26-99484 RFP for Engineering Services for Medial District Lighting

CITY OF DULUTH, MN
Monday, May 11, 2026
Request for Proposals
for
Engineering Services for Medical District Lighting Improvements
Duluth, Minnesota
RFP 26-99484
City of Duluth Project No. 2238
Proposals Due: Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 3:00 pm local time
I:\FINANCE\PURCHASING\Bids, RFPs, Contracts & Agreements\2026\26-99484 Medical District Lighting RFP\2338 RFP - DRAFT.docx
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
The City of Duluth is interested in retaining a consultant to provide professional engineering
services to complete a design of a lighting system along 2nd Street, 3rd Street, 4th Ave East and 5th
Ave E. The lighting system will be bounded by 4th Ave E, 4th Street, Superior Street, and 6th Ave
East. Consultant services are expected to include design and include limited construction support
services, as noted within this request.
BACKGROUND
The area around St Mary's Medical Center experiences a large amount of pedestrian traffic. At
night, pedestrians walk along the sidewalk system and concerns regarding safety both along the
sidewalks and crossing streets are regular reports to City staff and hospital administration. The
City is committed to pedestrian safety and proposes to improve the lighting within the designated
medical district area. This project will design a new lighting system in this area to be constructed
and bid.
The proposed design would replace most (but not all) of the existing street lighting within these
areas, including those owned by the City and Minnesota Power. Conceptually, the City would be
looking to provide "cobrahead" style lighting at each intersection (assumed to be two at each
location listed) and pedestrian scale post-top style lighting along the sidewalks. The signal
systems within the area of study (6th Ave East at 3rd Street and 2nd Street) will remain as-is and is
generally consistent with the design goals for this project. No work will be done on 4th Street as
that would be completed as part of the on-going 4th Street reconstruction project. Please see the
attached map (Exhibit A) illustrating the area of work.
The selected consultant will be tasked with preparing the design plans and specifications,
suitable for bidding the project, and with providing limited construction administration support
during the construction phase of the project.
GENERAL PROJECT SCOPE
Consulting engineering services are expected to include all work necessary to provide final
design including plans and specifications for the project as described, as well as limited
assistance during bidding and construction services. These include, but are not limited to the
following:
1. Project Meetings, Management and Coordination
2. Project Reconnaissance
3. Preliminary and Final Engineering Design
4. Limited Bidding Assistance
5. Limited Construction Administration Assistance
These tasks will be defined in greater detail within this solicitation. All work shall be performed
in accordance with the most recent version of the City Standard Specifications and Engineering
Guidelines (available on the City of Duluth website, https://duluthmn.gov/engineering/).
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SCOPE OF SERVICES
1. Project Meetings, Management and Coordination
Proposers shall manage their effort to complete the design effort required to produce the project.
This shall include the overall management effort, project meetings and coordination with
stakeholders.
Project Management
The consultant is expected to manage their project effort in an efficient manner and
within the schedule proposed. This includes tasks such as timely invoicing, coordination
of internal resources, scheduling of the project and required resources, and providing
quality control of the deliverables.
Meetings
The consultant shall attend a minimum of two (2) meetings. This will include a kickoff
meeting with City staff and a stakeholder coordination meeting. The consultant will be
expected to prepare agendas and other meeting exhibits, schedule the meeting, and
provide meeting minutes for review. The consultant may opt to host additional, brief,
coordination meetings with City staff to ensure that the project timeline is met. Remote
meeting options, such as Microsoft Teams, can be utilized by the consultant.
Stakeholder Coordination
The consultant will be responsible for coordination with the various stakeholders for this
project. The City has identified both Essentia Health, the primary adjacent property
owner and Minnesota Power, provider of electrical power and owner of some existing
street lighting, as the primary stakeholders. The City does not expect to hold public
meetings specific to this project. Proposer shall be aware that the City is currently under
contract with Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) to perform design services for a
reconstruction of 4th Street. Coordination with that design team may be required to
complete a cohesive project.
