FINAL TIGER Trail and Complete Street Design Request For QualificationsCITY OF KALISPELL
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
DESIGN CONSULTANTS FOR KALISPELL TRAIL AND COMPLETE STREET
TIGER PROJECT
1 - GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Pursuant to the authority granted to it under MCA 7-5-4301(2)(a)., the City of Kalispell seeks
to procure a qualified professional consultant to perform analysis and design services for the
Kalispell Trail and Complete Street TIGER Project.
1.2 The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First
Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana 59901, by 5:00 p.m. local time, February 22, 2018.
1.3 Questions pertaining to the selection process should be directed to Katharine Thompson,
Assistant Director Community and Economic Development, at 406-758-7713 or
kthompson@kalispell.com.
1.4 The City of Kalispell shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to
this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be in the form of an addendum, which will be
furnished to all registered RFQ holders.
1.5 The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all SOQs, to waive any informality or
irregularity in any SOQ received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the respective SOQs
received.
1.6 A pre -submittal conference for the contract will be held at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell,
MT 59901 in City Council Chambers on February 8, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. City staff will discuss
the scope of work, general contract issues, and respond to questions from the attendees. Because
staff will not be available to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside
of this pre -submittal conference, attendance at this pre -submittal conference is highly
recommended. Participation via ZOOM Meetings is available upon request with the submission
of necessary contact information.
1.7 The Consultant will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification
for the type of services required, and thereafter the City will negotiate the services agreement
with what it deems to be the most qualified company.
2 - ANTICIPATED SCOPE OF WORK
After being selected, the Consultant will execute a services agreement with the City to provide
the scope of work set forth below. The Consultant and the City shall negotiate the exact scope of
work after selection.
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2.1 Kalispell Trail and Complete Street Project Background and Description
The City of Kalispell adopted the Core Area Plan in 2012 as an amendment to its growth policy.
This plan outlines the community vision upon which Kalispell's 2015 USDOT TIGER Grant
project is based. The Core Area Plan was created through an intensive community planning
process and includes renderings and narrative that communicate the concepts of this widely
known community plan. The 2015 USDOT TIGER grant award of $10 million, matched by City
of Kalispell Westside/Core Area Tax Increment Finance District funding of $11 million. First,
building a new industrial rail park, "Glacier Rail Park", on the north east edge of the City of
Kalispell to be complete in 2018. Kalispell's last two rail -served businesses are building new
facilities at Glacier Rail Park and relocating to these new facilities at the end of 2018. In phase
two, a community based design process will be undertaken in 2018 for the Kalispell Trail and
Complete Street connection. In 2019 the existing rail line running through the City will be
removed and in 2020 the new Kalispell Trail and Complete Street connection will be built. The
Kalispell Trail and Complete Street components of this project total $4,062,000.
The design for the Kalispell Trail will require coordination with City of Kalispell Departments
including Community and Economic Development, Planning, Public Works and Parks and
Recreation; and coordination with other organizations including Kalispell Downtown
Association and Business Improvement District; and the Montana Department of Transportation.
The project will require property, topographic, and utility surveys; highway crossing design; a
railroad bridge conversion to bike and pedestrian use; possible easements; possible land
acquisition; infrastructure design along the trail and complete street; complete street design;
submittals to governmental agencies; public design process, public communications, and
construction bid documents. The design team will involve professionals from various disciplines
such as landscape architecture, engineering, recreation and parks and community planning. A
consultant or consulting team with documented expertise in greenways and trails planning is
required. The consultant under this contract will utilize the design vision and concepts created in
the Core Area Plan to create necessary documents including preliminary and final design with
construction documents to create construction bid documents.
After being selected, the Consultant will execute a services agreement with the City to provide
the scope of work set forth below. The Consultant and the City shall negotiate the exact scope of
work after the selection. Design of the Kalispell Trail and Complete Street will address priorities
identified by the community to date, including:
• Enhance Community Character: Tie the trail into surrounding contexts, which vary
from industrial to commercial to residential along the alignment.
• Create Linkages: Make this "A Trail to Somewhere." Not just a recreational pathway,
by ensuring that it creates new linkages to key community destinations (library,
HeadStart, Kalispell Center Mall, hotels, Depot Park, Woodland Park, senior living
community, etc.) and to the broader regional trail network.
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• Spur Economic Development: Optimize the trail as a permanent regional asset that
provides lasting value as a draw for recreational tourism as well as a local amenity and
transportation corridor.
• Promote Revitalization: Use the trail as a catalyst to spur attractive development of
surrounding properties, creating vital complete live -work -play centers that advance local
redevelopment momentum already in action.
• Offer Family Activities: Provide opportunities for families to connect, for kids to ride
bikes and play, and for residents to exercise and interact.
• Incorporate Local History: The history of Kalispell and the railroad corridor that runs
throughout the Core Area are inextricably linked, dating back to 1892. The Trail design
can commemorate the connection to the railroad through historic signage, public art, and
virtual tours that people can access from smartphones while using the trail.
• Draw People into the Core Area and Historic Downtown: Provide a transportation
corridor and an interactive gateway to the commercial district in downtown Kalispell.
• Reclaim Main Street as a Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly Corridor: Encourage visitors
and residents to engage with downtown outside of their cars.
• Locate the New Kalispell Branch of the County Library along the Trail: Use the library
as an anchor destination for the trail and the trail as a corridor to access the new library.
• Spur Development/Redevelopment of More Downtown Density: Mix urban housing at
all price points with an array of retail venues; encourage innovative financing programs
to boost home buying through banking partnerships to provide loans and training to first
time, low- to moderate income homebuyers.
• Form Regional Consortium of Chambers, National Forest Service, Tourism
Organizations and Others: Promote the trail's function within larger regional trail
network and its connectivity and access to Glacier National Park.
• Promote Green Design: Incorporate innovative green infrastructure, stormwater
drainage, limit impervious surfaces, etc. into trail construction.
• Integrate Unique Community Design Elements: Consider different models during
design planning stage —European town squares, San Antonio Riverwalk, etc.
• Create Opportunities to Engage Community Groups: Build on the current widespread
support and excitement generated by the Core Area planning process.
• Engineering/Location Decisions: Siting the trail in the best location to avoid replacing
one obstacle (the active train line that holds up roadway traffic) with another (a busy
trail that holds up vehicular traffic); focus on solving problems rather than adding to
them.
• Assessing and Cleaning up Brownfields: Ensuring that contaminated properties along
the corridor are adequately characterized and appropriately remediated to prevent
adverse health impacts to trail users.
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• Maintenance: Addressing long-term funding, defining maintenance responsibilities and
coordination of public sector and community volunteerism.
• Coordination with Community -Wide Master Plan: Ensuring consistency in the
appearance and functionality of the trail with surrounding properties and streets;
appropriate traffic speeds for pedestrian -oriented urban areas.
• Visitor Parking for Trail Users: Providing adequate parking for trail use as appropriate
along the length of the trail, as in trail heads as access points.
• Physical Interaction of Buildings and Activities: Prevention of "dark spots" where
visibility of/from the trail is limited thus enhancing safety of users.
• Ensure Appropriate Zoning and Other Regulations to support the vision and plan.
Relevant Documents include:
• Core Area Plan 2012:
http://kalispell.com/community economic development/documents/LowResolutionVersion.pdf
• TIGER grant application 2015:
http://kalispell.com/community economic development/documents/Narrative.pdf
• TIGER NEPA Document:
http://kalispell.com/community economic development/documents/SignedEA Kalispell 5-18-
2017.pdf
• Section 106 MOA:
http://kalispell.com/community economic development/documents/ExecutedS106MOA Kalis
pelITIGER7 JuIV062017.pdf
• Downtown Plan 2017:
http://kalispell.com/planning/documents/DTPlan 9.6.2017PBApproved.pdf
• Montana Main Street grant application 2017:
htlp://kalispell.com/community economic_ development/documents/KalispellMMSGrant
App081517Signed.pdf
2.2 Required Services
The services to be provided for this project will take the project from the vision and concepts
identified in the Core Area Plan through preparation of construction bid documents for the
Kalispell Trail and Complete Street Connection under the TIGER 2015 grant award and shall
include, but are not necessarily limited to:
1. Design a state -of -the art trail facility with amenities as specified in the design plan.
2. Development of at least one complete street; accommodating both vehicle and pedestrian
traffic, landscaping and underground utilities (sewer, water, storm) and lighting, etc.
