HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-2014 C8 Land Surveying Request for QualificationsCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Agenda Report, Meeting Date, Item Number
FROM: Daryl R. Grigsby, Director of Public Works
Prepared By: Matt Horn, Supervising Civil Engineer
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS - LAND SURVEYING,
ARCHITECTURE, CIVIL ENGINEERING, AND PROPERTY
ACQUISITION
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to provide:
a. Land Surveying Services, Specification No. 100.50410.7227.LS
b. Architecture Design Services, Specification No. 100.50410.7227.AD
c. Civil Engineering Services, Specification No. 100.50410.7227.CE
d. Property Acquisition Services, Specification No. 100.50410.7227.ROW
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute agreements with selected consulting firms.
3. Authorize the Finance Director to execute and amend Purchase Orders for individual
consultant services contracts in an amount not-to-exceed the authorized project budget.
DISCUSSION
Background
The City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) implements Council priorities by including projects
that build and improve existing infrastructure. The responsibility for delivering a large portion
of these projects is assigned to the Public Works Engineering Program. The CIP includes a mix
of projects designed and managed exclusively by City staff, and projects which use consultant
services. Maintaining a list of prequalified consultants to provide on-call services for various
areas of specialized work has proven to be effective in project delivery. This on-call service
approach has been used successfully for many years, starting with survey services in 1998,
expanding to construction management in 2001, right-of-way acquisition services in 2002, and
engineering and architecture in 2007. The City’s CIP projects are mostly modest in size, and the
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) generally draws local consulting firms. The City’s current on-
call design and construction service contracts are comprised of 75% of firms from San Luis
Obispo and northern Santa Barbara County.
Consultants remain on contract for two to three years. Existing consultant contracts for services
in Land Surveying, Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Property Acquisition expire this year,
thus prompting the need for the City to re-advertise for these services through the Request for
Qualifications (RFQ) process. The RFQ model is used to identify the skill set of the consultants
submitting qualifications. In addition, the RFQ determines how those skills align with the type of
work proposed in the City’s CIP. This is in contrast to a Request for Proposals (RFP) model
which is project specific. After evaluating the RFQ submittal packages, two to three top
consultants in each specialized area will be selected to enter into an agreement with the City,
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RFQ –Surveying, Architecture, Civil Engineering and Property Acquisition Page 2
based on their demonstrated ability to provide the services proposed in a timely manner with
qualified staff. Once the selected consultants enter into an agreement with the City, their
services on an individual project is implemented rapidly, without the need for an individual RFP.
The consultants will operate under the conditions of the agreement included in the RFQ.
Individual projects will be scoped by the City department most involved, working with the
Project Manager in Engineering and the consultant. The specific project work will then be
authorized via a Purchase Order through the Finance Department, referencing the signed
agreement for the terms and conditions.
FISCAL IMPACT
The RFQ process, in and of itself, does not obligate any funds for CIP consultant work. After
the agreements are executed by the City Manager, scoping meetings and issuance of Purchase
Orders will follow, obligating CIP funds. Work will be billed to individual project accounts,
within the authorized project budget.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Individual Project RFPs. The Council could direct staff to proceed in a more traditional
fashion issuing RFP’s for each individual project. On the plus side, a company with greater
experience in the specific work might be attracted. On the minus side, this process is very time
consuming and increases the work required for an individual project, reducing overall project
production. Staff does not recommend this approach because it increases the time to implement
individual contracts, while providing very little benefit. RFPs can still be issued on a case-by-
case basis when specialized skills not available through on-call contracts, is needed.
2. In-house Approach. The Council could direct staff to complete more of the work in-house.
At this time, Public Works Engineering does not have sufficient staff to deliver the proposed
volume of work.
COUNCIL READING FILE
1. RFQ – Land Surveying Services
2. RFQ – Architecture Design Services
3. RFQ – Civil Engineering Services
4. RFQ – Property Acquisition Services
t:\council agenda reports\2014\2014-07-15\request for qual - land surveying (grigsby-horn)\council agenda report.docx
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