Solid Waste Master Plan Request for QualificationsCITY OF KALISPELL
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
KALISPELL SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
Pursuant to the authority granted to it under MCA 7-5-4301, the City of Kalispell (CK) seeks to
procure a qualified professional consulting engineer to complete a Solid Waste Master Plan.
The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be uploaded electronically via QuestCDN vBid by
5:00 pm Mountain Time, January 6, 2023.
Questions pertaining to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) should be directed to Susie Turner,
Public Works Director, at 406-758-7852 or s urner.�c�kalispell.com or via the QuestCDN Q&A
forum. The CK shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to this RFQ
will be in the form of an addendum posted to the project on QuestCDN — Quest Number:
8343477.
The CK 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. The
Consultant will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the
type of services required, and thereafter the CK will negotiate the services agreement with what
it deems as the most qualified Consultant.
A pre -submittal conference for the SOQ will be held on December 20, 2022, at 2 PM. The
meeting will be held electronically, and a meeting invite will be provided to all applicants of
record prior to the pre -submittal conference.
2. ANTICIPATED SCOPE OF WORK
After being selected, the Consultant will execute a services agreement with the CK to provide the
scope of work set forth below. The Consultant and the CK shall negotiate the exact scope of
work after the selection.
2.1 Purpose
The CK is requesting proposals from qualified firms ("Consultant") to complete a City of
Kalispell Solid Waste Master Plan ("Master Plan"). The Master Plan will provide
analysis of existing operations, conditions, goals, and objectives with strategies,
expenditure estimates, and revenue and rate recommendations. The purpose of the Master
Plan will be to evaluate and analyze the Solid Waste Division's operations and financial
health, address and/or identify critical short-term and long-term needs, provide key
information for stakeholders and CK policy makers to provide direction on program
decisions, and develop a plan that provides the CK guidance for successful, long-term
solid waste operations.
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2.2 Solid Waste Collection Background and Description
The City of Kalispell, MT is a community of approximately 25,000 residents situated
along the Hwy 93 and Hwy 2 corridors and 35 miles southwest of Glacier National Park.
The CK's Solid Waste Division, within the Public Works Department, manages and
operates a residential and commercial collection program. The Solid Waste Division
only provides collection service for residents and commercial businesses within the CK
limits. Limited resources, such as personal and equipment, constrain the City's capability
to service all residents and commercial business.
Currently the CK serves just over 5,600 residential customers, via individual rollouts and
alley shared containers using sidearm equipment. Commercial customers totaling 534 are
also being served through both alley collection using sidearm equipment and steel
container collection using a rear loader. CK also provides additional services including
weekly alley cleanup for the downtown area, annual curbside spring cleanup collection
for residential rollout customers, and a once per year large material collection for
residential customers.
2.3 Required Scope of Services
The Master Plan will guide operating and capital investments, operations, level of service
practices for both commercial and residential customers, fees, and policies in a way that
improves collections services while promoting sustainability, efficiency, and
effectiveness. Elements from the Master Plan will be broken down into annual work
plans by informing and affecting transformational investments and projects in Solid
Waste operations.
The proposed scope of work is outlined in the section below and is intended to be a
general outline of the work anticipated and is not an all-inclusive description of the
elements to be included in the Master Plan. Consultants are highly encouraged, based on
their experience or expertise, to recommend additional tasks, removal of tasks, or
modification of tasks, in describing their understanding and approach for the project.
a. Project Management/Project Communications
i. Initial Data Request
1. Consultant will provide a detailed preliminary data request that
will encompass data needs to complete a Master Plan.
ii. Kick -Off Meeting
Consultant will schedule and facilitate a Kick -Off meeting with the
CK's Project Team to review the project approach and scope of
work, confirm the schedule, establish lines of communication, and
review data provided by the CK. Consultant will distribute an
agenda and take meeting minutes.
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iii. Progress Calls
Consultant will schedule and facilitate routine progress calls
between Consultant's Project Manager and CK's Project Manager.
