Kittitas County Public Works Department is soliciting interest from consulting firms with expertise in Engineering and Architectural Services. Consultants will be considered for the following project.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The work to be performed by the CONSULTANT consists of providing engineering and architectural services for the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Interpretive Center. This new facility is to be located at the northern entrance of the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway, in the Helen McCabe Park near the intersection of State Route 821 and Canyon Road.
This project is being funded by a $796,174 FFY 2012 National Scenic Byways Program grant and a $200,000 local match, for a total of $996,174 to design and construct the facility.
The Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Interpretive Center Master Plan described elements of the project that may or may not be in the final design. The chosen firm will consider the concepts, function, and use of the interpretive center, as identified in the Master Plan, to develop a final design and engineering documents that meet the objectives of the National Scenic Byways program and is able to be designed and constructed within a limited budget as set by Kittitas County.
The interpretive center building is the primary focus for this work, the additional features identified in the Master Plan are considered secondary and the chosen firm will only design them if funding is available. The drawings and site plans in the Master Plan are conceptual only and the interpretive center’s final design shall consider the site surroundings, attract visitors, and serve the functions as envisioned in the Master Plan. The Master Plan can be viewed at the following website:
CONSULTANTS may propose to complete any part, or the entire described project.
The request for qualifications may be downloaded for this project from the official County website under the heading Public Notices. The website link is: http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/
SUBMITTAL
Submittals shall include the following information: firm name, phone and fax numbers; name of principal-in-charge and project manager; proof of current Washington State Department of Transportation audited indirect cost rates for all proposed consulting and sub-consulting firms; and number of employees in each firm proposed to work on this project.
Submittals will be evaluated and ranked based on the following criteria:
1) Key personnel; 2) Firm experience with engineering and architectural services for facilities funded by the FHWA National Scenic Byway program; 4) Ability to meet extremely short project schedule; 5) Approach to project; 6) Familiarity with Washington State Department of Transportation’s requirements for federally funded projects; and 7) Past performance/references.
Kittitas County encourages disadvantaged business enterprise CONSULTANT firms to respond.
Please submit one electronic version of your Statement of Qualifications (pdf format) and one paper copy of your Statement of Qualifications to: Jan Ollivier, 411 N. Ruby Street, Suite 1, Ellensburg, WA 98926 by March 14, 2014 not later than 5:00 p.m. No submittals will be accepted after that date and time. Any questions regarding this project should be directed to: Jan Ollivier, Transportation Manager at (509) 962-7523.
Kittitas County reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals, or any item or part thereof, or to waive any informalities or irregularities in proposals. Kittitas County shall have the sole discretion to determine the most responsive proposal.
Kittitas County may choose to interview CONSULTANTS, depending upon evaluation scoring. A separate scoring matrix will be used during the interview process.
Persons with disabilities may request this information be prepared and supplied in alternate forms by calling collect (509-962-7523).
The Recipient, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-assisted programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or sex in consideration for an award.
BACKGROUND:
The National Scenic Byways Program provides funds for byway interpretive facilities such as the proposed Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Interpretive Center. The aspects of construction work that can be funded in this program include the development of environmental documents, planning, design, engineering, and the purchase of right-of-way, land, or property, as well as supervising, inspecting, actual building, and all costs incidental to the construction of the facility. Principles of the program (see www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/grants/ information/category_4.cfm) that relate to this project are:
The Kittitas Environmental Education Network (KEEN), a non-profit organization that provides environmental education experiences in the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway, submitted the Scenic Byway grant application that received funding for this project. Their proposal was to fund the construction of an interpretive and visitor center, approximately 3,400 square feet in size, at the northern entrance to the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway. The concept for this project was developed in the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Interpretive Center Master Plan, created in 2011 as a prerequisite for construction of the interpretive center.
Kittitas County agreed to accept and administer the National Scenic Byway grant for this project.
SCOPE OF WORK
The CONSULTANT will plan, design, and engineer the construction of the new interpretive and visitor center. Tasks may include, but not be limited to the following:
Project Design:
The CONSULTANT will consider whether the described elements in the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Interpretive Center Master Plan can be included in the final design while meeting the objectives of the National Scenic Byways program and staying within the limited budget as set by Kittitas County for all phases of this project. Project design will include all structural, mechanical, electrical, and related systems including preparing drawings, specifications, and project cost estimates; updating cost estimates as necessary; developing bidding documents in conformance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) requirements and applicable building codes; authoring and compiling the final contract package; providing other related services as necessary including survey, environment assessment, preparation of permit applications; consulting Kittitas County and WSDOT regarding construction progress and quality; providing on-call consultation during construction; and assisting with the final inspection.
Project Coordination:
The CONSULTANT will meet, via conference call, with Kittitas County’s Department of Public Works Project Management Team on at least a bi-weekly basis to monitor the progress of the project and review and discuss the status of project deliverables. The County will coordinate information and communications between the CONSULTANT and KEEN. The CONSULTANT may be required to present status reports of the project at meetings with KEEN and County staff and participate in public meetings during the design phase of the project.
Project Schedule and Budget:
The CONSULTANT will develop a project schedule that defines tasks and identifies milestones in the contract for services. The CONSULTANT will develop a project budget by task in the contract for services (not to be included in the qualifications submittal). The project must be fully designed and constructed prior to September 30, 2015.
For more information, contact Public Works
Kittitas County shall evaluate current statements of qualifications and performance data on file with the agency, together with those that may be submitted by other firms regarding proposed projects. Following the evaluation, the county invites one or more firms to meet with county officials to discuss the project and the relative benefits of various methods of providing the desired services. The county then selects from among those firms the one “most highly qualified” to provide the required services. County procedures and guidelines are to include a plan to ensure that women, minority and veteran-owned firms and minority (WMBE) firms have the maximum opportunity to compete for the contract. The level of WMBE firm participation should be consistent with their availability within the relevant professional community. Counties are not to consider cost when determining which firm is the most highly qualified.
After choosing the most qualified firm, the county then negotiates with that firm for a contract at a price the county determines is fair and reasonable, considering the estimated value of the services to be rendered, as well as the scope and complexity of the project. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated, the county formally terminates the negotiations with that firm and attempts to negotiate a contract with the next most qualified firm. The process continues until an agreement is reached or the search is terminated.
In emergency situations, the process outlined above for procuring architectural or engineering services maybe dispensed with upon a finding by the county that an emergency requires the immediate execution of the work involved.
All submittals shall become the property of Kittitas County.
Kittitas County reserves the right to reject all submittals and re-advertise if necessary.