City of La Porte, Indiana Trails, Greenways, and Blueways Master Plan

Request for Proposal/Qualifications

TO:
FROM: City of La Porte Office of Community Development & Planning
PROJECT: City of La Porte Trails, Greenways, & Blueways Master Plan
DATE: July 19, 2022

Your firm is invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications for professional services related to the development of the Trails, Greenways, & Blueways Plan for the City. This Statement will be used to determine your firm's eligibility to participate in the interview process.

Attached to this memo are the following:

1. Project Introduction
2. Explanation of Parties Involved
3. Preliminary Scope of Work
4. Preliminary Work Plan
5. Schedule of Selection
6. Requirements for Statement of Qualifications
7. Evaluation Criteria

All responses will be reviewed for selection of firms to be interviewed.

Your Statement of Qualifications, with five (5) copies, should be received at the following address no later than August 18th, 2022. Submissions received after August 18th, 2022 will not be considered.

Sincerely,

David Heinold, AICP
Assistant City Planner
dheinold@cityoflaportein.gov
(219) 362-8260
801 Michigan Avenue
La Porte, IN 46350

Project Introduction

In March of 2014, the City of La Porte adopted a Trails and Greenways Master Plan based on a city-wide planning process that identified several priority routes for alternative transportation. The City of La Porte has made significant progress in developing the paved trail network with the assistance of local, state, and federal resources.

In light of these successes, several challenges remain in reaching the City of La Porte's full potential as we continue to develop an integrated walking, bicycling, and paddling system.

The primary goals of this project include:

1. Create an understanding of the true prevalence of walking, bicycling, and paddling currently in the community and increase the number of bicyclists, walkers, and kayakers in the community.
2. Increase the amount of people walking and bicycling for everyday transportation purposes such as commuting to work, walking or bicycling to school and running errands.
3. Provide guidance and priorities for implementing programs, policies and infrastructure to support walking and bicycling with a broad range of funding and support.

Explanation of Parties Involved

The Indiana State Department of Health (IDOH): IDOH will be the fiscal agent providing the grant funds for the hiring of a consultant to assist the City in the preparation of the plan.

The City of La Porte: The City of La Porte is the grantee receiving the ISDH funds for the purpose of hiring a consultant to prepare the plan. The City will assign a staff member to be the project manager and primary point of contact with IDOH. The City will manage the overall project, hire the consultant, and pay the consultant directly.

The Trails, Greenways, & Blueways Master Plan Steering Committee (The Steering Committee): The Steering Committee is a broad group of stakeholders who will provide guidance throughout the planning process as identified in the project work plan.

Preliminary Scope of Work

The firm selected will be involved in the following activities on behalf of the City. This includes the tasks necessary to create a community-wide trails, greenways, and blueways master plan and is flexible as needed:

Task 1: Existing Conditions Analysis

The City will complete a full review of existing conditions that influence active transportation within the study area. The City will distribute a survey to residents in the community that quantifies the extent, barriers and opportunities for active transportation within the community. The Consultant will lead in coordination with the City a minimum of one (1) walk audit and one (1) bicycling audit. In addition, the City will coordinate one (1) paddling tour will be in the north Lakes area.

The product of this task will be written narrative and a summary of the physical inventory and analysis. The City will produce a written summary of existing conditions and the community survey for the Consultant's incorporation into the Plan. The Consultant shall provide a written narrative for incorporation into the Plan.

Task 2: Meet with the Steering Committee and the Public

At a minimum this task will include steering committee meetings at the beginning of the analysis task to gather committee input, a public meeting to gather comments from the analysis and a second steering committee meeting towards the end of the analysis task to review the results of the public meeting and the final existing condition analysis.

The product of this task will be the products necessary to conduct a minimum of one (1) steering committee meeting and one (1) public meeting along with written summaries of each.

Task 3: Prepare the draft plan

The draft plan will be prepared based upon public input and discussions between City staff and the consultant. The plan will include the findings of the analysis task along with recommendations for both policies and infrastructure improvements along with level of magnitude costs for the planned improvements. A map illustrating the proposed pedestrian, bicycle, and kayak system will be included as part of the draft document. The plan should be available for review in both electronic and print media.

The product of this task will be ten (10) copies of the draft plan for review and comment.

Task 4: Meet with the Steering Committee and the Public

This task will include at least two (2) steering committee meetings during the production of the draft plan and one (1) public meeting to review the draft document. The public meeting should also be used to solicit input necessary to help prioritize the recommendations of the plan.

The product of this task will be the products necessary to conduct two (2) steering committee meetings and one (1) public meeting along with written summaries of each.

Task 5: Develop the Plan Priorities and Prepare the Final Plan for Adoption

The recommendations of the plan will be prioritized based upon the public input gained in Task 4. The steering committee will meet to discuss the plan priorities prior to the production of the final plan.

The product of this task will include a prioritized list of recommendations of the draft plan. Recommendations should include programmatic elements along with engineering and planning elements, as well as general costs and timelines to implement these elements. The product of this task will also include the final plan document in both hard copy and electronic formats. Ten (10) copies of the final plan will be provided (including two copies of all final products submitted to IDOH).

Task 6: Adoption

The Plan will be presented to the Plan Commission. The Plan Commission will need to recommend approval of adoption of the Plan to the Common Council. After this recommendation is made, the Plan will be presented to the Common Council for adoption into the City's comprehensive and thoroughfare plans, following the requirements necessary as per State code. The Consultant will incorporate any necessary plan revisions resulting from the plan adoption process and present next steps for implementation to steering committee.

The product of this task will be a formal resolution adopting the plan. The product of this task will also include the final plan document in both hard copy and electronic formats. Ten (10) copies of the final plan will be provided (including two copies of all final products submitted to IDOH).

Schedule of Selection

1. Send Request for Qualifications: July 19, 2022
2. Submit Proposal/ Statement of Qualifications: August 18, 2022
3. Review Proposal/Statement of Qualifications: August 19, 2022
4. Interview Short Listed Firms: August 22-26, 2022
5. Evaluation and Select Firm: August 30, 2022
6. Issue Notice of Award/Sign Contracts: September 7, 2022

Requirements for Statement of Qualifications

1. Name, address and brief description of firm.
2. Resumes of key personnel to be assigned to this project.
3. A one page narrative as to firm's interest, particular abilities and qualifications related to this project.
4. A budget breakdown of costs associated with each of the required consultant tasks identified in this document
5. Describe other projects designed by this firm and key personnel pertinent to this project. Include reference contact information.
6. Provide examples of knowledge, expertise and/or experience with other related work.
7. Staff's proximity to the Town.

Evaluation Criteria (total of 100 points)

1. Past performance on contracts, including quality of work, timeliness, and cost control. 10 points
2. Capacity of the organization to perform the work within time limitations, taking into consideration the current planned workload of the firm. 8 points
3. Specialized experience or technical expertise of the organization and its personnel in connection with the scope of services to be provided and complexity of the project. 12 points
4. Approach to project, both in staff philosophy and innovative understanding of the project scope. 20 points
5. Familiarity of the organization with this type of project based on past projects completed. 10 points
6. Project management abilities in relation to scope and complexity of the project. 20 points
7. Location of the firm in relation to the City. 20 points