Explanation
BACKGROUND:
This legislation will authorize the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with HDR Engineering, Inc. to explore operating and capital project financing options for the Downtown Columbus Neighborhood Circulator (Streetcar) project. This action follows completion of a formal competitive bid process.
In response to solicitation number SA002459, six Offerors submitted proposals that opened at the Purchasing Office on June 14, 2007. An evaluation committee consisting of City employees and representatives from various stakeholder agencies (the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, the Central Ohio Transit Authority, and the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission) providing five votes complied with all aspects of City Code 329.14. After scoring all of the proposals individually, discussing the merits of each, and ranking the proposals according to set evaluation criteria, the selection committee short-listed three firms to interview: Parsons Brinkerhoff, HDR Engineering, and AECOM Consulting. The selection committee, after careful review, selected HDR Engineering, Inc. as the best candidate based on the breadth of their experience and the quality of their proposal.
The proposed Downtown Columbus Neighborhoods Circulator is a modern streetcar system that will serve as an important alternative mode of transportation for downtown employees, visitors to the City, conventioneers, and residents of city neighborhoods seeking to travel among destination centers along the major routes of the Circulator. It will help the City meet its objective of revitalizing downtown Columbus by increasing economic investment and providing a solution to the parking and mobility problems currently impeding downtown's resurgence. The transportation project will also connect near-downtown neighborhoods such as Italian Village, the Short North, the Brewery District, German Village, the Arena District, Victorian Village and The Ohio St...
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