Historic Downtown Design Guidelines Request for QualificationsPublish: July 12 & 19
REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS TO PROVIDE
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STANDARDS FOR THE HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
KALISPELL
CITY OF KALISPELL, MONTANA
The City of Kalispell is seeking Statements of Qualifications from interested consultants to
produce architectural design standards for the historic downtown Kalispell. A portion of
downtown Kalispell is the only area within the Flathead Valley community with a significant
stock of historic commercial structures and is classified as a historic district. Numerous
buildings within the district have historical significance and are on the National Register of
Historic Places. Any redevelopment of buildings in downtown Kalispell should reflect the style
and theme within the area. The chosen consultant will be expected to provide a set of
architectural design standards and applicable illustrations that will be used to guide
redevelopment and restoration of downtown commercial structures. The intent of the standards is
to define the character of downtown Kalispell and the atmosphere of the original downtown
district aiding in the understanding of the resources role in the history and development of the
City of Kalispell, thereby encouraging continuity. The consultant is also expected to attend a
series of meetings with the Business Improvement District, Architectural Review Committee and
Kalispell Planning Department during the formation of the standards and at least two public
engagement events.
SECTION 1: INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMITTERS
1.1 Pursuant to the authority granted to it under MCA Title 7, Chapter S, Part 43, the City of
Kalispell is soliciting a Statement of Qualification for services and materials for the development
of architectural design standards for the historic downtown Kalispell.
1.2 Four (4) copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be received by the City Clerk at 201
First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00 pm local time on Thursday, July 30, 2020.
Statement of Qualifications that are faxed or emailed will not be accepted.
1.3 General questions pertaining to the project should be directed to Rachel Ezell, Planner II at
rezell@kalispell.com.
1.4 Consultants having questions or requiring clarification or interpretation of any section within
this RFQ must address these issues via e-mail or in writing to the RFQ contact listed above on or
before July 20, 2020 at S:OOpm. Clear reference to the section, page, and item in question must
be included. Questions received after the deadline may not be considered.
1.5 A written response will be provided by July 23, 2020 at 5:00 pm to all questions received by
the July 20th deadline. The response will be by written addendum and will be posted on the
website with the RFQ at www.kalispell.com/clerk/pro'ecl is open by the close of business on the
date listed. Any other form of interpretation, correction, or change to this RFQ will not be
binding upon the City of Kalispell.
1.6 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.
1.7 The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all Statement of Qualifications, to waive
any informality or irregularity in any Statement of Qualification received, and to be the sole judge
of the merits of the respective Statement of Qualification received.
SECTION 2: ANTICIPATED SCOPE OF WORK
Background: The Kalispell Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) received a Montana
Main Street Program grant to establish design standards for the historic downtown commercial
district. The $15,000 grant, in conjunction with a $5,000 match by the BID will be used to establish
a set of architectural design standards that will be implemented by the Kalispell Planning
Department and Architectural Review Committee when reviewing existing buildings and new
construction in the downtown.
Scope of Work: After being selected, the successful consultant will execute an agreement with
the City to provide the following services and materials to fulfill the following scope of work. The
anticipated cost of services should not exceed $20,000.
The consultant will work with Kalispell Planning staff, members of the BID, and the Architectural
Review Committee to establish architectural design standards that will reflect the style and theme
of the historic architecture in Downtown Kalispell.
The following is a breakdown of the scope of work expected for this project:
• Initial meetings with city staff and Kalispell Business Improvement District members to
discuss the scope of design standards.
• Attend a minimum of two BID meetings and Architectural Review Committee meetings to
review and provide input on the architectural design standards prior to their completion.
• Attend two public open house meetings, one of which will be a scoping meeting and the
other a representation of the draft standards that should include visual guides. The
consultant shall be available to answer questions from the public regarding the proposal.
• Provide a presentation along with city staff to the Planning Board and City Council work
sessions and public hearings.
• Provide any necessary changes to the design standards after the public open house events
and the Planning Board and/or City Council work sessions, where appropriate.
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The final product that will be expected of the Consultant is a document that includes a set of
architectural design standards and visual guides that can be incorporated into the Kalispell Zoning
Ordinance or a similar regulatory document. The proposed standards should complement the
existing historic architecture of Downtown Kalispell through the use of appropriate material, scale
and character. At the same time, the standards should not dictate to the point where it results in a
forced character that feels sterile. The standards should address existing structures and new
construction and should balance the need for concise and specific standards that can be clearly
understood and implemented with the need for flexibility and creative leeway. The standards will
not apply to single family residential or duplex buildings. The scope of work is anticipated take
approximately 3 to 6 months based on public meetings and any necessary revisions to the
architectural standards.
