I read the RFP, the Keller proposal, and the scoring, and was perplexed by the decision to sell Tall Chief to the Keller dairy. I wrote proposals for public works projects for many years. It is strange that the county did not require any letters of commitment from the five organic farms referenced in the Keller proposal, as they are major players achieving the scope of work by the dairy.

By not requiring partners to state their commitment in the proposal and then not even confirming the assertions made in that proposal, the county has declared that a proposal where material misrepresentations were made, the winner.

This is a serious problem now that at least some of those organic farms have protested their inclusion without their knowledge and calls into question the entire process.

Further concerning is the county’s rush to push this flawed decision forward and justify it on grounds that have nothing to do with the original RFP.  The RFP asserted the evaluation team would include community members but did not include any residents of the Snoqualmie Valley which would have known that misrepresentations were made.   The county should throw out this round, ask for resubmissions, have a different panel of reviewers and adjust the RFP for their errors. The county should require proposers to give a presentation on their plan so questions can be asked and clarifications made.  Then, it will be clear to the taxpayers and local citizens that the process is fair and not politically motivated.

Becky Davie

Fall City