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CONTRACT K-1617-134: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND KIMLEY HORN & ASSOCIATES, INC., IN AN AMOUNT NOT-TO-EXCEED $200,000 FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) SELF-EVALUATION AND UPDATED TRANSITION PLAN.
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BACKGROUND: An Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan was developed for the City of Norman in 1992 by Kaighn Associates Architects, Inc. of Norman, Oklahoma. City Council adopted the Transition Plan, as required by federal law, on May 11, 1993. Council adopted the following policy statement at that time:
The City of Norman embraces the goals and objectives established in the Americans with Disabilities Act, as adopted by the United States Congress through Public Law Number 100-336. It shall be the policy of the City of Norman to make every reasonable effort to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to participate in and experience all public programs and facilities.
The City’s 1993 Transition Plan focused on accessibility at City-owned facilities and provided a schedule for compliance with sidewalk accessibility. The City’s first ADA Coordinator was the Director of Code Enforcement. In January 2007, the City’s Director of Public Works was appointed by the City Manager as the ADA Coordinator and he remains in that role today. No updates to the City’s ADA Transition Plan have been made since 1993.
Like hundreds of cities and jurisdictions in the United States, the City of Norman made a reasonable effort to complete the Transition Plan as specified in January 1995. However, after nearly 25 years, so much more has been learned about accessibility of public spaces and more improvements appear to be needed in Norman. For this reason, the City of Norman is taking the proactive approach of conducting a self-evaluation and an update of the 1993 Transition Plan to address remaining public accessibility needs in Norman and to set the course for those policy and infrastructure improvements in coming years.
DISCUSSION: Due to limited staff resources and expertise, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on March 28, 2017 to over 100 firms nationwide. On April 12, 2017, the City of Norman hosted a pre-proposal meeting at which six interested firms were represented. The City received four proposals on April 28, 2017. The Selection Committee included three (3) staff members consisting of Shawn O’Leary, Director of Public Works; Scott Sturtz, City Engineer; Jack Burdett, Engineering Assistant; and two (2) private citizens including Karleene Smith, Planner and Grants Specialist with Cleveland Area Rapid Transit System (CART); and Chris Nanny, local citizen and accessibility advocate. The Selection Committee members independently scored each proposal on a point scale as defined in the RFP. Oral presentations by the two top ranked consultants took place on May 11, 2017. The selection committee unanimously selected Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. as the preferred consultant.
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., founded in 1967, is a full-service engineering, planning and environmental consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees in over 80 offices nationwide. The team assembled for this project is based out of Fort Worth, Texas with staff members from an Oklahoma City office as well. Kimley-Horn has extensive experience in completing ADA Transition Plans including a statewide Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) Plan; Tulsa, OK; Midwest City, OK; Edmond, OK; and 15 other Transition Plans in Texas, over the past ten years. Kimley-Horn is also partnering with a firm called Accessology from Fort Worth, TX which specializes in accessibility compliance-related issues and training.
This project will assess current compliance with the ADA in Norman, create priority guidelines for improvements with cost estimates and incorporate the 2011 Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way (PROWAG) for pedestrian routes in Norman. Per the attached agreement for professional services, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. will provide the following:
• Project Management; Facilitate ADA Liaison Committee & ADA Advisory Committee;
• Review of City Programs, Procedures and Policies, Employment Practices, Ordinances, Emergency Management Plans, Facilities & Parks;
• Transition Plan Development, Survey Data collection, Financial Plan, Final Transition Plan;
• Prioritize projects; Cost estimates; Long term plans;
• Technical assistance throughout the project
Staff anticipates the City’s updated Transition Plan to be completed in 12 months or around July 2018. The contract with Kimley-Horn includes a significant public engagement process, including two Council briefings, two public meetings, bi-monthly meetings with the Citizen Advisory Committee and monthly meetings with the City Staff team.
The negotiated fee for the contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. to provide these services is $200,000. The funds are available from the FYE 2017 Capital Fund, ADA Assessment Citywide (account 050-9554-419.62-01; project TC0044).
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Contract K-1617-134 with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. in the amount of $200,000 for the professional services associated with the Development of a Comprehensive Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self-Evaluation and Updated Transition Plan.