Agenda - Council - 02/12/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session 4. 8. Meeting Date: 02/12/2013 Submitted For: Kurt Ulrich By: Jo Thieling, Administrative Services Information Title: Approve Proposal From Elwyn Tinklenberg re Legislative Consulting Services Background: Staff has received a proposal from Elwyn Tinklenberg of The Tlnklenberg Group for a consulting services for services related to the pursuit of funding for the Trunk Highway 10 and Armstrong Boulevard Interchange (see attached proposal). This proposal has been modified since the discussion at the work session on February 5 to reflect the greater role the County will play in seeking federal funding, and the need to emphasize efforts to secure state funding during the next four -months. Correspondingly, the fee has been reduced from $30,000 to $25,000. Over the last several years, Ramsey has contracted with the Tinklenberg Group for federal assistance on rail and highway transportation projects in the following amounts: 2009: $37,047.03 2010: $68,947.78 2011: $23,547.30 Observations/Alternatives: The proposed work elements of the contract include federal, state, and local community efforts associated with securing funding for the Armstrong project. The contract term is proposed to run to the end of the legislative session. The proposed fee for the scope of work is $25,000. The City has the options of not hiring a consultant to do this work, hiring the Tinklenberg Group under this or a modified proposal, or seeking another consultant. The City could attempt to perform this work with existing staff and Council Members. This option is not recommended at this time due to limited staff capacity to perform these efforts in a focused fashion. This is the City's highest transportation priority and this contract would fully support that effort. Even with the contract, the City will need to contribute significant staff resources, and work with the County staff and consultants, as well as private property interests to ensure success of these efforts. Based upon discussion, the contract may be modified to reduce the scope of services (and cost) if the Council wishes to see a reduced consultant effort. The City has had an on -going relationship with this consultant and would recommend that their services be engaged as proposed. Alternative consultants would not be as immediately effective nor timely in their approach. In general, project fee -for -service contracts of this type, are not handled with a Request for Proposal (RFP) process as we would an ongoing professional service (e.g., Attorney, Accountant). This, and the fact that these efforts are time sensitive, lead staff to conclude that an RFP process would not be practical at this time. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Council approve the consulting proposal from Elwyn Tinklenberg of The Tlnklenberg Group for services related to the pursuit of funding for the Trunk Highway 10 and Armstrong Boulevard Interchange in an amount not to exceed $25,000.