Draft RFP language and funding cap prompt committee debate; members weigh tiers and mini-grants

The steering committee spent substantial time reviewing a draft request-for-proposals and debating how to structure award sizes and terms.

Marlen[e] Colic presented the draft RFP materials and noted the included figure of "up to $2,500,000," which multiple members said appeared to be a placeholder rather than an agreed cap. One member asked directly: "How the 2,500,000 was arrived at?" Marlene responded it was drafted into the document and not an agreed number; the group discussed whether the $2.5 million referred to a single year or a multi-year total.

Amy Delinky provided context from county settlement math: "For the county, the total is around 15,000,000 over 18 years," which she used to show the per-year scale and to caution that framing matters when soliciting proposals. Kelly Ainsworth shared the City of Flint model of tiered awards that included mini grants (10 grants of up to $25,000), community organization grants and higher-level treatment-provider awards, which committee members said could be a helpful template to avoid mismatched expectations.

Members agreed to assemble a small working group to refine the RFP, consider award caps and tiers, and return a revised draft to the full committee at the Sept. 11 meeting. The group also discussed procurement considerations such as reimbursement vs. upfront payments and administrative capacity to manage multiple award sizes.