Treeline Gateway Design Engineering

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP # 26-36
Treeline Gateway Design Engineering
City of Ann Arbor
Public Services Area/Engineering
Due Date: August 11, 2026 by 11:00 a.m. (local time)
Issued By:
City of Ann Arbor
Procurement Unit
301 E. Huron Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION I: GENERAL INFORMATION ........................................................................ 3
SECTION II: SCOPE OF SERVICES ........................................................................... 10
SECTION III: MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED ................................................. 18
SECTION IV: ATTACHMENTS .................................................................................... 22
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SECTION I - GENERAL INFORMATION
A. OBJECTIVE
The Treeline Conservancy, in collaboration with the City of Ann Arbor, is seeking
professional consulting services to design, permit, and prepare construction
documents for the Gateway Segment of the proposed Treeline Trail. This segment
includes a "signature bridge" element that will create a grade-separated connection
from the Amtrak/MDOT railroad property behind 924 N. Main Street to 721 North Main.
This RFP is a joint effort of the City of Ann Arbor and the Treeline Conservancy, a
501(C)(3) non-profit. If the RFP process results in a consultant being selected, the
design contract will be between the Treeline Conservancy and the consultant; the City
will not be a party.
A sample professional services agreement is included with this RFP. The City's role
is as a collaborator to the extent the Project may relate to City property, facilities, and
interests. The TLC is solely responsible for administration of any professional services
agreement and payment of compensation due thereunder.
B. QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS / DESIGNATED CITY CONTACTS
All questions regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be submitted via e-mail.
Questions will be accepted and answered in accordance with the terms and conditions
of this RFP.
All questions shall be submitted on or before July 17, 2026 at 10:00 a.m., and
should be addressed as follows:
Scope of Work/Proposal Content questions shall be e-mailed to:
Norman Herbert - normanh@thetreeline.org AND
Nick Hutchinson - nhutchinson@a2gov.org
RFP Process and Compliance questions shall be e-mailed to Colin Spencer, Buyer
- CSpencer@a2gov.org
Should any prospective respondent or offeror be in doubt as to the true meaning of
any portion of this RFP, or should the prospective respondent find any ambiguity,
inconsistency, or omission therein, the prospective respondent shall make a written
request for an official interpretation or correction by the due date for questions above.
All interpretations, corrections, or additions to this RFP will be made only as an official
addendum that will be posted to a2gov.org and MITN.info and it shall be the
prospective respondent's responsibility to ensure they have received all addenda
before submitting a proposal. Any addendum issued by the City and The Treeline
Conservancy shall become part of the RFP and must be incorporated in the proposal
where applicable.
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C. PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING
A pre-proposal meeting will be held on July 7, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. in the Basement
Conference Room at the City Hall Larcom Center at 301 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, 48104. Because space at this location is limited, prospective offerors may
also join this meeting virtually over Microsoft Teams. To obtain the link to this meeting,
please contact engineering@a2gov.org by July 6, and include "RFP 26-36 Pre-
Proposal Meeting" in the subject line.
The meeting is not mandatory; however, it is highly recommended that interested
offerors attend the meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the project with
prospective offerors and to answer any questions concerning RFP 26-36. Any
questions and answers furnished in the pre-proposal meeting will not be official until
verified in writing through an addendum.
D. PROPOSAL FORMAT
To be considered, each firm must submit a response to this RFP using the format
provided in Section III. No other distribution of proposals is to be made by the
prospective respondent. An official authorized to bind the respondent to its provisions
must sign the proposal. Each proposal must remain valid for at least 120 days from
the due date of this RFP.
Proposals should be prepared simply and economically providing a straightforward,
concise description of the respondent's ability to meet the requirements of the RFP.
No erasures are permitted. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrected and must be
initialed in ink by the person signing the proposal.
E. SELECTION CRITERIA
Responses to this RFP will be evaluated using a point system as shown in Section III.
A selection committee comprised of staff from the City and the Treeline Conservancy
will complete the evaluation.
The fee proposals will not be reviewed at the initial evaluation. After initial evaluation,
the top proposals will be determined and the committee will open only those fee
proposals. The committee will then determine which, if any, firms will be interviewed.
During the interviews, the selected firms will be given the opportunity to discuss their
proposal, qualifications, past experience, and their fee proposal in more detail. The
committee further reserves the right to interview the key personnel assigned by the
selected respondent to this project. If the committee chooses to interview any
respondents, the interviews will be tentatively held the September 16-18, 2026.
Offeror must be available on these dates.
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All proposals submitted may be subject to clarifications and further negotiation. All
agreements resulting from negotiations that differ from what is represented within the
RFP or in the proposal response shall be documented and included as part of the final
contract.
F. SEALED PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
All proposals are due and must be delivered to the City on or before, August 11,
2026 at 11:00 a.m. (local time). Proposals submitted late or via oral, telephonic,
telegraphic, electronic mail or facsimile will not be considered or accepted.
Each respondent must submit in a sealed envelope
* one (1) original proposal
* one (1) digital copy of the proposal preferably on a USB/flash drive
as one file in PDF format
Each respondent must submit in a single separate sealed envelope marked
Fee Proposal
* one (1) original fee proposal
* one (1) digital copy of the fee proposal
The fee proposal and all costs should be separate from the rest of the
proposal.
Proposals submitted should be clearly marked: "RFP No. 26-36 - Treeline Gateway
Design Engineering" and list the respondent's name and address.
Proposals must be addressed and delivered to:
City of Ann Arbor
c/o Customer Service
301 East Huron Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
All proposals received on or before the due date will be publicly opened and recorded
on the due date. No immediate decisions will be rendered.
Hand delivered bids may be dropped off in the Purchasing drop box located in the Ann
Street (north) vestibule/entrance of City Hall which is open to the public Monday
through Friday from 8am to 5pm (except holidays). The City and TLC will not be liable
to any prospective offeror for any unforeseen circumstances, delivery, or postal
delays. Postmarking on the due date will not substitute for receipt of the proposal.
Offerors are responsible for submission of their proposal. Additional time will not be
granted to a single prospective respondent. However, additional time may be granted
to all prospective respondents at the discretion of the City and TLC.
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A proposal may be disqualified if the following required forms are not included
with the proposal:
* Attachment B - Legal Status of Offeror
* Attachment C - City of Ann Arbor Non-Discrimination Declaration of
Compliance
* Attachment D - City of Ann Arbor Living Wage Declaration of Compliance
* Attachment E - Vendor Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form of the RFP
Document
Proposals that fail to provide these forms listed above upon proposal opening
may be deemed non-responsive and may not be considered for award.
Please provide the forms outlined above (Attachments B, C, D and E) within
your narrative proposal, not within the separately sealed Fee Proposal
envelope.
All proposed fees, cost or compensation for the services requested herein
should be provided in the separately sealed Fee Proposal envelope only.
G. DISCLOSURES
Under the Freedom of Information Act (Public Act 442), the City is obligated to permit
review of its files, if requested by others. All information in a proposal is subject to
disclosure under this provision. This act also provides for a complete disclosure of
contracts and attachments thereto.
H. TYPE OF CONTRACT
A sample of the Professional Services Agreement is included as Attachment H. Those
who wish to submit a proposal are required to review this sample agreement carefully.
The Treeline Conservancy will not entertain changes to the sample Professional
Services Agreement.
The Treeline Conservancy reserves the right to award the total proposal, to reject any
or all proposals in whole or in part, and to waive any informality or technical defects if,
in the Treeline Conservancy's sole judgment, the best interests of Treeline
Conservancy will be so served.
This RFP and the selected offeror's response thereto, shall constitute the basis of the
scope of services in the contract by reference.
I. NONDISCRIMINATION
All respondents proposing to complete the Project shall satisfy the contract
compliance administrative policy adopted by the City Administrator in accordance with
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the Section 9:158 of the Ann Arbor City Code. Breach of the obligation not to
discriminate as outlined in Attachment C shall be a material breach of the contract.
Contractors are required to post a copy of Ann Arbor's Non-Discrimination Ordinance
attached at all work locations where its employees provide services under a contract
for the Project.
J. WAGE REQUIREMENTS
The Attachments provided herein outline the requirements for payment of prevailing
wages or of a "living wage" to employees providing services under this contract. The
successful offeror must comply with all applicable requirements and provide
documentary proof of compliance when requested.
K. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE
The City of Ann Arbor Purchasing Policy requires that the consultant complete a
Conflict of Interest Disclosure form as to conflicts with the City and TLC. A contract
may not be awarded to the selected offeror unless and until the Procurement Unit and
the City Administrator have reviewed the Disclosure form and determined that no
conflict exists under applicable federal, state, or local law or administrative regulation.
