REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 22, 2018
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
THROUGH: DANIEL ZACK, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BY: RODNEY L. HORTON, Planner III
Development and Resource Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Award a contract to Community Design + Architecture, Inc., for consultant services for the City of Fresno’s Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Plan project in the amount of $168,000
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council award a contract for consultant services for the Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Plan project, and authorize the Director to enter into an agreement with Community Design + Architecture, Inc.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Council approval is requested to enter into an agreement with Community Design + Architecture, Inc. The City of Fresno (City) is a recipient of the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant award of $279,635 from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The goal of the Sustainable Transportation Planning program is to identify and address mobility deficiencies. The program encourages stakeholder collaboration, and robust community outreach and engagement.
The City applied for the grant in partnership with the Local Government Commission (LGC) and Fresno Metro Ministries (Metro). This partnership will continue into the project, with LGC and Metro providing leadership for community outreach, engagement, facilitation of design workshops, and assistance with project coordination.
BACKGROUND
On August 18, 2017, the Fresno City Council unanimously passed Resolution No. 2016-150 that authorized the City Manager or Designee to execute a grant agreement with Caltrans for the City’s Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Plan project. The agreement between the City and Caltrans was executed on April 24, 2017.
Since that time, staff has conducted a competitive RFP process to select a highly qualified consultant team to assess the Southern Blackstone Avenue study area existing physical conditions. The consultant team was scoped to be responsible for participating in the community outreach and engagement process, development and evaluation of design alternatives, and production of the final document. The RFP process is further described below, and a copy of the RFP is attached to the staff report.
Staff released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on January 8, 2018, with proposals due on February 9, 2018. Seven (7) proposals were submitted, and staff created a six-member interview team consisting of the following: a representative of LGC, Metro, two (2) representatives from the Development and Resource Management Department, a representative of the Fresno Council of Governments, and a representative of the Traffic Division of the Public Works Department. The interview team interviewed all seven (7) applicants on Thursday, February 22, 2018. After more discussion and additional review, staff recommends Community Design + Architecture, Inc. as the consultant team for the Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Plan project.
The roles and responsibilities for the project are as follows:
DARM is the lead applicant for the project. The City will provide staffing support to meet the 11.47 percent in-kind local match. Staff will coordinate with project partners and agencies, participate in community workshops, attend meetings, and provide data and policy documents, review consultant products, and direct revisions. City staff will prepare quarterly invoices and reports to Caltrans with support from LGC and Metro. Staff will also coordinate with LGC and Metro to help publicize the project and ensure public participation in all aspects of the community planning process.
As project partners, LGC and Metro will be responsible for all community outreach and engagement. Metro is a 45-year old Fresno based community-benefit organization, and functions as the staff and support agency for the Better Blackstone Association. LGC is a 35-year old highly regarded Sacramento based non-profit with extensive experience in coordinating and facilitating public participatory planning processes, land use and transportation planning, and design. Both Metro and LCG have multi-cultural and multi-lingual staff and long-term experience with effectively engaging disadvantaged and environmental justice community members in public planning processes.
Community Design + Architecture, Inc. will analyze and document corridor segments and Activity Center area baseline conditions, will actively engage in the public process of the community design events, develop design concepts and recommendations that respond to input from the community and implementing and overseeing agencies, and prepare the plan document.
Community Design + Architecture, Inc. is an Oakland-based urban design, planning, architecture, and landscape architecture firm with a focus on context-sensitive design of multi-modal streets and transit facilities, integrated transit facilities, transportation/land use integration, and mixed-use and pedestrian-friendly community design. The firm was founded by Phillip Erickson, AIA, in 1997, following his prior fifteen (15) years of practice with several planning, urban design, and architecture firms within the Bay Area. Joining with Community Design + Architecture will be VRPA Technologies, Inc. of Fresno, and Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. of Oakland.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The execution of this agreement does not meet the definition of a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because this project is using state funds.
FISCAL IMPACT
The General Fund will not be impacted due to the grant dollars from CALTRANS, and the City will provide 11.47 percent of staffing support as the in-kind local match.
Attachments:
RFP Southern Blackstone Ave Smart Mobility Plan
CD+A Proposal Southern Blackstone Smart Mobility Plan
CD+A Draft Agreement
List of Project Proposals