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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-28-25 Public Comment - P. Steinmuller - Comments - Candidates Communication Strategist - Bozeman Study CommissionFrom:Patti Steinmuller To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comments - Candidates Communication Strategist - Bozeman Study Commission Date:Friday, July 25, 2025 11:13:49 PM Attachments:Comments Communication Strategist.docx CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Bozeman Study Commissioners, Attached are my comments regarding the two candidates for Communication Strategist using the selection criteria provided. I watched the meeting recording and read the RFP of each candidate. I apologize for the delay in submitting my comments. Patti Steinmuller Patti Steinmuller 952 Knolls Drive Bozeman, MT 59715-7430 psteinmul@msn.com 406-209-4160 Comments - Communication Strategist Below are my comments regarding the two candidates using the selection criteria as instructed. I watched the meeting recording and read the RFP of each candidate. I apologize for the delay in submitting my comments. IX. SELECTION CRITERIA Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria: • [5 points] Executive Summary • [45 points] Qualifications of the Firm or Individual for Scope of Services; • [30 points] Proposal Requirements • [5 points] Related Experience with Similar Projects Candidate 1: Andrew Thomas https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=300931&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN 1) Executive Summary. Mr. Thomas did well as he described his professional qualifications, experience, and interest in the position. Living and working in Helena, Montana, would allow him to visit Bozeman at various times during the timeframe required. Being familiar with issues being dealt with by the City of Bozeman Study Commission and Montana’s social and economic climate are factors that could be advantageous to this position. 2) Qualifications. Mr. Thomas’s credentials as an attorney with a doctorate in business administration, his teaching experience, and his research on organizational behavior and organizational policies are relevant to this position. His experience working with individuals of diverse backgrounds, developing and implementing surveys, focus groups, and interviews as well as statistical analysis and qualitative analysis relate well to this position. His research dealing with issues of governance, public opinion, and public administration are relevant. 3) Proposal Requirements. Mr. Thomas stated his first task would be to formulate a plan to determine the most relevant issues to be explored in preliminary public meetings and surveys. Reviewing the city’s charter and other relevant documents would be included in that process. He described options for public meetings and stakeholder engagement. He explained the potential to use a grounded theory approach to develop narratives important for most Bozeman residents. He stated that he wants to know what is important to people, and to include everyone in constructive dialog. He provided an article on grounded theory. More information would be needed on this concept. The commission would need to decide whether the project would average 20 hours per week for the duration of the study. 4) Related Experience with Similar Projects. His CV referenced surveys he had conducted, policy analyses, and interview research on topics like the goal of the Commission. He spoke about the use of social media and mass media as important sources of engagement, and using different methods to capture representation of various groups within the population. He described his experience analyzing surveys. His references were educators and publications. 5) Summary. Mr. Thomas is well educated and possess experience in education, and survey conduction and analysis that is essential to this position. His proximity to Bozman and being a Montana resident may be relevant to consider. He presented himself well and is clearly interested in this position. I would have liked to have seen more variety in his experience in public communication and engagement. That fact that he didn’t state a timeline or set a fee for his services is notable. He did address these issues in response to a question posed by a commissioner, but I think the timeline fee should have been included in his RFP. He may have provided additional information regarding his fee by the Friday deadline for submitting additional information. I would appreciate more information regarding his experience in conducting and evaluating surveys and using additional methods of stakeholder engagement to reach various elements of the population. Candidate 2. Stan Odenthal, Working Ventures: https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=300934&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN 1) Executive Summary. Mr. Odenthal and his colleague, Ana Lopez Shalla provided their perspective of why and how the Working Ventures organization would deliver a comprehensive, accessible, and legally compliant communications strategy that would advance the Commission’s goals: to educate, engage, and involve the Bozeman community in evaluating its current local government structure. He focused on partnering with the commission, being community centered, and nimble, and adaptable to changing situations. 2) Qualifications. Rather than a single person for this position, Working Ventures offers a team and partnership-centered approach to achieve the desired goal. The two principals, Stan Odenthal, JD with experience in local government, and Ana Lopez Shalla, experience in workforce development with the University of Nebraska system and nonprofits, provided evidence of their experience and expertise in education, legal compliance, transparency, workforce systems, and public communications. Mr. Odenthal provided evidence of the communications expertise of Working Venture regarding equity, transparency, and collaboration. The third member of the company, Taylor Gehringer, has experience in data & analysis and utilizing informed engagement methods with diverse populations. 3) Proposal Requirements. Working Ventures would offer facilitation experience with public meetings, open houses, stakeholder focus groups, and community surveys. Commitment to delivering on time and within budget was an important quality of this RFP. The RFP provided a clear timeline and fee for the project. Regarding being at a diverse location, Mr. Odenthal described the various means of engaging with the commission via phone, Zoom, onsite visit, and participation in town halls and workshops, and place-based opportunities. 4) Related Experience with Similar Projects. The experiences listed related to strategic planning, strategy development, and workforce development in South Dakota, Texas, Kansas, and Iowa. References were CEOs and nonprofit leadership of organizations in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. 5) Summary. Although much of the experience of Working Ventures has dealt with assisting organizations with strategic planning, Mr. Odenthal noted, in response to a commissioner’s question, similarities of consensus building, education, communication, effective decision-making and transparency in government as essential to examining government structure and strategic planning. He described the capacity of Working Ventures to address the focus on government structure in this project. Advantages of this proposal include the depth, variety, and options for statehooder engagement and experience in data analysis and achieving statistical significance, a clear timeline, and an inclusive fee. The fact that Mr. Odenthal is bilingual in Spanish as well as English, may be helpful in conducting successful engagement strategies in our community. Overall comment. Considering the broad range of experience, communications expertise, track record, and partnering team approach, I suggest Mr. Stan Odenthal, Working Ventures, as the better candidate for Communication Strategist to achieve the desired level of performance for this project of the Bozeman Study Commission.