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CONTRACT K-1415-115: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND C.H. GUERNSEY AND COMPANY IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,000 TO PROVIDE CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR PREPARATION OF WAYFINDING PLAN ELEMENTS AND WAYFINDING PILOT PROJECT FOR NORMAN.
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BACKGROUND: It is important to establish a sense of entry that indicates arrival in a special place. This applies to all of the gateways into the City of Norman. For Norman, wayfinding should also be a community-wide initiative that directs travelers to the downtown area as well as to many of the other amenities of the community. The concepts of attracting businesses, residents, and visitors/tourists are closely linked to creating an aesthetically pleasing area from an architectural, streetscape and beautification standpoint.
Located within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Norman is actually the third largest city in the State of Oklahoma with nearly 120,000 residents. In addition, Norman is home to the University of Oklahoma. The size of the City coupled with the location of the University make Norman a destination for many tourists, visitors, and commuters.
In December, 2013, City Council adopted the Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan. This was adopted as the first phase of an overall plan for the City of Norman. The Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan involved significant public input into potential destinations, potential districts, development of a hierarchy of destinations, and preliminary input into sign colors and fonts. One of the conclusions of the Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan was to embark on a follow-up process to include the "fabrication and installation of a pilot project that will help to refine the detailed design of the system components".
DISCUSSION: The Public Works Department received two proposal submissions in response to a Request for Proposal for the design of Wayfinding Plan Elements and a Wayfinding Pilot Project for Norman. One was from a team consisting of Guernsey (Oklahoma City, OK) and focus EDG (Dallas, TX), and the second was from Jacobs (Oklahoma City, OK). A Selection Committee was formed consisting of Shawn O'Leary-Public Works Director, Angelo Lombardo-Transportation Engineer, David Riesland-Traffic Engineer, and two private citizens. Mr. John Woods serves as the President/CEO of the Norman Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Dan Schemm serves as the Executive Director of the Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau. Each proposal was scored independently by each member on a point scale as defined in the Request for Proposal (RFP No. 1415-38). After reviewing the proposals, the committee was unanimous in its decision to move forward with the top candidate, Guernsey/focus EDG. At the end of the process, the committee selected the Guernsey team as the most qualified team because of their experience as well as their familiarity to and the approach to the project.
Under contract with the City, the Guernsey team will develop a system that will provide, but will not be limited to, the following:
1) Refine the detailed design of the system components for Norman's Wayfinding System
2) Develop a set of plans suitable for bidding the Pilot Project for contractor fabrication and installation of signs on the Pilot corridor
3) Assist in the development of bid documents for the Pilot Project
The ultimate goal of this project is to complete those sign elements not part of the original Norman Signage and Wayfinding Plan and to develop plans for the implementation of a Pilot Project along Main Street from the new Interstate 35 Interchange to Downtown by the fall of 2015. The negotiated Scope of Work, Schedule, and Compensation are exhibits in the attached contract. This will be accomplished in conjunction with the City and its partners (the Chamber of Commerce and the Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau).
Staff negotiated a $20,000 contract fee with the Guernsey team to provide the previously mentioned design services. The City has sufficient funds in the Wayfinding Pilot Project account (Account No. 050-9611-431.62-01 - Design, Project No. TC-0041) to cover the contract fee.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Contract No. K-1415-115 with Guernsey Engineers, in the amount of $20,000, for the development of Wayfinding Plan Elements and a Wayfinding Pilot Project for the City of Norman.