Request for Qualifications for Progressive Design-Build Facilities Maintenance Shop

BFT is a municipal corporation, which provides public transportation services covering a 616- square mile area located in Benton and Franklin Counties. The area includes the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Benton City, Prosser and adjacent unincorporated areas of Benton and Franklin County with an estimated combined population in 2017 of 284,000. In 2030 the estimated population for Benton County is projected to increase to 236,007 and for Franklin County 130,284.

Disadvantaged Business Participation
BFT promotes equal employment opportunity and maximum practicable opportunity participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises certified by the State of Washington office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises in its Contracts.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Contractor is required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations.

Ineligible Contractors
Contractor is required to certify that they or their Sub-Contractors are not on the Comptroller General’s list of ineligible Contractors.

Rejection and Waiver
BFT reserves the right to reject any or all qualifications/proposals and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 25-14 may be cancelled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part when it is in the best interest of BFT.

Economy of Preparation
Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Contractor ability to meet the requirements of the RFQ. Fancy bindings, colored displays, promotional material, etc. are not desired. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

Facility maintenance staff provide pivotal maintenance and repairs on all BFT buildings, transfer centers, bus stops, shelters, benches, park & ride lots, and irrigation systems as well as perform snow removal, and lawn care throughout the transit system. Due to a lack of indoor facility space, equipment is stored outside, and the assembly of shelters, benches, and other maintenance tasks are performed outside. As such, concerns of prolonged exposure to the elements, for both staff and equipment, exist. The original maintenance facility shop has surpassed its useful life, is undersized and currently shares space with other BFT operations such as the vehicle paint booth. A new space is necessary to accommodate the needs of a growing workforce and transit operation.

The proposed facilities maintenance shop would provide the facilities maintenance team with a modern space for the manual work needed to maintain the BFT campus and satellite locations, dedicated location for storage of equipment and materials, and office space with dedicated training spaces available to maintain fleet and personnel readiness. The dedicated shop space will expand capabilities, allowing for both mechanical and carpentry work. It is anticipated that the building will include three multi-purpose shop bays as well as indoor storage of equipment and vehicles, office and support spaces such as a break room. Additional structures are desired for storage and equipment parking. The project is expected to utilize the Western most portion of the current campus. This project will create favorable conditions that will ultimately allow BFT to best serve the Tri-Cities area, recruit transit talent, and lay the foundation for well executed and fiscally responsible expansion in the future.

The property on which the Project will be constructed has an unusual shape that will provide some creative challenges in optimizing the space. BFT is looking for innovation and creativity and a Design-Build Team that will help BFT accomplish or exceed its Project Goals and collaboratively engage with BFT and its stakeholders to determine how multiple functions can be accommodated within the space and identifying critical long lead materials and systems that can be procured early.