by Cindy Goldstein -
The long anticipated report on potential improper contact between Village of Mamaroneck (VOM) officials and Westhab/Washingtonville Housing Alliance (Westhab/WHA) was released with the Board of Trustees (BOT) Agenda for the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, November 12th.
The BOT had instructed Village Attorney Bob Spolzino to commission the investigation after emails surfaced that indicated Westhab/WHA may have had an inside track when responding to the Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the VOM to build affordable housing on the Hunter Tier Parking Lot. See prior article HERE.
The critical findings from Guidepost Solutions LLC (Guidepost) include the following key observations:
1) Westhab/WHA provided technical assistance on various drafts of the RFP for the Hunter Tier project which raised potential conflict of interest concerns.
2) Thirteen notable changes were made to the draft RFP and most of these changes appear to be influenced by Westhab/WHA including that weight will be given to firms with experience developing affordable housing in the VOM. Westhab/WHA is possibly the only developer that meets this criteria.
3) Trustee Manny Rawlings had early contact and/or possible discussions with Westhab/WHA officials about the Hunter Tier project which contradicted his statements to the Ethics Board.
4) Trustee Rawlings’ potential conflict of interest as he was named in legal actions for nonpayment of rent to Westhab/WHA occurred at the same time he was in contact/discussions with Westhab/WHA for the Hunter Tier project.
5) The Village Planner at the time acknowledged that he made a mistake in not sharing questions and answers with all bidders.
6) There is a six-year pattern of communications between VOM officials and Westhab/WHA senior officials involving the Hunter Tier project.
See the full report HERE. The report outlined the steps followed and methodology to find emails from 2018 to 2024 related to the project.
Guidepost lists five recommendations as next steps the first of which is to continue the investigation by interviewing 17 individuals including two top executives at Westhab/WHA, current Trustees Rawlings, Yizar-Reid and Young, former VOM Mayor Tom Murphy, former Village Manager Jerry Barberio as well as other Village employees and other potential bidders on the project. The other four recommendations involve internal policy and procedure revisions/updates to ensure transparency, independence and objectivity in the contracting/vendor procurement process.
It is unclear at this time if the BOT will agree to follow any or all of these recommendations including expanding the investigation process since a majority of the BOT (Trustees Rawlings, Yizar-Reid and Young) are named as potential interviewees. Mayor Torres and Trustee Nora Lucas are not on the interview list.
The Hunter Tier project is on the agenda for the BOT Work Session on Tuesday, November 12th. That meeting will be in the Village Courtroom at 5:15 pm followed by the Regular Session at 7:30 pm.
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