St. Albans Health Path
Request for Proposals
Municipal Scoping Study
Town of St. Albans, Vermont

Date Issued: January 4th, 2021                              Date Due: February 4, 2021 @ 2:00 p.m.

Contact person:  Corey Parent, Director of Operations, 802-524-7589 or c.parent@stalbanstown.com.  

All questions related to this request for proposal shall be addressed to this individual no later than January 31, 2021.

I.  INTRODUCTION

The Town of St. Albans is requesting proposals for production of a scoping study to identify alternatives, issues and costs and provide recommendations related to construction of a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian facility in St. Albans Town, funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration and the Town of St. Albans, through the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) Municipal Assistance Section (MAS).

II.  PROJECT DESCRIPTION 

The Town of St. Albans envisions the St. Albans Health Path being a vital addition to our community’s recreational infrastructure. We envision the path connecting the Collins Perley Sports Complex to the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail. Along its path it will connect with the Northwestern Medical Center’s campus and the Hard’ack recreational area where the City of St. Albans is constructing a new pool. We envision this path expanding pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in our southern growth center and catching the eye of everyone who exits off of I-89 on Exit 19.

The owner of the project is the Town and the sole authority for the Consultant during the project rests with the Town of St. Albans Selectboard.

Project development must follow the VTrans Municipal Assistance Section (MAS) process. Questions related to the MAS project development process can be answered by Christopher Hunt, VTrans Project Manager, Municipal Assistance Section, by phone at (802) 595-4556 or email at chris.hunt@vermont.gov.

All work will be accomplished in accordance with the following:

• MAS Guidebook for Municipally Managed Projects (found on the VTrans MAS website https://vtrans.vermont.gov/highway/local-projects ).
• MAS Scoping Process flow chart (found on the VTrans MAS website).
• Specifications for Contractor Services (found on the VTrans MAS website).

III.  SCOPE OF WORK

 In general, the scope of this project will consist of a planning process that identifies the needs of the St. Albans Health Path within a defined area taking into consideration the existing conditions.

The draft and final reports will include all elements of this RFP in a format outlined in section L below.

A.)  Project Kickoff Meeting

Meet with Town and State officials (VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Section staff or Transportation Alternatives Coordinator) and a local project steering committee (if applicable) to develop a clear understanding of the project goals, objectives, timelines and deliverables.

B.)  Compile Base Map/Document Existing Conditions

Compile a base map using available mapping including VT Digital Orthophotos, digital parcel maps for the Town (if available) and other natural resource-based GIS data available from the RPC or the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI). The compiled information must be displayed in an ArcView- compatible format. Display of typical sections and other engineering type drawings may be done with software other than ArcView. Existing conditions to be noted include presence of existing pedestrian/bike facilities, roadway widths, subsurface drainage and any other items the consultant feels are appropriate.  Additional items to be mapped may include natural resource constraints, utilities, historic and archaeological impacts, etc. Additionally, the consultant will collect traffic information such as the Average Daily Traffic, pedestrian and bicycle counts and available crash data.  The consultant may elect to undertake a topographic survey to map roadway widths more accurately, location of existing buildings, drainage facilities and any other features that may be critical to the design of the project.

C.)  Local Concerns Meeting

The consultant will organize and moderate a local concerns meeting with Town representatives and State officials (including the District Transportation Administrator, Permitting and Traffic Operations when on the State system.) This meeting is with the public to develop a clear understanding of the project goals, objectives and concerns. This meeting may be an opportunity to discuss any future maintenance issues or concerns with the proposed project. As an outcome of the local concerns meeting and the project kickoff meeting, the consultant will develop a Project Purpose and Need Statement for proposed improvements. The consultant will generate this statement based on local input and an understanding of existing conditions. Items that may be discussed (especially for shared use paths) are what different user groups are anticipated/desired (e.g. bicyclists, roller-bladers, snowmobiles in winter, etc.) and what surface type is desired.

D.)  Identify Land Use Context

The consultant will identify the existing and proposed land uses in the project area as well as the overall context of the area where the project is proposed (e.g. rural, suburban, village area, etc.) Based on existing land use patterns and potential connections to planned or existing pedestrian and/or bicycle facilities, the consultant will document predicted and existing pedestrian/bicycle travel patterns to gain an understanding of the best location for new sidewalks/bike facilities. The consultant shall discuss how the proposed project fits in with the overall bicycle or pedestrian network in the community.

