Should the county stick with one concert promoter before doing a little club hopping? Seth Hurwitz, who runs the District’s 9:30 Club, says no.
In a Nov 7 letter to MoCo exec Ike Leggett (D), Hurwitz argued that Live Nation shouldn’t be handed the keys to Silver Spring’s future music venue without first competing for the lease.
“The county would be expending $8 million to procure a performing arts facility … without having first held either a competitive procurement, or a full and open hearing and authorization by the county council,” Hurwitz wrote.
According to Hurwitz, county code section 11B-14 allows noncompetitive procurements only in certain cases: if there’s only one source for the goods; if the contract dodges a lawsuit; or if a county grant or appropriation specifically identifies a contractor.
Hurwitz argued that none of those scenarios applied to Live Nation, which signed a nonbinding agreement with the county in September. That agreement would set up a Fillmore venue on Colesville Road, at the former JC Penney site.
“It would be far better to follow the spirit of this county policy, as well as the county charter … than to follow the supposed spirit of the county’s nonbinding and privately negotiated letter of intent with Live Nation,” Hurwitz wrote.
However, Leggett’s spokesperson would disagree with Hurwitz’s assessment.
“This is not a concessionaire contract. This is not a procurement. This involves a property lease,” Patrick Lacefield, the county exec’s public information director, emailed The Penguin prior to Hurwitz’s letter.
“Projects involving significant and strategic economic development projects are specifically exempted from county procurement regulations,” Lacefield wrote. “So too are projects involving purveyors of arts and entertainment.”
The previous administration, which tried to get The Birchmere into town, decided not to go with open bidding. Instead, the idea was to “seek out a unique party to partner with for a unique purpose,” Lacefield explained.
When negotiations with The Birchmere collapsed over the summer, Lacefield said Leggett’s administration began talks with Live Nation under the same operating procedures.
“Economic development projects may or may not put out requests for proposals. Sometimes there are, sometimes there are not. There is no legal requirement,” he added.
At any rate, Hurwitz insisted in his letter that he didn’t want to get involved in a legal argument.
“We are only requesting that the county government evaluate I.M.P. [Hurwitz's company] as another choice, since it is clear that energetic competition ultimately can only benefit the county,” he wrote.
The county is on course to score the Colesville Road property, and to sign a lease with Live Nation, by Dec 31, The Gazette reports.
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Okay… First of all, I’m a registered Democrat that doesn’t like like Clear Channel/Live Nation.
However, let’s think of the scenario where MoCo stabs LiveNation in the back and gives the Silver Spring site to Hurwitz… Yeah for the little guy who didn’t give a rat’s ass until after LiveNation showed up to the party. What happens next? Does LiveNation walk away or get pissed and decides to open up a venue in, say Bethesda. What does that do for Silver Spring? Oh yeah, I’ll tell you… We get competition between LiveNation and IMP and guess where IMP sinks their money in order to not dilute their acts? Yes, you guessed it… NOT Silver Spring.
I don’t have any illusions about I.M.P. (the new 9:30 ain’t the old 9:30), but it is a local business. If the County has to throw money at someone, at least we wouldn’t be throwing it across statelines. In addition, I read the Hurwitz approached the County on September 24, 2007, which is before we made the agreement with Live Nation.
Editor’s note: An article on Hurwitz’s initial overtures can be viewed here. — JD (Nov 8, 2007)
I read that after discussions with the Birchmere stalled, the county had discussions with several groups. Where was IMP back then?
“I read that after discussions with the Birchmere stalled, the county had discussions with several groups. Where was IMP back then?”
Over the summer when I asked Leggett who else he was in negotiations with he refused to answer!!!! Maybe its because his choice was Live Nation all along.
rd, you’ve shown up on every blog vigorously defending Live Nation…who are you & what interest do you have with them? Are you just cheerleading for any bogus deal or do you want the best for DTSS?
Editor’s note: The Penguin does its best to wring full disclosure out of its “Holler Back” participants. If a conflict of interest is suspected, it is noted beneath the comment. So far, so good. — JD (Nov 8, 2007)
Mr. Leggett says they have a deal with Live Nation, but he also said that the Birchmere was a done deal. Nothing legally binding has been signed (as far as we are told). I.M.P. is offering the County a better deal, and yes, it was after he saw the deal that Live Nation had offered, but what chance would a million dollar local buisness have in negotiating against a billion dollar corperation by laying their cards down first? The County has no more of a deal with Live Nation than it did with the Birchmere, and we saw how Ike Leggatt tossed that off. I want a music venue within walking distance of my residence, but the truth comes first.