The City of Muskogee is soliciting qualified consulting firms to submit a proposal to prepare a Comprehensive Plan for the City. The most recent comprehensive plan was adopted in 2012. The City is therefore seeking a new update to the Comprehensive Plan which will state the community's goals and policies regarding its future in terms of commercial vitality, residential and multifamily housing, open space, community facilities and services, and infrastructure. Particular attention shall be paid to ensuring the continuing viability of the City's non-residential zones, including our retail centers, office zones and industrial areas. The Plan should serve as a guide for orderly growth and change and provide a rational basis for future planning and zoning decisions.

The City is looking for an experienced firm willing to incorporate new, innovative and a state of the art approach to development of the Comprehensive Plan. Demonstrated use of technology to outreach and regularly communicate with the community is extremely important. The final Comprehensive Plan should include a phased and prioritized implementation strategy.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

City leadership and the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee have developed the general scope of work for plan update. A Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, selected by the City Council, will represent a cross-section of City residents, key stakeholder, professional groups, members of various City committees, and professional staff. The steering committee will provide direction to the Selected Consultant.

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY

The 2020 census indicated a Muskogee population of 36,878. Since 2010 Muskogee's population has decreased from 39,223. The City has recently began to show a trend of reinvestment in the city. This does not match historical data as the number of housing units and jobs has shown a downward trend over the last decade. The City is served by north-south and east-west highways, providing access to each section of the City. The city is adjacent to the port of Muskogee a major employer and area of economic development.

SCOPE OF WORK

The project should include:

• Existing conditions analysis; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges;
• Current plan analysis;
• Visioning sessions; City staff, The Steering Committee, citizens;
• An Innovative and inclusive engagement and participation plan;
• Meetings;
  • Minimum of 4 community engagement meetings
    • Visioning, charrette, innovative modes of surveying and receiving feedback
    • Minimum of 2 public open house style meetings
• Coordination with existing city plan's such as the Park's Master Plan, Muskogee Forward Plan and The Complete Street Plan;
• Identify strategies to preserve the character of the City's downtown commercial core;
• Identify viable redevelopment areas within the City and determine redevelopment strategies to initiate the process;
• Discuss methods to develop new and preserve existing open spaces;
• Identify the need for quality of life “Ward” enhancements such as trees, sidewalks, street lights, public art, and other improvements;
• Identify potential shared services opportunities and intergovernmental coordination;
• 20 year future period; short and long term goals;
• An implementation plan; and
• Code analysis and revision recommendations.

City staff will finalize the scope of work with the selected consultant prior to contract authorization. The City is open to suggestions other than those items listed which the consultant believes will be of value.

MEETINGS & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Below are general expectations for meetings and the public engagement process. The consultant can provide recommendation for this process. The final framework and process will be finalized pending negotiations of the final contract

• Initial kickoff meeting with city staff to review schedule, schedule meetings, finalize plans for data compilation, establish focus groups, town hall meetings and other community engagement opportunities;
• Facilitation of all public meetings, deciding on meeting content, preparing the public meeting agendas, preparing documents for distribution;
• Monthly public meeting with the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee;
• Approximately 5 community visioning workshop/s; and
• Develop a comprehensive plan webpage.

PRODUCTS AND DELIVERABLES

• Preliminary reports and project updates prepared at all milestones;
• One digital copy in Microsoft Word format and PDF format;
• print‐ready graphics included in each preliminary report;
• 12 color copies of final plan draft for comments;
• final plan copies to include 12 bound color copies, one digital format;
• Maps in ArcGIS format referenced to City GIS; and
• Presentation graphics for public meetings to be determined prior to meeting:

FINAL PRODUCT

• Introduction
• Healthy, Complete and equitably communities
• Muskogee visions and goals
• Community character
• Updated trends
• Downtown
• Growth management
• Neighborhoods
• Land use
• Wards
• Transportation
• Rural character
• Economic development
• Area plans
• Environmental Quality & Sustainability
• Capital improvements & Investments

Any additional sections consultant may suggest and the city approves

RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

• Letter of Interest;
• Introduction;
• Work Program:
  • In the project overview, describe the general project approach and process to be employed, describe a process approach that was used in the past to successfully complete a similar project, describe the proposed project schedule including timeline of major milestones, deliverables, and completion.
• Experience and Qualifications;
• Examples of a two previous projects;
• List of current projects;
• Team composition;
• A List of Clients: Provide a list of comparable clients for which similar services have; been provided in addition to contact information;
• An estimated project timeframe;
• Public engagement approach;
• Estimated Costs: Include the total charges and a detailed budget: and
• The City's budget for the project is $200,000.

PROPOSAL AND CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

• Submittal: electronic, email, Dropbox, or by mail.
• Proposal submittal deadline: June 2, 2023
• Number of proposal copies: 12 bound & 1 digital PDF
• Evaluation Period: June 15- June 30, 2023
• Interview Period: July 1 – 7

CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS

The City expects to select a consulting firm from the proposals submitted, but reserves the right to request substitute firms. A response to and RFP should not be construed as a contract or an indication of a commitment of any kind on part of the City, nor does it commit either to pay for costs incurred in the submission of a response to this request or for any cost incurred prior to the execution of a final contract.

All proposals received by the City will be reviewed to determine whether they are responsive to the requisites of the RFP. Proposals which are determined to be non-responsive will be rejected. The comprehensive plan steering committee will review the proposals based on the criteria outlined below. The City reserves the right to require oral presentations and conduct interviews with those proposers whose proposals are deemed to be viable. In the event that a proposer is requested to give an oral presentation, it may be advised in advance of the aspects of its proposal which need to be supported, demonstrated or clarified. The presentation will include time for questions regarding the proposal. The date, time and location of the oral presentation will be announced at a later date.

Although discussions may be conducted with proposers submitting acceptable proposals, the City reserves the right to award contracts on the basis on initial proposals received, without discussions; therefore, the proposer's initial proposal should contain its best technical and price terms.

The committee will develop a list of firms in order of preference of the firms considered most highly qualified to perform the services that will be submitted to the City Council. The City reserves the right to reject any submittal and to waive minor irregularities and to advertise for new responses, or to accept any response deemed to be in the best interest of The City, it may request additional information for qualifications. The City retains the right to select a consultant within our budget or reject all consultants.

The city will not be responsible for any cost to develop a proposal. The city reserves all rights until a contract has been agreed to and signed by both parties.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Consultant selection will be based on the following criteria (100 points maximum):

1. Project Understanding, original approach and familiarity with innovative comprehensive planning concepts, while being responsive to terms, conditions and the time frame presented (25 points);
2. Capabilities and previous experience in comparable projects and specialized experience and technical competence of the consultant (15 points);
3. Complete and thorough document that answers all questions presented in this RFP (20 points);
4. Demonstrated ability to utilize innovative public engagement and participation techniques in development of the plan (15 points);
5. Personnel assigned to the project demonstrating the consultant's capacity to complete the requested service on time and within budget (15 points) and
6. Familiarity with the project area (10 points)

Contact Person

Laura Enlow, Assistant Director of Planning & Development
Planning Department
229 W. Okmulgee
Muskogee, OK 74401
lenlow@muskogeeonline.org
Direct: 918-684-6370