Questions regarding the current RFQ were submitted by August 12, 2020. As prospective consultants prepare their proposals, please keep these questions and answers in mind. As a reminder, qualifications will be accepted by the CCP, 433 Prospect Ave, Newport, TN 37821 until Tuesday, September 1st at 2:00 PM EDT. You can find the entire RFQ here.
1. Is the consultant going to be responsible for NEPA and cultural resource documentation or is this a task that will be undertaken by Agency staff with the consultant interacting collaboratively with those resource managers to address concerns, sensitive occurrences, etc. for the final Master Plan? The Partnership, along with the contracted ARC administrative consultant, can assist with providing available resources, information, agency contacts, etc. in order to assist the consultant, but these tasks will ultimately be the responsibility of the selected consultant to complete.
2. Is there a projected timeline desired for the Cost/Benefit and Market Analysis, and is a particular documentation expected, as is desired with the Preliminary Engineering Report? The Cost/Benefit and Market Analysis should be completed no later than September of 2021. The intent and plan for documentation of Cost/Benefit and Market Analysis should be described as part of Cover Letter. The Partnership, along with the contracted ARC administrative consultant will be available to assist the selected Firm in ironing out the details of this documentation once the project is underway.
3. Will the scoring/ranking criteria for the RFQ responses be made available prior to submittal? The scoring criteria will not be made available prior to the submittal date, however, past experience with similar projects, key personnel, and the project approach to be detailed in the cover letter will carry significant weight.
4. Is there a page limit for the qualifications responses? Similarly, is there a desired or maximum number similar projects undertaken in the last five years? There is no page limit on qualification responses or desired/maximum number of similar projects undertaken in the last five years. Previous plans and/or studies of similar scope should illustrate team experience and qualifications of key personnel.
5. How many stakeholder/public meetings are needed per the grant requirements? The total number of stakeholder/public meetings must be sufficient to support the project team to effectively carry out the planning and design process. Public engagement strategies should be illustrated by previous experience and described as part of Cover Letter.
6. Do resumes have to be in the appendix or can they be adjacent to the firm profile? Either way is fine.
7. Can the leaders of each task have a resume placed and then the additional staff in the appendix? That would be fine.
8. What dates do you anticipate the shortlist interviews? Shortlist interviews are anticipated in Sept. No dates have been set at this time.
9. If between now and September 1 the pandemic causes stay at home orders, will you accept digital submissions on the 1st by 2pm or do you prefer the printed booklets no matter the situation? Digital submissions would be acceptable given stay at home orders related to the pandemic.