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Request for Proposal for Historic Millwork District Master Plan UpdateCity of Dubuque City Council Meeting Action Items # 1. Copyrighted April 4, 2022 ITEM TITLE: Request for Proposal for Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update SUMMARY: City Manager recommending City Council approval to release the recommended, modified RFP for professional services for the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update and that the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and execute an agreement with the recommended consultant. SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve DISPOSITION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Millwork District Master Plan RFP Release-MVM Memo City Manager Memo Staff Memo Staff Memo Request for Proposals- clean version Supporting Documentation Request for Proposals- redlines Supporting Documentation THE C Dubuque DUjIBQTE WAWca 914 Masterpiece on the Mississippi YP pp aoo�•o 13 zai7*20*�oi9 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Request for Proposal for Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update DATE: March 30, 2022 Economic Development Director Jill Connors is recommending City Council approval to release the recommended, modified RFP for professional services for the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update and that the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and execute an agreement with the recommended consultant. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. v Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment CC' Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Jill Connors, Economic Development Director Dubuque THE CITY OF All -America My nni K xvni , nz: a:u�ir, DUB E 2007-2012.2013 Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2017*2019 TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Jill M. Connors, Economic Development Director Economic Development Department 1300 Main Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763 Office (563) 589-4393 TTY (563) 690-6678 http://www.cityofdubuque.org SUBJECT: Request for Proposal for Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update DATE: March 29, 2022 INTRODUCTION Enclosed is the recommended, modified Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update for City Council review and approval. This RFP would implement a FY2020 funded capital improvement project. The update of the Historic Millwork District Master Plan will address, among other purposes, the transportation and parking needs and uses within the Millwork District. This is a requirement of the Dupaco development agreement. The approved budget of $50,000 is in the FY2020 CIP 360-2081. BACKGROUND A Historic Millwork District Master Plan was adopted by the City Council on February 16, 2009. The adopted Historic Millwork District Master Plan offered a vision for a community reconnected with surrounding neighborhoods, re -energized with housing, retail, offices, galleries, entertainment, and employment, and re -imagined as a laboratory for sustainable practices and technologies. The Plan includes green streets, new development blocks, improved connections between the Millwork District, the Port of Dubuque and Downtown, reprogrammed streets, a signature public open space, coordinated parking strategy, and a mix of uses. DISCUSSION Now that the initial plan has been in place for over a decade, with significant development in both the residential and commercial areas, there is a desire from both City staff and the private sector to confirm what from that plan is still relevant and what may need to be modified in order to ensure continued success of the district. The intent is to retain a consultant to help create a Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update with an implementation strategy. INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS Beginning in January 2021, City staff began to hold monthly meetings with HMD stakeholders. These meetings are a forum for City staff to interact with property owners, tenants, developers, and other stakeholders to communicate City projects that affect the district and to understand stakeholders' needs and concerns. During the monthly meetings, stakeholders were informed that an RFP was being developed by City staff to solicit proposals from firms that could facilitate the planning process for the master plan update. In November 2021, staff used the original HMD RFP from 2009 as a starting template for the sort of information to include in such an RFP. The draft was then circulated to City staff in other departments for review and comment in early December 2021. In mid - December, the draft was sent to several stakeholders who expressed a desire to also give input into the RFP before release. On December 21, 2021, the RFP was reviewed during the regularly scheduled HMD stakeholder meeting, encouraging stakeholders to provide comments. One stakeholder mentioned the importance of listing out our values in the RFP. The other verbal comment was to consider providing firms additional time to respond to the RFP after the release date. Stakeholders were then also invited to provide feedback to City staff before January 4, 2022. This date was chosen in order to provide staff time to incorporate any comments, as appropriate, into the RFP before taking to City Council's January 18, 2022 meeting for approval to release. No additional verbal or written comments were submitted. On January 11, 2022 during a meeting between City staff and Gronen staff to discuss one of their projects, the Gronen team indicated their desire to delay the release of the RFP until they had time to provide more input. They emailed a two -page document to staff that afternoon for review, indicating it was a compilation of comments from a coalition of stakeholders they had convened. Staff reviewed the comments and incorporated in - scope comments into the RFP City staff brought a recommendation to City Council on January 18, 2022 to release a Request for Proposal in order to find a consultant to undertake this planning process. The City Council requested that staff incorporate more input from the private sector before they would agree to release the RFP. Following this direction, City staff met with Gronen 2 staff on two occasions to review what modifications they were requesting on behalf of the coalition of stakeholders. Staff also conducted an additional monthly HMD stakeholder meeting. Attached to this request is the RFP, as modified to include additional in -scope comments from stakeholders. Stakeholders have indicated that if the scope were to be expanded, they would be willing to help fund an expanded planning effort. In addition to the modified RFP, several private/non-profit representatives have been added to the consultant selection committee, as listed at the end of this memo. PLAN PURPOSE The plan's purpose and objectives are: • To examine and document complete, incomplete, and in -progress tasks from the initial Plan, and assess and identify opportunities in an updated Plan that build upon the work to date. • To determine the barriers for underrepresented community groups from taking part in the Millwork District and creating implementable solutions for removing those barriers. • Confirm what from the initial plan is still relevant and what may need to be modified in order to ensure continued success and take advantage of untapped opportunities of the District. • To identify current challenges to development and potential solutions. • To identify trends and best practices in economic, community, and neighborhood development that relate to the Historic Millwork District. • To identify current creative placemaking and place keeping strategies and potential future opportunities. • To identify and develop solutions to connections in and out of the District and ways those connections can be mutually beneficial for the surrounding districts and community as a whole. • To review and identify transportation and parking challenges within the Historic Millwork District in conjunction with the consultant hired for a smart transportation plan. • Establish outcomes for annual performance measurements to track progress toward desired outcomes for the next ten years. • Identify year after year maintenance costs of potentially identified public improvements. • To develop an action plan and implementation strategy that is based on our values of authenticity, collaboration, design, connectivity, and equity; and validated with the project steering committee and the community and includes a budget and phasing for review and adoption by the City Council. 