RFQ for Architectural and Engineering Services for a new Fire Station

Pursuant to the authority granted under MCA Title 7, Chapter 5, Part 43, the City of Kalispell seeks to procure a qualified professional service provider to provide architectural and engineering design services to support the planning, design, and construction of a new fire station (Kalispell Fire Station 63).

Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901 (Mailing Address PO Box 1997, Kalispell, MT 59903 no later than 3:00 PM Mountain Time, March 18, 2026.

General questions regarding this RFQ shall be directed to:

• Fire Chief Jay Hagen

• (406) 758-7761

• For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address.

The City shall not be responsible for oral instructions.

Any changes to this RFQ will be issued in the form of written addenda.

The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all Statements Of Qualifications (SOQs), to waive any informality or irregularity in any SOQ received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the respective SOQs received.

• A non-mandatory pre-submittal conference will be held:

o March 4, 2026, at 1:00 PM

o 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, MT, Council Chambers

• City staff will review the project scope and respond to questions. Attendance is strongly recommended.

The Service Provider will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of services required and thereafter the City will negotiate the services agreement with what it deems to be the most qualified company.

After being selected, the Professional Service Provider will execute a services agreement with the City to provide the scope of work set forth below.  The Professional Service Provider and the City shall negotiate the exact scope of practice after selection.

The City plans to site, design, and construct a new fire station located at 490 Mountain Vista Way in Kalispell, MT. This project supports the City’s initiative to maintain and improve emergency response service levels for the Kalispell community. The project is levy funded, and the final construction budget will be established during the design phase.

The selected consultant will enter into a contract with the City of Kalispell to provide design, bidding, and construction-related services for the new station. The City has established design and construction standards and prioritizes function over form. Service providers are encouraged to bring forward innovative value engineering solutions and continuous improvement ideas based on their experience and professional expertise.

Construction is anticipated to begin mid-to-late 2026 and conclude in Fall 2027.

The City anticipates the new station will support the following but not limited to operational needs, including but not limited to:

• Three full-length drive-through apparatus bays

• Kitchen, dining, and dayroom areas

• Semi-commercial kitchen for 5–8 staff

• Individual sleeping rooms

• Toilet and shower facilities

• Fitness and training room

• EMS supply and operational storage

• Personal protective equipment storage

• Decontamination and cleaning areas

• Secure access and alerting systems

• Hot/warm/cold zone separation with airlocks

• Diesel exhaust removal system

• Redundant HVAC and air filtration

• Emergency generator

• Energy-efficient design

• ADA compliance

• Seismic resilience

Additional design considerations include:

• Direct line-of-sight response paths from living areas to apparatus bays

• Noise and light mitigation in sleeping and living area Durable, low-maintenance, and easy-to-clean materials

• Open, efficient, and functional layouts

• Long-term maintainability (50+ year service life)

• Adaptability to accommodate future operational needs.

The selected consultant shall provide full architectural and engineering services including:

• Programming & Conceptual Design: Stakeholder engagement, site planning, and conceptual layouts.

• Schematic & Design Development: Refinement of plans, preliminary specifications, and cost estimates.

• Construction Documents: Preparation of drawings, specifications, and permitting support.

• Bidding Assistance: Support during solicitation and contractor selection.

• Construction Administration: Submittal reviews, daily construcion inspection, pay applications, and closeout.

• Cost Estimating & Value Engineering: Life-cycle cost analysis and value engineering recommendations.

• Instruments of Service: All work products shall become property of the City. Electronic builds shall be provided in a mutually acceptable format.

• Personnel Availability: Key personnel must be available throughout the project. Substitutions require City approval.

The Professional Service Provider will be selected through a qualification-based selection process. Firms interested in providing the requested scope of services to the City of Kalispell must submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) that addresses the following evaluation criteria. Applicants are encouraged to organize their submissions in such a way as to follow the general evaluation criteria listed below. Information included within the SOQ may be used to evaluate your firm as part of any criteria regardless of where that information is found within the SOQ. Information obtained from the SOQ and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and selection process.

Cover letter shall include at a minimum the Company name, contact name, address, fax number, and email address.

3.3 Qualifications Criteria

3.3.1 General Information

a. Description of company

b. Legal company organization; organization chart with names

c. List of applicable Montana licenses

a. Applicant’s overall reputation, service capabilities, and quality as it relates to this service agreement.

b. List and briefly describe the professional services the company provided to 3 other municipalities or local government agency for similar projects, along with referrals and references.

c. List and briefly describe the professional services the company has performed under the General Contractor Construction Manager (GCCM) alternative project delivery method, including relevant project experience

d. List and describe any litigation; arbitration; claims filed by your firm against any other jurisdiction as a result of a contract dispute; any contract or negligence claims filed against your company; premature termination from a services agreement.

a. Describe the company’s history in the industry.

b. Provide organizational flowchart of key personnel that will be working on the project, their relevant experience and resumes. Resumes can be placed in Appendix A and don’t count toward the page total.

c. Briefly describe certifications and licensures held by the company in the state of Montana.

a. Describe your understanding of the current needs of the City of Kalispell for the professional services being requested.

b. Identify and discuss any potential difficult issues your company may face in providing services within Flathead County.

c. Identify and discuss methods to mitigate these difficulties.

a. Describe your company’s approach in initiating and establishing the service that meets the needs and requirements of the City.

b. Describe systems used for planning, scheduling, estimating and managing manpower requirements.

a. Provide current contracts and availability to proceed without delay if selected for this contract.

b. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service.

The SOQ shall include a one-page cover letter plus a maximum of fifteen (15) pages to address the SOQ criteria specified in Section 3 (excluding resumes). Table of Contents and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count.

Five copies of the Proposal must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, 59901 (Mailing Address: PO Box 1997, Kalispell, MT 59903)  by 3:00 pm local time on March 18, 2026.

Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualification:

• Receipt of submittal by the specific cut-off date and time.

• The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified.

• Adherence to maximum page requirements. Each page side (maximum 8 1/2” x 11”) with criteria information will be counted. Pages that have photos, charts and graphs will be counted towards the maximum number of pages.

A Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) according to the above criteria, as well as past performance evaluations, and select up to three finalists that will be Short Listed for the contract.

The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the short list and select the top qualified firm. If more information is required to select the top qualified firm, a short list of firms will meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for interviews.

The purpose of the interview (if required) will be to expand on the information provided in the SOQ, not to repeat information already provided.

Those firms selected for the Short List will be provided additional instructions by the City. Those firms not selected for further consideration will be notified.

The following tentative schedule has been prepared for this project. Firms interested in this project must be available on the interview meeting date.

• Pre-submittal conference: March 4, 2026, at 1:00 pm - City Hall Council Chambers, 201 First Ave E, Kalispell, Montana

• Proposals due: March 18, 2026, at 3:00 PM local time

• Firms notified for interview: if necessary, by April 1, 2026, at 1:00 pm

• Interviews (If necessary) : April 8, 2026, at 9:00 am

The highest ranked firm will be recommended to the City Manager and City Council for contract award.

Requests for debriefings or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the City. All information submitted by firms and related Project Evaluation Committee evaluations and rankings shall be considered confidential until after contract execution and award by the City Council.

The City will enter negotiations with the selected firm and execute a contract upon completion of negotiations for the professional services for City Council approval. If the City is unsuccessful in negotiating a contract with the highest ranked team, the City may then negotiate with the second or third highest ranked team until a contract is executed or may decide to terminate the selection process.

Publish: February 22, 2026
March 1, 2026