Title/Name/Summary
Hey and Associates, Inc. - Contract for Plan Review and Landscape Architect Services
History
The Village’s contract with its current landscape consultant, Planning Resources, Inc. (PRI), is set to expire at the end of 2017. PRI has been the Village’s landscape consultant since 2001. Since then, the process of soliciting and reviewing alternative landscape consultation services to ensure the Village is receiving the highest quality services at the most cost effective rate has not been conducted. Furthermore, recent updates to Section 6-305 Landscape and Tree Preservation of the Land Development Code and to the landscape review and inspection process as a whole have changed the way the Village is approaching the landscape plan review process, which has implications for the role of the Village’s landscape consultant.
As such, the Village issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ #17-036) for Plan Review and Landscape Architect Services on August 25, 2017. The goals of issuing the RFQ were two-fold: 1) to compare and contrast a broad range of landscape firm capabilities and qualifications to those currently being provided to the Village; and 2) to determine which firm could best help the Village implement the requirements of the new landscape review process.
By the submission deadline on September 11, 2017, the Village had received eleven (11) qualifying submissions. The following firms submitted proposals:
- Farnsworth Group
- GreenbergFarrow
- Hey and Associates, Inc.
- J.G.S. Landscape Architects
- The Lakota Group
- Planning Resources, Inc.
- RGC Design
- Site Design Group Ltd.
- Teska Associates
- V3 Companies of Illinois
- Gary R. Weber Associates, Inc.
A landscape consultant Selection Committee of four (4) Development Services Department staff members was chosen to evaluate submittals, conduct interviews and ultimately recommend a landscape consultant to the Village Board for approval. The Selection Committee used the scope of services and review criteria outlined in the RFQ to evaluate each submission. As landscape reviews and inspections typically involve the assessment of site landscaping (e.g. bufferyard, parking lot landscaping) and stormwater management area landscaping (e.g. detention basin), it was critical that a firm exhibited evidence of their ability to execute all of the responsibilities outlined in the RFQ’s scope of services through previous project experience and staff qualifications.
To facilitate the assessment process, the Village developed a spreadsheet to compare all eleven (11) firms based on their submission materials against the stated review criteria. The five (5) critical staff and information components of a submission included: a staff landscape architect, a staff ecologist, a staff arborist, the hourly rates of key staff and previous landscape plan review/inspection experience. In sum, six (6) of the eleven (11) submitting firms did not have on staff an ecologist or comparable employee who could review and inspect stormwater management area landscaping, an omission which the Selection Committee viewed as incompatible with the goals of the RFQ. Another firm did have all required staff qualifications, however they had limited plan review and inspection experience and higher than average hourly rates. As a result, seven (7) firms were removed from contention due to limited experience, limited staff qualification and / or higher than expected hourly rates.
Ultimately, the Selection Committee decided that Hey and Associates, Inc. was the best fit for the Village landscape consultant, based on the following factors:
- Hey and Associates is a professional engineering, ecological consulting, and landscape architecture firm founded in 1976 to “deliver comprehensive solutions to complex water resources and natural resources challenges”. The firm has a multi-disciplinary staff of engineers, scientists, and landscape architects grounded in the fundamental principles of design, constructability, and sustainability.
- Hey and Associates’ two (2) main points of contact with the Village (Tim Polloway and Nathan Sehmer) are both licensed professional landscape architects with extensive municipal plan review, landscape inspection, ecological restoration, native landscaping and design experience.
- Hey and Associates’ Tim Polloway previously worked as a Staff Ecologist for Applied Ecological Service and as a Landscape Planner for the Village of Schaumburg where his responsibilities included landscape plan review, landscape inspections, enforcement of the Village’s tree preservation ordinance, and planning and design for municipal projects.
- Hey and Associates has additional experience and expertise on staff with civil engineers, wetland scientists, arborists, and allied professionals who would be available to the Village as needed.
- Hey and Associates has a strong working relationship with the Village’s engineering consultant, CBBEL, which will help streamline the Village’s landscape and engineering review processes.
- Hey and Associates’ hourly rates for key staff ($115/hr) were slightly lower than those proposed by V3 Companies of Illinois ($120/hr), and equal to the average current hourly rates charged by PRI ($115/hr)
- Hey and Associates has an established project tracking and monthly billing process, which could be accessed in real time by the Village at any time.
- As the Village currently maintains over 380 detention ponds with many more expected as the Village reaches full build-out, the review and inspection of these ponds before the Village takes on their maintenance is a critical financial and resource allocation concern for the Village. Hey and Associates has the experience and expertise to help ensure these requirements are met.
- Hey and Associates is prequalified by the Illinois Department of Transportation in the following categories: Environmental Reports - Environmental Assessment, Environmental Reports - Environmental Impact Statements, Roads and Streets, Location Drainage Studies, Waterways Typical, Waterways Complex, Pump Stations, Landscape Architecture, and Construction Inspection.
- Hey and Associates has the experience needed to provide assistance to the Village in updating its landscape code.
- Hey and Associates has extensive design experience that it could offer to the Village on an as need basis.
As such, the Selection Committee recommends Hey and Associates, Inc. as the Village’s next landscape consultant. If approved by the Village Board, the goal is to enter into a contract with Hey and Associates, Inc. with a start date of January 1, 2018.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PLANNING AND ENGINEERING COMMITTEE MOTION
On October 24, 2016, the Development Services Planning and Engineering Committee moved 2-0 to recommend to the Village Board of Trustees to approve the contract for Hey and Associates, Inc. for landscape plan review and landscape architect services for an amount not to exceed $28,000 per year.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PLANNING AND ENGINEERING COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
Assistant Village Manager Karie Friling presented the rationale for the RFQ, the overall selection process and the recommended landscape firm to the Development Services, Planning and Engineering Committee. Ms. Friling cited the overall efficiency improvements at a comparable cost that Hey and Associates, Inc. would bring to the Village's landscape review and inspection process. Ms. Friling commented that Hey and Associates, Inc. could also provide landscape design services on an as need basis. Trustee Fenton commented on how Hey and Associates, Inc. would be a "one-stop shop" for the Village's landscape review and inspection needs. No one from the public commented.
Financial Impact
$28,000 has been budgeted annually for this contract.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to approve the contract for Hey and Associates, Inc. for landscape plan review and landscape architect services for an amount not to exceed $28,000 per year, as recommended by the Development Services, Planning and Engineering Committee on October 24, 2017.