| Date of Meeting: | 9/23/2003 |
| Date Submitted: | 9/17/2003 |
| TO: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| FROM: | Parwez Alam, County Administrator Vincent S. Long, Assistant County Administrator Valerie J. Hubbard, Interim Planning Director |
| SUBJECT: | Approval
to Negotiate a Contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates for Conducting the
Lake Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study and Execute the Joint Project Agreement
with the Florida Department of Transportation. |
Statement of Issue:
This item seeks Board approval to negotiate
a contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates (KHA) for conducting the Lake
Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study, execute a Joint Project Agreement (JPA)
between the County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) (Attachment
#1) and amend the County budget to include the Lake Jackson Ecopassage project
(Attachment #2).
Background:
In 2002, Matt Aresco, a biology student from Florida State University,
made a presentation to the Board requesting that some action taken to preserve
wildlife along the North Monroe Street corridor in between Clara Kee Boulevard
and Old Bainbridge Road. An increasing number of animal deaths along this
corridor is a result of years of historic migratory routes being impeded
by the physical location of North Monroe Street (US 27).
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), will provide $100,000 to fund a Feasibility Study through a JPA with Leon County. Since the funds come from the Environmental Mitigation Fund at FDOT, the funds must be used for the Feasibility Study. The Tallahassee-Leon County Metropolitan Planning Organization staff has offered to manage the project for FDOT, since North Monroe Street (US 27) is a State of Florida road.
The project will study the existing conditions of not only animal, but vegetative habitats, hydrological conditions, and roadway conditions to provide recommendations for mitigative action. The types of mitigative action(s) that may result from the Lake Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study range from the construction of animal tunnels to a A wildlife wall@ (a wall that prevents animals from crawling over onto the road and attempting a crossing), or a combination of both. The study will provide options for moving forward with options through an Implementation Plan.
Analysis:
Consultant Selection
There were five firms that responded to the Request for Proposals (RFP), including Glatting-Jackson, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Kisinger-Campo and Associates, Post, Buckley Schuh and Jernigan, and WilsonMiller. The Consultant Selection Committee, consisting of Tom Ballentine (Senior Environmental Engineer), Clay Carithers (Environmental Review Supervisor), Melissa Hughes (Environmental Review Specialist), Jack Kostrzewa (Transportation Planning Manager), and Chris Meuhlemann (Director of Development Services), reviewed the proposals submitted by the five firms. The proposals were reviewed for Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) participation (Attachment #3), and by Purchasing for Local Preference (Attachment #4). The Consultant Selection Committee reviewed and ranked all five proposals and short-listed to four firms: Glatting-Jackson, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan (PBS&J), and WilsonMiller. The Selection Committee heard formal presentations from the four firms on August 21, 2003. The firms also responded to questions from the Selection Committee during the formal presentation.
Based on the proposals, presentations and the responses to questions, the Committee ranked the firms, on a 100- point scale, as follows:
#1 Kimley-Horn and Associates 83 points
#2 Glatting-Jackson 82 points
#3 Post, Buckley, Schuh, and Jernigan 79 points
#4 WilsonMiller 78 points
Joint Project Agreement
In order to move forward with this project, a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) needs to be executed to establish the terms and requirements of the funding from the Florida Department of Transportation Central Office. The Lake Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study will be a reimbursable project with an estimated completion date of January 2005. The JPA is shown as Attachment #1.
Resolution and Budget Amendment
In addition to negotiating the contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates, a resolution and budget amendment are required to ensure that a project account and code is established to charge against and be reimbursed from by the FDOT. The resolution and budget amendment is shown as Attachment #2.
Options:
1. Authorize staff to negotiate a contract
with Kimley-Horn and Associates, to conduct a corridor study for the Lake
Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study and authorize the Chairman to execute
the contract.
2. Authorize the Chairman to Execute the Joint Project Agreement between the Florida Department of Transportation and Leon County.
3. Approve the Resolution and Budget Amendment.
4. Board direction.
Recommendation:
Option #1, #2, and #3.
Attachments:
1. Joint Project Agreement between the Florida Department of Transportation and Leon County