Board hears BEC Marketing pitch, debates $40,000 contract and resident services

Carlton Bishop of BEC Marketing presented a proposed one-year agreement to serve as contractor for the Michigan City Urban Enterprise, describing services that include marketing, grant design, compliance support and meeting notes. "So, the contract is for 40,000," Bishop said, and he described a performance clause that would pay a 10% fee on incremental revenue above a baseline tied to filings and signatures.

Board members pressed Bishop on specifics. One member read a revised paragraph describing oversight and confidentiality: the contractor must make records and outreach data available to the board but coordinate public releases so proprietary or pre-announcement business information is not disclosed prematurely. Bishop confirmed that the change was intended to protect confidential negotiations while ensuring board oversight.

Directors questioned the contractor's capacity to provide resident-facing office hours on the proposed budget. Bishop said the contract amount would not support daily staffed hours but suggested periodic in-person availability ("maybe like a once or like probably like twice a month") and partnering with trustees or neighborhood sites for appointments. Board members and public commenters pressed for clarity on whether savings from replacing prior consultants (Dan) would offset new costs and asked for concrete deliverables and accountability metrics.

After discussion a board member moved to table consideration so previously submitted applicants could be reviewed; the motion carried and the chair directed that the BAC/BEC marketing contract be tabled until the next meeting for further review of applicants and net cost implications.

Next steps: the board will review prior applicants, evaluate net cost comparisons (contract minus prior consultant costs), and revisit the contract at its next regular meeting.