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Home My WebLink AboutIR 0681INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0681 ypAT&Jpt. i rFrn 1075 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 18, 2023 Page 1 of 4 SUBJECT: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SELECTION PROCESS Property Management's Architectural Services Division strives to obtain the proper design team for each project based on the needs and wants of the sponsoring department, while staying in compliance with state law and City of Fort Worth policies. Each major project requiring design fees more than $100,000 is assigned to one of three PMD Project Managers (PMs) to conduct the selection process. Currently, all three of the City's PMs are registered architects. Each PM has past experience working in private practice design firms, and each has served in this role with the City of Fort Worth for over 10 years. Request for Qualifications: When it is time to select a design team (architects, engineers and/or specialty consultants), the PM will meet with the sponsoring department (end users) to define the project goals and discuss what are the most important qualifications needed for the project. State law requires this selection to be based on qualifications, so a "Request for Qualifications" (RFQ) is prepared which reflects the requirements of State Laws, City of Fort Worth polices, sponsoring department needs. This RFQ contains a significant amount of information and is the same project to project (i.e. format, page limit and submission requirements). However, the portion that spells out the desired qualifications and scoring categories is unique to each RFQ. This section in the RFQ notifies interested teams how the City will be evaluating the "Statements of Qualifications" (SOQ). The RFQ also includes a link to an online site where additional information can be accessed. The City publishes the Request for Qualifications in the Fort Worth Star -Telegram and on the City of Fort Worth's purchasing website. A "courtesy email" is also sent by the Senior Capital Improvement Officer to people who have been requested to be notified. The courtesy email list includes architectural firms, chambers of commerce, and other interested parties. The submission date for the Statements of Qualifications is a minimum of 28 days after publishing in the Fort Worth Star -Telegram. If the submission date falls during holidays, a longer period is allowed. A "Pre -Proposal Meeting" is held at the project site or in City offices for interested design teams to ask questions and see the project site. Any questions answered during this meeting, along with a sign -in sheet, and all additional information is published in a "Addendum". At this meeting we encourage teams to organize their SOQs in line with of the criteria published in the RFQ. Attendance at this meeting is not required. Creating a Short List: Fort Worth has many talented and skilled architectural firms. Some of our projects attract the attention of national firms as well. Typically, we receive 6 to 20 proposals from design teams. Having so many good choices can make the selection process difficult. However, we make this process as objective as possible and we use a two-step method. The first step is to review the Statements of Qualifications and create a short list. The second step is to conduct interviews to select a design team, to recommend to City Council for the award of a contract. The Project Manager (PM) establishes a selection team of 5 to 7 people associated with the project. The PMD's Senior Capital Project Officer (who supervises the Project Managers) presides at the selection meeting and acts as a ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0681 ypAT&Jpt. i r rn 11973 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 18, 2023 Page 2 of 4 SUBJECT: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SELECTION PROCESS non -scoring moderator. The end users provide two to three voting members. The PM and a Construction Inspector represent PMD. The Diversity and Inclusion Department (DVIN) also provides a representative to observe and comment during the selection process. When the Statements of Qualifications are received, they are provided to the members of the selection team along with a score sheet, which reflects the criteria included in the RFP. This meeting is held in person, at least a week after the due date. This allows the voting members to review the SOQs and better prepare their thoughts for meaningful discussions during the evaluation meeting. The Diversity and Inclusion Department reviews the submissions for compliance with the City's MWBE Ordinance during this period. SOQ's which comply with the ordinance are reviewed and scored in the short -listing meeting. During the short -listing meeting the selection team reviews one category at a time, discussing and comparing each firm. For Example, if the City asked for experience with "similar scale municipal library projects", the members discuss who is the strongest in the category and why. Once this is established, the discussion turns to who had the weakest response and why. When the highest and lowest scores are established, the team discusses each of the other firm's qualifications and score them appropriately. This allows time for fair consideration for each firm, with respect to each specific category. Everyone on the selection team is given an opportunity to express their thoughts and to be considered. This process assures that the group achieves agreement and establishes a consensus score. This process is repeated for each of the other scoring criteria. Although PMD staff and a few departments have done several of these selections, not all end users have been through the process. For this reason, it is important that the SOQs presented by design teams be clear and concise and responsive to the RFQ. If the response to the RFQ does not clearly provide the requested information, lower scores result. Once all categories have been individually scored, totals are established and the selection team looks for a "natural break" in the scores to create a short list of three or four design teams to interview. At the end of the short -listing evaluation, an email is sent to all the design teams that submitted qualifications to thank them for their participation in the process. They are provided information on who submitted, who was short listed and that once interviews are