26-99619 RFP for Engineering Services for Canal Park Drive Rehabilitation

CITY OF DULUTH, MN
July 22, 2026
Request for Proposals
for
Engineering Services for Canal Park Drive
Rehabilitation
RFP 26-99619
Proposals Due: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 3:00 pm local time
I:\FINANCE\PURCHASING\Bids, RFPs, Contracts & Agreements\2026\26-99619 Canal Park Drive Rehabilitation\1975 RFP - DRAFT.docx
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
The City of Duluth is interested in retaining a consultant to provide professional engineering
services to complete a design of a concrete joint repair and lighting replacement project on Canal
Park Drive in Duluth. The project will stretch from Railroad Street to Buchanan Street.
BACKGROUND
Canal Park is a highlight tourist destination within the City of Duluth and the streets within
Canal Park are surfaced with concrete pavement dating from initial paving in the 1990's. This
pavement is degraded and joints have been repaired via various repairs through the years. Today,
these joints require significant effort to repair. The City is looking for a consultant to review the
current joint condition and develop construction documents to repair these joints/panels with a
goal of restoring and lengthening the life of the current pavement.
The proposed design would include:
* Repair of concrete joints on Canal Park Drive, from Railroad Street to Buchanan Street.
This project will not extend into Buchanan Street beyond the intersection.
* Replacement of street lighting on Canal Park Drive within the project limits. While
lighting beyond Canal Park Drive will not be replaced as part of the construction project,
the system (service cabinet, etc.) shall be designed to handle powering the lighting
throughout Canal Park, which will be replaced at a later date through other projects.
The selected consultant will be tasked with initial investigation and recommendations, preparing
the project memorandum, design plans and specifications suitable for bidding the project, and
with providing technical support through the project bidding process. The City is not including
construction phase services with this contract, though construction services may be requested at a
later date.
GENERAL PROJECT SCOPE
Consulting engineering services are expected to include all work necessary to evaluate the
condition of the existing pavement and recommend specific repairs, prepare construction plans
and special provisions for the recommended repairs, and provide technical assistance to the City
through the state aid process. This work will include preparing environmental documentation for
the project. The City anticipates that this project, due to the rehabilitation nature of the expected
project, will qualify as a categorical exclusion.
These tasks will be defined in greater detail within this solicitation. All work shall be performed
in accordance with the most recent version of the Minnesota DOT State Aid Manual, Minnesota
DOT Standard Specifications for Construction, and City Standard Specifications and
Engineering Guidelines.
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SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Consultant shall provide the following scope of services, as described in detail below,
following the general summary: Project Management, Project Reconnaissance, Engineering
Design, and Project Bidding. As noted below, the Consultant shall not provide construction
administration services at this time.
1. Project Meetings, Management and Coordination
Consultant shall manage their effort to complete the design effort required to produce the project.
This shall include the overall project management effort, project meetings and coordination with
stakeholders.
Project Management
The Consultant is expected to manage their project effort in an efficient manner and
within the schedule proposed. This includes tasks such as timely invoicing, coordination
of internal resources, scheduling of the project and required resources, and providing
quality control of the deliverables.
Meetings
The consultant shall expect to attend a public meeting and multiple internal design review
and/or coordination meetings.
* Kickoff Meeting: Consultant shall organize and prepare a kickoff meeting to
review project tasks and review project schedule to ensure project remains on
track.
* Design/Review Coordination: Meetings can be conducted via on-line tools
(Teams, etc.). Consultant should plan effort based on these meetings occurring
monthly through bidding.
* Public Meeting: Consultant shall prepare materials for and attend one public
meeting to introduce the project and the impact to the adjacent properties. City
staff will assist in coordinating the meeting location in the Canal Park area.
Consultant will provide all boards/presentation materials for the meeting. City
staff may do additional outreach and/or meetings and any additional public
meetings where the Consultant is requested to attend would be considered outside
of scope.
Project Stakeholder Engagement
The City intends to handle day-to-day coordination with local stakeholders and
businesses. The Consultant may need to reach out to specific stakeholders in regards to
traffic control and access management specifics, as it relates to the preparation of the
construction drawings only.
2. Project Reconnaissance/Evaluation
Proposer will be responsible for performing an assessment of the concrete joints on the
project. Consultant will be responsible for performing survey sufficient to locate and
provide for all lighting installations, joints that need to be repaired and any pedestrian
ramp replacements required as part of this project.
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Consultant shall complete the project memorandum and required attachments suitable for
submittal to the District State Aid Engineer (DSAE) for approval. Consultant shall assist
in any responses required to the DSAE based on their review.
The City has prepared and submitted cultural and protected species worksheets to
MnDOT.
Project Reconnaissance will include the delivery of a technical memorandum
summarizing the repairs to be completed and preliminary cost estimate for review by the
City.
3. Engineering Design
The consultant will be responsible for preparing full engineering design plans and project special
provisions for this project, suitable for bidding and construction. This design will supplement
existing City standard specifications, and applicable MnDOT standards specifications and
standard plans. The City will provide boilerplate special provisions language for consultant use
in preparing these documents.
The City assumes a project deliverable for review at the following stages:
* 50% Design Review: Preliminary layout and photometrics. Design detail is minimal, with
standard boilerplate language and details included only. Project photometrics are
completed. This is generally considered to be the time for any significant design changes.
Preliminary cost estimate is prepared for comparison to available funding.
* 90% Design Review: Final design review, draft project special provisions review. Final
cost estimate is prepared. These plans should be considered ready to submit to DSAE for
project review.
A final deliverable, after all reviews are completed, will consist of the design plans (in PDF
format) signed by the engineer of record, special provisions (PDF and Microsoft Word format)
and a final cost estimate, with individual bid items matching the bid quantities (PDF and
Microsoft Excel format). City staff will route the design plans for internal signatures.
4. Project Bidding
The City will oversee bidding the project. The consultant shall be available for answering
clarification questions and if needed, preparing addendum responses. The proposers should
include 16 hours of the project manager's time within their cost proposal for addressing
questions through the bidding process.
5. Construction Administration
The City plans to provide construction inspection and administration of the project at this time. If
necessary, construction phase services may be requested under separate cover. The Consultant
should not include any time for construction administration at this time.
PROJECT COMPLETION DATES
July 23, 2026 RFP Issued
August 25, 2026 Proposals Due
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August 28, 2026 Selection of Consultant
September 14, 2026 Council Approval to Award Contract
October 2026 Project Memorandum Submittal
November 2026 50% Plan Review
December 2026 90% Plan Review
February/March 2027 Advertise for Bids
March/April 2027 Receive Bids
July 2027 Start Construction
September 2027 Construction Completion
November 2027 Submittal of Record Drawings
PROPOSAL CONTENTS
The proposal shall be submitted in the following format broken into the sections identified
below. Proposals not following the specified format will not be reviewed. No additional sections
or appendices are allowed. The proposal will be submitted with a Qualifications Proposal and a
Cost Proposal in a separately sealed envelope. To be considered, hard copies of proposals must
arrive at the City on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. The
City will not accept proposals via email or facsimile transmission. The City reserves the right to
reject or to deduct evaluation points for late proposals.
Qualifications Proposal Contents
* Proposers shall include three (3) paper copies of the qualification proposal with the
submittal.
One (1) copy shall be unbound. The unbound copy may be secured with a binder
o
clip or other method that is easily removed for scanning.
* The qualifications proposal shall be limited to twelve (12) single-sided pages.
* Proposers may opt to include one (1) single-sided page 11" X 17" page if necessary for a
project layout, workplan or other graphical design.
* The separate cost proposal can be on an 11" X 17" page.
* Proposals that exceed the page limit will not be reviewed past page 12.
* Cover pages and or graphical dividers will not be considered as part of the page
limitations.
The proposal format shall be as follows:
1. Project Understanding
A brief restatement of the goals and objectives and the project tasks to demonstrate the
responder's review and understanding of the project. Consultant should identify key
project challenges and overall suggestions for how to address them.
2. Similar Project Experience
An outline of the responder's background and experience with similar projects, providing
concrete repair work and lighting design on roadways in urban areas.
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3. Personnel
Identify key personnel to conduct the project and detail their training and work
experience. Identify how personnel proposed for this project were involved with the
projects listed as experience. Identify a professional engineer registered in the State of
Minnesota who will oversee the overall project and be responsible for certifying the plans
and special provisions. Once the project is awarded, no change in key personnel assigned
to the project will be permitted without approval of the City. Note and address pre-
qualification requirements below in item 4.
4. Knowledge of Duluth Requirements and Pre-qualification
Include a brief description of the firm's knowledge and experience utilizing the City of
Duluth Engineering Guidelines and Construction Standards.