E.)  Develop Conceptual Alternatives

In cooperation with the Town staff the consultant will be responsible for identifying potential alternatives for the proposed bicycle and/or pedestrian facilities utilizing the information compiled for the base plan, and site visit(s).

Conceptual alternatives should also include roadway crossing needs.  If a shared use path paralleling a road is proposed, the alternative of providing on-road accommodation for bicyclists should be discussed. If a proposed alignment includes off road (shared use path) and on road bike facilities, discuss how these transitions will be made. The consultant will also review the proposed alternatives to ensure that they meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines and other applicable State and Federal requirements.

If the proposed improvement covers a large distance and will likely be implemented in phases, the consultant shall make suggestions about how to break up the project into logical segments.  The consultant will develop typical sections for the different alternatives that show basic dimensions and, if applicable, where the facility is located within existing road rights of way and in relation to travel lanes, shoulders, existing building faces and other features.

Note that if proposed alternatives lie within State of Vermont rights-of-way, coordination with various sections of VTrans must take place. At a minimum, the District Transportation Administrator and the Permitting Services section (provide permits for work in State ROW) should be involved. Other possible sections are Traffic Operations Unit (crosswalks, signs, traffic signal warrants), Structures (bridges and culverts) and Highway Safety and Design (changes in lane configurations or turning lanes).

F.)  Identify Right-of-way Issues

Compile all right-of-way and abutting property ownership information along the proposed alignment of the project, including roadway and railroad where applicable. This information should identify public/private ownership and any existing easements or restrictions (e.g. Act 250 permits) on affected property. Map right-of-way information on the same base mapping as the existing conditions – Task B). If the project is located along a state highway and will cross existing commercial or residential driveways that are excessive in width, a discussion should be included of the impacts of modifying the driveway to meet current standards (access management).  The existing width of state highway right-of-way should be confirmed with the VTrans ROW section. ROW data for the state system can be requested by going to the following link –  http://tinyurl.com/qgv5jua.)

G.)  Identify Utility Conflicts

Identify and discuss all public and private underground and overhead utilities (water, sewer, fiber optics, electric, TV, cable, phone) in the project area.  Include a preliminary assessment of whether any relocations will be required.  Will the relocations occur outside of the existing Rights of Way? For underground utilities, an assessment should be made of whether they will be impacted by construction of the proposed improvements. The assessment should include identification of owners of potentially impacted utilities.

H.)  Identify Natural and Cultural Resource Impacts and Permitting Requirements

Identify natural and cultural resource impacts including wetlands, surface waters, floodplains, river corridors, lake shore lands, flora/fauna, endangered species, storm water, hazardous material sites, forest land, historic, archaeological and architectural resources, 4(f) and 6(f) public lands, and agricultural lands. Identify potential impacts on these resources and permitting requirements, including the potential for review under Act 250.

All environmental resource work shall be conducted by qualified professionals in that field (i.e. wetland reviews conducted by qualified wetland biologists, historic preservation reviews by historic preservation professionals, archaeological reviews by archaeologists, etc.), and should be well documented in the scoping report. Reviews can be completed with remote sensing, maps, archives, professional judgement and minimal field work, if any. More detailed analysis of reviews will be completed during design stages of the project. Project area should be depicted on a map. Environmental resource areas and impacts should also be delineated/illustrated/or otherwise described on the map.

Historic and Archaeological resources will be reviewed to determine potential direct and indirect impacts to those resources.  Consultants should identify a proposed Area of Potential Effects (APE) for both direct and indirect effects. For the Historic resources, the correct level of study for above-ground resources would be a survey that identifies properties in the APEs that are potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  For Archaeology, the correct level of effort is an Archaeological Resources Assessment (ARA) which involves no excavations, but identifies where and how much of a proposed project area has archaeologically sensitive land.  This is based on the Predictive Model developed by the SHPO office, historic maps such as Beers, Wallings, Sanborn for urban areas, Google imaging using the timeline feature to potential land changes over the years and the On-Line Resource Center (ORC) for professional archaeologists conducting work in Vermont. See link below.  Field visits may be required to verify any disturbance but at this preliminary level, a desk review may be sufficient to determine general sensitivity.  https://accd.vermont.gov/historic-preservation/identifying-resources/online-  research-center.

Because an alternative has not yet been selected, all Environmental Resource ID work shall include the general project area in which all proposed alternatives will take place. If alternatives are provided in the scoping report, then recommendations for the alternatives’ impact on environmental resources shall be stated in the scoping report, along with anticipated permit requirements.

When possible, documentation from appropriate state and federal agencies (e.g. Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Corps of Engineers) should be included to summarize the extent to which resources may or may not be impacted.  The consultant will identify any permits that will likely be needed for the project.

The Vermont ANR Natural Resource Atlas and BioFinder are web-based mapping tools which should be used to approximate natural resource features. The Atlas serves as a quick reference to help determine which resources, mentioned above, are possibly located within the project limits.  To aid in the in the review the following web applications should be viewed and referenced.

The Vermont Significant Wetland Inventory (VSWI) and Wetlands Advisory layers are good places to start to determine potential presence of wetlands although, all state significant wetlands are not mapped. The hydric soils mapping indicates additional areas where wetlands may be present. The actual boundaries and presence of wetlands must always be determined in the field by a professional wetland scientist.

The DEC Watershed Management Division has regional resource scientists who are available to help with project scoping and permitting requirements.  For instance, the floodplain managers can help evaluate river corridors and whether certain types of bike and pedestrian facilities meet the State river corridor performance standard, i.e., fit within these dynamic areas without the application and maintenance of river channelization practices.

I.)  Alternatives Presentation

 All of the proposed alternatives (including a mandatory “no build” alternative) will be evaluated in an alternatives matrix.  The matrix will include resource impacts, right of way impacts, utility impacts, ability to meet the project purpose and need, estimated cost and any other factors that will help the community evaluate the alternatives being considered. Taking into consideration previously gathered information, conduct a public informational meeting to present all the different alternatives that have been considered.  The outcome of this meeting should be an alternative selected by the community for further development.

J.)  Develop Preliminary Cost Estimates

K.)  Project Timeline

The consultant will provide a project development timeline that takes the project through the design, permitting and construction phases assuming the use of a combination of Federal and local funding. If necessary, the consultant will develop a project phasing plan for construction of the project over a multi-year period.

L.)  Report Production

Using information gathered from the activities outlined above and from the meetings with the Town, submit draft and final reports outlining the findings of the study. The draft report must be submitted to VTrans for comment prior to issuing a final report. A minimum of 3 weeks must be allowed for VTrans review of the draft report. A public informational meeting will be held to review the draft report before completion of the final report. The consultant shall follow the report format shown below and is expected to include all of the elements listed in this RFP.  It is expected that the local legislative body will endorse or decline the proposed project at this meeting.

Recommended Format for Final Scoping Report:

Purpose and Need of the Project
Project Area and Existing Conditions
Each Alternate Should Define:

• Right of Way Impacts
• Utility Impacts
• Natural & Cultural Resource Impacts
• Preliminary Project Cost Estimate
• Future Maintenance
• Public Involvement
• Compatibility with Planning Efforts
• Project Timeline
• Viability

IV.  STANDARDS AND DELIVERABLES

 A.)  All documents should be provided in both hard copy (paper) and digital format.  All hard copies of draft and final reports shall be printed on both sides (i.e. double-sided). Adobe .pdf format is required for the draft and final reports.

B.)  All data, databases, reports, programs and materials, in digital and hard copy format created under this project shall be transferred to the Town/City or RPC upon completion of the project and become the joint property of the Town/City or;

C.)  RPC and the State of Vermont when applicable.

D.) The consultant will provide one physical copy of the draft and final reports. One digital copy as an Adobe .pdf document of both the draft and final reports shall be sent to the VTrans project Supervisor / Manager and the Town.

