Sole sourcing: There is a better way

Dear Mayor O'Brien and City Councilors,

My name is James O'Grady and I am one of the creators of LetsGetItRight.ca. I am writing to you today for the second time to put forward an idea to help solve the dilemma that you now face regarding the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.

During an interview with Mark Sutcliffe this morning on CFRA I made the suggestion that Lansdowne Live should be accepted by Council on November 13th but that competitive bids should also be allowed to come forward. I followed up with Mark shortly there after and made the following suggestion which I hope you will consider because I believe its the easiest and best way for Council to proceed in order to resolve this issue to the public's satisfaction.

Thank you,

James O'Grady

---------------------

Dear Mark,

Thank you for having me on your show today. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about our website.

With regard to my suggestion as to how Council should proceed on Nov. 13th, here is my preferred solution in bullet form:

• Accept Lansdowne Live as one bid.
• Allow for competition by opening it up for another 6-8 months so new bids can come forward that do not have to have a stadium and a football team included in the proposal.
• Restart the canceled public consultation (from the International Design Contest) so a proper RFP can be created.
• Provide new bids equal access to city resources.
• Allow OSEG to rejig their proposal to meet the requirements of the new RFP and so that every bidder has the same end date target... Ie. finish line.
• Once all bids are accepted and the competition is formally closed, let the public decide.
• Put all bidders in the same large public space and let them convince the public which plan is best.
• Public votes for their favorite over a defined time... Ie. Over a two week period, the public is invited to hear and witness presentations from each delegation (this could be done in the Civic Centre) and to vote for their favorite before leaving.
• The public's decision makes up part of the final decision. Ie. A 50/50 split with Council or something similar.

Following the right process will ensure that the best proposal comes out on top and that it will be accepted by the public as being the legitimate winner. I believe its important that a majority of citizens and major stakeholders (like the Glebe Community Association and BIA) support the final decision if the City wants it to succeed.