Parks and Recreation Master Plan Request for Qualifications

INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMITTERS

PDF OF FULL RFQ INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDING EXHIBIT A

1.1 Pursuant to the authority granted to it under MCA 7-5-4301(2)(a)., the City of Kalispell seeks to procure a qualified professional service provider to provide the development of a Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update for the City of Kalispell.

1.2 The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00PM local time, February 20, 2025.

1.3 Questions pertaining to the selection process should be directed to Fred Bicha, at 406-758-7716 or For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. .

1.4 The City of Kalispell shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be in the form of an addendum, which will be furnished to all registered RFQ holders.

1.5 The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all 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.

1.6 A pre - submittal conference for the contract will be held at 15 Depot Park, Kalispell, MT on February 14, 2025, at 9:00AM.  City staff will discuss the scope of work, general contract issues, and respond to questions from the attendees. Because staff will not be available to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this pre - submittal conference, attendance at this pre - submittal conference is highly recommended.

1.7 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.

See Exhibit A. (See PDF attachment at beginning of page.)

3.1 The Professional Service Provider will be selected through a qualification - based selection process. Firms interested in providing 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.

3.2 Cover Letter (1 - page) containing at a minimum: Company name, contact name, address, fax number, and email address.

3.3 Qualifications Criteria

3.3.1 General Information

Description of company

Legal company organization; organization chart with names

List of applicable Montana licenses

3.3.2 Relevant Company Experience (20 points)

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 provides to 3-5 other jurisdictions and the length of time the services have been provided.

c. A minimum of three referrals and references from other municipalities or local governments.

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.

e. Applicant’s capacity and intent to proceed without delay if selected for this contract.

3.3.3 Company Qualifications (20 points)

a. Describe the company’s history in the industry.  Provide resumes of key personnel in Appendix A. List professional continuing education.

b. Briefly describe certifications and licensure held by the company in the state of Montana.

3.3.4 Contract Understanding and Approach (20 points)

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.

3.3.5 Approach to Contract Management (20 points)

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

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

c. Describe the firm’s experience in maintaining training and certifications of personnel.

3.3.6 Other Factors (20 points)

a. Current contracts and ability to proceed promptly.

b. Willingness to abide by the City’s needs and requirements with few or no objections or changes.

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

4.1 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.

4.2 Five copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, (PO Box 1997, 59903) Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00PM local time, February 20, 2025.

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

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

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

Adherence to maximum page requirements.

4.4 Adherence to the maximum page criteria is critical; 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.

5.1 A 5 - member 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 Short List firms will meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for interviews. The purpose of the interview 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 instruction by the City. Those firms not selected for further consideration will be notified.

5.2 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: February 14, 2025, 9:00AM MTN

SOQs due: February 20, 2025, 5:00PM MTN

Firms notified for interview: February 28, 2025, 5:00PM MTN

Interviews: March 11, 2025, or March 12, 2025

5.3 Following the interviews the Project Evaluation Committee will determine a ranking for each Short List firm based on the published criteria in 3.3 of this RFQ. Consideration will be given to both the written Statement of Qualifications and any oral presentations or interviews. No other factors or criteria will be used in the qualification ranking.

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

5.5 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.

5.6 The City will enter into 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.

5.7 The City will not reimburse any cost associated with the preparation, submittal, or presentation of any Statement of Qualification. Consultant design firms are advised that in accordance with Montana law, any information submitted may be subject to public inspection.

Publication Dates:       January 26, 2025

February 9, 2025