Explanation
BACKGROUND:
The City’s Department of Public Service (DPS) is engaged in the Arterial Rehabilitation-Polaris Parkway at Orion Place (DEL-CR615-0.000 PID 95549) Public Improvement Project (“Public Project”). The City must acquire certain fee simple title and lesser real property interests located in the vicinity of the right-of-way of Polaris Parkway, Columbus, Ohio 43240 (collectively, “Real Estate”) in order for DPS to timely complete the Public Project. The Public Project’s design is complete and the Public Project’s proposed construction schedule requires the City’s acquisition of the Real Estate to be tentatively completed by February 2018. The City passed Ordinance Number 2384-2016 authorizing the City Attorney to acquire the Real Estate and contract for associated professional services (e.g. surveys, title work, appraisals, etc.).
The City, in accordance with the Local Public Agency Agreement between DPS and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), must follow ODOT mandated quality-based selection (QBS) procedures for solicitation and selection of ODOT pre-qualified professional real estate appraisers and reviewers. These procedural requirements apply because the City is receiving federal funding through ODOT. The City Attorney complied with all appropriate QBS procedures, which required posting for three (3) weeks on ODOT’s website and a request for Letters of Interest. In accordance with the appropriate selection criteria, the City Attorney selected the following six qualified professional real estate appraisers and review appraisers out of the thirteen who submitted Letters of Interest to perform the necessary real estate appraisal reports: Brian W. Barnes & Co. Inc., Rebecca A. Belcastro, Ohio Real Estate Consultants, Robert Weiler Company (“Appraisers”) and Martin & Wood Appraisal Group, LTD., and Principle Real Estate Group, (“Review Appraisers”).
The total costs of appraising the Real Estate assigned to each of the Appraisers a...
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