completed a recommendation will be sent to council for approval. A second email is then sent to the short-listed firms that informs them that they have been selected for interview and provides the time and date for their presentation. Conducting Interviews: With a short-list created, interviews are scheduled a few weeks later. This allows the design teams time to adjust their schedules and prepare. The interviews are all scheduled for the same day, about 1-1/2 hours apart. These interviews last about an hour. Design teams are asked to present their qualifications in the first half of the meeting, and allow time for questions and discussion in the second half. This allows the ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0681 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 18, 2023 Page 3 of 4 SUBJECT: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SELECTION PROCESS selection team to better understand the qualifications presented in the SOQ. The interviews are closed by asking the design team if they have any questions for the City. Team members take notes and make a first attempt at scoring during the interviews and before the start of the next interview. Once all the interviews are complete, the moderator guides the team though a scoring exercise similar to the short -listing exercise to arrive at a consensus and a recommendation to City Council. Contract Negotiations and Recommendation: The Project Manager will reach out to the chosen design team and ask for a scope of services and a fee. When these negotiations are resolved, a recommendation to award an Architectural Services Contract is made to the City Council through the M&C process. With City Council Approval, a contract is executed and notice to proceed with the work is provided. An email is then sent to all the design teams that submitted qualifications, thanking them for their participation in the process. We tell them at this time who was short listed, but not who was recommended. We also tell them that once the recommendation is approved by Council we can offer a debrief. This is done to keep the design teams informed and to allow the Council Members to learn of the recommendation through the M&C process. Designing to Budget: Design teams are asked to design to the project budget. This requires the designer to provide cost estimating at each phase of the design. Frequently we have a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contractor selected after the schematic design phase and the contractor assist with estimating. If the construction cost exceeds our budget when actual bids are obtained, the architect or architect and CMAR are required to redesign and get the project's scope to align with the budget. Selected Firms: The City has a thorough, objective process to select the best design team for each project. PMD works with the end users to conduct this established and deliberate selection process. The results are illustrated in the variety of highly qualified firms selected for the 34 major projects, during the time of the last three bond programs. In the course of these selections, the City saw over 109 unique design teams submit a total of 315 proposals. This was an average of 9 submissions per project. Of these 109 firms, 45 teams applied multiple times. The City selected 21 different design teams, or design build teams, for these 34 projects. There are a few design teams that have received multiple projects. This reflects their skills and expertise with a particular type of project, or in the case of fire stations, design of prototype facilities. Many different talented design and design build teams have been selected to meet the various needs of the City. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0681 ypAT&Jpt. i r rn 11973 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 18, 2023 Page 4 of 4 SUBJECT: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SELECTION PROCESS # Year Project 1 2023 Far Northwest Library 2 2023 Fire Station 16 3 2023 Fire Station 26 4 2023 Fire Station 37 5 2022 Forest Park Pool 6 2022 Stop Six Pool & Hub Community Center 7 2022 FWCC Expansion 8 2021 Future City Hall 9 2021 Sycamore Community Center 10 2021 Far Southwest Library 11 2020 Northside Community Center 12 2020 13 2019 14 2019 15 2019 16 2018 17 2018 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 2018 2018 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2013 2012 Diamond Hill Community Center Northwest Community Center South Patrol Division Rockwood Clubhouse and Maintenance Facility Eugene McCray Community Center Expansion Handley-Meadowbrook Community Center Expansion Fire Station 45 Fire Station 43 Como Community Center Eastside Library (Reby Cary) North Animal Care and Shelter Facility Park Maintenance Facility Sixth Patrol Division (North Patrol Division) Far North Library (Golden Triangle) Municipal Court Facility Renovation Silcox Animal Care and Control Facility Fire Station 42 Holly Service Center Victory Forest Community Center North Service Center Evans Rosedale Community Center Meacham Terminal Building Designer H KS Komatsu Architects Komatsu Architects RPGA Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects Harrison Kornberg Architects TVs Design (with Bennett Partners) BOKA Powell Elements of Architecture H KS Muckleroy & Falls, Elements of Architecture (Design Build) GFF Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects Callahan & Freeman RJM Contractors, Elements of Architecture (Design Build) GSBS Architects GSBS Architects RPGA RPGA H KS KAI Enterprises PGAL Quorum FPI Builders, GFF Architects (Design Build) Perkins & Will Architects Art Weinman Quorum RPGA O'Connor Architecture RPGA Quorum Komatsu Architects Hahnfeld Hoffer & Stanford Home Office Dallas Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Dallas Houston Atlanta Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Project Office Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Dallas Dallas Atlanta Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Dallas Kennedale Kennedale Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Dallas Saint Louis Houston Fort Worth Dallas Chicago Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Irving Addison Fort Worth Fort Worth Dallas Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth For any questions, please contact Steve Cooke, Property Management Director, or Brian Glass, Assistant Director. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS