TIF and BDD RFP Request

Request For Proposals - City of Peoria, Illinois
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Business Development District (BDD) Consulting Services Proposals Due Monday May 19, 2008 at 09:00 am

Introduction

The City of Peoria, Illinois seeks the services of a consultant to establish a Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) and Business Development District (BDD) for the proposed Hospitality Improvement Zone (HIZ) as shown on the map below.

Background

Peoria has a population of 118,000; it is the second largest metropolitan area in Illinois, and boasts the second most densely developed downtown. The proposed HIZ is adjacent to the Central Business District, and near the Illinois River, O’Brien Baseball Stadium, Caterpillar’s Corporate Headquarters, two major hospitals, the proposed Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Visitors’ Center. The Peoria Civic Center is located within the proposed HIZ, hosting 574 event days with 765,000 patrons in fiscal year 2007.


Scope Of Work

The TIF Consultant will develop all required studies and reporst to establish the designation for the HIZ area as TIF and a BDD in accordance with Illinois State Statutes.

The scope should include but is not limited to:

Conduct Required Field Surveys

· Condition and use of each building
· Number, location and occupancy status of any residential units within the Study Area;
· Location of vacant sites and vacant buildings; and
· Evaluation of site conditions including roadways, lighting, parking facilities, landscaping, fences walls and general property maintenance.

Conduct Tax and Assessment Research

· Evaluate the equalized assessed value (EAV) of the Study Area

Examine City Records and Development Standards

· Evaluate existing land use, current zoning ordinances and current zoning map

TIF and BDD Designation

· Prepare the TIF and BDD redevelopment plans; and
· Assist City staff with notices, meetings and required approvals.

City Staff Will Provide Substantial Assistance

· Detailed GIS maps of the Study Area are on line at www.peoriagis.com;
· Six years of EAV for all properties in electronic format;
· Assistance in developing the Plan and Eligibility Study
· Transport consultant to study area;
· Help develop/conduct existing land use and property condition survey;
· Manage public meeting notices i.e. public hearings and Joint Review Board meetings; and
· Manage public hearings
· City staff will handle all required mailings to property owners and taxing bodies.

Statement of Qualifications and Experience
All statements of Qualifications and Experience must include, but not be limited to, the following information and documentation (Brevity is appreciated):
· A transmittal letter which states the respondent’s desire to perform the required services;

· Estimated costs should be a fixed price with expenses;

· Name, size and brief description of the firm, and their background, size, projects, scope and nature of service; including the same information for any proposed sub-consultants. If sub-consultants are anticipated, describe the role proposed for each firm or consultant involved in the project, and the approximate percentage of work assigned to each;

· A brief summary of any specialized experience, qualifications or unique capabilities applicable to this project that you feel is important to the success of the project.

· Number of TIF and BDD districts that your firm has established over the past 3 years.

· Estimated time schedule for the project, broken down into major milestones and capacity to proceed immediately and without delay. The estimated timeframe for the development of the TIF/BDD studies is June – October 2008;

· Representation that the candidate firm and consulting team will conform to and comply with the City of Peoria’s Equal Employment Opportunity requirements (Exhibit A).

Submission Requirements

Please submit by email; all submissions, declinations and questions should be directed to:

Craig Hullinger, AICP
Department of Economic Development
Peoria City Hall
419 Fulton Street, Suite 402
Peoria, IL 61602
(309) 494-8640
(309) 494-8650 fax
Email: hullingerc@gmail.com

Proposals Due: Monday May 19, 2008 by 9:00 am. Any costs incurred by candidate firms or consulting teams in preparing submitted Statement of Qualifications are the sole responsibility of the respondent. PDF copies of Statement of Qualifications can be emailed but must be followed up with hard copies. A City staff review committee will evaluate all proposals. The committee may consist of members of the following Departments: Public Works, Economic Development, Planning and Growth Management. Final recommendations will be made to the City Council. Final authorization to enter into a contract can only be made by City Council; and until that occurs, there are no commitments by the City.

Price

Submit a proposal with prices for”

TIF Alone BDD Alone Both Projects together

RFQ Timetable
(Dates of Finalist selection and Finalist meetings are approximate)

RFQs Advertised: May 11 & 15, 2008
Proposals are due: May 19, 2008
Consultant selected: May 20, 2008
Request City Council Approval May 27, 2008

Exhibit A

EEO CONTRACT COMPLIANCE CLAUSE

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the City of Peoria, that it will not execute a contract for goods and/or services with any individual, business enterprise, supplier/vendor; maintain a financial relationship with any financial institution; or use the services of any labor organization or member thereof found to be in violation of the provisions of the City Code for the City of Peoria, Chapter 17, Article III, Division 4, Section 17-118.

This clause covers contractors, vendors, suppliers, borrowers and/or recipients of city resources, purchasers and/or developers of city owned property, and any other individuals or entities providing goods and/or services to the City of Peoria; and are hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”.