3 PROJECT SCOPE The Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update will consist of multiple components including equitable and inclusive engagement of various members of the community (diverse business leaders, government leaders, non-profit leaders, and community members), updating goals, identifying development funding sources, and developing creative strategies to implement the updated Plan and identify ongoing public maintenance costs. The plan will identify and explore current successful trends in the redevelopment of a historic downtown district. It will draw on these elements and incorporate successful items in developing the implementation strategy. These items will be drafted and tailored accordingly to the needs of the community in Dubuque. Current concerns expressed by stakeholders include parking solutions, handling of refuse district -wide, lack of green space, sustainable practices, transit, and access to food markets. In particular, the City of Dubuque has made contractual commitments to several businesses in regard to parking and pedestrian experience/connection in and near the Millwork District. These commitments are summarized in a "City Commitments" attachment and must be incorporated in the plan. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Community engagement represents an important part of the project. As other planning efforts are underway in the downtown area in relation to smart parking/transportation and pedestrian experience, the Consultant is expected to cooperate and coordinate with any other consultants engaged by the City that may be convening similar groups of stakeholders in order to avoid "engagement fatigue" of our business leaders and residents. The individually selected consultants will collectively be responsible for developing and implementing a robust, creative, and inclusive plan for community engagement. The process, much like the Historic Millwork District Plan document, must be creative, interesting, meaningful and relevant to residents and stakeholders. The community engagement plan should consider informing residents and stakeholders of the purpose of the plan, why it is important, and how the Plan for the Historic Millwork District intersects with the other areas of the downtown and the community. The individual consultants will collectively develop a schedule of events and input opportunities which at a minimum address the channels for public engagement and communication. The individual consultants will collectively be responsible for designing and facilitating the events and 4 public input instruments, facilitating the events and collecting and distilling all information for use in the plan documents. The public engagement plan will need to take into consideration current public health guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that a number of the events will need to be held virtually or in a hybrid format. Creative solutions for engagement to ensure an equitable cross-section of the community takes place is highly encouraged. The consultants should collectively actively engage residents, members of the community, businesses, government, non-profit, philanthropists, arts/culture practitioners, and school leaders. The community input must be sought through different avenues in ways that are both comfortable and practical. The engagement process must be creative, inclusive, meaningful, and relevant to residents. PROJECT DELIVERABLES A summarized list of project deliverables includes but is not limited to the following components of the Historic Millwork District Plan Update: • Executive Summary suitable for public distribution. • Community Engagement Plan with a description of the process and results. • Research, analysis, evaluation and recommendations regarding, current trends and best practices, and performance measures, with a focus on the Historic Millwork District and the Dubuque community. • Community developed project ideas that span public, non-profit, and private opportunities for immediate investment. Action Plan and Implementation Strategy validated with community input and including recommended budget and phasing, and identifying responsible parties for implementation. PROJECT SCHEDULE The schedule for the RFP distribution and consultant selection is as follows: Approval of contract with selected consultant Research phase Community Engagement phase Community Planning phase 5 May 2022 May — June 2022 June — July 2022 July — September 2022 Adoption Phase October — November 2022 CONSULTANT SELECTION COMMITTEE The recommended review committee for the submitted proposals is as follows: Jon Dienst, Civil Engineer II Ryan Knuckey, Director of Transportation Services Chris Kohlmann, Information Services Manager Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Anderson Sainci, Director of Office of Shared Prosperity & Neighborhood Support Steve Sampson Brown, Engineering Project Manager Russ Stecklein, Transportation Services Operations Supervisor Marie Ware, Leisure Services Manager Wally Wernimont, Planning Services Manager Emily Sewell, Gronen(developer) Dan LoBianco, Dubuque Main Street (downtown representative, nonprofit) David Klavitter, Dupaco Community Credit Union (bldg. owner) Cheryl Rusk, Charlotte's Coffee House (small business owner) Dubuque Initiatives Representative RECOMMENDATION/ ACTION STEP I respectfully request authorization to release the modified RFP for professional services for the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update and that the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and execute an agreement with the recommended consultant. cc: Jon Dienst, Civil Engineer II Ryan Knuckey, Director of Transportation Services Chris Kohlmann, Information Services Manager Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer Anderson Sainci, Director of Office of Shared Prosperity & Neighborhood Support Steve Sampson Brown, Engineering Project Manager Russ Stecklein, Transportation Services Operations Supervisor Marie Ware, Leisure Services Manager Wally Wernimont, Planning Services Manager [ei Dubuque Economic Development Department MI -Main Cft THE CITY OF 1300 Main Street D T T� � Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763 U I I Office (563) 589-4393 2007•2012•2013 TTY (563) 690-6678 Masterpiece on the Misslsslppl 2017*2019 http://www.cityofdubuque.org REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HISTORIC MILLWORK DISTRICT MASTER PLAN UPDATE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA April 4, 2022 INTRODUCTION The intent and purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from qualified consultants to create a Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update: 2022 with an implementation strategy by engaging Dubuque residents, businesses, District property owners, government, and public -private partners. The maximum budget for the project is $50,000. Proposals are due by Noon CST on May 3, 2022. Please see the entire RFP for specific requirements. COMMUNITY BACKGROUND The City of Dubuque is located on the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa, adjacent to Illinois and Wisconsin. As Iowa's oldest city, Dubuque is a community well known for its historic and architectural beauty. The City is approximately 30 square miles in area, with a population approaching 60,000 persons. The City's annual operating and capital budget is over $185 million and funds a full range of municipal services. The City of Dubuque is governed by an elected Mayor and City Council and managed by a City Manager. City government works in collaboration with private and non-profit sectors to promote the principles of sustainability and equity. Dubuque's framework for sustainability is centered on economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy. The next 2-5 years will undoubtedly