Schedule

RFQ Released: May 8, 2024

Questions Due: May 20, 2024 by 5:00 PM (CDT)

Answers to Questions posted: May 27, 2024 by 5:00 PM (CDT)

Qualification Packages Due: June 7, 2024 5:00 PM (CDT)

Notification of Short-listing: June 14, 2024 at 5:00 PM (CDT)

Short List Interviews (if needed): June 2024

Anticipated Selection: July 2024

Questions and answers

Please send an email with questions to Eric Wright at eric.wright@earpdc.org. No phone calls, please.

Questions will be taken until May 20, 2024 at 5:00 pm (CDT).

Answers will be posted by May 27, 2024 and will be posted at the following webpage: www.earpdc.org/planningrfq

The names of the firms/consultants submitting the questions will remain anonymous when answers are posted.

Submission

Responses will be received electronically only until: 5:00 pm (CDT), June 7, 2024 . Qualifications Packages should not exceed 10 pages (excluding cover sheet and attachments).

Email an electronic file to: eric.wright@earpdc.org

General information

The East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (EARPDC) is seeking qualifications for on-call planning services from qualified individuals or firms ("Consultants") to support the EARPDC's Planning and Development team by augmenting their planning services and assisting with long-range planning related projects.

The EARPDC is one of the 12 regional councils in Alabama and is eligible to provide planning services to any of the 79 municipalities located in the ten-county region of East Alabama (Chambers, Cherokee, Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Etowah, Randolph, Talladega, and Tallapoosa counties).

The consultants will provide services to the local municipalities under contract with the EARPDC, serving as an extension of EARPDC staff. Work activities may be broad and varied, from supplementing the EARPDC on project tasks to leading the development of an entire project (e.g., Comprehensive Plans for larger cities). Depending on the type of project, the work will require communication with elected officials, planning commissions, technical staff, municipal attorneys, and the public.

Scope of Services related to this RFQ

The EARPDC invites qualified professional Consultants having expertise in any of the following fields to respond to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for On-Call Planning Assistance:

Long-range planning services, such as the development of:

• Comprehensive Plans and Master Plans
• Sub-area or corridor-specific plans (standalone or as components of Comprehensive Plans or Master Plans)
• Housing, such as the development of:
• Housing market analyses
• Housing-specific recommendations for Comprehensive Plans or Master Plans
• Strategies for neighborhood revitalization, to induce the development of affordable housing, etc.
• Public engagement (online and in-person)

Transportation planning and engineering, such as in the following areas:

• Development of transportation-specific components of Comprehensive Plans and Master Plans
• Multi-modal transportation planning
• Traffic and safety analysis for all modes
• Corridor or sub-area studies
• Feasibility studies, such as for developing new roadway alignments and extensions or evaluating the practicality of constructing sidewalks and other non-motorized facilities. Urban design, such as the development of:
• Conceptual drawings
• Site plans (e.g., a proposed town center development)
• 3D renderings

Ordinance updates, such as:

• Conducting code audits and providing recommended revisions
• Drafting of text amendments and updates to modernize existing Zoning Ordinances
• Drafting language for new zoning districts (e.g., mixed-use districts)
• Development of new Zoning Ordinances
• Development of new and updated Sign Ordinance Regulations
• Development of updates to Subdivision Regulations

Municipalities in the EARPDC region vary widely in size, from towns of several thousand or less, to counties of more than one hundred thousand. The EARPDC is interested in qualifying Consultants of various sizes to broaden the range of planning services available to member municipalities and to ensure that on-call services may be tailored to individual community preferences.

As the "prime consultant" seeking to be qualified under this RFQ process, please do not feel the need to pick and highlight sub-consultants at this stage. If you choose, you can highlight sub-consultants in this RFQ submittal, but it is not required now. Qualified "prime consultants" under this RFQ will be able to choose their preferred sub-consultants later to highlight in their respondent packages when various Notice of Needs for projects are issued. The desired selection of sub-consultants can vary depending on the project's needs.

The number of qualified consultants is not yet known. The selection procedure is described on page 8.

There is not a predetermined number of projects per year that will be issued under this On-Call Planning Assistance contract.

Process for being awarded a Master Agreement and subsequent Task Order(s)

Once the selection process for this RFQ is complete, EARPDC may set up master agreements with the qualified Consultants for up to three years (through July 2027), with the option to extend the contract for up to one additional year. Master agreements will not be set up until a qualified consultant has been awarded a project through the Notice of Need process described below.

Note that when master agreements are set up, they will include an approved list of hourly rates, such as a list of annual Certified Labor Rates approved by the Alabama Department of Transportation's Bureau of Finance and Audits, External Audit Section.

Once the EARPDC has identified a project for which this On-Call Planning Assistance contract is needed, it will issue a Notice of Need requesting proposal packages from the qualified.

Consultants in response to a general scope of work and projected project fee. The proposal packages will be scored, shortlist interviews will be held (as necessary), and a consultant will be awarded with the project. However, the EARPDC reserves the right to assign work directly to any qualified consultant based on unique qualifications and availability.

Once awarded a project, the EARPDC and the Consultant will negotiate a detailed scope of work and man-day/fee proposal, and then a Task Order under the master agreement will be issued. Once assigned a Task Order, the Consultant will perform or cause to be performed those services described in the executed Task Order, under all laws, regulations, applicable codes, and provisions of the Agreement.

The EARPDC makes no guarantee that the selected Consultants, as part of this procurement process, will be assigned work under the On-Call Planning Assistance contract; however, the EARPDC will endeavor to provide equitable opportunities for work.