Critics Concerned About Conflict Of Interest With Downtown Raleigh Projects

Council members agreed Tuesday to negotiate a contract with the Clearscapes architectural firm.

Clearscapes is led by Steve Schuster, a member of the committee that recommended building a new convention center.

The city manager and city attorney said there is no conflict of interest, but some council members said it could undermine public trust in the project.

"Everything we do has to be above board," city councilman Kieran Shanahan said, "and when you begin to give out goodies to people involved in the process of helping us decide whether to do the convention center, then you raise credibility problems with the contract."

The council may have to confront the conflict of interest again when it chooses an engineering firm to open up the Fayetteville Street Mall.

The front-runner for that contract is Barbara Mulkey, Inc. Mulkey was also a member of the steering committee for the convention center, which goes hand-in-hand with the Fayetteville Street project.

Council members put that vote on hold, while they figure out how to foot the $10 million bill for opening the mall.

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