Response provided by Amanda Hernandez, Interim Director of Planning and Development Services:
Council Member Scott:
Can we handle item #7 in house? What do these studies entail that we can't do ourselves?
Staff was able to secure $45,000 in grant funding in order to hire historic preservation professionals to assist with research and preparing applications for nominations of historic buildings and the historic Dunbar district. While staff could potentially do this work, the daily workload in the department does not leave much free time for this type of long term, detail oriented task. Staff will be heavily involved in reviewing everything prepared by the consultant; however, with their assistance and the grant's deadline for spending the funds we are assured these nominations will be done in a timely manner.