define the next 20-30 years for communities like Dubuque. We feel inclusive and equitable investment must be made to ensure a culturally vibrant and diverse urban core that reflects our mantra of People, Planning and Partnerships. Sustainable Dubuque. Sustainability is defined by a community's ability to meet the environmental, economic, and social equity needs of today without reducing the ability Page 1 of 11 of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable Dubuque is a holistic approach to making our community sustainable. Our model involves a three-part approach that addresses: Environmental/Ecological Integrity, Economic Prosperity, and Social/Cultural Vibrancy. Each of these pieces is important individually and helps contribute to a sustainable community that is viable, livable, and equitable. Dubuque strives to be an equitable community of choice. Arts & Culture Master Plan: In 2016, as part of its Sustainable Dubuque approach the City commissioned and adopted an Arts & Culture Master Plan. This 10-year plan assists the City and community stakeholders in managing and maximizing Dubuque's many cultural resources as tools to support economic prosperity and social/cultural vibrancy. Imagine Dubuque Comprehensive Plan. Adopted in 2017, "Imagine Dubuque 2037: A Call to Action" is the current comprehensive plan our community has developed, with the prior comprehensive plan developed in 1995. Creating our new plan, Imagine Dubuque, was a community -driven approach, based on inclusive community engagement, issues and initiatives. The result is a focused, meaningful plan with 7 categories containing 32 subcategories and 110 recommendations. Plan development was inclusive, highly engaging, and representative of our community. In total, we received over 12,500 ideas which were inventoried and grouped by association into themes for the Imagine Dubuque plan. The plan is now "A Call to Action." Just as Imagine Dubuque was built on community engagement, plan implementation requires an engaged community — one that pulls together, combines resources, and shares in the vision of making Dubuque more viable, livable, and equitable. Implementation relies on organizations and partnerships to effectively address the plan's recommendations. City Council has adopted implementation of this plan as a top priority. Poverty Prevention Plan. On March 1, 2021, the City Council formally adopted the Equitable Poverty Reduction & Prevention Plan. City Council has adopted implementation of this plan as a high priority. Dubuque was a 5-time All -America City Winner in 2019. The award recognizes communities that leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation to successfully address local issues. This is the fifth time Dubuque has received this distinction since 2007. CITY COUNCIL GOALS Page 2 of 11 The Dubuque City Council has adopted 8 major goals under the 2026 Goals and Priority Agenda to address various issues impacting Dubuque residents. The Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update: 2022 should address nearly all of the City Council's goals. PROJECT OVERVIEW Dubuque's Historic Millwork District is a keystone to the region's aggressive economic development strategy, with much of the district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With one million square feet of historic warehouse space ideal for urban mixed - use development, the District has already begun to attract entrepreneurs, designers, residents, institutions, and businesses prepared to fuel Dubuque's globally competitive and sustainable economy. The district is governed by a Planned Unit Development Ordinance (see Appendix) and follows Downtown Architectural Guidelines. Additionally, the City has adopted a Unified Development Code which helps define rules related to development. The district is located within a low to moderate income Community Development Block Grant target area; district demographics available via the Dubuque Plata Walk As a result of significant public engagement, the City adopted a strategy for the Historic Millwork District in August 2007. A Master Plan was developed in 2008, and the City Council adopted this Historic Millwork District Master Plan in 2009. This provided a map to navigate the redevelopment of both private and public property. Public infrastructure was repaired or replaced, spurring over $120 million of public and private sector investment, to date, include a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant to identify the role of arts and culture in activating a sense of place. Current development includes over 160 rental residential units, with another 50 units planned, and is home to a dozen non-profit organizations and three dozen commercial and retail spaces. The partnership between the public and private sectors in the District has now organically begun to spur adjacent development. PROJECT PURPOSE We see this as an opportunity for us all to improve. Together, we have access to significant people resources — from experts at the City, to private developers, small business owners, historic preservation experts, and community building champions; when we come together, we make magic happen. Our partners are dedicated to action and implementation. We seek to achieve our shared goals of attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, stimulating economic development, and continuing to revitalize, protect, and enhance Dubuque's unique sense of place. In addition, we want to embrace Page 3 of 11 an equitable community in which all residents can live, work, and thrive. This work is a determining factor on whether we can create a community that will continue to flourish. We want a healthy, livable community that promotes sustainable and equitable development that benefits all. This update will serve as the next steps in a proactive and actionable investment in Dubuque as a whole, that inspires cultural vibrancy, shared prosperity, and a cohesive vision by all. The Millwork District is one of the many assets our community is embracing with the passion and inspiration that attracts local, regional, and national attention, and it is with this momentum that we want to look forward to what Dubuque can be. A consultant or team of consultants will create the Historic Millwork District Plan Update: 2022 with an implementation strategy and tools for stakeholders and the Dubuque community to invest in our community's future. The objectives of the plan are: • To examine and document complete, incomplete, and in -progress tasks from the initial Plan, and assess and identify opportunities in an updated Plan that build upon the work to date. • To determine the barriers for underrepresented community groups from taking part in the Millwork District and creating implementable solutions for removing those barriers. • Confirm what from the initial plan is still relevant and what may need to be modified in order to ensure continued success and take advantage of untapped opportunities of the District. • To identify current challenges to development and potential solutions. • To identify trends and best practices in economic, community, and neighborhood development that relate to the Historic Millwork District. • To identify current creative placemaking and place keeping strategies and potential future opportunities. • To identify and develop solutions to connections in and out of the District and ways those connections can be mutually beneficial for the surrounding districts and community as a whole. • To review and identify transportation and parking challenges within the Historic Millwork District in conjunction with the consultant hired for a smart transportation plan. • Establish outcomes for annual performance measurements to track progress toward desired outcomes for the next ten years. • Identify year after year maintenance costs of potentially identified public improvements. • To develop an action plan and implementation strategy that is based on our values of authenticity, collaboration, design, connectivity, and equity; and validated with Page 4 of 11 the project steering committee and the community and includes a budget and phasing for review and adoption by the City Council. The selected consultant will work with a core group of stakeholders