Primary Comprehensive Planning Consultant
The initial comprehensive master plan for the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish was completed in approximately 1957. Although enjoying a significant degree of early success, it would have required frequent amendments that did not occur in order to adequately respond to the community's changes. In addition, there are potential or inevitable changes on the community's horizon that require a completely new response and plan for Shreveport. Not only has the community changed, but these changes have perhaps brought about less than desirable consequences, such as the growth of suburban communities spawning congestion, stressed infrastructure, and unsustainable land use patterns. Older urban communities, on the other hand, have lost jobs, population, recognition, and political strength. As a result, the ideas and desires of these communities have been overlooked altogether, or given very little credence at best. However unintended, these neighborhoods and older communities have been largely excluded and denied meaningful participation in any broad process.
As documented most recently in the 2008 Community Counts study published by the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier, our local citizens as a group are not nearly as engaged as they perhaps should be. This presents a most daunting challenge to the current efforts of the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission of Caddo Parish to craft and maintain a continuously current comprehensive master plan for the community. Perhaps even more significant, the statistics contained within that study indicate that a major source of this lack of involvement is a feeling of disenfranchisement. The survey found that 32 percent of citizens felt people did not have an equal opportunity to participate in community decisions, and 26 percent said the government was not accountable to citizens. Yet at the same time, there is currently both broad-based and political support for a current and meaningful comprehensive master plan to help guide the future of the community.
Plans that do not directly address this challenge could not completely reflect the goals, desires and aspirations of the community at large and would therefore lack the political backing necessary for meaningful implementation, progress, or even responsive amendments. For this reason, the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission of Caddo Parish has prepared this solicitation to initiate a qualification-based process to select a primary planning consultant to lead and coordinate an effort which addresses these historic difficulties and results in an efficient and effective process and ultimately, a current comprehensive master plan that reflects the values of the entire community. A number of reasonably recent essays prepared by the staff that generally discuss historic and potentially current impediments to the process will be provided upon request.
The Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission of Caddo Parish will provide a project manager, who along with citizen based committees of some form and representatives of the Planning Commission itself will conduct all current and future consultant selection in addition to providing insight, recommend funding levels and sources, monitor progress and provide continuous performance evaluation. While it is not viewed as necessary or even desirable to attempt to predetermine all areas of expertise that will ultimately be required, it is fairly clear from staff compiled public input and existing study data that the following general areas and specific issues will be significant and should be addressed in at least some manner in the initial response.
Environmental concerns / resource conservation (infrastructure and growth management, wetlands and open space preservation, transportation mode options, drainage and water resources - particularly in rural areas, etc.)
Housing (affordable housing, alternative housing forms, rural and urban density, the relationship of various supporting commercial uses, etc.)
Economic development (generally as well as it specifically relates to its impact on physical development)
Education (as it relates to the neighborhoods that the various facilities serve and economic development strategies whose success ultimately depend on the quality and variety of that service)
Neighborhood planning and / or revitalization (including both vital and blighted inner-city neighborhoods that are not currently viable)
While a separate RFP (request for proposal) is being issued simultaneously to pre-determine the combined specific and effective public engagement strategies and methods that will be necessary for an effective outcome, there is nothing that should be implied to preclude a single firm or team of consultants from pursuing both roles. Outreach and engagement support (marketing and branding) will be provided, but coordinated under the direction of the selected consultant team. That support will be provided through a qualification based selection process that will be concluded prior to the selection of any other consultant. In addition, a brief profile describing the historic development of the community and its current demographic profile will be commissioned and available to the consultant team very early in the process. All recent demographic and relevant data from other studies will be compiled by the staff and provided to the successful consultant team. Moreover, a local demographic support consultant will be available to the consultant team at no cost. GIS services, including but not limited to neighborhood mapping (already completed) will be provided to the consultant as requested.
Except as contained herein, there are no specific or formal submittal requirements for responses, which should be received no later than 3:00 P.M. on September 26, 2008 at the following address:
Attn: Diane Tullos
Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission of Caddo Parish
505 Travis Street, Suite 440
Shreveport, LA 71101
However, it is expected that the following information will be included in some manner: 1) primary contact information for the firm; 2) the form of ownership structure and all key principals, officers or directors; 3) a statement of the qualifications of both the firm and all key personnel intended to perform services; 4) a brief explanation of the capacity of the firm and the availability of key personnel; and 5) a list of relevant projects and clients who may be contacted for references. The intended schedule is rather ambitious and will require significant capacity. In addition, it is anticipated that an unknown number of neighborhood or district specific efforts will be conducted simultaneously. If it is the intent of the proposal to associate with or engage local firms, individuals or other third-party entities to supplement capacity or increase efficiency, it should be clearly stated in some manner in the response. Moreover it would be necessary to include such information as described above for all associated firms or individuals in order to evaluate the overall qualifications and capacity of the submitting entity.
It is anticipated that the form of compensation to be included in the executed contract will be based on a fixed formula for professional time and expenses. As such the response should include some description of expected profit and overhead rates and the level of compensation for each category of personnel that the successful candidate might employ. It is understood that some equitable and mutually agreeable method of escalation will be employed for work beyond the initial term of the agreement.
As an agency that serves both the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish, the contract to be executed will require insurance and/or indemnifications that meet the minimum requirements for both of those governmental entities. A copy of those requirements will be provided upon request. The City of Shreveport also maintains a policy of providing and ensuring contracting opportunities for small and economically disadvantaged businesses (Fair Share). While it is not anticipated that each individual contract will require a specific level of participation, it is intended that the sum of all contract services performed in association with the comprehensive master plan effort meet the desired goal. As such, a firm's ability to help meet this goal either directly or through the association of third parties is relevant information that should be included in the response.
Requests for clarifications or additional information should be directed to Roy Jambor, AICP at 318-673-6464. For more information: http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/dept/mpc/masterplandocs/RFQ%20-%20Primary%20Planning%20Consultant.pdf