2. Project Reconnaissance
Proposer shall be responsible for visiting the site to identify the existing conditions. The City will
provide available as-built information for the proposer's review. The proposer should expect to
provide some survey services in this project - both to locate existing utilities and any potential
impacts to accessible facilities that are required to complete the lighting installation. The City
will provide geotechnical information, to the extent available, for adjacent streets. Any
subsequent geotechnical work will be considered extra work and outside of the scope of this
proposal.
3. Preliminary and Final Engineering Design
The consultant will be responsible for preparing full engineering design plans and project special
provisions for this project, suitable for bidding and construction. This design will supplement
existing City standard specifications, and applicable MnDOT standards specifications and
standard plans. The City will provide boilerplate special provisions language for consultant use
in preparing these documents.
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The City has prepared this proposal with the following basic lighting assumptions:
* Each intersection will have two (2) cobrahead style lighting fixtures, located at opposite
corners. These will be standard light poles, 30-feet in height.
* Each street will have pedestrian scale lighting, of a post-top style, consistent with existing
City luminaire standards.
* This project will not replace the existing intersection lighting at the following
intersections:
2nd Street and 5th Avenue East
o
2nd Street and 6th Ave East
o
3rd Street and 6th Ave East
o
* This project will specifically replace the lighting at the intersection of 3rd Street and 5th
Ave East.
The project will specifically stop short of 4th Street in all locations, as the lighting on that street
will be addressed by the 4th Street project. The consultant can assume that all lighting work
within this project stops 75 feet away from 4th Street. The consultant may be required to perform
coordination with that consultant, and such coordination is included in the scope of work.
The consultant shall provide photometrics plans after a preliminary layout is prepared. The City
assumes a project deliverable for review at the following stages:
* 30% Design Review: Preliminary layout and photometrics. Significant design detail is
not included. Preliminary cost estimate is prepared.
* 60% Design Review: Final layout and photometrics. Final design layout review and
stakeholder coordination review. Design development cost-estimate is prepared.
* 90% Design Review: Final design review, draft project special provisions review. Final
cost estimate is prepared.
A final deliverable, after all reviews are completed, will consist of the design plans (in PDF
format) signed by the engineer of record, special provisions (PDF and Microsoft Word format)
and a final cost estimate, with individual bid items matching the bid quantities (PDF and
Microsoft Excel format). City staff will route the design plans for internal signatures.
4. Project Bidding
The City will oversee bidding the project. The consultant will be available to answer clarification
questions and if needed, preparing addendum responses. The proposers should include 16 hours
of the project manager's time within their cost proposal for addressing questions. Actual effort
will be billed hourly as needed.
5. Construction Administration
The City is planning to provide field representation for this project's construction phase at this
time. The consultant will be required to provide review of construction concerns and project
submittals as requested by City staff. The proposers should include 32 hours of the project
manager's time within their cost proposal for addressing questions. Actual effort will be billed
hourly as needed.
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PROJECT COMPLETION DATES
May 12, 2026 RFP Issued
May 26, 2026 Questions Due
May 28, 2026 Proposals Due
June 4, 2026 Selection of Consultant
June 15, 2026 Council Approval to Award Contract
July 31, 2026 30% Plan Review
August 28, 2026 60% Plan Review
September 25, 2026 90% Plan Review
October/November 2026 Advertise for Bids
December 2026 Receive Bids
April 2027 Start Construction
September 2027 Construction Completion
November 2027 Submittal of Record Drawings
QUALIFICATION PROPOSAL CONTENTS
The proposal shall be submitted in the following format broken into the sections identified
below. Proposals not following the specified format will not be reviewed. No additional sections
or appendices are allowed.
* Proposers shall include three (3) paper copies of the qualification proposal with the
submittal.
One (1) copy shall be unbound. The unbound copy may be secured with a binder
o
clip or other method that is easily removed for scanning.