including, but not limited to, City Staff, private business owners and employees, local non -profits, and vested community members. PROJECT SCOPE The Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update will consist of multiple components including equitable and inclusive engagement of various members of the community (diverse business leaders, government leaders, non-profit leaders, and community members), updating goals, identifying development funding sources, and developing creative strategies to implement the updated Plan and identify ongoing public maintenance costs. Current Trends and Best Practices The plan will identify and explore current successful trends in the redevelopment of a historic downtown district. It will draw on these elements and incorporate successful items in developing the implementation strategy. These items will be drafted and tailored accordingly to the needs of the community in Dubuque. Current concerns expressed by stakeholders include parking solutions, handling of refuse district -wide, lack of green space, sustainable practices, transit, and access to food markets. In particular, the City of Dubuque has made contractual commitments to several businesses in regard to parking and pedestrian experience/connection in and near the Millwork District. These commitments are summarized in a "City Commitments" attachment and must be incorporated in the plan. Community Engagement Community engagement represents an important part of the project. As other planning efforts are underway in the downtown area in relation to smart parking/transportation and pedestrian experience, the Consultant is expected to cooperate and coordinate with any other consultants engaged by the City that may be convening similar groups of stakeholders in order to avoid "engagement fatigue" of our business leaders and residents. The individually selected consultants will collectively be responsible for developing and implementing a robust, creative, and inclusive plan for community engagement. The process, much like the Historic Millwork District Plan document, must be creative, interesting, meaningful and relevant to residents and stakeholders. The community Page 5 of 11 engagement plan should consider informing residents and stakeholders of the purpose of the plan, why it is important, and how the Plan for the Historic Millwork District intersects with the other areas of the downtown and the community. The individual consultants will collectively develop a schedule of events and input opportunities which at a minimum address the channels for public engagement and communication. The individual consultants will collectively be responsible for designing and facilitating the events and public input instruments, facilitating the events and collecting and distilling all information for use in the plan documents. The public engagement plan will need to take into consideration current public health guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that a number of the events will need to be held virtually or in a hybrid format. Creative solutions for engagement to ensure an equitable cross-section of the community takes place is highly encouraged. The consultants should collectively actively engage residents, members of the community, businesses, government, non-profit, philanthropists, arts/culture practitioners, and school leaders. The community input must be sought through different avenues in ways that are both comfortable and practical. The engagement process must be creative, inclusive, meaningful, and relevant to residents. At a minimum, community engagement shall: • take advantage of the existing District private businesses and non-profit connections to engage with community members; • include interesting activities, dialogue, and creative opportunities to provide information independent of structured and facilitated events; • opportunities for residents to share input regarding concrete solutions as well as conceptual visions for the District and area as a whole; • anticipate and take steps to remove, or identify resources needed to remove, potential barriers to engagement; • include community -based organizations that represent equity target populations; • involve participants in activities around the quantitative data, capturing their reactions to the data and the issues that are most important; PROJECT DELIVERABLES: A summarized list of project deliverables includes but is not limited to the following components of the Historic Millwork District Plan Update: • Executive Summary suitable for public distribution. • Community Engagement Plan with a description of the process and results. Page 6 of 11 • Research, analysis, evaluation and recommendations regarding, current trends and best practices, and performance measures, with a focus on the Historic Millwork District and the Dubuque community. • Community developed project ideas that span public, non-profit, and private opportunities for immediate investment. • Action Plan and Implementation Strategy validated with community input and including recommended budget and phasing, and identifying responsible parties for implementation. PROJECT PHASES The project is expected to begin May 2022 and be completed by November 2022. The project is expected to occur in phases, and the proposed timeline is shown below: Approval of contract with selected consultant May 2022 Research phase May — June 2022 Community Engagement phase June — July 2022 Community Planning phase July — September 2022 Develop draft action plan implementation strategy for review and validation with project steering committee and community, include a budget and phasing, and Consultant presentation to City Council. Adoption Phase October — November 2022 Completion of plan and all deliverables, and then adoption of Final Plan by City Council. INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL 1. Letter of Transmittal Provide a letter of transmittal briefly outlining the consultant's understanding of the work and the name, address, email address, and telephone number of the consultant's primary contact person. 2. Profile of Consultant The proposal shall include general information about the consultant, the consultant's scope of expertise related to this RFP, and the consultant's official name, address, and principal officers, including qualifications of the project manager and other key personnel who would be assigned to the project. Page 7 of 11 3. Qualifications a) The proposal shall include the name of the project manager, his/her/their qualifications and experience, and the names, qualifications, and experience of other key personnel who would be associated with the project. The selection of a project manager by a consultant will constitute a contractual commitment by that consultant and a substitute manager will not be allowed without prior written approval by the City of Dubuque. b) Name and location of all other key personnel involved in the project if applicable; the type and approximate percentage of the work that would be performed by each of these firms; and the names, qualifications and experience of their personnel who would be associated with this project. c) The proposal must clearly describe the relevant experience of the project manager and other key personnel in undertaking and completing project relevant to this RFP. Provide a matrix matching the names of the key personnel proposed for the Dubuque project who worked on the referenced projects. d) The proposal shall include at least three references of past clients for projects relevant to this RFP. These projects must have been completed within the past ten years with the same project manager, sub -consultants and other key personnel proposed for this project. e) The proposal shall discuss the consultant's ability to integrate this project into the consultant's present workload. 4. Scope of Services / Methodology Describe the methodology or strategy by which the consultant would satisfy the Scope of Services, and/or an alternative or hybrid strategy recommended by the consultant — what process and outcomes the consultant would suggest for fulfilling the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update. This is the consultant's opportunity to convey ideas and concepts with respect to vision and goals outlined in the Scope of Services. This will help the selection committee better evaluate the consultant's vision, abilities, and interest with respect to the RFP. Any methodology or strategy must embrace and support the Sustainable Dubuque model and equity principles. Time is of the essence for the community engagement process of this RFP. Therefore, a community engagement plan is a required part of the proposal to be submitted in response to this RFP. Page 8 of 11 5. Proposed Project Schedule The anticipated project schedule is that the City of Dubuque will execute a contract with the selected consultant in May, 2022 and the project will be completed by November 2022. Provide a project schedule outlining the period and estimated completion date of the proposed scope of work. This should include a schedule for and description of all deliverable products throughout the period. Products should be delivered in electronic formats compatible with the City's computer software and hardware. 6. Certificate of Insurance The selected firm will be required to meet the City's insurance requirements for professional services (see Insurance Schedule J). A Certificate of Insurance is optional for inclusion with the proposal. One must be provided upon selection. 7. Fees and Compensation Provide a proposed fixed cost, plus reimbursable expenses, budget for each strategy proposed to complete the requested scope of services. Breakdown costs by major scope elements and include a list of hourly rates for personnel assigned to the project. Identify any markup percentage on all reimbursable expenses. Quotation of fees and compensation shall remain firm for a period of at least 90 days from the proposal submission deadline. Provide all proposed fees and compensation in a separate file from the other portion of the RFP submittal. 8. Contract A proposed contract for services must be included in the submittal. It should include the City of Dubuque's Standard Terms and Conditions found in the Appendix. EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be screened to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements of the proposal format. A selection committee will review qualifying proposals and may interview the short-listed firms. Initial screening will be done without knowing the consultant's proposed fee for services to develop a short list. The short list of consultants may be invited to an interview with the selection committee. Factors to be considered by the committee may include the following: • Qualifications and experience of the firm and any sub -consultants in planning similar to this RFP request. • Qualifications and experience of the principal consulting staff and sub - consulting staff that will work on the project. Page 9 of 11 • Community engagement processes proposed. • Experience with creative engagement solutions related to COVID-19 protocols. • Successful equity and inclusion work. • Results of interview process. • Information from references. • Grasp of project requirements and level of interest. • Design approach/methodology in completing the scope of services, including sustainability & equity focus; creativity and problem -solving ability. • Status as a woman and/or minority owned business. • Willingness and ability to subcontract for a portion of the work with a woman and/or minority owned business. • Proposed schedule required to complete the project. • Proposed cost to complete the project. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS The City of Dubuque reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to negotiate changes with any firms. The City of Dubuque is not liable for any cost incurred by any firms prior to the execution of an agreement or contract. Nor shall the City of Dubuque be liable for any costs incurred by the firm that are not specified in the contract. The City of Dubuque is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The proposal must be a document of not more than twenty (20) numbered 8-1/2 x 11- inch format pages, with the exception of the project schedule which may be presented in 11 x 17-inch format. The numbered pages do not include the letter of transmittal, index, dividers, front and back covers, and the separately provided proposed fees and compensation (separate file attached to submittal email). Proposals should not include any pre-printed or promotional materials. Proposals should only be submitted electronically. No faxed or printed proposals will be accepted. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RFP If you have any questions concerning this RFP, please submit your requests to the City's designated Project Manager, Economic Development Director, Jill Connors, via email 0iIcon no cityofdubug ue.org. The City has used considerable efforts to ensure an accurate representation of information in this RFP. Each proposer is urged to conduct its own investigations into the material facts provided. No answers given in response to questions submitted shall be binding upon this RFP unless released in writing (hardcopy or electronic) as an officially numbered and titled addendum to the RFP by the City of Dubuque. Any questions concerning this proposal Page 10 of 11 must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. CST on April 18, 2022. Any inquiries received after this date will not be answered. When submitting a question, please include the Consultant contact information. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE Submit an electronic .pdf version clearly labeled: "City of Dubuque Historic Millwork District Plan Update Consultant Proposal". Proposed fees and compensation must be emailed separately as a separate document. Proposals shall be delivered via email by Noon CST on May 3, 2022 to: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director iilconno(a�cityofdubugue.org Each consultant assumes full responsibility for delivery of the completed proposal on or before the deadline. The City of Dubuque is not responsible for any loss or delay with respect to delivery of the proposals. Consultants are encouraged to request receipt confirmation of the email. CONSULTANT SELECTION Upon the successful completion of the Consultant review process, the RFP Selection Committee will recommend to the City Manager the awarding of a contract to the highest ranked Consultant. The Selection Committee will also request authority to negotiate with the recommended Consultant a final scope of work and fee structure for the project. During the negotiation process, tasks to be completed by City staff, work reassignment to different project team members, and the addition or elimination of tasks may be modified in order to achieve the best overall results for the project. The City of Dubuque anticipates award of the contract to the successful consultant/firm for this project in May, 2022. Consultants/Firms whose proposals are not accepted will be notified shortly after the selected firm has been approved by the City Council. APPENDIX The following City of Dubuque documents are linked or enclosed for reference: • Community Engagement Guiding Principles • Guiding Principles for Advancing Racial Equity • City of Dubuque Standard Contract Terms and Conditions • Historic Millwork District Sign Regulations • Ordinance 30-19 Historic Millwork District PUD • City Contractual Commitments to Downtown Businesses Page 11 of 11 Dubuque Economic Development Department MI -Main Cft THE CITY OF 1300 Main Street D T T� � Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763 U I I Office (563) 589-4393 2007•2012•2013 TTY (563) 690-6678 Masterpiece on the Misslsslppl 2017*2019 http://www.cityofdubuque.org REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HISTORIC MILLWORK DISTRICT MASTER PLAN UPDATE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA April 4, 2022 INTRODUCTION The intent and purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from qualified consultants to create a Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update: 2022 with an implementation strategy by engaging Dubuque residents, businesses, District property owners, government, and public -private partners. The maximum budget for the project is $50,000. Proposals are due by Noon CST on May 3, 2022. Please see the entire RFP for specific requirements. COMMUNITY BACKGROUND The City of Dubuque is located on the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa, adjacent to Illinois and Wisconsin. As Iowa's oldest city, Dubuque is a community well known for its historic and architectural beauty. The City is approximately 30 square miles in area, with a population approaching 60,000 persons. The City's annual operating and capital budget is over $185 million and funds a full range of municipal services. The City of Dubuque is governed by an elected Mayor and City Council and managed by a City Manager. City government works in collaboration with private and non-profit sectors to promote the principles of sustainability and equity. Dubuque's framework for sustainability is centered on economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy. The next 2-5 years will undoubtedly define the next 20-30 years for communities like Dubuque. We feel inclusive and equitable investment must be made to ensure a culturally vibrant and diverse urban core that reflects our mantra of People, Planning and Partnerships. Sustainable Dubuque. Sustainability is defined by a community's ability to meet the environmental, economic, and social equity needs of today without reducing the ability Page 1 of 12 of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable Dubuque is a holistic approach to making our community sustainable. Our model involves a three-part approach that addresses: Environmental/Ecological Integrity, Economic Prosperity, and Social/Cultural Vibrancy. Each of these pieces is important individually and helps contribute to a sustainable community that is viable, livable, and equitable. Dubuque strives to be an equitable community of choice. Arts & Culture Master Plan: In 2016, as part of its Sustainable Dubuque approach the City commissioned and adopted an Arts & Culture Master Plan. This 10-year plan assists the City and community stakeholders in managing and maximizing Dubuque's many cultural resources as tools to support economic prosperity and social/cultural vibrancy. Imagine Dubuque Comprehensive Plan. Adopted in 2017, "Imagine Dubuque 2037: A Call to Action" is the current comprehensive plan our community has developed, with the prior comprehensive plan developed in 1995. Creating our new plan, Imagine Dubuque, was a community -driven approach, based on inclusive community engagement, issues and initiatives. The result is a focused, meaningful plan with 7 categories containing 32 subcategories and 110 recommendations. Plan development was inclusive, highly engaging, and representative of our community. In total, we received over 12,500 ideas which were inventoried and grouped by association into themes for the Imagine Dubuque plan. The plan is now "A Call to Action." Just as Imagine Dubuque was built on community engagement, plan implementation requires an engaged community — one that pulls together, combines resources, and shares in the vision of making Dubuque more viable, livable, and equitable. Implementation relies on organizations and partnerships to effectively address the plan's recommendations. City Council has adopted implementation of this plan as a top priority. Poverty Prevention Plan. On March 1, 2021, the City Council formally adopted the Equitable Poverty Reduction & Prevention Plan. City Council has adopted implementation of this plan as a high priority. Dubuque was a 5-time All -America City Winner in 2019. The award recognizes communities that leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation to successfully address local issues. This is the fifth time Dubuque has received this distinction since 2007. CITY COUNCIL GOALS Page 2 of 12 The Dubuque City Council has adopted 8 major goals under the 2026 Goals and Priority Agenda to address various issues impacting Dubuque residents. The Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update: 2022 should address nearly all of the City Council's goals. PROJECT OVERVIEW Dubuque's Historic Millwork District is a keystone to the region's aggressive economic development strategy, with much of the district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With one million square feet of historic warehouse space ideal for urban mixed - use development, the District has already begun to attract entrepreneurs, designers, residents, institutions, and businesses prepared to fuel Dubuque's globally competitive and sustainable economy. The district is governed by a Planned Unit Development Ordinance (see Appendix) and follows Downtown Architectural Guidelines. Additionally, the City has adopted a Unified Development Code which helps define rules related to development. The district is located within a low to moderate income Community Development Block Grant target area; district demographics available via the Dubuque Data Walk. As a result of significant public engagement, the City adopted a strategy for the Historic Millwork District in August 2007. A Master Plan was developed in 2008, and the City Council adopted this Historic Millwork District Master Plan in 2009. This provided a road map to navigate the redevelopment of both private and public property. Public infrastructure was repaired or replaced, spurring over $120 million of public and private sector investment, to date, include a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant to identify the role of arts and culture in activating a sense of place. Current development includes over 160 rental residential units, with another 50 units planned, and is home to a dozen non-profit organizations and three dozen commercial and retail spaces. The partnership between the public and private sectors in the District has now organically begun to spur adjacent development. PROJECT PURPOSE We see this as an opportunity for us all to improve. Together, we have access to significant people resources — from experts at the City, to private developers, small business owners, historic preservation experts, and community building champions; when we come together, we make magic happen. Our partners are dedicated to action and implementation. We seek to achieve our shared goals of attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, stimulating economic development, and continuing to revitalize, Page 3 of 12 protect, and enhance Dubuque's unique sense of place. In addition, we want to embrace an equitable community in which all residents can live, work, and thrive. This work is a determining factor on whether we can create a community that will continue to flourish. We want a healthy, livable community that promotes sustainable and equitable development that benefits all. This update will serve as the next steps in a proactive and actionable investment in Dubuque as a whole, that inspires cultural vibrancy, shared prosperity, and a cohesive vision by all. The Millwork District is one of the many assets our community is embracing with the passion and inspiration that attracts local, regional, and national attention, and it is with this momentum that we want to look forward to what Dubuque can be. A consultant or team of consultants will create the Historic Millwork District Plan Update: 2022 with an implementation strategy and tools for stakeholders and the Dubuque community to invest in our community's future. The objectives of the plan are: • To examine and document complete, incomplete, and in -progress tasks from the initial Plan, and assess and identify opportunities in an updated Plan that build upon the work to date. • To determine the barriers for underrepresented community groups from taking part in the Millwork District and creating implementable solutions for removing those barriers. • Confirm what from the initial plan is still relevant and what may need to be modified in order to ensure continued success and take advantage of untapped opportunities of the District. • To identify current challenges to development and potential solutions. • To identify trends and best practices in economic, community, and neighborhood development that relate to the Historic Millwork District. • To identify current creative placemaking and place keeping strategies and potential future opportunities. • To identify and develop solutions to connections in and out of the District