CITY OF DOUGLAS, WYOMING MASTER PLAN Request for Proposals

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1 CITY OF DOUGLAS, WYOMING 2013 MASTER PLAN Section One: Introduction and Summary The City of Douglas, Wyoming is soliciting proposals for professional services to assist the Governing Body in updating its 1997 Master Plan. The most recent Master Plan for the City of Douglas was updated in The goal of this process will be to develop a Master Plan for the City of Douglas with a time horizon of 20 years. The updated plan will serve as a guide in considering policy decisions, land use planning, budget preparation and capital improvement planning for the future of the City of Douglas. The plan should also incorporate economic development, transportation, sustainability strategies, and potential implementation steps including responsible parties and potential funding sources and general amounts. The planning process should include a robust citizen participation process to insure the plan reflects the values and aspirations of the citizens. This plan should build on previous plans, as well as determine new directions. It is anticipated that work will begin during the spring of 2013 and that the finished product will be ready for adoption by the City Council in the fall of A written outline with a fixed fee amount for required planning tasks must be received by the City of Douglas, Attention: Karen Rimmer, 101 North 4 th Street, P.O. Box 1030, Douglas, WY 82633, no later than 5:00 PM on December 21, Section Two: Background The City of Douglas (population 6,120) is a growing Wyoming community located along the I-25 corridor approximately 50 miles East of Casper, WY. The City of Douglas has been called one of the best 100 Small Towns in America. In addition to being the Official Home of the Jackalope and a Tree City USA, Douglas is also proud to be the home of the Wyoming State Fairgrounds and Page 1 of 10

2 Pioneer Museum, Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, Douglas Community Golf Course and the Douglas Motorsports Park. Douglas has a strong economic and residential base and it now needs to decide how to best supplement, strengthen and preserve the existing base while continuing to encourage and support an expanding and vital economy. Douglas must consider the impacts, benefits and opportunities of future growth, infill development, affordable housing, recreational opportunities, environmental considerations, benefits and opportunities for the local economy. Section Three: Qualifications Sought The contracting consultant shall provide all personnel, equipment and supplies necessary for completion of these professional services. The consultant should demonstrate experience and expertise in the following areas: Comprehensive planning Public involvement processes Land use planning Housing Parks, recreation, and open space plans Working in cooperation with multiple stakeholders Public facilities and infrastructure, including transportation Downtown historic preservation Urban growth plans Urban design and mixed use standards Experience in developing plans for small cities Section Four: Project Description, Objective & Purpose The consultant will prepare an analysis of the existing City Master Plan adopted in 1997 and the Downtown Douglas Development Plan adopted in The consultant will also review recent planning documents that have not been adopted by the City as well as Transportation and Trails Planning Documents, Capital Facilities Plans and other available land use planning documents and analyses, in accordance with current State Law, and will complete scoping, research, public facilitation, document preparation and management in development of a new Master Plan for The City of Douglas. The objective of this process is to develop a cohesive and comprehensive Master Plan that further develops a vision for the City of Douglas. The Douglas Plan will be the foundation for decisions on land use, development and infrastructure investment. It will drive funding decisions and provide a guide for development over the next 20 years. Page 2 of 10

3 It is envisioned that the Douglas Master Plan would be organized in a format that would create subsections for individual Neighborhoods or Areas that could be incrementally updated with future growth. The Master Plan would also include regional elements such as a Transportation Plan and Bike Route Plan that may extend beyond the City boundaries. The City of Douglas will provide access to available GIS data and existing maps. Section Five: Scope of Service The following outline is offered to describe the general extent of services to be provided by the Consultant. The Consultant is expected to provide all information required by WY Statutes This outline is not necessarily all-inclusive and the Consultant shall include in the proposal any tasks and services deemed necessary to satisfactorily complete the project. The Selected Consultant will be asked to complete the following minimum Scope of Work: 1. Initial Review, Analysis and Visioning: a. Review and integrate relevant portions of the existing Master Plan, Planning District Documents, Economic Development plans, Strategic Plan, transportation studies and plans, moderate income housing plans, and parks and trail plans. b. Coordinate data gathering from pertinent agencies and stakeholders. c. Evaluate projected changes to the City of Douglas s population and demographics. d. Interview appropriate stakeholders involved with the project. These interviews will include groups and individuals including elected officials, appointed officials, nonprofit organization leaders, property owners, neighborhood representatives, local business owners, developers, business organizations, and municipal staff. e. Develop and provide a section which states the vision of the 2013 Master Plan Update. The Vision shall direct all other sections of the Master Plan. f. Become familiar with the physical and socioeconomic details of the community and its historic patterns of culture, environment, planning and architecture. g. Draft press releases to inform the local citizenry about the comprehensive planning efforts to be undertaken. h. Host the project web site, the City of Douglas will provide a link on their website. 2. Public Process a. Public participation will be vital to the success of the Master Plan. The City of Douglas would encourage the use of citizen committees, charettes, neighborhood meetings, workshops and public hearings during the preparation process to provide public input and review of the Master Plan elements. b. The Consultant is encouraged to suggest additional methods of public participation and alternative methods based upon their experience and propose and implement a public participation program that includes the following. i. Community workshops or meetings to engage the community, gather ideas and goals, and formulate strategies. At the conclusion of the workshops or Page 3 of 10

