Bee Branch Creek Restoration Contract_Strand AssociatesTHE CITY OF
DUB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project Design Consultant
DATE: August 12, 2008
Dubuque
~a~~~
~ t
2007
City Engineer Gus Psihoyos is recommending the selection of Strand Associates for
engineering and design services for the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project in the
amount of $1,675,000.
Three firms were interviewed. The HDR and Strand proposals and interviews stood out.
A follow-up phone interview was conducted with each proposed project manager. And
finally a second face to face interview was held. The proposal review committee
thoughtfully considered the strengths and weaknesses of the teams and ultimately
decided that the Strand team best responded to the RFP based on their approach to
developing the final landscaping plan for the project, the value of IIW and the substantial
role they will play in the project, and the proposed fee is within budget.
A Design Advisory Committee will be formed consisting of City staff and one
representative from the North End Neighborhood Association, Theresa Caldwell, and
one representative from the Washington Neighborhood Association, Wayne
Klosterman.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
~~ C. ~ Lw
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM/Iw
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Gus Psihoyos, Civil Engineer
THE CITY OF
DUB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
All-AmericaCiiy
2007
August 11, 2008
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer Q~
~J
SUBJECT: Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project Design Consultant
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to request authorization to negotiate a contract with
Strand Associates, Inc. to provide engineering and design services for the Bee Branch
Creek Restoration Project.
BACKGROUND
On June 16, 2008 the City Council authorized the release of an RFP for the final design,
construction/bidding documents, and construction observation for the Bee Branch Creek
Restoration Project. As detailed in the RFP, the objectives of the consultant are to:
1. Utilize the engineering study previously performed and reported in the Bee
Branch Creek Alignment Study to design the improvements of both the Lower
and Upper Bee Branch Creek Restoration Projects;
2. Gather and utilize input from citizens for the design of the final landscaping
plan for both projects;
3. Prepare bid documents (plans and specifications) for the construction of the
improvements. The project will be bid as at least two, and possibly three,
individual construction projects. Construction of the first portion, the Lower
Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project, must be completed by December 31,
2009;
4. Acquire permits and authorizations from the various regulatory agencies for
both projects in a timely fashion that avoids any delays to the construction of
the Lower Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project;
5. Satisfy the Clean Water Surface Revolving Fund (SRF) requirements from
design, through bidding and construction; and
6. Manage/oversee the construction of the Lower Bee Branch Creek Restoration
Project.
The estimate to prepare the final design and prepare construction/bid documents for
both the Upper and Lower reaches, and perform construction observation for the Lower
reach of the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project is as follows:
Design of Lower Bee Branch $ 544,052
Design of Upper Bee Branch $ 984,638
Engineering During Construction of Lower Bee Branch $ 253,891
TOTAL $ 1,782,581
DISCUSSION
The City received five proposals:
1. CDM (Milwaukee, WI) with WHKS (East Dubuque, IL), Craig Ritland
Landscape Architects (Waterloo, IA), Mainstream Restoration (Milwaukee,
WI), and Durrant (Dubuque, IA);
2. HDR (Omaha, NE) with MSA Professional Services (Dubuque);
3. Howard R. Green (Cedar Rapids, IA) with Inter-Fluve (Madison, WI), and
Niemeyer and Associates (Ringwood, IL);
4. Strand (Madison, WI) with IIW Engineers & Surveyors (Dubuque, IA), and
Ken Saiki Design (Madison, WI); and
5. Veenstra and Kimm (West Des Moines) with Hargreaves Associates
(Cambridge, MA).
As presented to the City Manager and City Council when the RFP was under
consideration, the proposal review committee consisted of Gil Spence, Leisure Services
Manager; Ken TeKippe, Finance Director; Don Vogt, Public Works Director; Gus
Psihoyos, City Engineer; Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager; Steve Brown, Project
Manager; and Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer II. In addition, Neighborhood
Development Specialist, Jerelyn O'Connor reviewed the public involvement portion of
the proposals, attended interviews and provided feedback to the committee.
The proposal review committee rated all of the teams on the following criteria: Strength
of the proposed project manager, bridge engineer, H&H engineer, Utility engineer,
landscape architect, and railroad engineer. The team's creativity, grasp of the project
objectives, creativity, project approach, and communication skills were also judged.
The RFP outlined that one of the six (6) project objectives is to "gather and utilize input
from citizens for the design of the final landscaping plan." The Howard R Green
proposal did not address the need or the methods they would use to gather citizen input
on the landscaping plan. For this reason and a few others, the committee concluded
that the Howard R Green proposal did not adequately show that they have a clear
understanding of the challenges associated with the Bee Branch project and did not
invite them for an interview.
Following the initial interviews, the proposal review committee determined that in
addition to being technically qualified, CDM, HDR, and Strand demonstrated that they
had a solid understanding of the project objectives and would likely be successful on the
project. With the understanding that the final scope and fees may be adjusted with
contract negotiations, the proposed fees to perform the engineering work were as
follows:
Estimate CDM/WHKS HDR/MSA Strand/IIW
Fees $1,782,581 $1,669,076 $1,997,574 $1,675,000
over (+)/ under - 0.00% (6.37%) 12.06% (6.04%)
The HDR and Strand proposals and interviews stood out. A follow-up phone interview
was conducted with each proposed project manager. And finally a second face to face
interview was held. The proposal review committee thoughtfully considered the
strengths and weaknesses of the teams and ultimately decided that the Strand team
best responded to the RFP based on their approach to developing the final landscaping
plan for the project, the value of IIW and the substantial role they will play in the project,
and the proposed fee is within budget.
RECOMMENDATION
I recommend that the City retain Strand with IIW to provide engineering and design
services for the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project.
BUDGET IMPACT
Strand's fee proposal is $1,675,000. The contract will be funded from the FY2008
appropriation of $2,045,390 for design and engineering.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
respectfully request City Council to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and enter
into an agreement with Strand Associates to provide engineering and design services
for the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project.
Prepared by Deron Muehring
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Jenny Larson, Budget Director
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Gil Spence, Leisure Services Manager
Don Vogt, Public Works Director
Ken TeKippe, Finance Director
Steve Brown, Project Manager
Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer II