Request for Responses for Architectural and Engineering Services for a Public Safety Building

Bid Postings • Request for Responses for Architectural and E Skip to Main Content Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more. Website Sign In City Government Our Community Doing Business Just Visiting How Do I Search Home Bid Postings Print Sign up to receive a text message or email when new bids are added! Print Bid Title: Request for Responses for Architectural and Engineering Services for a Public Safety Building Category: Police Department Status: Closed Description: REQUEST FOR RESPONSES CITY OF BELFAST ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 12:00PM, MONDAY, MARCH 31ST, 2025 [A CORRECTED VERSION OF THIS REQUEST FOR RESPONSES CAN BE FOUND UNDER "RELATED DOCUMENTS," ENTITLED REQUEST FOR RESPONSES (CORRECTED)] 1. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST The City of Belfast, a midcoast Maine community of 6,938 persons, is seeking architectural and engineering services in order to prepare and generate opinions of probable cost, engineering and design plans, and requests for responses in support of a planned Public Safety Building. The City currently has its Ambulance and Fire Departments operating out of a two-building facility with a total approximate area of 11,600 square feet, located at 273 Main Street, and has its Police Department operating out of a single-building facility with a total approximate area of 5,600 square feet, located at 112 Church Street. The City has determined that these facilities cannot meet either the current or the future anticipated operational needs of their respective departments. The City now proposes to construct a new Public Safety Building that will serve as the unified home for its Ambulance, Fire, and Police Departments. The City is planning to locate this new Public Safety Building within the approximately 2.5-acre parcel that is the home of its current Ambulance and Fire Department facility at 273 Main Street, as this site is already owned by the City and is well situated in close proximity to Belfast’s major transportation corridors. The construction of a new Public Safety Building at this location will necessitate the removal/demolition of the existing Ambulance and Fire Department facility (and for these departments to establish temporary operations at an offsite location during the period of construction). The City has already performed significant due diligence regarding this property and the construction of this Public Safety Building in the form of generating: 1) a boundary and topographic survey, with wetlands delineated; 2) a phase I environmental site assessment, a phase II environmental site assessment, and an environmental media management plan; 3) a preliminary geotechnical report; and 4) a facilities assessment and site fit plan report, which included an assessment of the existing Ambulance and Fire Department facility, a site fit plan for the new Public Safety Building, recommendations for the new Public Safety Building, facility relationship diagrams for the new Public Safety Building, and an inventory of the types and amounts of space desired/needed in the new Public Safety Building (program workbook). The City has been awarded funding that will be anticipated to cover a portion of the project’s costs, in the form of a $1,500,000 fiscal year 2023 Congressionally Directed Spending award/Community Facilities Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development (USDA RD). Though these funds are expected to be the last funds injected into the project (during construction), USDA RD does have a role in the oversight and approval of all processes and contracts for this project from now until project completion, including this request for responses and the contract with the selected entity. The City has also been awarded $963,000 in fiscal year 2024 Community Project Funding/Byrne Discretionary Grant Program funding, which will be used for the purchase of equipment to be used by the Police Department, some of which will be used for the first time in the new Public Safety Building; this grant may also be used to pay to install/set up this equipment in the new Public Safety Building. The remainder of needed funds for this project will be provided by the City of Belfast, likely through a bond issue or another form of borrowing. The City hopes to be able to put the construction of this Public Safety Building out to bid in 2026, and to see construction begin during 2027. 2. CURRENT ENVISIONED PROJECT As mentioned above, the City of Belfast has already performed significant due diligence for this project, including the development of a detailed inventory of the types and amounts of space needed by its Ambulance, Fire, and Police Departments, taking into account both their immediate and their forecasted (20-25 years into the future) operational needs. This information was utilized in crafting a site fit plan, to be confident that the desired facility and related site improvements could fit on the City-owned parcel at 273 Main Street. The major aspects/components of the project that are indicated on the current site fit plan include the following: 2.1.1: a 2-story building with a total area of approximately 37,070 square feet, with 23,586 square feet for the Ambulance and Fire Departments, and the remaining 13,484 square feet for the Police Department; 2.1.2: within the Ambulance and Fire Department portion of this building, 6 vehicle bays (drive in and out, not drive through), each measuring approximately 80’ long by 20’ wide; 2.1.3: within the Police Department portion of this building, a lobby, a sally port, and a museum space (with an approximate area of 2,000 square feet); 2.1.4: a total of 93 parking spaces, consisting of 85 standard parking spaces, 5 handicap parking spaces, and 3 spaces located in a fenced-off impound area (of these 90 non-impound area spaces, 20 are intended for ambulance and fire department employee parking, 30 are intended for police department employee parking, 10 are intended for police vehicle parking, and the remaining 30 are intended for public parking); 2.1.5: the entrance to the property is aligned with the width and orientation of Starrett Drive (the street running north-south and ending at the south side of the parcel); 2.1.6: a radio tower to support Public Safety Building communications (underground conduit from the radio tower to the Public Safety Building is not shown however); and 2.1.7: no construction is to take place within any identified wetlands (this is a condition of utilizing USDA RD funding). There are additional components of the overall project to be installed/built, which are not shown on the current version of the site fit plan, which shall be incorporated into the engineering and design plans that are part of the required tasks: 2.2.1: individual specific rooms/spaces within the Public Safety Building (please refer to the Program Workbooks and the Facility Relationship Diagrams); 2.2.2: a vehicle wash bay for vehicles for Ambulance, Fire, and Police Departments, estimated to be 1,200 square feet in area; 2.2.3: access/connections to utilities: the current Ambulance and Fire Department facility has access from Main Street to 3-phase electrical power (4.5.1), public sewer (4.1.), public water (4.1), and fiber internet (4.5.3) (numbers refer to specific numbered sections in the Public Safety Building Recommendations); 2.2.4: mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems: elevator; lighting (4.5.2); electronic security (4.5.4); station alert; fire alarm (4.5.5); heating (4.4); cooling (4.4); ventilation (4.4); and exclusively for the Ambulance and Fire Departments, vehicle exhaust (4.4) (numbers refer to specific numbered sections in the Public Safety Building Recommendations); 2.2.5: other indoor fixtures: for the Police Department: ballistic glass; ballistic wallboard; dry cabinet; evidence lockers; fume tank; sliding document storage vault; and for the Ambulance and Fire Departments: secure personal lockers; open air gear racks; and a cabinet-type hose dryer; 2.2.6: a backup generator (installed outside of the Public Safety Building, and including underground conduit connecting it to the Public Safety Building); and 2.2.7: 2 K-9 kennels (installed outside of the Public Safety Building, closer to the Police Department portion of the building). 3. TASKS REQUIRED (WORK PROGRAM) AND DEADLINES The following is the list of tasks that the entity chosen will be required to perform (work program) and their proposed deadlines: 3.1. Generation of an Opinion of Probable Cost for the Public Safety Building and all related site improvements, to be shared with/presented to the City of Belfast Public Safety Building Committee (a group established to represent the City of Belfast in overseeing this project). This is to assist the City of Belfast in planning financially for this project, for the July 1st, 2025-June 30th, 2026 fiscal year and for subsequent fiscal years. The proposed deadline for this task is May 15, 2025. The City expects that the entity will confirm/address the reasonableness of this deadline for this specific task as part of its response, for the Project Approach evaluation factor (4.2.). 3.2. Completion of a set of 20% engineering and design plans (schematic design) for the project site, the Public Safety Building and all related site improvements, to be presented at one meeting of the City of Belfast Public Safety Building Committee, and to be presented to the public at one Belfast City Council meeting (where the public will be given an opportunity to provide comments). This set of 20% engineering and design plans/schematic design is expected to include at the appropriate level of detail: schematic level floor plans and building elevations; building envelope system design; material recommendations; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems; the amount of square footage devoted to specific spaces and a preliminary layo