HR&A
HAMILTON, RABINOVITZ & ALSCHULER, INC.
Policy, Financial & Management Consultants
January 6, 2000
ElChino Martin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
One Judiciary Square, Suite 1140N
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Mr. Martin:
This letter presents a proposal from HR&A to the Office of
the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The purpose of this proposal is to
recommend to the Deputy Mayor an initial mandate for the soon to be established National
Capitol Revitalization Corporation (NCRC). This Corporation is expected to play a
significant role in promoting economic and community development in the District of
Columbia.
As proposed by the President and enacted into statute by the
Council of the District of Columbia, NCRC's charter is sweeping. The possible breadth of
this mandate includes virtually all forms of financial assistance, essentially any type of
physical development and other initiatives, such as workforce development, designed to
augment the economy of the District and/or to connect the City's residents to private
sector employment Because each is significant, it is important that the NCRC begin by
defining an initial scope of activities that leads to concrete accomplishments.
The primary purpose, therefore, of this proposed consulting
assignment, is to produce a carefully defined initial mission statement for the NCRC. The
specific outcomes and the methodology for this assignment are described below.
Scope of Work
The activities to be conducted under this Scope include:
1. Initial Reconnaissance. In order to understand the
context leading up to the creation of the Corporation and the environment in which it will
work, HR&A will:
1.1. Interview major stakeholders, including representatives
of the Control Board, the Council, and key knowledgeables in the District.
1.2. Interview leaders from within D.C.'s government,
including the Deputy Mayor and a select number of his direct reports.
1.3. Carefully review the NCRC legislation, including
alterations made during its legislative history.
1.4. Conduct a limited literature review including, but not
limited to, previous studies by CUED and other documents prepared by the Strategic
Economic Development Plan.
2. The NCRC in Context. All major cities conduct an
extensive economic development operation and virtually all have some sort of quasi-public
corporation that works in conjunction with the City. To understand the lessons learned
from other cities, HR&A will:
2.1. Select 5-7 comparable cities such as Baltimore, Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, etc.
2.2. Prepare a profile of their quasi-public development
entities.
2.3. Compare that profile to the mission of the NCRC.
2.4. Summarize the lessons learned from this review for the
mission of the NCRC.
3. Initial Recommendations. Based upon the data obtained from
Tasks 1 and 2, and based upon HR&A's professional experience, a preliminary
recommendation will be presented to the Deputy Mayor. This recommendation will include:
3.1. An initial mission statement for the NCRC.
3.2. A summary of the implications of this mission on the
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
3.3. Recommended dejure and defacto
relationships between the NCRC and the City administration.
3.4. A suggested staffing profile.
3.5. An initial list of priority tasks.
4. Final Recommendations. Based upon a discussion of the
initial recommendations, HR&A will prepare final recommendations. They will be in a
form suitable for presentation to the Mayor, the Council (if desirable), and to the Board
of the NCRC.
Project Staffing and Costs
I will provide the senior professional leadership for this
project with support provided by HR&A's staff. I will be present at all presentations
and will personally conduct all stakeholder interviews. The proposed cost of this
engagement is $24,500 for professional services, plus normal and customary expenses. The
primary expenses incurred will be for travel.
It is a pleasure to be considered for this important
assignment. The future of NCRC holds great promise and I look forward to working with you
to bring that promise to fruition.
Sincerely,
John H. Alschuler, Jr.
1790 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019 · TEL: 212.977.5597
· FAX: 212.977.6202 |