and ways those connections can be mutually beneficial for the surrounding districts and community as a whole. • To review and identify transportation and parking challenges within the Historic Millwork District in conjunction with the consultant hired for a smart transportation plan. • Establish outcomes for annual performance measurements to track progress toward desired outcomes for the next ten years. • Identify year after year maintenance costs of potentially identified public improvements. Page 4 of 12 • To develop an action plan and implementation strategy that is based on our values of authenticity, collaboration, design, connectivity, and equity; and validated with the project steering committee and the community and includes a budget and phasing for review and adoption by the City Council. The selected consultant will work with a core group of stakeholders including, but not limited to, City Staff, private business owners and employees, local non -profits, and vested community members.. PROJECT SCOPE The Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update will consist of multiple components including equitable and inclusive engagement of various members of the community (diverse business leaders, government leaders, non-profit leaders, and community members), updating goals, identifying development funding sources, and developing creative strategies to implement the updated Plan and identify ongoing public maintenance costs. Current Trends and Best Practices The plan will identify and explore current successful trends in the redevelopment of a historic downtown district. It will draw on these elements and incorporate successful items in developing the implementation strategy. These items will be drafted and tailored accordingly to the needs of the community in Dubuque. Current concerns expressed by stakeholders include parking solutions, handling of refuse district -wide, lack of green space, sustainable practices, transit, and access to food markets. In particular, the City of Dubuque has made contractual commitments to several businesses in regard to parking and pedestrian experience/connection in and near the Millwork District. These commitments are summarized in a "City Commitments" attachment and must be incorporated in the plan. Community Engagement Community engagement represents an important part of the project. As other planning efforts are underway in the downtown area in relation to smart parking/transportation and pedestrian experience, the Consultant is expected to cooperate and coordinate with any other consultants engaged by the City that may be convening similar groups of stakeholders in order to avoid "engagement fatigue" of our business leaders and residents. The individually selected consultants will collectively be responsible for developing and implementing a robust, creative, and inclusive plan for community engagement. The Page 5 of 12 process, much like the Historic Millwork District Plan document, must be creative, interesting, meaningful and relevant to residents and stakeholders. The community engagement plan should consider informing residents and stakeholders of the purpose of the plan, why it is important, and how the Plan for the Historic Millwork District intersects with the other areas of the downtown and the community. The individual consultants will collectively develop a schedule of events and input opportunities which at a minimum address the channels for public engagement and communication. The individual consultants will collectively be responsible for designing and facilitating the events and public input instruments, facilitating the events and collecting and distilling all information for use in the plan documents. The public engagement plan will need to take into consideration current public health guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that a number of the events will need to be held virtually or in a hybrid format. Creative solutions for engagement to ensure an equitable cross-section of the community takes place is highly encouraged. The consultants should collectively actively engage residents, members of the community, businesses, government, non-profit, philanthropists, arts/culture practitioners, and school leaders. The community input must be sought through different avenues in ways that are both comfortable and practical. The engagement process must be creative, inclusive, meaningful, and relevant to residents. At a minimum, community engagement shall: • take advantage of the existing District private businesses and non-profit connections to engage with community members; • include interesting activities, dialogue, and creative opportunities to provide information independent of structured and facilitated events; • opportunities for residents to share input regarding concrete solutions as well as conceptual visions for the District and area as a whole; • anticipate and take steps to remove, or identify resources needed to remove, potential barriers to engagement; • include community -based organizations that represent equity target populations; • involve participants in activities around the quantitative data, capturing their reactions to the data and the issues that are most important; PROJECT DELIVERABLES: A summarized list of project deliverables includes but is not limited to the following components of the Historic Millwork District Plan Update: • Executive Summary suitable for public distribution. Page 6 of 12 • Community Engagement Plan with a description of the process and results. • Research, analysis, evaluation and recommendations regarding, current trends and best practices, and performance measures, with a focus on the Historic Millwork District and the Dubuque community. • Community developed project ideas that span public, non-profit, and private opportunities for immediate investment. • Action Plan and Implementation Strategy validated with community input and including recommended budget and phasing, and identifying responsible parties for implementation. PROJECT PHASES The project is expected to begin May 2022 and be completed by November 2022. The project is expected to occur in phases, and the proposed timeline is shown below: Approval of contract with selected consultant May 2022 Research phase May — June 2022 Community Engagement phase June — July 2022 Community Planning phase July — September 2022 Develop draft action plan implementation strategy for review and validation with project steering committee and community, include a budget and phasing, and Consultant presentation to City Council. Adoption Phase October — November 2022 Completion of plan and all deliverables, and then adoption of Final Plan by City Council. INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL 1. Letter of Transmittal Provide a letter of transmittal briefly outlining the consultant's understanding of the work and the name, address, email address, and telephone number of the consultant's primary contact person. 2. Profile of Consultant The proposal shall include general information about the consultant, the consultant's scope of expertise related to this RFP, and the consultant's official name, address, Page 7 of 12 and principal officers, including qualifications of the project manager and other key personnel who would be assigned to the project. 3. Qualifications a) The proposal shall include the name of the project manager, his/her/their qualifications and experience, and the names, qualifications, and experience of other key personnel who would be associated with the project. The selection of a project manager by a consultant will constitute a contractual commitment by that consultant and a substitute manager will not be allowed without prior written approval by the City of Dubuque. b) Name and location of all other key personnel involved in the project if applicable; the type and approximate percentage of the work that would be performed by each of these firms; and the names, qualifications and experience of their personnel who would be associated with this project. c) The proposal must clearly describe the relevant experience of the project manager and other key personnel in undertaking and completing project relevant to this RFP. Provide a matrix matching the names of the key personnel proposed for the Dubuque project who worked on the referenced projects. d) The proposal shall include at least three references of past clients for projects relevant to this RFP. These projects must have been completed within the past ten years with the same project manager, sub -consultants and other key personnel proposed for this project. e) The proposal shall discuss the consultant's ability to integrate this project into the consultant's present workload. 