3. Complete an engineering and design study that will provide the detailed information
necessary to budget, secure, and program funds for trail construction and complete street
construction.
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4. Public outreach with adjoining property owners and greater public in order to integrate
the trail and complete street into existing and future developments.
5. Work with city, county and State MDT officials regarding the trail design, permitting and
constructability of major street crossing.
6. Review, recommendation and assurance of compliance with all applicable grants.
7. Acquire right-of-way and secure the resources needed to construct and operate the trail
and complete street as described in the planning and design documents, including trail
heads and other features as required.
8. Coordination and implementation of all permitting and public/private agency
requirements.
9. Administer bids for construction, as required, including such items as preparations of bid
documents, pre -bid meetings, review of bids, and recommendation for award.
10. Provide construction management as deemed necessary by the City.
11. Establish a sustainable program of financial and in -kind support to keep the trail clean,
safe, attractive, and fully utilized as an asset for the community.
3 - STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS SELECTION CRITERIA
3.1 The Consultant will be selected through a qualification -based selection process. Firms
interested in providing requested scope of services to the City of Kalispell must submit a
Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) that addresses the following evaluation criteria. Applicants
are encouraged to organize their submissions in such a way as to follow the general evaluation
criteria listed below. Information included within the SOQ may be used to evaluate your firm as
part of any criteria regardless of where that information is found within the SOQ. Information
obtained from the SOQ and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and
selection process.
3.2 Cover Letter (1-page) containing at a minimum: Company name, contact name, address,
phone number and email address.
3.3 Qualifications Criteria
3.3.1 General Information
a. Description of company
b. Lead firm's primary and secondary contact information
c. Legal company organization; organization chart with names
d. List of applicable Montana licenses
3.3.2 Relevant Company Experience (30 points)
Describe the firm's experience with similar projects. For each project provide the
following information:
1. Project design and construction costs (include data on change orders as a
percent of the original budget).
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2. Ability to maintain and meet schedule established in a professional contract
(include data on proposed work completion dates and actual timeline
achievements).
3. Key project staff members currently with the firm and their project role.
4. Statement of experience with the following:
i. Innovative and creative solutions for design.
ii. Design and engineering.
iii. How the project facilitated an economic engine for community
revitalization.
iv. Land acquisition.
v. Coordination and implementation of permitting and public/private
agency requirements including Montana Department of
Transportation, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and
the BNSF Railroad.
vi. GPS Surveying and experience with drafting software.
vii. Provide project bidding and award assistance and construction
management.
viii. Public outreach.
ix. Long-term maintenance plan.
x. Federal railbanking program
b. List and briefly describe the professional services the company provides to 3-5 other
jurisdictions and the length of time the services have been provided.
c. A minimum of three referrals and references from other municipalities or local
governments.
3.3.3 Company Qualifications (20 points)
a. Describe the company's history in the industry. Provide resumes of key personnel
who will serve on this project in Appendix A.
b. Briefly describe applicable certifications and licensure held by the company in the
state of Montana.
3.3.4 Contract Understanding and Approach (20 points)
a. Describe your understanding of the current needs of the City of Kalispell for the
professional services being requested.
b. Identify and discuss any potential difficult issues your company may face in
providing services for the City of Kalispell.
c. Identify and discuss methods to mitigate these difficulties.
3.3.5 Approach to Contract Management (20 points)
a. Present a brief description of how the firm intends to organize and conduct the
proj ect.
b. Describe your company's approach in initiating and establishing the service that meet
the needs and requirements of the City.