Lighting design must be performed by staff meeting prequalification 14.3 with the
Minnesota Department of Transportation (Roadway Lighting Design). The lighting
designer may be a subconsultant that prepares the lighting design plans and special
provisions. Proposers that do not include a lighting designer holding prequalification 14.3
will be disqualified for this project.
5. Work Plan and Scope of Work
Consultant shall include a detailed statement of the project scope of work and
demonstrate how the Consultant plans to organize and complete the work. This must
include a detailed work plan identifying the tasks to be accomplished and the budget
hours planned on each task and subtask. The work plan shall be prepared in
chart/spreadsheet format, including each proposed task and the number of hours for each
staff person on that task. The work plan shall be generally organized to match the
consultant's scope of work.
The work plan is expected to be a mirror of the cost proposal, with cost of
staff/phases/tasks removed. The work plan is used to evaluate the Consultant's
understanding of the effort involved in the preparation of this project.
6. Work Schedule
An anticipated work schedule shall also be provided. The work schedule shall identify all
key milestone dates.
7. References
Provide names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three (3) references
for whom the respondent has performed similar street and utility construction services.
References shall not include City of Duluth staff.
COST PROPOSAL CONTENTS
Provide one (1) unbound copy of the cost proposal in a separate sealed envelope, clearly marked
on the outside "Cost Proposal" along with the responder's official business name and address.
Terms of the proposal as stated must be valid for the project length of time.
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The consultant must include a not to exceed (NTE) total project cost, as well as subtotals for
design services, bidding, and any subconsultant fees. The cost proposal shall include all of the
following:
* A breakdown of the hours by task for each employee. This shall be in the same format as
the work plan in the Qualifications Proposal with the addition of costs.
* Hourly rates for each specific employee proposed (not general rates by category). These
rates should be organized to include all relevant overhead costs within a single rate for
staff.
* Identification of anticipated direct expenses and rates for miscellaneous charges such as
mileage and copies.
* Identification of any assumption made while developing this cost proposal.
* Identification of any cost information related to additional services or tasks. Include this
in the cost proposal but identify it as additional costs and do not make it part of the total
project cost.
* Proposals must be signed by an authorized official. If the official signs the Proposal
Cover Sheet attached as Appendix A, this requirement will be met.
* The Consultant must not include any cost information within the body of the RFP
qualification proposal response. Including cost information within the qualification
proposal will be grounds to disqualify the Consultant for consideration.
SELECTION
The proposals will be reviewed by City Staff. The intent of the selection process is to review
proposals and make an award based upon qualifications as described herein. A 100-point scale
will be used to create the final evaluation recommendations. The factors and weighting on which
proposals will be judged are:
Item Percent
1 Firm experience 10%
2 Personnel experience 15%
3 Work Plan and Schedule 25%
4 Project Understanding 25%
5 Project costs/fees 25%
Proposals will be evaluated on a best value basis with 75% qualifications and 25% cost
consideration. The review committee will not open the cost proposal until after the qualification
points have been awarded. Cost proposals will only be opened for the three top ranked firms. The
City anticipates that the evaluation and selection will be completed by August 28, 2026 and
official award of contract to be made at the City Council meeting scheduled for September 14,
2026.
SUBMITTAL DATE
Submit unbound original in an envelope marked, " 26-99619 RFP for Eng Svcs for Medical
District Lighting Improvements" by 3:00 PM CDT, August 25, 2026 to:
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Patrice Stalvig, Purchasing Agent
City of Duluth - Purchasing Department
411 W 1st Street, Room 120 City Hall
Duluth, MN 55802
Digital copies of proposals may be requested of proposers after proposal due date.
CONTACT
All questions concerning the project shall be directed to:
Joe Jurewicz, P.E., Senior Engineer
City of Duluth - Engineering Division
411 W 1st Street, Room 240 City Hall
Duluth, Minnesota 55802
jjurewicz@duluthmn.gov
(218) 730-5095
The deadline to submit questions is Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
LIMITATIONS
This Request for Proposal does not commit the City of Duluth to award a contract or pay costs
incurred in the preparation of the proposal, or to procure a contract for services or supplies.
The Proposal shall not in any way include any restrictions on the City of Duluth. The Consultant
shall NOT provide proposed contract language.
The City of Duluth specifically reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to
negotiate with any qualified source, to cancel in part or in its entirety the Request for Proposal, to
waive any requirements, to investigate the qualifications of any proposal, to obtain new
proposals, or proceed to have the service provided in any way as necessary to serve the best
interests of the City of Duluth.