Progress Calls will be conducted bi-weekly, or as needed,
throughout the duration of the project.
iv. Progress Meetings
Consultant will facilitate and conduct Progress Meetings with the
CK's Project Team to review work progress, open action items,
project schedule, and planned near -term work. Progress Meetings
may occur in -person or via video conference on a monthly basis, or
as needed, throughout the duration of the project. Consultant will
distribute an agenda and take meeting minutes.
v. Project Team Workshops
Consultant will facilitate and conduct on -site Workshops with the
CK's Project Team to review key project findings or deliverables,
discuss CK's review comments, and obtain feedback or direction
on decision items. Three (3) Workshops are anticipated throughout
the course of the project and may occur in -person or via video
conference. Consultant will distribute an agenda and take meeting
minutes.
vi. Stakeholder Engagement / City Council Meetings
l . Consultant will attend and facilitate Stakeholder Workshops with
representative project stakeholders as determined by the CK.
Consultant will prepare presentation materials in advance of each
workshop. Consultant will document stakeholder comments. Two
(2) Stakeholder Workshops are anticipated throughout the course
of the project.
2. Consultant will attend City Council meetings as requested by the
CK's Project Team. Consultant will prepare presentation materials
in advance of each meeting. Three (3) City Council meetings are
anticipated throughout the course of the project.
b. Current Cost of Service and Rate Analysis
Consultant will work with the CK to develop an accurate revenue
requirement reflecting the revenue required to meet all operating and
maintenance (O&M) costs, debt service (including coverage and reserve
requirements), working capital requirements, and capital expenditures.
The determined revenue requirement should be representative of typical
conditions with adjustments for any unusual or one-time expenses and will
serve as the baseline annual operational cost for the CK's Solid Waste
Division. The goal of this task will be to document the current full cost of
the CK's various solid waste services and to allocate these costs to the
appropriate cost centers.
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c. Forecasted Cost of Service Analysis and Rate Model Development
Consultant will project the future cost of service for a ten (10) year time
frame and will allocate these costs to the appropriate cost centers. Future
costs will take into consideration the CK's updated service policies as
established through the development of the Master Plan. Consultant will
work in conjunction with the CK to develop an accurate ten (10) year
revenue requirement and billing unit forecast. Consultant will also develop
the following schedules as part of the ten (10) year forecast.
1. Fleet purchase and replacement: Specific to equipment, Consultant
will collaborate with the CK to develop an equipment replacement
strategy for the ten (10) year forecast.
2. Debt service and capital improvement plan (CIP): Will account for
existing debt and anticipated future CIP needs for facilities such as
buildings for equipment storage costs.
3. Reserve funds: Consultant will review existing balances and
account for additional amounts that may be required to provide
adequate reserves. Consultant will also address any coverage ratios
that need to be accounted for.
ii. Consultant will evaluate how much revenue is currently generated by the
current fee structure from the existing customer classes to determine if
revenues generated are sufficient to recover the cost of service assigned to
each customer class. Consultant will assess the overall revenue
requirements compared to revenue generated under the current fee
structure and rates.
d. Consultant will develop proposed rates that meet the needs and objectives for the
upcoming ten (10) year period as developed in the Master Plan. Proposed rates
will consider:
i. Escalation strategies
ii. Meeting revenue requirements in a stable and predictable manner
iii. Fee structure equity
iv. Provide a simple and understandable fee structure
v. Reserve policy and bonding coverage
e. Ten (10) Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
i. Consultant will develop a CIP and funding plan for the CK's Solid Waste
Division to include Collection per the updated policies.
ii. Consultant will provide the CK with an understanding of the financial
impacts associated with various scenario changes being considered for
Collection Services.
f. Collection Services
i. Collection Operations Review — Residential Service and Commercial
1. Consultant will conduct field observations and analyze the
information collected, both from the preliminary data and the field
observations, to evaluate the operational efficiency of the CK's
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solid waste collection operations. Consultant will also conduct
interviews/focus group discussions with representative staff.
ii. Collection Program Analysis
1. Consultant will evaluate the following performance metrics during
the review of the solid waste residential collection system:
a. Collection efficiency for curbside and alleyway services
(e.g. total number of routes, number of houses/set-outs
collected per route, and number of collection per hour
while on -route)
b. On -route collection practices
c. Non -collection time (travel, down time, breaks, etc.)
d. Daily work schedules
e. Staffing levels for collection, including use of overtime and
temporary personnel
f. Configuration of equipment (including the number of
frontline and back-up vehicle types)
g. Vehicle replacement schedule
h. Vehicle maintenance schedule
i. Vehicle maintenance costs
j. Trigger levels for increased staffing and equipment needs
to service all residents in the CK.
