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Tori Antonino submitting comments re: the composition of the committee that reviews proposals for Prospect Hill Park landscape design services.
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Official Text
To the Honorable Board:
I support everything that Dominique has said [in the communication to Michael Richards, Assistant Director of Purchasing, below].
We would very much appreciate a seat on the committee that reviews the RFP(Q) [for Prospect Hill Park landscape design services].
We have worked so hard in getting our parks right. Our activism has changed the direction of many of the parks, most notably Lincoln Park.
If we had the opportunity from the get go to participate in choosing the vendor, it would go a long way in assuring that the valuable experiences and expertise of residents is not wasted.
We ask for a seat on the review committee.
Thank you,
Tori Antonino
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Dear Mr. Richards:
As a resident of Union Square, whose property is facing the Prospect Hill Park, I have been following with great interest, what the City is planning to do to redesign the park. As Ms. Oliveira knows, a group of residents met in the Park, with Alderman Bob McWatters, at the beginning of August 2017. Following that meeting, and with the support of Bob, we asked Ms. Oliveira “to involve us, the residents, in the full process of crafting the Request for Proposal (RFP). As you can imagine, we are all very fond of the park and because it is literally in our backyard, we have experience of the park, experience of the visitors, and what it can offer, and we also have expectations based on our experience.”
I am very surprised that our request has not been taken into consideration.
It looks like the city, and particularly your department, went ahead and chose 3 candidate designers, with the intention to identify one candidate who would be the best fit for this project.
I understand that the city has expertise, I do believe that the neighbors of the park have their own. I am requesting that one citizen sits on the RFQ committee when choosing firms to work on our civic spaces, more specifically, for now, the Prospect Hill Park. I am asking you, Mr. Richards, to seriously consider including a citizen neighboring the park in the process of choosing that firm. Some of us have been through other parks' design process and I know their experience would be valuable.
I appreciate your time.
Dominique Stassart