4 meetings, the Consultant will post to the project website the work generated to-date including plans, renderings, and ideas that reflect ideas articulated in the workshops or meetings. ii. Additional workshops to gather ideas and goals, and formulate strategies with various community organizations identified by City Staff; such as the Chamber of Commerce, CANDO, the School District, EWC, Hospital, various business district associations, various arts and culture organizations, various City staff, Visitors Bureau, Historic preservation groups and Fire and Police. iii. Project Steering Committee Meetings. - The Consultant will organize and lead monthly Project Steering Committee meetings. At the monthly meetings the Consultant Team will provide full project status reports and receive guidance and direction on the conduct of the public participation events and work products. iv. Presentation of first and second drafts v. The Consultant will provide presentations to the Planning Commission for public review prior to final presentation to the City Council. 3. A new City of Douglas Master Plan which conforms to the requirements of Wyoming State Law including: a. Community Character i. Set goals to maintain and create attractive commercial areas indicative of Douglas s western history and heritage with specific focus on the community entrance corridors. ii. Include discussion regarding the role of government in improving the community as well as private land owner rights. b. Land Use i. Update the Master Plan future land use map for all of the City of Douglas. ii. Provide recommendations for future land use policies. iii. Utilize the existing land use data to determine future annexation possibilities and determine the costs of city services for new development and annexation including utilities, street maintenance, snow plowing, law enforcement, fire protection, etc. iv. Reinforce the need for residential subdivisions and neighborhoods including a review of annexation, zoning and subdivision regulations in an effort to protect residential neighborhoods from conflicting land uses. v. Evaluate housing growth patterns and identify trends and future projections. vi. Consider business transitional zoning, rezoning/use changes and identify the top 10 issues for Douglas regarding future land use. c. Business Districts i. Identify the primary business districts and address these areas individually. ii. Incorporate and update the Downtown Douglas Development Plan for the central business district. iii. Address current parking requirements and available parking in the Downtown Business District. d. Neighborhood Plans i. Identify the primary neighborhoods and address these areas individually. Page 4 of 10

5 ii. Identify unique characteristics of different Neighborhoods and make specific recommendations for each area. e. Parks and Open Space i. Prepare a trails planning document and recommendations on parks planning. ii. Determine future needs for public parks and pathways throughout the City. iii. Prioritize the expansion of the trail system and looping trails and identify open space City property that cannot be utilized for sale or trade for other useful land. iv. Consider improvements to City Parks and surrounding areas. v. Consider the need for options such as impact fees to aid in the acquisition and maintenance of City Parks. vi. Examine the number of people who would benefit from future recreational projects. vii. Consider the development of amenities adjacent to the North Platte River. f. Circulation i. Update the Streets Master Plan, develop new goals. ii. Update the City s transportation and traffic circulation element, including preparation of a bike route map. g. Public Utilities & Services i. Make recommendations on drainage requirements for future developments. ii. Identify future needs for water, sewer and electrical facilities. iii. Identify future transmission corridors that may impact the City. h. Housing i. Prepare a moderate income housing element update. ii. Examine any available housing assessments and set goals for future housing needs. i. Address the option for creating incentives for developers to build affordable housing in Douglas. ii. Address mobile home parks, including the availability of land and public perception challenges. i. Economic Development i. Integrate recommendations on economic development strategies. j. Environmental Awareness i. Identify options and goals for recycling, composting, green construction products and methods, alternative energy options. k. Resource Inventory and Analysis iii. Update population, construction, and employment trends. iv. Update inventories for parks and recreation, street system, utilities systems (water, sanitary sewer, electric service, solid waste, natural gas, and communications) and land use. 4. Implementation strategies should be provided for all relevant sections. a. Provide recommendations on best practices and ordinance implementation of Master Plan goals and objectives. 5. Refining the Regulations a. Recommended changes to the municipal code to address weaknesses in current City Codes and bring them into line with the Master Plan. Page 5 of 10

