ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION Request for QualificationsREQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 1 of 7
INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMITTERS
1 GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Authority
Pursuant to the authority granted under MCA Title 7, Chapter 5, Part 43, the City of
Kalispell seeks to procure a qualifled professional service provider to provide
architectural and engineering design services to support the planning, design, and
construction of a new flre station (Kalispell Fire Station 63).
1.2 Submittal Deadline
Statements of Qualiflcations (SOQs) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First
Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901 (Mailing Address PO Box 1997, Kalispell, MT 59903 no
later than 3:00 PM Mountain Time, March 18, 2026.
1.3 Questions
General questions regarding this RFQ shall be directed to:
• Fire Chief Jay Hagen
• (406) 758-7761
• jhagen@kalispell.com
The City shall not be responsible for oral instructions.
1.4 Addenda
Any changes to this RFQ will be issued in the form of written addenda.
1.5 Rights Reserved
The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all Statements Of Qualiflcations
(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 Pre-Submittal Conference
• A non-mandatory pre-submittal conference will be held:
o March 4, 2026, at 1:00 PM
o 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, MT, Council Chambers
• City staff will review the project scope and respond to questions. Attendance is
strongly recommended.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 2 of 7
1.7 Selection Method
The Service Provider will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and
qualiflcation for the type of services required and thereafter the City will negotiate the
services agreement with what it deems to be the most qualifled company.
2 ANTICIPATED SCOPE OF WORK
2.1 Selection
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.
2.2 Project Overview
The City plans to site, design, and construct a new flre station located at 490 Mountain
Vista Way in Kalispell, MT. This project supports the City’s initiative to maintain and
improve emergency response service levels for the Kalispell community. The project
is levy funded, and the flnal construction budget will be established during the design
phase.
The selected consultant will enter into a contract with the City of Kalispell to provide
design, bidding, and construction-related services for the new station. The City has
established design and construction standards and prioritizes function over form.
Service providers are encouraged to bring forward innovative value engineering
solutions and continuous improvement ideas based on their experience and
professional expertise.
Construction is anticipated to begin mid-to-late 2026 and conclude in Fall 2027.
2.3 Facility Requirements
The City anticipates the new station will support the following but not limited to
operational needs, including but not limited to:
• Three full-length drive-through apparatus bays
• Kitchen, dining, and dayroom areas
• Semi-commercial kitchen for 5–8 staff
• Individual sleeping rooms
• Toilet and shower facilities
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 3 of 7
• Fitness and training room
• EMS supply and operational storage
• Personal protective equipment storage
• Decontamination and cleaning areas
• Secure access and alerting systems
• Hot/warm/cold zone separation with airlocks
• Diesel exhaust removal system
• Redundant HVAC and air flltration
• Emergency generator
• Energy-efficient design
• ADA compliance
• Seismic resilience
Additional design considerations include:
• Direct line-of-sight response paths from living areas to apparatus bays
• Noise and light mitigation in sleeping and living area Durable, low-maintenance,
and easy-to -clean materials
• Open, efficient, and functional layouts
• Long-term maintainability (50+ year service life)
• Adaptability to accommodate future operational needs.
2.4 Professional Services
The selected consultant shall provide full architectural and engineering services
including:
• Programming & Conceptual Design: Stakeholder engagement, site planning,
and conceptual layouts.
• Schematic & Design Development: Reflnement of plans, preliminary
speciflcations, and cost estimates.
• Construction Documents: Preparation of drawings, speciflcations, and
permitting support.
• Bidding Assistance: Support during solicitation and contractor selection.
• Construction Administration: Submittal reviews, daily construcion inspection,
pay applications, and closeout.
• Cost Estimating & Value Engineering: Life-cycle cost analysis and value
engineering recommendations.
• Instruments of Service: All work products shall become property of the City.
Electronic builds shall be provided in a mutually acceptable format.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 4 of 7
• Personnel Availability: Key personnel must be available throughout the project.
Substitutions require City approval.
