups, focus groups, and stakeholder interviews. Councilmembers requested that workforce training and Measure HH activities be explicitly considered in the consultant’s existing-conditions work and asked for interim check-ins as the plan is implemented. The council approved the award and directed staff and the consultant to coordinate on outreach, workforce strategy analysis, and interim reporting back to the council.