The Planning Department requests City Council to authorize the Director or his designee to accept this grant and to request and/or accept any amendments/modifications necessary to secure the City’s receipt of grant funds. Grant funds will reimburse the General Fund.
The Director of the Planning & Development Department (P&D) and City Purchasing Agent recommend that City Council approve an ordinance awarding a contract to Design Workshop, Inc., for strategic planning services.
The purpose of this contract is to provide expertise and assistance to the Planning and Development Department in creating a General Plan for the City of Houston. The General Plan will benefit Houston by doing the following:
• Improve coordination between departments and external agencies, resulting in potential cost savings and accelerated project delivery;
• Improve communication of City goals and plans to residents and elected officials;
• Provide a simple, easy-to-use tool to enable residents and elected officials to see the plans of various agencies, departments and other organizations affect their neighborhood;
• Evaluate and improve the City’s strategies for enhancing neighborhoods and managing Houston’s growth and development;
• Maximize the impacts of investments by leveraging partnerships in the most effective possible manner;
• Provide metrics to residents and elected officials regarding the achievement of City goals; and
• Ensure the City’s plans and projects are as effective as possible in achieving City objectives.
The General Plan will create a common framework for all City planning efforts. The Plan will identify a long-range City “vision” and assemble plans of both the City and other agencies into a simple, web-based tool. The Plan will also examine the City’s existing neighborhood enhancement and growth and development strategies, then recommend steps to improve these strategies. In order to ensure the Plan reflects the preferences of the community, the process to develop the Plan will incorporate significant opportunities for public engagement.
This contract will consist of eight (8) tasks, as follows:
Task Description
1 Kick-off Meeting
2 Stake Holder Engagement
3 Neighborhood Enhancement Strategies
4 Growth and Development Strategies
5 Performance Indicators
6 Implementation Strategies
7 Development Planning Coordination Tool
8 Develop General Plan Website
Tasks may be modified during the process, by change order if needed. The scope of work requires Design Workshop, Inc. to provide all personnel, management, supervision, labor, materials, equipment, parts, transportation and incidentals necessary to assist staff in developing the General Plan. Design Workshop, Inc. will be paid a total of $568,667.00 subject to the terms and conditions of the contract.
The Contract becomes effective on the Countersignature Date and is in effect for 1 year. The City Purchasing Agent may terminate this contract at any time upon 30 days written notice to the contractor.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) for these services was advertised in accordance with the requirements of the State of Texas bid laws. Fifteen (15) prospective proposers downloaded the solicitation document from SPD’s e-bidding website. Proposals were received from five (5) teams: The Berkeley Group, RMA, AECOM, The Design Workshop, Inc, and Charles Thomas. An evaluation committee consisted of evaluators from various departments. The committee evaluated the proposals based upon the following criteria:
1. Qualifications and experience
2. Qualifications and experience of key personnel
3. Proposed strategy and approach
4. Understanding of unique planning considerations
5. Ability to analyze large quantities of data and present relevant findings
6. Knowledge and understanding of formats for data, database systems and software
7. Graphic design skills
8. Availability
9. Price
The Design Workshop, Inc. team received the highest overall score. P&D believes that the Design Workshop, Inc. team is well qualified to perform the required services as outlined in the RFP.
Funding:
It is expected that $400,000 of Fund 1000 – General Fund will be reimbursed from one or more Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones/Redevelopment Authorities ($200,000) and from the acceptance of grant funds from private foundations ($200,000).
M/WBE Subcontracting:
This RFP was issued with a goal of 11% for the contract’s M/WBE participation level. The subject contract meets this goal. Design Workshop, Inc. has designated the below-named company as its certified MWBE subcontractor:
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Company
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Type of Work
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Amount
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Percentage
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The Black Sheep Agency
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Public outreach and marketing
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$62,553.37
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11%
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Pay or Play Program:
The proposed contract requires compliance with the City's 'Pay or Play' ordinance regarding health benefits for employees of City contractors. In this case, the contractor will provide health benefits to eligible employees in compliance with City policy.
Hire Houston First:
The proposed contract requires compliance with the City’s ‘Hire Houston First’ ordinance that promotes economic opportunity for Houston businesses and supports job creation. In this case, the proposed contractor meets the requirements of Hire Houston First.
Estimated Spending Authority
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Department
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FY15
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Out Years
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Total Amount
|
|
Planning & Development
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$568,667.00
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$0.00
|
$568,667.00
|
|
|
|
|
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