Dear Mr. Mayor, Aldermen and City Staff:

I know that you are meeting in a Workshop on this matter on Weds 8-31-11.  It is unclear to me when you plan to vote on this matter as yet.  I will not be able to attend the meeting in Frederick this week due to other commitments and a growing realization that our involvement has yielded no meaningful consideration by your body of the significant issues that I raised at the 8-3-11 Workshop and in related written materials.

I have reviewed the proposed Lease posted on the City website last Friday as revised for this 8-31-11 meeting.  I want to set the record straight on a few factual and other points. I formally  request that this correspondence (by the unsuccessful RFP Bidder)  be publicly acknowledged by the Mayor and Board  at the 8-31-11 meeting & read into the official record of the meeting.

1) The Keys are now agreeing to pay Utilities which was not included in their RFP submission.  Our group offered this in writing in our 4-15-11 RFP response. This expense is approximately  $115,000 per year. The proposed Lease does not comply with competitive bids and the RFP terms  tendered under a sealed bid by the Keys.  This result smacks of collusion and “back-room” dealing.

2) The proposed Lease has no enforceable provisions for, and  “puts-off” for 5 months,  any discussion of charging additional fees for Parking, Advertising  (new signs at Harry Grove Stadium) and/or Naming Rights.  Again, this signifies the intentional desire of City Leaders (in concert with the Keys ) to get this entire matter out of public view as fast as possible, and relegate  these  pre-determined conclusions to  “private dealings “ outside of the RFP process,  which will happen with No competition at all and removed from Public view.

The Frederick Atlantic RFP response  (see page 8)  included specific written proposals on these matters that were significantly more beneficial to the City than anything  produced by the City—Keys negotiating team all summer.  New Signage /Advertising revenue was recommend in June by a consulting firm hired by the City (with taxpayer funds), copies of which studies were used only by the City and the Keys to “improve” the Keys offer during June & July of this year.  Our group was never provided copies of, nor made aware of those studies until my inquiry on point at the 8-3-11 Workshop.

We all want– and the team/City needs– to make meaningful upgrades and improvements to Harry Grove over the next 10 years.  Do not “punt” this issue to alater time and less productive place.

3) Our RFP response was creative and specific as to at least 12 Green Initiatives-Sustainability matters.  Our group was excited to partner with other Frederick organizations on point, and  use Harry Grove Stadium as a fun centerpiece  for such initiatives.   At least 2 Alderman have publicly stated how crucial this topic is to them and the City.  Yet the proposed Lease is a wilting violet of “reasonable efforts” and not much else.

4) The “Rent Chart” attached to the back of the Proposed Lease is seriously flawed and not accurate.  The $100,000 Capital Expense Contribution from the Keys is not required by the Lease AT ALL unless the City first matches that amount. Simply put, you cannot “count” the $100,000 from  the Keys unless you add $100,000 to the lower half of the Rent Chart—for the City to make its matching contribution.

The Rent Chart reflects “funny math” and should reflect a LOSS of ($74,104), not a surplus of $37,052 –if the $100,000, is correctly NOT included as fixed or guaranteed income from the Keys.

Thank you for considering these comments and ideas.  The members of Frederick Atlantic will  continue to seek  positive and meaningful input throughout this RFP Process as we watch  you, the elected leaders of the City of Frederick, conclude this matter in the coming weeks.

Feel free to access our website noted below for a full copy (in PDF) of both parties’ written  RFP responses in this matter that were filed with the city on 4-15-11.

Jack Lavoie, Managing Member
Frederick Atlantic, LLC

 

On April 15th, Frederick Atlantic, LLC and The Frederick Keys submitted proposals to the City of Frederick to lease Harry Grove Stadium in 2012 and beyond.

On August 3rd, the first public meeting on this matter was held.

Once public disclosure and discussion finally took place in an open forum, it became clear that our group outbid the Keys on significant monetary matters as well as in the areas of community commitment, green Initiatives and the use of the Stadium for non-baseball events. Among other matters, our group agreed to pay over $100,000 per year for all utilities at the Stadium. The Keys did not.

Yet, the City is proceeding to negotiate only with the Frederick Keys for a new Lease.

Our proposal is a strong commitment to the City of Frederick and its baseball fans in the form of increased financial terms, jobs, environmental initiatives and community involvement. We remain committed to the idea that the taxpayers of the City of Frederick deserve a baseball partner for the next 10 years and beyond who will truly and fairly share in BOTH the obligations and the future possibilities for minor league baseball in the City of Frederick.

Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of both bids.

(Click on Snapshot below to view it larger.)

Our group remains hopeful that the City of Frederick will adhere to the terms of the RFP and carefully consider both proposals in a fair and open process.