6 6. Other topic areas as deemed appropriate by the consultant and/or the Master Plan Committee. 7. Final draft a. Prepare the plan graphics and document layout. b. Provide an Executive Summary of the 2013 Master Plan Update. 8. Adoption & Approval Process a. Public Hearing Presentations. - The Consultant Team will make formal presentations to the City of Douglas s Planning Commission and the City Council. 9. Plan and Process for updating the plan a. Provide for a structure and process that can be easily and incrementally updated to respond to growth and changing economic conditions. Section Six: City Staff Involvement The City Planning Office and other municipal staff will be closely involved with the preparation of the Master Plan, and will be able to provide current data from the City s AutoCAD/GIS and building permitting database. Section Seven: Anticipated Schedule November 26, 2012 RFQ issued December 21, 5 p.m. RFQ responses due (Mountain Daylight Savings Time) January 2-11, 2013 RFQ firms narrowed by selection committee January 21-25, 2013 Interviews of selected firms February, 2013 Contract awarded, negotiated and executed March, 2013 Project startup Fall/Winter 2013 Final Plan published and accepted Section Eight: Submittal Requirement and Procedures Responses to this RFQ must include the following: (not more than 25 double sided pages in total length) Cover Letter Project Understanding Statement - A statement describing the applicant s understanding of the goals and objectives defined for the project, and the special skills and innovative thinking that the team would bring to the table. Alternative Approaches - Any alternative approaches from the scope as outlined. Page 6 of 10

7 Proposed Project Team Members - Submit a written description of the applicant s organizational composition, disciplines and the primary role of each firm or individual on the team. Also, include an organizational chart. The information must clearly indicate the applicant s designated team leader for this project and the responsible party in each firm who will be providing the required professional experience. Individual Experience - Provide background of the key members of each firm in the team and their specific participation in previous projects that would directly relate to this project. Specific Project Experience - Provide information on similar or relevant projects that the applicant has executed. Include graphic representation. Links to similar or relevant projects are encouraged instead of printed copies. List of References - Provide a minimum of 4 client references with which the applicant has provided similar planning/design services within the last five years. References shall include name and telephone number of the contact person. The applicant may include additional references from earlier work if the applicant feels it is pertinent and better defines the team s capacity. Each listed reference shall include a description of the services provided to client and specific role. Additional Information - Provide other information you feel is relevant to indicate the applicant s abilities to successfully complete a project of this nature. Copies Provide 5 hard copies, and one CD, or flash drive containing the entire submittal in.pdf format. Project Costs Bid costs involved in completion of the required tasks shall be included, but submitted separately in a sealed envelope. Costs must be broken down to show the cost for each task and detail. All responses to this RFP must be received in a sealed envelope and clearly marked CITY OF DOUGLAS MASTER PLAN PROPOSAL by 5:00 PM on or before December 21, 2012 to be eligible for consideration. All documents and proposal shall be submitted to: City of Douglas Attention: Karen Rimmer 101 North 4 th Street P.O. Box 1030 Douglas, WY The proposal and associated fees should be submitted in separate sealed envelopes. The City of Douglas will be employing a quality based selection process, and will not open the associated fees document until all of the proposals have been reviewed for their quality. The proposal shall be signed by an official authorized to bind the offer and shall contain a statement to the effect that the proposal is a firm offer for a ninety (90) day period from opening. The proposal shall also provide the following information: name, title, address, telephone number and address of the individual(s) with authority to contractually bind the company and also who may be contacted during the period of proposal evaluation for the purpose of clarifying submitted information. The City of Douglas has a budget of $120,000 for this project. Page 7 of 10

