(a) A selection panel shall conduct interviews with the five consultant firms selected, or if fewer than five responses are received, the panel shall conduct interviews with all such firms and present the names of all the consultant firms responding to the commissioner.

(b) A selection panel shall proceed to furnish a list of the most qualified consultant firms to the commissioner, or the names of all the consultant firms responding if fewer than five respond. A panel shall prepare a memorandum of the selection process, indicating how the evaluation criteria were applied to determine the most qualified firms, which shall be available to the public after execution of the contract with the selected consultant. The commissioner shall select a consultant from among the list of firms submitted by a selection panel. After the commissioner has made his selection, the names of the consultant firms submitted to the commissioner shall be available to the public upon request. The commissioner shall also prepare a memorandum of the final phase of the selection process, indicating how he applied the evaluation criteria to determine the most qualified firm. Such memorandum shall be available to the public after execution of the contract with the selected consultant.