From the beginning of the Task Force’s efforts, we made inclusion of the public a priority of our work. In addition to Task Force members, several observers regularly attended meetings, including representatives from City departments, community groups, and the media. We gave observers time to comment at the end of each meeting. We established a website and e-mail listserve, so that Task Force members and all interested parties could communicate between meetings. We regularly sent minutes and supporting materials to 50 interested parties locally and nationally. We also held a mid-course working session at Rainier Community Center to obtain public comments on our work to date.

The early work of the Task Force involved a series of "information gathering" meetings. (See Attachment 3 for summaries of all PPPTF meetings.) The point of these early briefings was to hear from stakeholders, including representatives from the City, the private sector, and public interest groups.

Briefings with City Staff included several directors whose departments were planning to engage in additional public-private partnerships. Staff from the Office of City Auditor and City Law Department spoke to the group about legal issues related to public-private partnerships. The Ethics and Elections Commission also presented materials to us for our examination.

We held two panel discussions - one with representatives from the private sector (a developer and attorney both involved in local public-private partnerships), and a public interest panel consisting of critics of public-private partnerships.

In addition, Susan Baugh from the Office of City Auditor presented her research on public-private partnerships in other jurisdictions, and Sara Levin outlined her study of public-private partnership best practices from the perspective of national organizations.

A series of deliberative meetings began midway through the Task Force’s work, after enough information gathering had occurred to provide grounding. Working from a draft list of possible standards for public-private partnerships prepared by David Harrison and Sara Levin, we began to focus on several key issues: a project’s relationship to City goals, and the nature, level, and timing of disclosure and public review.

As Task Force members, we are happy to provide any additional information on our deliberations and to further discuss the nature of our recommendations. We share a firm belief that the standards we are proposing will contribute to the building of a strong and viable City that will continue to serve the needs of its citizens.