If any Contractor conducting business with the City of Peoria fails to comply with the fair employment and affirmative action provisions of Chapter 17, Article III, Division 4 of the City Code (hereinafter Chapter 17), the city, at its option, may do any or all of the following:

(1) Cancel, terminate, or suspend the contract in whole or in part;

(2) Declare the contractor ineligible for further contracts for one calendar year;

(3) The Fair Employment and Housing Commission (hereinafter FEHC), in accordance with its rules and regulations, shall have the power to impose a penalty upon any Contractor failing to comply with Chapter 17 in an amount not less than $50.00; nor more than as provided in Chapter 1, Section 1-5 of the municipal code, for each day that the Contractor fails to comply, upon a specific finding of such violation. The FEHC may order a Contractor found guilty of failure to comply with the provisions of Chapter 17 to pay all or a portion of the legal costs incurred by the city as a result of prosecution of such violations. Penalties assessed under this clause may be recovered from the Contractor by setoff against unpaid portion of the contract price; and

(4) Such other sanctions as may be imposed by the FEHC pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 17 and other applicable ordinance provisions of the City Code.

During the performance of this contract, the Contractor agrees:

(a) That it will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual harassment, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, age, or a physical and/or mental disability which would not interfere with the efficient performance of the job in question. The contractor/vendor will take affirmative action to comply with the provisions of Peoria City Code, Chapter 17 and will require any subcontractor to submit to the City of Peoria a written commitment to comply with this division. The Contractor will distribute copies of this commitment to all persons who participate in recruitment, screening, referral, and selection of job applicants, prospective job applicants, members, or prospective contractors.

“The Contractor agrees that the provision of Chapter 17, of the City Code of the City of Peoria is hereby incorporated by reference, as if set out verbatim.”

(b) That it will examine each one of its workforce job classifications to determine if minorities and/or females are underutilized; and it will take appropriate affirmative action steps to rectify such identified underutilization.

(c) That if it hires additional employees in order to perform this contract or any portion thereof, it will determine the availability of minority and females in the area(s) from which it may reasonably recruit; and every good faith effort will be made in its selection process to minimize or eliminate identified areas of minority and/or female underutilization for each job classification for which there are employment opportunities.

(d) That during the performance of this contract, the Contractor will maintain its “eligibility” status to conduct business with the City of Peoria under the provisions of the EEO certification registration program.

(e) That in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by it or on its behalf, it will state that all applicants will be afforded equal opportunity without discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or physical and/or mental disability.

(f) That it will send to each labor organization or representative of workers with which it has or is bound by a collective bargaining agreement or understanding, a notice advising such labor organization or representative of the Contractor’s obligations under Chapter 17. If any such labor organization or representative fails or refuses to cooperate with the Contractor in its efforts to comply with Chapter 17, the Contractor will promptly so notify the Equal Opportunity Office (hereinafter EOO) and/or the FEHC for the City of Peoria.

(g) That it will submit reports as required and furnish all relevant information as may from time to time be requested by the EOO and/or the FEHC.

(h) That it will permit access to all relevant books, records, accounts and work sites by EOO staff members for purposes of investigation to ascertain compliance with Chapter 17.

(i) That it will include verbatim or by reference the provisions of Section 17-120 of Chapter 17 so that such provisions will be binding in the same manner as with other provisions of this contract. The Contractor will be liable for compliance with applicable provisions of this clause by all its subcontractors; and further, it will promptly notify the EOO and/or FEHC in the event any subcontractor fails or refuses to comply therewith. In addition, no Contractor will utilize any subcontractor declared by the EOO and/or FEHC to be non-responsive and therefore, ineligible for contracts or subcontracts with the City of Peoria.

(j) That during the performance of this contract, the Contractor agrees: that it will have written sexual harassment policies that shall include, at a minimum, the following information: (i) the illegality of sexual harassment; (ii) the definition of sexual harassment under state law; (iii) a description of sexual harassment utilizing examples; (iv) the contractor’s internal complaint process including penalties; (v) the legal recourse, investigative and complaint process available through the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission; (vi) directions on how to contact the Department of Human Rights and the Commission; and (vii) protection against retaliation as provided by Section 6-101 of the Act (Public Act 87-1257). A copy of the policies shall be provided to the Illinois Department of Human Rights or the City of Peoria upon request.

(k) That during the performance of this contract, the Contractor agrees that it does not and will not maintain or provide for their employees, any segregated facilities at any of their establishments, or permit employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained.

As used in this document, the term “segregated facilities” means any waiting rooms, work areas, rest rooms and wash rooms, and other storage or dressing areas, parking lots, drinking fountains, recreation or entertainment areas, transportation, housing facilities provided for employees which are segregated by explicit directive or are in fact segregated on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, because of habit, local custom, or otherwise.

More info on our blog at www.peoriaed.blogspot.com

Contact Craig Hullinger at hullingerc@gmail.com if you need more information.