The CITY OF BELLINGHAM solicits interest from consulting firms with expertise in Civil and Structural Engineering Design. This agreement will be for approximately two and half years, from February 2024 to July 2026, with the option for the CITY OF BELLINGHAM to extend it for additional time and money if necessary. Consultants will be considered for the following project.

The CITY OF BELLINGHAM reserves the right to amend terms of this “Request for Qualifications” (RFQ) to circulate various addenda, or to withdraw the RFQ at any time, regardless of how much time and effort consultants have spent on their responses.

Project Description

The work to be performed by the CONSULTANT consists of preparing preliminary engineering design for Meridian Birchwood Transportation Improvements Phase 1 (Project ES564). This will include design for both Phase I and Phase II of the planned Meridian Birchwood Transportation Improvements. Phase I will merge the Squalicum Parkway freight truck route with Birchwood Avenue on the west side of Meridian Street intersection and decommission the Meridian/Squalicum traffic signal, including removing the unused segment of the Squalicum Parkway between Meridian Street and the new intersection of Birchwood-Squalicum. Considerations for pedestrian, bicycles, and future trail will need to be included. Phase II will reconstruct the Meridian/Birchwood signalized intersection into a dual-lane multimodal roundabout with a regional trail crossing the south leg of the roundabout into Cornwall Memorial Park. This project currently has no DBE agreement goal but may be assigned for potential future work to this consultant contract if occurring during Construction phase. The major features of the project are as follows:

• Road modification to merge two arterials and decommission/modification of existing traffic signals.
• Roundabout design
• Environmental documentation and preparation of permit applications, including advanced mitigation.
• Structural design for retaining walls and culvert extensions/replacements to address fish barriers.
• Determination of R/W needs and R/W plan preparation.

The CITY OF BELLINGHAM reserves the right to retain the services of the successful firm(s) for any subsequent phases (R/W, CN) associated with this/these project(s).

Evaluation Criteria

Submittals will be evaluated and ranked based on the following criteria:

1) Qualifications of Key Personnel – 10 points

2) Qualifications/Expertise of Firm – 20 points

3) Ability to meet schedule – 15 points

4) Approach to project – 20 points

5) In-House Expertise & Familiarity with WSDOT/FHWA standards – 15 points

6) Past Performance/References – 15 points

7) Approach to meet the DBE goal or SBE goal (DBE Participation Plan or SBE Plan) – 5 points

TOTAL – 100 Points

Selection Schedule

These dates are estimates and subject to change by the City.

RFQ Release – November 9, 2023

Questions Due – November 30, 2023

Submittals Due – December 7, 2023

Consultant Interviews – Week of December 18, 2023

Selection and Notification – Week of January 1, 2024

Design Contract Award – Week of February 5, 2024

Estimated Contract End Date – July 31, 2025

Submittal

Submittals should include the following information: Firm name, phone and fax numbers; Name of Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager; and Number of employees in each firm proposed to project. Additional submittal information is included in the supplemental information which can be found at https://cob.procureware.com/home.

Please submit ONE PDF on a CD or flash drive and TWO printed copies of your Statement of Qualifications to: City of Bellingham Purchasing Office, 2221 Pacific St, Bellingham, WA 98229 no later than 11:00 a.m. on December 7, 2023. Submittals will not be accepted after that time and date. Any questions regarding this project should be directed to bids@cob.org or 360-778-7750. Procurement is estimated to be completed within 4 weeks.

Contract Type

Contract type (method of payment) will be Negotiated Hourly Rate utilizing WSDOT Local Agency A&E Professional Services Negotiated Hourly Rate Consultant Agreement. Submission of cost proposal or elements of cost shall not be submitted until a consultant selection has been made.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information

The CITY OF BELLINGHAM in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), commits to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, in all of its programs and activities. This material can be made available in an alternate format by emailing Holly Pederson, ADA Coordinator, at ada@cob.org or by calling collect 360-778-7950.

Title VI Statement

The CITY OF BELLINGHAM, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.”

Dates of publication in the BELLINGHAM HERALD, DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE and OMWBE on November 9,, 2023 and November 16, 2023.