4. Scope of Services / Methodology Describe the methodology or strategy by which the consultant would satisfy the Scope of Services, and/or an alternative or hybrid strategy recommended by the consultant — what process and outcomes the consultant would suggest for fulfilling the Historic Millwork District Master Plan Update. This is the consultant's opportunity to convey ideas and concepts with respect to vision and goals outlined in the Scope of Services. This will help the selection committee better evaluate the consultant's vision, abilities, and interest with respect to the RFP. Any methodology or strategy must embrace and support the Sustainable Dubuque model and equity principles. Page 8 of 12 Time is of the essence for the community engagement process of this RFP. Therefore, a community engagement plan is a required part of the proposal to be submitted in response to this RFP. 5. Proposed Project Schedule The anticipated project schedule is that the City of Dubuque will execute a contract with the selected consultant in May, 2022 and the project will be completed by November 2022. Provide a project schedule outlining the period and estimated completion date of the proposed scope of work. This should include a schedule for and description of all deliverable products throughout the period. Products should be delivered in electronic formats compatible with the City's computer software and hardware. 6. Certificate of Insurance The selected firm will be required to meet the City's insurance requirements for professional services (see Insurance Schedule J). A Certificate of Insurance is optional for inclusion with the proposal. One must be provided upon selection. 7. Fees and Compensation Provide a proposed fixed cost, plus reimbursable expenses, budget for each strategy proposed to complete the requested scope of services. Breakdown costs by major scope elements and include a list of hourly rates for personnel assigned to the project. Identify any markup percentage on all reimbursable expenses. Quotation of fees and compensation shall remain firm for a period of at least 90 days from the proposal submission deadline. Provide all proposed fees and compensation in a separate file from the other portion of the RFP submittal. 8. Contract A proposed contract for services must be included in the submittal. It should include the City of Dubuque's Standard Terms and Conditions found in the Appendix. EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be screened to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements of the proposal format. A selection committee will review qualifying proposals and may interview the short-listed firms. Initial screening will be done without knowing the consultant's proposed fee for services to develop a short list. The short list of consultants may be invited to an interview with the selection committee. Factors to be considered by the committee may include the following: Page 9 of 12 • Qualifications and experience of the firm and any sub -consultants in planning similar to this RFP request. • Qualifications and experience of the principal consulting staff and sub - consulting staff that will work on the project. • Community engagement processes proposed. • Experience with creative engagement solutions related to COVID-19 protocols. • Successful equity and inclusion work. • Results of interview process. • Information from references. • Grasp of project requirements and level of interest. • Design approach/methodology in completing the scope of services, including sustainability & equity focus; creativity and problem -solving ability. • Status as a woman and/or minority owned business. • Willingness and ability to subcontract for a portion of the work with a woman and/or minority owned business. • Proposed schedule required to complete the project. • Proposed cost to complete the project. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS The City of Dubuque reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to negotiate changes with any firms. The City of Dubuque is not liable for any cost incurred by any firms prior to the execution of an agreement or contract. Nor shall the City of Dubuque be liable for any costs incurred by the firm that are not specified in the contract. The City of Dubuque is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The proposal must be a document of not more than twenty (20) numbered 8-1/2 x 11- inch format pages, with the exception of the project schedule which may be presented in 11 x 17-inch format. The numbered pages do not include the letter of transmittal, index, dividers, front and back covers, and the separately provided proposed fees and compensation (separate file attached to submittal email). Proposals should not include any pre-printed or promotional materials. Proposals should only be submitted electronically. No faxed or printed proposals will be accepted. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RFP If you have any questions concerning this RFP, please submit your requests to the City's designated Project Manager, Economic Development Director, Jill Connors, via email 0iIcon no cityofdubugue.org. The City has used considerable efforts to ensure an accurate representation of information in this RFP. Each proposer is urged to conduct its own investigations into the material facts provided. Page 10 of 12 No answers given in response to questions submitted shall be binding upon this RFP unless released in writing (hardcopy or electronic) as an officially numbered and titled addendum to the RFP by the City of Dubuque. Any questions concerning this proposal must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. CST on April 18, 2022. Any inquiries received after this date will not be answered. When submitting a question, please include the Consultant contact information. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE Submit an electronic .pdf version clearly labeled: "City of Dubuque Historic Millwork District Plan Update Consultant Proposal". Proposed fees and compensation must be emailed separately as a separate document. Proposals shall be delivered via email by Noon CST on May 3, 2022 to: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director 0iIcon no(o)_cityofdubug ue.org Each consultant assumes full responsibility for delivery of the completed proposal on or before the deadline. The City of Dubuque is not responsible for any loss or delay with respect to delivery of the proposals. Consultants are encouraged to request receipt confirmation of the email. CONSULTANT SELECTION Upon the successful completion of the Consultant review process, the RFP Selection Committee will recommend to the City Manager the awarding of a contract to the highest ranked Consultant. The Selection Committee will also request authority to negotiate with the recommended Consultant a final scope of work and fee structure for the project. During the negotiation process, tasks to be completed by City staff, work reassignment to different project team members, and the addition or elimination of tasks may be modified in order to achieve the best overall results for the project. The City of Dubuque anticipates award of the contract to the successful consultant/firm for this project in May, 2022. Consultants/Firms whose proposals are not accepted will be notified shortly after the selected firm has been approved by the City Council. /_1»4LIIQKV4 The following City of Dubuque documents are linked or enclosed for reference: • Community Engagement Guiding Principles • Guiding Principles for Advancing Racial Equity Page 11 of 12 • City of Dubuque Standard Contract Terms and Conditions • Historic Millwork District Sign Regulations • Ordinance 30-19 Historic Millwork District PUD • City Contractual Commitments to Downtown Businesses Page 12 of 12