Mayor Shawn Patterson Howard postpones special Board of Estimate and Contract meeting to finalize ARPA contracts and prepare bid openings

Mayor Shawn Patterson Howard announced during a virtual call that the Board of Estimate and Contract’s special meeting scheduled for today to discuss an amendment related to Target gift cards will not be held and is being moved to Dec. 27 at 4:30 p.m. "We will not be holding the meeting today. We will have this meeting tomorrow, 4:30," he said.

Howard said the rescheduled session will include the full city council agenda from the past Monday and about 18 items the board must consider. He said the schedule change is driven by the end of the ARPA cycle and the need to pass final ARPA legislation and "authorize the mayor to enter into contract" so the city can sign and encumber funds before businesses close for the holidays.

An unidentified participant on the call asked staff to confirm that, for all ARPA items, the legislation being presented also explicitly grants the mayor authority to enter contracts — not only to appropriate funds — and that contracts or purchase orders (POs) are ready to be executed to meet U.S. government deadlines. "I just want us to make sure we go back and double check that," the speaker said. Howard replied he was reviewing the documents and that "one or two" items are POs while the remainder "say enter into contract," authorizing immediate contract execution.

Participants also confirmed there will be an additional Board of Estimate and Contract meeting on the coming Monday to handle bid openings. The call included some uncertainty about the exact count and timing of bid openings; speakers referenced "two" bid openings and discussed meeting times of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on different days.

Separately, the unidentified participant raised a discrepancy in budget paperwork, saying the council’s recent amendment was to the 2025 budget while some documents still display 2024 (and earlier sections show 2023 and 2024). The participant urged staff to correct the labeling so materials consistently reflect the revised 2025 budget.

No formal votes or motions were recorded on the call. Participants closed the session with logistical confirmations and thanks to staff and the comptroller. The board will publish a full agenda before the rescheduled meeting.