SPOKANE VALLEY – The Spokane Valley City Council approved a contract for a new homelessness outreach program amid concerns over the selection process. The council voted five to one to award the contract to Frontier Behavioral Health, with Councilman Al Merkel dissenting due to transparency issues in the RFP process.
During the May 28th meeting, Gloria Mantz, Sarah Farr, and Eric Robison provided an overview of the RFP process. Mantz explained that the RFP was posted on the city website in March and advertised in local newspapers. Officer Josh Pratt conducted extensive outreach, but despite these efforts, only two proposals were received. These proposals were judged on six different categories last week.
“Did any of the proposals come with something different than what you were looking for? What were you looking for?” Merkel asked.
Mantz replied, “It’s our job to provide a recommendation – it’s up to the council to decide what to do with it.”
Councilwoman Laura Padden inquired if providers had the opportunity to seek clarification throughout the application process. Mantz confirmed that they did. Mantz also noted The Salvation Army misunderstood, thinking it was for the county.
“So, the only confusion was between whether it was the county or Spokane Valley, it wasn’t to do with the listed criteria?” Merkel further questioned.
Mantz confirmed everyone voted on the proposal and the only change was allocating some funding from Spokane Valley.
“Was there a difference between what we put on the RFP versus what we ended up evaluating providers on?” Merkel said.
During public comments, a woman asked about the differences between what Frontier Behavioral Health and The Salvation Army offered.
Eric Robison responded, “The Salvation Army is a group we work with. They have ‘The Way Out’ center and a number of services. But in terms of street outreach – Frontier is unique in that it brings Behavioral Health and a homeless outreach team, plus the funds to help people pay off things like back rent. Frontier was able to offer a lot that other providers can’t.”
Tim Hattenburg emphasized the importance of behavioral health, sharing insights from a medical professional about the necessity of addiction and mental health treatment. “Frontier Behavioral Health really helps,” he said.
Officer Josh Pratt added, “Frontier actually follows up for a year after they’re housed.”
Merkel reiterated his concerns, “There’s no doubt about Frontier’s quality. My main concern is for transparency through this process – we had a vague RFP, a lot of secret requirements. If we have transparent RFPs we’ll get more interest from providers who are able to provide what we actually want.”
Padden disagreed, “I think what we went over last week demonstrated a lot of transparency. The transparency was definitely there.”
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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