* The proposal shall be limited to ten (10) single-sided pages, not including a cover letter.
* Proposers may opt to include one (1) single-sided page may be a single-sided 11" X 17"
page if necessary for a project layout, workplan or other graphical design.
* The separate cost proposal can be an 11" X 17" page.
* Proposals that exceed the page limit will not be reviewed.
* Proposers may use Appendix A as a cover letter, or should include all information from
Appendix A on their cover letters, including addenda acknowledgements.
The proposal format shall be as follows:
1. Goals and Objectives
A brief restatement of the goals and objectives and the project tasks to demonstrate the
responder's review and understanding of the project.
2. Similar Project Experience
An outline of the responder's background and experience with similar projects, providing
lighting design on roadways in urban areas.
3. Personnel
Identify key personnel to conduct the project and detail their training and work
experience. Identify how personnel proposed for this project were involved with the
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projects listed as experience. Identify a professional engineer registered in the State of
Minnesota who will oversee the overall project and be responsible for certifying the plans
and special provisions. Once the project is awarded, no change in key personnel assigned
to the project will be permitted without approval of the City.
4. Knowledge of Duluth Requirements and Pre-qualification
Include a description of the firm's knowledge of City of Duluth Engineering Guidelines
and Construction Standards. Firms must hold prequalification 14.3 with the Minnesota
Department of Transportation (Roadway Lighting Design). Proposers that do not hold
prequalification 14.3 will not be considered for this project.
5. Work Plan
Include a detailed work plan identifying the work tasks to be accomplished and the
budget hours to be expended on each task and subtask. The budget hours shall be in
chart/spreadsheet format, including each proposed task and the number of hours for each
staff person on that task. The work plan shall also identify the deliverables of key
milestones in the project as well as any key information or responsibilities identified
within this request that are the City's responsibility.
6. Work Schedule
An anticipated work schedule shall also be provided. The work schedule shall identify all
key milestone dates.
7. References
Provide names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three (3) references
for whom the respondent has performed similar street and utility construction services.
References shall not include City of Duluth staff.
COST PROPOSAL CONTENTS
Provide one (1) unbound copy of the cost proposal in a separate sealed envelope, clearly marked
on the outside "Cost Proposal" along with the responder's official business name and address.
Terms of the proposal as stated must be valid for the project length of time.
The consultant must include a not to exceed total project cost, as well as subtotals for design
services, bidding, and any sub consultant fees. The cost proposal shall include all of the
following:
* A cover/transmittal letter
* A breakdown of the hours by task for each employee. This shall be in the same format as
the work plan in the Qualifications Proposal with the addition of costs.
* Hourly rates for each specific employee proposed (not general rates by category).
* Identification of anticipated direct expenses and rates for miscellaneous charges such as
mileage and copies.
* Identification of any assumption made while developing this cost proposal.
* Identification of any cost information related to additional services or tasks. Include this
in the cost proposal but identify it as additional costs and do not make it part of the total
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project cost.
* Proposals must be signed by an authorized official. If the official signs the Proposal
Cover Sheet attached as Appendix A, this requirement will be met.
* The Consultant must not include any cost information within the body of the RFP
qualification proposal response.
SELECTION
The proposals will be reviewed by City Staff. The intent of the selection process is to review
proposals and make an award based upon qualifications as described herein. A 100-point scale
will be used to create the final evaluation recommendations. The factors and weighting on which
proposals will be judged are:
Item Percent
1 Personnel and firm experience 15%
2 Work Plan and Schedule 15%
3 Project Understanding 20%
4 History (completeness, timeliness and budget compliance) of past work on a 10%
similar government project
5 Project costs/fees 40%
Proposals will be evaluated on a best value basis with 60% qualifications and 40% cost
consideration. The review committee will not open the cost proposal until after the qualification
points have been awarded. Cost proposals will only be opened for the three top ranked firms. The
City anticipates that the evaluation and selection will be completed by June 4, 2026.