8 Section Nine: Proposal Evaluation and Selection Proposals will be reviewed using a quality based evaluation process. The City Planning staff, along with the Master Plan Selection Committee will evaluate each proposal based on the documentation requested herein, utilizing criteria, which includes, but is not necessarily limited to or in the order of, the following: Review Criteria Qualifications and previous related work of key personnel and/or sub-contractors Apparent specialized experience and technical competence of the firm and its personnel in the required disciplines, including a thorough knowledge of the legal, federal, state and local land use statutes and regulations and the qualifications and experience of personnel committed to the project. Depth of relevant technical expertise of the consultant team with efforts of this type. Level of use of innovative approaches and solutions in the consultant team s past projects. Level of understanding of the City s project goals, issues and local needs. Level of experience with municipalities of similar size, government structure,. The demonstrated ability to organize and lead effective, productive public meetings and inhouse project meetings, while using appropriate participation techniques/tools. Quality of sample materials and qualifications package submittal. The proposal s responsiveness to the RFP (format, capabilities, work program, approach, clarity, ability to meet proposed schedule, etc.); The proposal s unique ideas or creativity shown. Once the highest quality proposals have been identified, the staff will contact and schedule interviews of selected firms with the Master Plan Selection Committee. The Staff and Committee will recommend the highest ranking firm to the City Council for selection. Prior to making recommendation to the City Council, the Staff and Master Plan Selection Committee will open the separate envelope containing the bids. The Staff and the Master Plan Selection Committee reserve the right to hold a second interview with firms to discuss the bid price and negotiate the bids with prospective consultants prior to making a recommendation to the City Council. Section Ten: Communications It is extremely important that all respondents are given clear and consistent information. Therefore, all respondents are required to submit any questions related to this project or RFP process in writing so answers can be distributed to all known consultants desiring to make a proposal. Any and all questions should be directed in writing to Karen Rimmer, City Clerk/Administrative Assistant via at krimmer@cityofdouglas.org Page 8 of 10

9 Questions must be received by December 7, 2012 to give the City sufficient time to respond in advance of the RFQ deadline for submissions. Inquiries received after that date will not be considered or answered. Responses to all written inquiries will be available no later than December 14 th at 5:00pm and will be ed to all known interested firms. It is the responsibility of interested firms to make their interest know to the City by ing Karen Rimmer, City Clerk/Administrative Assistant at no later than December 7, The names of prospective consultants who submit questions or express intent to propose will not be disclosed prior to the submission deadline. Respondents should not communicate with any City department or employee during the submission process except as described above. In addition, no communications should be initiated by a respondent to any City Official or persons involved in evaluating or considering the proposal. Communication with any parties for any purpose other than those expressly described herein may cause an individual firm, or team to be disqualified from participating. Section Eleven: General Conditions The City reserves the right to determine the successful respondent whose submission provides the best solution for the City. The consultant will need to enter into a contract for this project based upon the RFP. The City of Douglas reserves the right to negotiate with selected consultant for future work on this project and reserves the right to alter any of the information contained in this Request. The City of Douglas reserves the right to reject any and all proposals with or without cause and waive any irregularity, information or technicality in the proposals in the City s best interest, and is not obligated to award a contract based upon the lowest priced submission. All decisions related to this solicitation by the City of Douglas will be final. This solicitation in no way obligates the City to award a contract. The City of Douglas reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted and to request additional information of one or more respondents. If terms cannot be mutually agreed upon, the City reserves the right to enter into negotiations with one of the other qualified planning firms or individuals. Expenses incurred in the preparation of submittals, presentations, and other incidental activities related to this solicitation, are solely the responsibility of the respondent. The City of Douglas assumes no responsibility or liability for costs incurred by Proposers in responding to this RFP or in responding to any further request for interviews, additional data, etc. All data, documents, and other information provided to the City of Douglas by the firm in response to this RFQ shall become the City of Douglas property. The City of Douglas will own all Page 9 of 10

10 deliverables and work product prepared in connection with this project, and to the extent permitted by law. The selection of consultant shall be made without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, or political affiliation. The City is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages proposals from qualified minority and woman-owned businesses. The Consultant will be responsible for providing all necessary materials including drafts of the Master Plan at Master Plan Committee meetings, workshops and charrettes. The software packages used will be agreed prior to any work being produced. Maps should be developed for easy integration into the City s GIS. Page 10 of 10