2. Consultant will evaluate the following performance metrics during
the review of the solid waste commercial collection system:
a. Collection efficiency for commercial rear load and sidearm
services (e.g. total number of routes, number of houses/set-
outs collected per route, and number of collection per hour
while on -route)
b. Expansion of service alternative analyses comparing
current equipment to front load equipment.
c. On -route collection practices
d. Non -collection time (travel, down time, breaks, etc.)
e. Daily work schedules
f. Staffing levels for collection, including use of overtime and
temporary personnel
g. Configuration of equipment (including the number of
frontline and back-up vehicle types)
h. Vehicle replacement schedule
i. Vehicle maintenance schedule
j. Vehicle maintenance costs
k. Trigger levels for increased staffing and equipment needs
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g. Consultant will evaluate secondary functions of the CK's collection program to
include Spring Cleanup event and Residential Alley Cleanup.
h. Consultant will evaluate the need for a public education/outreach strategy.
i. Recycling Program Analysis (Potential)
This task will include analyzing the cost for the CK to institute a recycling
program. The recycling program analysis will be included as a draft
section in the Master Plan.
j. Capital Improvement Needs
Consultant will develop a CIP for both residential and commercial
collection services including the cost and timing for equipment
replacement. This will be included in the cost -of -service model.
k. Implementation Plan
i. Summarize and Prioritize Options and Scenarios
The range of solid waste management strategies and practices to be
considered will include key options available to the CK. Based on
work completed, Consultant will compile a summary of alternative
scenarios and options that the CK may wish to consider including
in the Master Plan. Scenarios and options may be enhancements to
current services or new initiatives. Consultant will present the
initial list of scenarios/options to the Project Team during one of
the Project Team Workshops.
ii. Ten Year Plan Implementation
l . Consultant will meet with CK staff to discuss the results of the
analysis completed to discuss option effectiveness and priority.
2. Consultant will develop a planning level implementation plan for
the next ten (10) years that will describe specific activities
associated with implementing each of the strategies and options.
The purpose of the Implementation Plan will be to provide a clear
explanation of what should be accomplished within a given time
period. The Implementation Plan will be created in a format that
allows the CK to sort activities by year and cost, which includes
the results of the CIP analysis.
1. Solid Waste Master Plan Report
i. Prepare Master Plan Report
Consultant will prepare the Master Plan in sectional report format
to generally align with the tasks described within this Scope of
Work. As described above, draft sections of the report will be
prepared as completed and the draft sections will be provided to
the CK for review to expedite the review process. A complete,
compiled first draft of the Master Plan will be provided to the CK
for review upon substantial completion of all project tasks. A
second draft will be developed to incorporate comments from CK
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Project Team review and be utilized for communication to
stakeholders. Following stakeholder workshops, final comments
will be addressed, and a final Master Plan report will be prepared
for presentation to City Council.
2.4 Estimated Proiect Timetable
a. Consultant Selection and Contract Negotiations — January 2023
b. Contract Execution — February 2023
c. Master Plan Completion — February 2024
3. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS SELECTION CRITERIA
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.
Page lengths provided below should be considered the maximum. Shorter page lengths are
acceptable.
1. Cover Letter (1-page) containing at a minimum: Company name, contact name(s), address,
fax number, website address, and email address.
2. General Information (1 page) containing:
a. Description of the firm
b. Primary and secondary contact information
c. Legal company organization with organizational chart and names
d. List of applicable MT licenses.
3. Relevant Company Experience (3 pages) — Describe the firm's experience with similar
proj ects.
Provide specialized experience of the team and related experience on projects of
similar scope in similar type and market communities. For each experience, provide
the following information:
i. Solid Waste Master Plan — location, date, description and cost.
ii. Key project staff still with the firm and their roles for the master plan.
iii. Challenges that were addressed and key findings or recommendations of the
plan.
iv. Contract completion data and actual completion date.
v. Contact information for the municipal or owner staff including name, phone
number, and email.
