Little Rock city officials are seeking to hire a Washington public affairs firm founded by a former political operative with long ties to Arkansas for federal government relations and consulting services.
Under a proposed contract with the Peter Damon Group, the firm would provide services for the city, plus four other related entities: Bill and Hillary National Airport/Adams Field, Rock Region Metro, the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority and the Little Rock Port Authority.
The five entities would share equally the cost of the firm's government-relations services.
Members of the city's Board of Directors during a meeting Tuesday were told the proposed contract with the Peter Damon Group would help the city access federal funding opportunities, according to City Manager Bruce Moore.
"Mainly they're going to be providing us assistance in obtaining federal grants from those five different areas," Moore said in response to a question from City Director Doris Wright.
Moments later, Moore elaborated, explaining there are a lot of federal dollars the city and the other entities either "don't know about or don't have access to."
In response to Wright's questions, at one point Mayor Frank Scott Jr. told her the contract with the firm will not change her dealings with the city's grants division.
Scott said "there was a lot of advocacy and consulting [that] went on originally" during the coronavirus outbreak, and he referred to additional federal dollars expected to come directly to cities, rather than to the state.
Wright seemed to suggest another route whereby the staff of the state's congressional delegation could provide them with the information.
But while he noted the delegation "does a phenomenal job," Scott suggested the contract with the Peter Damon Group will mean individuals are focused solely on Little Rock.
By way of example, Moore referred to a past partnership of the city, the airport and port authority in which the entities engaged the firm of former Federal Emergency Management Agency head James Lee Witt and former Transportation Department Secretary Rodney Slater. Both men served in President Bill Clinton's administration.
A resolution authorizing Moore to enter into the contract is scheduled to go before the Board of Directors on Tuesday for review and possible adoption.
Under the proposed one-year contract with the Peter Damon Group, the city will be responsible for paying up to $24,000. If all five entities divide costs equally, as stated in the city resolution, the Peter Damon Group would receive $120,000 for one year of work.
The contract will include the option to extend the agreement for up to three terms of one year each, but all parties must consent to the extensions, according to the city resolution.
The Peter Damon Group was founded by Arkansas native Darren Peters, who serves as the firm's managing partner, according to its website.
According to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette profile published in March, Peters has worked for the political campaigns of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, served in the White House personnel office and chaired the board of Rock Region Metro, then known as the Central Arkansas Transit Authority.
He also has worked for Entergy Corp., including in the Washington-based role of the company's director for federal government affairs, the newspaper reported.
After the city issued a request for qualifications for the federal lobbying contract, six firms submitted bids before the process closed in late January.
In addition to the Peter Damon Group, the city received bids from Thorn Run Partners; Carpi and Clay; Merchant McIntyre Associates; Cassidy and Associates; and the Ferguson Group.