EXPENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS: WORTH THE COST?

Several years ago, during a Sun Messenger candidates’ interview, Councilman Frank Legan said that he thought Highland Heights was “going 35 miles per hour” and that it should be going faster---much faster.

Unfortunately, Legan (who is a member of the city’s Economic Development Committee) didn't elaborate on what he meant---what his vision of “going faster” entailed.

Based on what he’s said since, it’s clear that he believes that the city could and should be throbbing with commerce and commercial activity to a much greater degree than it is now.  

For several years Legan doggedly fought against tearing down the substandard, decrepit church building that used to stand in the middle of what is now the new Municipal Center greenspace.
He even pitched using the building (which needed close to a $1 million worth of work, just to bring it up to code) as a taxpayer-subsidized “business incubator”.

Last year Legan successfully convinced Council to spend $5000 to hire Mohr  Partners, a consulting firm, to conduct a preliminary economic development audit for the city. 
While I didn’t see the final report, it didn’t sound like Mohr Partners amassed particularly unique information or provided an unusually sophisticated analysis of the city’s resources and opportunities for its pricey four-figure fee.

At last week’s pre-Council Committee of the Whole meeting, Legan pitched paying Mohr Partners to do a more expensive, second round of consulting work:

“From a revenue standpoint, revenue is the life blood of what we do. ..Increased revenue means more and better of everything...Mohr Partners, in phase 2, would be developing a specific plan for economic development in our city….Hudson has spent several hundred thousand dollars marketing itself. This is a modest investment.”

Well ….maybe not so modest.

According to the managing partner in attendance, the first thing Mohr Partners intended to work on was updating and improving the city’s website.

That had heads bobbing up-and-down in agreement throughout the room.

 The cost for that work? 
According to Mohr Partners, between $50,000  and $100,000---- and that doesn’t include Mohr Partner’s consulting fee OR the cost of maintaining the website, once it’s redesigned.

 “We (Mohr Partners) would do an assessment, help design the RFP (the bid specs), and assist in finding a website developer….We’d start from scratch.…We’d get you started. ..Someone else needs to maintain it year in and out.”

Mayor Scott Coleman and Council seemed stunned by the price tag.

The mayor responded by declaring that the city would work with the same (formerly local) company that designed the original (and by common consensus mediocre) website.

That suggestion was met with even stonier silence.

I certainly don’t question Councilman Legan’s good intentions.

However, I do question the cost of the consulting services and Mohr Partner’s pricey estimates for website redesign ---particularly given that the city doesn't currently plan to hire anyone to maintain the website or implement the suggestions after Mohr Partners hands in its final report and walks out the door.

GOOD NEWS ON THE CATALANO’S REDEVELOPMENT FRONT?

Several city insiders have confirmed that the city is actively participating in discussions concerning the Catalano’s property.  While details remain sketchy, residents remain hopeful.

FEEDING THE DEER? THINK AGAIN.

A Highland Road resident addressed Council last week, sharing his concerns about a neighbor who was actively feeding deer.

I thought the resident had a very interesting and helpful perspective on the problem.

It was clear that his main concern was for the welfare of the deer:

“It seems merciful to feed the animals, but any conservationist or ranger will tell you that you don’t feed deer. There are many reasons for that. Young animals will fail to develop foraging skills.  The animals will lose their fear of people and wander in the streets and close to children and dogs. The food used may not be nutritionally appropriate. And feeding attracts more animals than would otherwise be in the area and results in increased breeding. When the feeding stops, you end up with more starvation, not less.”

 The resident applauded Council, which is currently looking at enacting an ordinance to to address the issue----as many surrounding communities have done.

For him it was the responsible thing to do:

“It’s important to have a responsible stewardship to the animals we share our space with.”