V.  RESPONSE FORMAT

Responses to this RFP shall consist of:

A.) A technical proposal consisting of:

1. 1. A cover letter expressing the firm’s interest in working with the Town of Albans including identification of the principal individuals that will provide the requested services.
   2. A description of the general approach to be taken toward completion of the project, an explanation of any variances to the proposed scope of work as outlined in the RFP, and any insights into the project gained as a result of developing the proposal.
   3. A scope of work that includes detailed steps to be taken, including any products or deliverables resulting from each task.
   4. A summary of estimated labor hours by task that clearly identifies the project team members and the number of hours performed by each team member by task.
   5. A proposed schedule that indicates project milestones and overall time for completion.
   6. A list of individuals that will be committed to this project and their professional The names and qualifications of any sub-consultants shall be included in this list.
   7. Demonstration of success on similar projects, including a brief project description and a contact name and address for reference.
   8. A representative work sample similar to type of work being requested.

Please note that Items 1 – 5 should be limited to a total of 15 pages. Resumes, professional qualifications and work samples are not included in this total.

B.) A separate cost proposal consisting of:

1. 1. A composite schedule by task of direct labor hours, direct labor cost per class of labor, overhead rate, and fee for the project. If the use of sub- consultants is proposed, a separate schedule must be provided for each.

VI.  CONSULTANT SELECTION

The Selection Committee is made up of Corey Parent, Director of Operations, Emmalee Cherington, Stormwater Coordinator, Alan Mashtare, Director of Public Works. The Selection Committee will make a recommendation to the MAS Project Manager and the Town Selectboard to award a contract.

The proposal will be evaluated considering the following weighted criteria:

Once the Technical Proposals are discussed and ranked, the cost proposals will then be opened and reviewed for consistency with, and in light of, the evaluation of the Technical

Proposals. The selection committee may elect to interview consultants prior to final selection. The Town of St. Albans reserves the right to seek clarification of any proposal submitted and to select the proposal considered to best promote the public interest.

The proposals will be evaluated and awarded based on the personnel presented in the Technical Proposal. Should the awarded consultant propose any substitutions to the project personnel they must submit a letter to the Municipality requesting approval of such a change. This change will also need to be approved by VTrans.

The committee will select the consultant on or about February 25th to perform the services outlined in the scope of work. The rates that are proposed will be in effect for the complete term of the contract. Also, at that time, a notice of intent to issue the contract to the selected proposer will be mailed to all parties who submitted a proposal.

VII.  SUBMISSIONS

Consultants interested in this project should submit their proposal to Jennifer Gray,  j.gray@stalbanstown.com and Corey Parent, c.parent@stalbanstown.com.

Submit as an electronic submission via e-mail with the technical and cost proposals submitted as two separate files, clearly marked as such, including the project name. Please inform the Contact Person prior to submission to avoid proposal being relegated to their spam or junk email files.

Proposals and/or modifications received after the date and time due will not be accepted or reviewed. No facsimile - machine transmitted proposals will be accepted.

All proposals, upon submission, become the property of the Town of St. Albans. The cost of preparing, submitting and presenting is the sole expense of the firm. The Town of St. Albans reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of this solicitation, to negotiate with any qualified source, or cancel this RFP in part or in its entirety, if it is in the best interest of the Town. This Request for Proposals in no way obligates the Town of St. Albans to award a contract.

VIII.  CONTRACTING

The Consultant, prior to being awarded a contract, shall apply for registration with the Vermont Secretary of State's Office to do business in the State of Vermont, if not already so registered. The registration form may be obtained from the Vermont Secretary of State, 128 State Street Montpelier, VT 05633-1101, PH: 802-828-2363, Toll-free: 800-439-8683; Vermont Relay Service – 711; web site:  https://www.vtsosonline.com/online.

The contract will not be executed until the Consultant is registered with the Secretary of State's Office. The successful Consultant will be expected to execute sub-agreements for each sub-consultant named in the proposal upon award of this contract.

The Consultant’s attention is directed to the VTrans’ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Policy Requirements. These requirements outline the State’s and the consultant’s responsibility with regard to the utilization of DBEs for the work covered in the RFP. It is expected that all consultants will make good faith efforts to solicit DBE sub-consultants.

If the award of the contract aggrieves any firms, they may appeal in writing to the Town of St. Albans Selectboard, PO Box 37, St. Albans Bay, VT 05481. The appeal must be post-marked within seven (7) calendar days following the date of written notice to award the contract. Any decision of the Town Selectboard is final.

Prior to beginning any work, the Consultant shall obtain Insurance Coverage in accordance with the Specifications for Contractor Services located in the Municipal Assistance Section website. Certificate of insurance coverage shall be documented on forms acceptable to the Town.