SPOKANE VALLEY – In a letter following the May 21 city council meeting, City Councilman Al Merkel expressed his deep concern and disappointment with the RFP process.
“As a contract city, we should be fully capable of conducting a fair and transparent competition that clearly outlines an actionable scope of work and specific evaluation criteria,” Merkel wrote. “Unfortunately, this was not the case with our recent RFP process.”
Merkel criticized the use of undisclosed criteria and personal relationships in the selection process. “Our residents deserve better, and we must do better,” he concluded.
The motion to approve the contract with Frontier Behavioral Health ultimately passed, with Merkel being the sole opposing vote.
Merkel’s concerns stem from his analysis of the Spokane Valley Homeless Housing Task Force meeting on May 10 and the agenda for the Homeless Outreach contract award from the city council meeting on May 21.
He had previously submitted a revised version of the RFP, establishing his proactive approach to improving the process – on March 15, in an email to city manager John Hohman, and on March 26, where his RFP proposal was placed in the city council meeting minutes.
Additionally, an email from a provider on May 21 acknowledged the RFP’s vagueness, thanking Merkel for the opportunity to adjust their proposal.
In an exclusive interview with Merkel last Thursday, he expressed concerns about insider information and the lack of a level playing field for potential bidders.
“I’m sure that the people who do this kind of work all know each other, and know if they don’t have insider information they shouldn’t apply,” he said.
He highlighted discrepancies between the stated evaluation criteria and the criteria actually used.
“We completely changed the evaluation criteria than what we used in the RFP,” he said.
Analysis of the responses from Frontier Behavioral Health and The Salvation Army revealed discrepancies between their proposals and the RFP requirements, particularly in previous operation and performance, integration with the regional homeless response system, and the budget proposal.
Frontier Behavioral Health’s proposal generally scored higher across these criteria, aligning more closely with the RFP requirements.
“The RFP process was extensive. We published in the papers and also called nonprofits to let them know about the opportunity,” Mayor Pam Haley . “The staff made the recommendation and the committee for homelessness made the final recommendation to the council. The committee went with staff’s recommendation as they received the most points.”
Spokeswoman Jill Smith provided additional details, noting that the process followed all standard procedures.
“Washington state law only requires code cities like Spokane Valley to use a competitive contracting process for public works projects and engineering and architectural services,” she explained. “Homelessness outreach services are not public works nor engineering nor architectural services. As such, Washington state law does not require the city to use a competitive process.”
Smith elaborated on the outreach efforts: “The RFP was advertised or promoted in the Spokane Valley Herald and Exchange on March 15 and 22, 2024.” Public notices were also posted on the city’s website, emailed to subscribers and shared at regional meetings.
Frontier Behaviorial Health CEO Kelli Miller, declined to comment until after the council’s final decision.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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