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c. A narrative outlining a proposed scope of work that includes description of each task
and work product, and a concise explanation of the firm's approach to accomplishing
the tasks.
d. Describe a proposed time schedule of work with key milestones and product
deliverables. Firm's record of commitment to schedule as demonstrated on past
proj ects.
e. Applicant's capacity and intent to proceed without delay if selected for this contract.
3.3.6 Other Factors (10 points)
a. Current contracts and ability to proceed promptly.
b. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service.
c. Firm's record of commitment to budget as demonstrated on past projects.
4 - SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
4.1 The SOQ shall include a one -page cover letter plus a maximum of fifteen (15) pages to
address the SOQ criteria specified in Section 3 (excluding resumes and references). Table of
Contents and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count.
4.2 Seven copies and a pdf of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City
Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana 59901, by 5:00 p.m. local time,
February 22, 2018.
4.3 Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualifications:
1. Receipt of submittal by the specified cut-off date and time.
2. The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified.
3. Adherence to maximum page requirements.
4.4 Adherence to the maximum page criteria is critical; each page side (maximum 8 1/2" x 11")
with criteria information will be counted. Pages that have photos, charts and graphs will be
counted towards the maximum number of pages.
4.5 Faxed materials will not be considered.
5 - SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
5.1 5.1 A 7-member Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Statement of
Qualifications (SOQ) according to the above criteria and select up to three finalists that will be
Short Listed for the contract. Those firms selected for the Short List will be provided additional
instruction by the City and those not selected for further consideration will be notified. The three
finalists will meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for interviews. The purpose of the
interview will be to expand on the information provided in the SOQ, not to repeat information
already provided. Following the interview, the Evaluation Committee will evaluate the short list
and select the top qualified firm.
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5.2 The following tentative schedule has been prepared for this project. Firms interested in this
project must be available on the interview meeting date.
Pre -submittal conference: February 8, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
Council Chambers -Kalispell City Hall
SOQ due: February 22, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
Firms notified for interview: Expected March 2, 2018
Interviews: Expected March 12 -13, 2018
Additional Estimated Dates of Interest:
First Day in the Field: May 1, 2018
Glacier Rail Park Construction: present -January 2019
Construction of Relocating Business Facilities: present -fall 2018
Acquisition of Rail Bank Land from BNSF: present -summer 2018
Public Planning Process for Kalispell Trail and Complete Street:
June -September 2018
Design of Kalispell Trail and Complete Street: January 2019
Construction Bid Documents for Kalispell Trail and Complete
Street: 2019
Removal of Existing Track from Rail Bank Area: 2019
Construction of Kalispell Trail and Complete Street: 2020
5.3 Following the evaluation and interviews (if needed), the Project Evaluation Committee will
determine a ranking for each Short List firm based on the published criteria in 3.3 of this RFQ.
Consideration will be given to both the written Statement of Qualifications and any oral
presentations or interviews. No other factors or criteria will be used in the qualification ranking.
5.4 The highest ranked firm will be recommended to the City Manager.
5.5 Requests for debriefings or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the City. All
information submitted by firms and related Project Evaluation Committee evaluations and
rankings shall be considered confidential until after contract execution and award by the City
Council.
5.6 The City will enter into negotiations with the selected firm and execute a contract upon
completion of negotiations for the professional services for City Council approval. Contract
negotiations will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following elements: scope of
work, project timetable, products of work, and fees. If the City is unsuccessful in negotiating a
contract with the highest ranked team, the City may then negotiate with the second or third
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highest ranked team until a contract is executed. If the list of preferred design firms is exhausted
without a contract being awarded, the City may decide to terminate the selection process or re -
advertise.
5.7 The City will not reimburse any cost associated with the preparation, submittal, or
presentation of any Statement of Qualification. Consultant design firms are advised that in
accordance with Montana law, any information submitted may be subject to public inspection.
Firms are further advised that, while the City is constrained by budget for this work, the City
does not consider cost proposals or estimates of fee in its evaluation of qualifications.
Publication Dates: January 28, 2018
February 11, 2018
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