Deliverables: All deliverables shall be provided in electronic format.
SECTION 3: PROPOSAL SELECTION CRITERIA
3.1 The Statement of Qualification will be selected through the following selection process.
Consultants interested in providing the above described scope of work to the City of Kalispell must
submit a Statement of Qualification 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 RFQ may be used to evaluate firms as part of any
criteria regardless of where that information is found within the RFQ. Information obtained from
the RFQ and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and selection process.
3.2 Cover Letter (I-page)containing at a minimum: Company name, contact name, address, fax
number, and email address.
3.3 Qualifications Criteria
3.3.1 General Information
Description of company
Legal company organization; organization chart with names
3.3.2 Relevant Company Experience
a. At least three referrals and references including other municipalities or local
governments, if available.
b. List of similar projects completed.
3.3.3 Company Qualifications
a. Describe the company's history in the industry. Provide resumes of key personnel in
Appendix A who will be involved directly in this project.
b. Briefly describe certifications and licensure held by the company in the state of Montana.
3.3.4 Approach to Contract Management
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a. Describe your understanding of the scope of work and the particular expertise your
company has in this area of work.
b. Identify and discuss any potential difficult issues your company may face in providing
services within the City of Kalispell.
c. Identify and discuss methods to mitigate any such difficulties.
d. Describe systems used for planning, scheduling, estimating and managing manpower
requirements.
3.3.5 Proposal for Project
a. Describe your company's approach in initiating and establishing the service that meet
the needs and requirements of the City.
b. Provide a work schedule with beginning and ending times that meet the scope criteria.
3.3.6 Other Factors
a. Current contracts and ability to proceed promptly with this project.
b. Willingness to abide by the City's needs and requirements with few or no objections or
changes.
c. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service.
d. List and describe any litigation; arbitration; claims filed by your firm against any other
jurisdiction as a result of a contract dispute; any contract or negligence claims filed against
your company; premature termination from a services agreement within the last 3 years.
SECTION 4: SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
4.1 The Statement of Qualifications shall include aone-page cover letter plus a maximum of fifteen
(15) pages to address the RFQ criteria specified in Section 3 (excluding resumes). Table of
Contents and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count.
4.2 Four (4) copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201
First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, 59901 by 5:00 pm local time on July 30, 2020. Identify
mailer as "Architectural Design Standards for Historic Downtown Kalispell"
4.3 Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualification:
Receipt of submittal by the specific cut-off date and time.
The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified.
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.
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SECTION 5: SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
5.1 A 4-member Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Statement of Qualification
according to the criteria in section 3 based on a maximum score as follows:
30 points —Section 3.3.2 Relevant Company Experience
20 points —Section 3.3.3 Company Qualifications
10 points —Section 3.3.4 Approach to Contract Management
30 points —Section 3.3.5 Proposal for Project
10 points —Section 3.3.6 Other Factors
The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all Statement of Qualifications or portions
thereof. The cost of preparing responses to this RFQ shall be borne by the respondents and shall
not be reimbursed by the City of Kalispell.
A decision may be reached based solely upon the content and quality of information contained
within the Statement of Qualifications. If interviews are determined to be desirable, the
consultants selected will meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for the interview. The
purpose of the interview will be to expand on the information provided in the Statement of
Qualifications, not to repeat information already provided. Those firms selected for interviews 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.
Written questions on RFQ due: 5:00 p.m., July 20, 2020
Written response to questions by: 5:00 p.m., July 23, 2020
Proposals due: 5:00 p.m., July 30, 2020
Firms notified for interview: August 10, 2020
Interviews (if necessary): Anticipated the week of August 24, 2020
Anticipated Contract Date: September 7, 2020
5.3 Following the interviews, the Project Evaluation Committee will rank each consulting firm of
this RFQ. Consideration will be given to both the written Statement of Qualification 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 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 a contract upon selection of the firm for the project. A template of the
proposed contract with the City is attached. If the selected firm determines not to enter into a
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contract with the City, the City may then contact the second or third highest ranked team until a
contract is executed, or may decide to terminate the selection process.
Publication: July 12 and 19, 2020
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