The selected consultant must sign the City of Duluth Standard Professional Engineering Services
Agreement, a sample of which is available at https://duluthmn.gov/purchasing/forms/. Any
questions concerning this agreement should be asked PRIOR to proposal submittal. These
questions should be directed to Joe Jurewicz in the City Engineering Office.
All materials submitted in response to this RFP will become property of the City and will
become public record after the evaluation process is complete and an award decision made.
Prior to entering into an agreement with the City, the Consultant shall furnish proof that it has
met all legal requirements for transacting business in the State of Minnesota.
By submitting a proposal, each Bidder understands, represents, and acknowledges that:
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a. Their proposal has been developed by the Bidder independently and has been
submitted without collusion with and without agreement, understanding, or
planned common course of action with any other vendor or suppliers of materials,
supplies, equipment, or services described in the Request for Proposals, designed
to limit independent bidding or competition, and that the contents of the proposal
have not been communicated by the Bidder or its employees or agents to any
person not an employee or agent of the Bidder.
b. There is no conflict of interest. A conflict of interests exists if a Bidder has any
interest that would actually conflict, or has the appearance of conflicting, in any
manner or degree with the performance of work on the project. If there are
potential conflicts, identify the municipalities, developers, and other public or
private entities with whom your company is currently, or have been, employed
and which may be affected.
c. It is not currently under suspension or debarment by the State of Minesota, any
other state, or the federal government.
d. The company is either organized under Minnesota law or has a Certificate of
Authority from the Minnesota Secretary of State to do business in Minnesota, in
accordance with the requirements in M.S. 303.03
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City of Duluth
Supplementary Provisions for State and/or Federally Assisted Activities
1. Disbursements
(a) No money under this Contract shall be disbursed by the City to any Contractor unless the
Contractor is in compliance with the Federal Agency requirements with regard to accounting and
fiscal matters to the extent they are applicable.
(b) Unearned payments under this Contract may be suspended or terminated upon the Contractor's
refusal to accept any additional conditions that may be imposed by the Federal Agency at any
time; or if the grant, if applicable, to the City under which this Contract is made is suspended or
terminated.
2. Subcontracting Requirements
(a) The Contractor shall include in any subcontract the clauses set forth in these City of Duluth
Supplementary Provisions in their entirety and shall also include a clause requiring the
subcontractors to include these clauses in any lower tier subcontracts which they may enter into,
together with a clause requiring this insertion in any further subcontracts that may in turn be
made.
(b) The Contractor shall not subcontract any part of the work covered by this Contract or permit
subcontracted work to be further subcontracted without the City's prior written approval of the
subcontractors. The City will not approve any subcontractor for work covered by this Contract
who is at the time ineligible under the provisions of any applicable regulations issued by a Federal
Agency or the Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, to receive an award of such
subcontract.
3. Termination
For Cause: If the Contractor is in breach of the Contract, the City, by written notice to the Contractor,
may terminate the Contractor's right to proceed with the Work. Upon such termination, the City may take
over the Work and prosecute the same to completion, by contract or otherwise, and the Contractor and
its sureties shall be liable to the City for any additional cost incurred by the City in its completion of the
Work and they shall also be liable to the City for liquidated damages for any delay in the completion of the
Work as provided below. If the Contractor's right to proceed is terminated, the City may take possession
of and utilize in completing the Work such materials, tools, equipment, and plant as may be on the site of
the Work and necessary therefore.
For Insufficient Funds: City shall have the right to terminate this contract immediately without other
cause in the event that all or a portion of the funds that the City intends to use to fund its obligations
under the contract have their source with the State or Federal government or any agency thereof and said
source reduces or eliminates their obligation to provide some or all of the funds previously committed by
it to fund City's payment obligations under the Contract. The City agrees that termination hereunder will
not relieve the City of its obligation to pay Contractor for Work satisfactorily performed and reasonable
costs incurred prior to the effective date.
Without Cause: Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the City may terminate this Contract
at any time upon written notice given by the City (for any reason, including the convenience of the City) to
the Contractor at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of the termination of this Contract. The
City agrees that termination hereunder will not relieve the City of its obligation to pay Contractor for Work
satisfactorily performed and reasonable costs incurred prior to the effective date of the termination
provided that Contractor has not committed a breach of this Contract. Nothing contained in this section
Revised 06.04.2026 1