3 STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS (SOQ) SELECTION CRITERIA
3.1 Selection
The Professional Service Provider will be selected through a qualiflcation‐based
selection process. Firms interested in providing the requested scope of services to the
City of Kalispell must submit a Statement of Qualiflcations (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 flrm 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)
Cover letter shall include at a minimum the Company name, contact name, address,
fax number, and email address.
3.3 Qualifications Criteria
3.3.1 General Information
a. Description of company
b. Legal company organization; organization chart with names
c. List of applicable Montana licenses
3.3.2 Relevant Experience
a. Applicant’s overall reputation, service capabilities, and quality as it relates to
this service agreement.
b. List and briefiy describe the professional services the company provided to 3
other municipalities or local government agency for similar projects, along with
referrals and references.
c. List and briefiy describe the professional services the company has performed
under the General Contractor Construction Manager (GCCM) alternative project
delivery method, including relevant project experience
d. List and describe any litigation; arbitration; claims flled by your flrm against any
other jurisdiction as a result of a contract dispute; any contract or negligence
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 5 of 7
claims flled against your company; premature termination from a services
agreement.
3.3.3 Company and Personnel Qualiflcations
a. Describe the company’s history in the industry.
b. Provide organizational fiowchart of key personnel that will be working on the
project, their relevant experience and resumes. Resumes can be placed in
Appendix A and don’t count toward the page total.
c. Briefiy describe certiflcations and licensures held by the company in the state
of Montana.
3.3.4 Project Understanding & Approach
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 within Flathead County.
c. Identify and discuss methods to mitigate these difficulties.
3.3.5 Contract Management Approach
a. Describe your company’s approach in initiating and establishing the service
that meets the needs and requirements of the City.
b. Describe systems used for planning, scheduling, estimating and managing
manpower requirements.
3.3.6 Other Factors
a. Provide current contracts and availability to proceed without delay if selected
for this contract.
b. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service.
4 SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
4.1 Page Limit
The SOQ shall include a one‐page cover letter plus a maximum of flfteen (15) pages to
address the SOQ criteria specifled in Section 3 (excluding resumes). Table of Contents
and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count.
4.2 Submittals
Five copies of the Proposal must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue
East, Kalispell, Montana, 59901 (Mailing Address: PO Box 1997, Kalispell, MT 59903) by
3:00 pm local time on March 18, 2026.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 6 of 7
4.3 Grounds for Disqualification
Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualiflcation:
• Receipt of submittal by the speciflc cut‐off date and time.
• The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specifled.
• Adherence to maximum page requirements. 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.
5 SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
5.1 Evaluation
A Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Statement of Qualiflcations (SOQ)
according to the above criteria, as well as past performance evaluations, and select
up to three flnalists that will be Short Listed for the contract.
The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the short list and select the top qualifled flrm.
If more information is required to select the top qualifled flrm, a short list of flrms will
meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for interviews.
The purpose of the interview (if required) will be to expand on the information provided
in the SOQ, not to repeat information already provided.
Those flrms selected for the Short List will be provided additional instructions by the
City. Those flrms not selected for further consideration will be notifled.
5.2 Tentative Schedule
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: March 4, 2026, at 1:00 pm - City Hall Council
Chambers, 201 First Ave E, Kalispell, Montana
• Proposals due: March 18, 2026, at 3:00 PM local time
• Firms notifled for interview: if necessary, by April 1, 2026, at 1:00 pm
• Interviews (If necessary) : April 8, 2026, at 9:00 am
5.3 Ranking
The highest ranked flrm will be recommended to the City Manager and City Council for
contract award.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ)
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION FOR
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MT
Page 7 of 7
5.4 Debriefings
Requests for debrieflngs or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the City. All
information submitted by flrms and related Project Evaluation Committee evaluations
and rankings shall be considered confldential until after contract execution and award
by the City Council.
5.5 Contract Execution
The City will enter negotiations with the selected flrm and execute a contract upon
completion of negotiations for the professional services for City Council approval. 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 or may decide to terminate the selection process.
Publish: February 22, 2026
March 1, 2026