WWTP EQ Basin Request for QualificationsPage 1 of 5
CITY OF KALISPELL REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS FOR KALISPELL WWTP EQUALIZATION BASIN 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 consulting engineer to perform analysis and design services for the Kalispell Wastewater Treatment Plant Equalization Basin Project
1.2 The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East (PO Box 1997), Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00 p.m. local time, June 12, 2020. 1.3 Questions pertaining to the selection process should be directed to Susie Turner, Public Works Director, at 406-758-7852 or sturner@kalispell.com and Aaron Losing, Wastewater Treatment
Plant Manager, at 406-871-6961 or alosing@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 may be held at the Kalispell Wastewater Treatment
Plant Conference Room at 2001 Airport Road, Kalispell, MT on June 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. City staff will discuss the scope of work, general contract issues, and respond to questions from the attendees. Staff will be available to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope
outside of this pre‐submittal conference, however, attendance at this pre‐submittal conference is highly recommended. 1.7 The Service Firm 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 Professional Service Provider will execute a services agreement with the
City to provide the scope of work set forth below. The Professional Service Provider and the City shall negotiate the exact scope of practice after selection.
Page 2 of 5
2.1 Background Flow Equalization Basin (EQ) Alternative
The existing EQ basin is at operational limits for the current flows, with a storage volume
deficient of 240,000 gallons. Additional equalization volume is required to provide the ability to
continue consistent facility performance. This project was identified in the 2019 AWWTP Facility Plan update and consists of constructing one 75-FT diameter tank which provides 395,000 gallons of additional equalization basin storage. Design of the 75-FT diameter EQ tank will include considerations for future conversion to a primary clarifier anticipated for the year
2030. Once the 75-FT diameter tank is converted to primary clarification (in the future), the
existing rectangular clarifiers adjacent to the existing EQ basin will be modified for additional equalization basin capacity.
2.2 Required Services
The services to be provided for this project shall include, but are not necessarily limited to: 1. Analyze and evaluate alternatives to construct new EQ Basin, with considerations to convert the basin in the future to a primary clarifier.
2. Prepare a comprehensive report of findings, alternatives, cost estimates and
recommendations. 3. Support documentation and administration of State Revolving Fund loan. 4. Coordination and implementation of all permitting and public/private agency requirements.
5. Prepare engineering designs, drawings, specifications and construction documents as
required for the project. 6. Administer bids for construction, as required by the City, including such items as preparations of bid documents, pre-bid meetings, review of bids and recommendation for award.
7. Provide construction management for project including, but not necessarily limited to a
preconstruction meeting, inspection, testing service, preparation of pay requests and certifications of completed work.
8. Provide follow up inspection(s), as required, such as a two year warranty inspection. 3 ‐ STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS SELECTION CRITERIA
3.1 The Professional Service Provider 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 a minimum: Company name, contact name, address, fax
number and email address.
Page 3 of 5
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) a. 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). 2. Key project staff members still with the firm and their project role. 3. Statement of experience with the following: i. Kalispell’s plant operations and treatment process.
ii. Analysis and design of equalization basins and circular primary
clarifies. iii. EQ basins and primary clarifier performance analysis, selection, specification, construction and operational function. iv. Primary clarifier and equitation basin construction inspection and
management.
4. 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. 5. A minimum of three referrals and references from other municipalities or local governments.
3.3.3 Company Qualifications (20 points) a. Describe the firm’s history in the industry. Provide resumes of key personnel in Appendix A.
b. Briefly describe 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 project. b. Describe your company’s approach in initiating and establishing the service that meet
the needs and requirements of the City.
Page 4 of 5
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 deliveries. 3.3.6 Other Factors (10 points)
a. Current contracts and ability to proceed without delay if selected for this contract. b. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service. c. Firm’s record of commitment to budget as demonstrated on past projects. d. Firm’s record of commitment to schedule 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). Table of Contents and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count. 4.2 Five copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, (PO Box 1997), Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00 p.m. local time, June 12, 2020.
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 A 5‐member Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Statement of Qualifications
(SOQ) according to the above criteria, as well as past performance evaluations, and select up to
three finalists that will be Short Listed for the contract. The Evaluation Committee will evaluate
the short list and select the top qualified firm. If more information is required to select the top qualified firm, the Short List firms 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. Those firms selected for the Short List will be provided
additional instruction by the City. Those firms not selected for further consideration will be
notified. 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.
Page 5 of 5
Pre‐submittal conference: June 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at the Kalispell WWTP Conference Room, 2001 Airport Road. SOQ due: June 12, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Firms notified for interview: TBD Interviews: TBD
5.3 Following the evaluation and, if needed interviews, 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 and City Council for contract award. 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 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-advertised.
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: April x, 2020 May x, 2020