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4. Consultant Qualifications (2 page)
a. Describe your firm's history in the industry.
b. Describe the proposed project team and applicable licenses and certifications. Provide
key resumes in an Appendix.
c. Describe the professional services your firm provides to 3-5 other jurisdictions and
the length of time the services have been provided with contact references.
5. Contract Understanding and Approach (3 pages)
a. Describe your understanding of the current needs of the CK for the professional
services being requested.
b. Describe your expected approach to acquiring background information and other data
to complete master plan document and rate study.
c. Describe your expected support by CK Staff to complete the master plan, including
the data required to be provided and the anticipated hours for coordination or support
necessary to be provided by staff for successful and timely delivery.
d. Identify potential difficulties your firm may face in providing services to the CK and
how you plan to mitigate those difficulties.
6. Approach to Contract Management (3 pages)
a. Present a brief description of how the firm intends to organize and conduct the
requested service.
b. Describe your firm's approach to initiating and establishing the service that meets the
needs and requirements of the CK.
c. Provide 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. Provide a proposed time schedule of work with key milestones and product
deliveries.
7. Other Factors (1 page)
a. Provide the firm's record of commitment to schedule as demonstrated on past
proj ects.
b. Provide a summary of the availability of team members as a percentage of time
associated with other contracts and proposed dedication of time to this project.
c. Provide relevant factors impacting your firm's ability to provide quality of service
and value of service.
d. Demonstrate your firm's commitment to professional service budgets on past
prof ects.
8. Examples (10 pages)
Provide excerpts from other similar master plans which represent your firm's quality
of work. Excerpts should provide the CK an idea of writing styles, data analysis,
modeling, CIP development, charts, figures, and approach for plan and rate
implementation.
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4. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
The SOQ shall include the sections specified above and the stay within the maximum page
lengths. There are no page limitations for resumes in the appendix. The SOQs will be provided in
digital PDF format and uploaded to QuestCDN by 5:00 PM Mountain Time, January 6, 2023.
The PDF format shall be for 8.5" x 11" paper size and formatted to appropriately print, if
necessary for review. 1 PDF page equals 1 page. Two sided print cannot be applied to the
maximum page lengths allowed.
Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualification:
a. Receipt of submittal in PDF format uploaded to QuestCDN.
b. Receipt of submittal by the specified date and time.
c. Acknowledgement of applicable addendums
d. Adherence to the maximum page requirements.
5. SELECTION PROCESS
The CK will convene a selection committee to review the SOQs received. The SOQs will be
judged on their completeness, quality of content, past performance evaluation and other criteria
as described herein.
Criteria
Weight
1.
Cover Letter
50
2.
General Information
5%
3.
Relevant Company Experience
15%
4.
Consultant Qualifications
10%
5.
Contract Understanding and Approach
20%
6.
Approach to Contract Management
15%
7.
Other Factors
10%
8.
Examples
20%
The selection committee will select up to three finalists that will be shortlisted for the contract.
The selection committee will then 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
selection committee for interviews. The purpose of the interviews will be to expand upon the
information already provided in the SOQs, not to repeat information already provided. The firms
selected for the short list will be provided additional information as necessary to prepare for the
interviews, if required. Those firms not selected for further consideration will be notified.
The following tentative schedule has been prepared for this RFQ.
Pre -submittal conference: December 20, 2022, at 2 pm via electronic meeting.
SOQ due: January 6, 2023, at 5 pm.
Firms notified for interview: TBD
Interviews: TBD : Interested firms must be available for the interview, if necessary.
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Following the evaluation of SOQs and interviews (if necessary), the selection committee will
determine a final ranking each of the short list firms based on the criteria of this RFQ, the written
SOQs received, and any oral presentations or interviews. No other factors or criteria will be used
in the qualification ranking. The highest ranked firm will be recommended to the City Manager
and City Council for contract award.
Requests for debriefings or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the CK. 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.
The CK 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 CK is unsuccessful in negotiating a
contract with the highest ranked team, the CK 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 CK may decide to terminate the selection process or re -
advertise.
The CK 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 CK is constrained by budget for this work, the CK does not consider cost
proposals or estimates of fees in its evaluation of qualifications.
Publication Dates: November 27, 2022; December 11, 2022
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