THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200265
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MANASSAS LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
A consulting firm hired to help study effects of the Disney's America theme park is defending itself against criticism that its fees are too high and some of its work is unnecessary.
Maryland-based LDR International Inc. won a $395,000 contract in February with the Prince William County Board of Supervisors to work with a citizen task force on a report that analyzes the proposed $650 million park's side effects. The report is to be completed by October.
The firm's charges include $8,000 for what it calls a facilitator to help committee members get along, $10,000 for someone to take notes at meetings and nearly $27,000 for maps. Many of the maps could have been produced by the county for free, the chief of the county's mapping department said.
The company also charged the county $4,700 for a 3 1/2-hour bus tour of Haymarket and the nearby theme park site on a county-owned bus with a county driver. Consultants also took photos of the Disney site at an additional cost of $5,000.
Uri Avin, LDR's project manager, said the charges are justified and in line with consultants' fees in the area.
``Going into it, we understood (working with the task force) was going to be difficult,'' he said. ``We didn't know where the task force was heading but we had to be responsive and cover all the bases. . . Over an eight-month time frame we will have done a remarkable amount of work.''
Prince William officials said they hired the firm because they wanted outside experts who would be perceived as objective.
``I felt if the normal staff supported the task force, there would have been criticism of the end product,'' said Supervisor Chairwoman Kathleen K. Seefeldt.
Some task force members also praised the firm.
``Their background in planning is very, very impressive,'' said committee member Ellen Penar. ``They knew what they were doing.'' by CNB