To Live and Die in Committee

The next phase in spending Salemtown's $580,000 federal community development block grant has started with my attendance along with others today of the "Salemtown Streetscape Project Request for Qualifications Review Committee."

We are now reviewing the qualifications of 7 design firm proposals for a Salemtown Streetscape Project based on 6 criteria:

1. Experience of the firms
2. Specialized expertise of firms' team members
3. Firms' organizational capacity to complete work on time and within budget
4. Project strategy
5. References
6. HUD Section 3 (employment and training of lower income residents within project area) requirements

The only other thing I can tell you is that I have a stack of notebooks to read; let's just call it my community service for the next few weeks.