Somebody Didn’t Get the Memo

Meet Eva Klein: Founder of Eva Klein & Associates, a consulting firm based in Great Falls, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.  City Council voted on August 19th to award Eva Klein & Associated a $150,000 consulting contract in which the city and the UA would each pay $75,000 for some light consulting work aimed at crafting an economic development plan.  Nancy Allen was the lone vote against approving payment.  When Allen asked why local consultants couldn’t perform this study, she was told local consultants are invested in the community, and therefore couldn’t perform the study without bias.

Meet Eva Klein: Co-founder and principal of idea PARTNERSHIPS, LLC, a company that back in January announced it would partner to help build a new 60,000 sq-ft multi-tenant building for the Arkansas Research & Technology Park—a considerable investment in our community.

So:  Eva Klein invests in the community in January and in August is awarded a $150,000 consulting contract by the city (with the UA kicking in for the bill).

Walt brought this to Nancy Allen’s attention, who in turn presented the information to Lioneld Jordan, who was then kind enough to raise the issue at the City Council meeting on September 2nd.  The revelation raised a few eyebrows, though the Council agreed nothing could be done since the city had already signed a contract with Eva Klein & Associates.

In this article in The Morning News, Eva Klein defends the selection of her consulting firm by saying, “In fact, we’re even more invested in the success of Fayetteville.”

Investment in Fayetteville’s success is one of the reasons local consultants weren’t considered.

-Greg