SUBMITTAL DATE
Submit unbound original in an envelope marked, "26-99484 RFP for Eng Svcs for Medical
District Lighting Improvements" by 3:00 PM CDT, May 28, 2026 to:
Patrice Stalvig, Purchasing Agent
City of Duluth - Purchasing Department
411 W 1st Street, Room 120 City Hall
Duluth, MN 55802
Digital copies of proposals may be requested of proposers after proposal due date.
CONTACT
All questions concerning the project shall be submitted before Tuesday, May 26 and shall be
directed to:
Joe Jurewicz, P.E., Senior Engineer
City of Duluth - Engineering Division
411 W 1st Street, Room 240 City Hall
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Duluth, Minnesota 55802
jjurewicz@duluthmn.gov
(218) 730-5095
ADDENDA
If the City deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date,
the City will post an addendum to its website http://www.duluthmn.gov/purchasing/bids-
request-for-proposals/. Although an e-mail notification will be sent, it is the Proposer's
responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information. Any addenda issued
must be acknowledged on the proposal cover sheet (attached as Appendix A).
LIMITATIONS
This Request for Proposal does not commit the City of Duluth to award a contract or pay costs
incurred in the preparation of the proposal, or to procure a contract for services or supplies.
The Proposal shall not in any way include any restrictions on the City of Duluth. The Consultant
shall NOT provide proposed contract language.
The City of Duluth specifically reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to
negotiate with any qualified source, to cancel in part or in its entirety the Request for Proposal, to
waive any requirements, to investigate the qualifications of any proposal, to obtain new
proposals, or proceed to have the service provided in any way as necessary to serve the best
interests of the City of Duluth.
The selected consultant must sign the City of Duluth Standard Professional Engineering Services
Agreement, a sample of which is available at https://duluthmn.gov/purchasing/forms/. Any
questions concerning this agreement should be asked PRIOR to proposal submittal. These
questions should be directed to Joe Jurewicz in the City Engineering Office.
All materials submitted in response to this RFP will become property of the City and will
become public record after the evaluation process is complete and an award decision made.
Prior to entering into an agreement with the City, the Consultant shall furnish proof that it has
met all legal requirements for transacting business in the State of Minnesota.
By submitting a proposal, each Bidder understands, represents, and acknowledges that:
a. Their proposal has been developed by the Bidder independently and has been
submitted without collusion with and without agreement, understanding, or
planned common course of action with any other vendor or suppliers of materials,
supplies, equipment, or services described in the Request for Proposals, designed
to limit independent bidding or competition, and that the contents of the proposal
have not been communicated by the Bidder or its employees or agents to any
person not an employee or agent of the Bidder.
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b. There is no conflict of interest. A conflict of interests exists if a Bidder has any
interest that would actually conflict, or has the appearance of conflicting, in any
manner or degree with the performance of work on the project. If there are
potential conflicts, identify the municipalities, developers, and other public or
private entities with whom your company is currently, or have been, employed
and which may be affected.
c. It is not currently under suspension or debarment by the State of Minesota, any
other state, or the federal government.
d. The company is either organized under Minnesota law or has a Certificate of
Authority from the Minnesota Secretary of State to do business in Minnesota, in
accordance with the requirements in M.S. 303.03
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APPENDIX A - PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
CITY OF DULUTH
RFP# 26-99484 for Engineering Services for Medical District Lighting Improvements
Bidder Information:
Bidder Name
Mailing Address
Contact Person
Contact Person's Phone Number
Contact Person's E-Mail Address
Federal ID Number
Authorized Signature
Name & Title of Authorized Signer
Email of Authorized Signer
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ADDENDA
ADDENDUM # INITIAL/DATE
ADDENDUM # INITIAL/DATE
ADDENDUM # INITIAL/DATE
ADDENDUM # INITIAL/DATE
ADDENDUM # INITIAL/DATE