Evanston City Council hires consultant to strategize Robert Crown project fundraising
Julia Jacobs/Daily Senior Staffer
Assistant city manager Martin Lyons briefs City Council Monday on his staff’s recommendation for the Robert Crown Center project fundraising consultant. The council voted unanimously to approve Consulting Counselling Service, the pricier but more thorough proposal.
June 16, 2015
Aldermen moved forward Monday in hiring a fundraising consultant for the Robert Crown Center building project, swallowing a steeper price tag for a higher level of involvement from the selected firm compared with its competitor.
Evanston will pay a total of $477,500 for Community Counselling Service’s work, including a full-time staff member embedded with the city and an initial feasibility study to determine the state of the community donor base. The $75,000 feasibility study — which costs 25 percent more than the competing firm’s proposal — is a necessary step in isolating donors of all levels, assistant city manager Martin Lyons said.
CCS proposed casting a wider net in the community by providing 50 to 75 donors interviews, which help gauge potential donations, compared to the 35 proposed by the competing firm Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt.
Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said she supported the feasibility study despite its cost because of the unpredictability of the size and scale of donations the firm might find in the community.
“They have a sense of what we’re going to be able to generate here, but really and truly, until they go out there, they’re not going to know,” Rainey said. “I think it’s money very well spent.”
Although CCS does not charge based on a percentage of the project’s cost, the firm’s fee ends up representing 3 percent of the total $30 million to build an entirely new structure at the corner of Main Street and Dodge Avenue, Lyons said. Following that route for the project, the city would seek about $17 million in donations, he said.
If the city decides instead to renovate the 40-year-old community center, the cost would amount to between $17 million and $21 million, Lyons added.
Ald. Donald Wilson (4th), whose ward partially houses the Robert Crown Center, said it is important to demonstrate to the community through the fundraising campaign that the city isn’t exclusively using taxpayer dollars to fund the project. From discussions with Evanston residents, Wilson said there are community members in favor of a plan that involves both private and public donors.
“We have a sense that there’s a reasonable level of support,” Wilson said. “We’re undertaking a process to raise a big portion of money, and I think that’s the most fair way to do it.”
The city needed to hire a consultant due to a lack of fundraising experience among city staff, Lyons said. Another part of the CCS’s appeal is its past work for the Evanston-based international service organization Rotary International, which gives the firm a familiarity with the surrounding area, according to city documents.
As the city’s most frequented community center, Robert Crown has been worn over the decades by activity in the ice skating arenas, basketball gymnasium and childcare room, as well as on the outdoor sports fields and tennis courts.
“You wouldn’t know it’s nasty and decrepit … because people do incredible things there,” Wilson said.
The proposed renovation or reconstruction of the 61,000-square-foot building aims to mend building code deficiencies as well as add a new Evanston Public Library branch to serve west-side residents.
After the completion of the feasibility study at the end of October, the fundraising campaign is estimated to take one year, timing the beginning of construction on Robert Crown for 2017.
This story has been updated to clarify that CCS charges a flat fee rather than a percentage-based fee for its work.
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