Not every relationship or situation disclosed on the Disclosure Form may be a
disqualifying conflict. Depending on applicable law and regulations, some contracts
may be awarded on the recommendation of the City Administrator after full disclosure,
where such action is allowed by law, if demonstrated competitive pricing exists and/or
it is determined the award is in the best interest of the City and Treeline Conservancy.
A copy of the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form is attached.
L. COST LIABILITY
The City of Ann Arbor and The Treeline Conservancy assume no responsibility or
liability for costs incurred by the offeror prior to the execution of a Professional
Services Agreement. The liability of the City and The Treeline Conservancy is limited
to the terms and conditions outlined in the Agreement. By submitting a proposal,
offeror agrees to bear all costs incurred or related to the preparation, submission, and
selection process for the proposal.
M. DEBARMENT
Submission of a proposal in response to this RFP is certification that the Respondent
is not currently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, and declared ineligible
or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any State or Federal
departments or agency. Submission is also agreement that the City and the Treeline
Conservancy will be notified of any changes in this status.
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N. PROPOSAL PROTEST
All protests must be in writing and filed with the City Purchasing Manager within 5
business days of any notices of intent, including, but not exclusively, divisions on pre-
qualification of bidders, shortlisting of bidders, or a notice of intent to award a contract.
Only bidders who responded to the solicitation may file a bid protest. The respondent
must clearly state the reasons for the protest. If a respondent contacts a City Service
Area/Unit and indicates a desire to protest an award, the Service Area/Unit shall refer
the offeror to the Purchasing Manager. The Purchasing Manager will provide the
offeror with the appropriate instructions for filing the protest. The protest shall be
reviewed by the Treeline Conservancy, whose decision shall be final.
Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be only submitted in
writing to the Designated Contacts provided herein. Attempts by the offeror to initiate
contact with anyone other than the Designated Contacts provided herein that the
offeror believes can influence the procurement decision, e.g., Elected Officials, City
Administrator, Selection Committee Members, Appointed Committee Members, etc.,
may lead to immediate elimination from further consideration.
O. SCHEDULE
The proposals submitted should define an appropriate schedule in accordance with
the requirements of the Proposed Work Plan in Section III.
The following is the schedule for this RFP process.
Activity/Event Anticipated Date
Pre-Proposal Meeting July 7, 2026, 1:00 p.m.
Written Question Deadline July 17, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Addenda Published (if needed) On or before July 31, 2026
Proposal Due Date August 11, 2026, 11:00 a.m. (Local Time)
Tentative Interviews (if needed) September 16-18, 2026
Selection/Negotiations October 2026
The above schedule is for information purposes only and is subject to change at the
City and TLC's discretion.
P. IRS FORM W-9
The selected offeror will be required to provide an IRS form W-9.
Q. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
1. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right in its sole and absolute
discretion to accept or reject any or all proposals, or alternative proposals, in whole
or in part, with or without cause.
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2. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to waive, or not waive,
informalities or irregularities in of any proposal if determined by the City and The
Treeline Conservancy to be in its best interest.
3. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to request additional
information from any or all offerors.
4. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to reject any proposal
that it determines to be unresponsive and deficient in any of the information
requested within RFP.
5. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to determine whether the
scope of the project will be entirely as described in the RFP, a portion of the scope,
or a revised scope be implemented.
6. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to select one or more
consultants to perform services.
7. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to retain all proposals
submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal
is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the
conditions contained in this RFP, unless clearly and specifically noted in the
proposal submitted.
8. The City and The Treeline Conservancy reserve the right to disqualify proposals
that fail to respond to any requirements outlined in the RFP, or failure to enclose
copies of the required documents outlined within RFP.
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SECTION II - SCOPE OF SERVICES
1. Location and Background
The project is located within the City of Ann Arbor, in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
The Gateway Project is the northern segment of the proposed Treeline Trail, a 2.5-mile
multi-use non-motorized trail between the Huron River and the University of Michigan
Stadium. The proposed Treeline Trail will be located along the western edge of downtown
parallel to the WATCO Railroad. As proposed, it will connect with the County-wide Border-
to-Border (B2B) Trail and the State-wide Iron Belle Trail at Broadway Park West just north
of the Depot Street pedestrian tunnel (also known as the Allen Creek Berm Opening).
2. Prior Studies, Data, and Plans
The following existing documents related to the Treeline Trail project are included in
Attachment A:
* Draft Concept path for the Gateway Segment (INFORM Studio exhibit)
* North Segment work area & potential access points (Midwestern Consulting
exhibit)
* Deed restrictions on 721 North Main
* Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental reports (that are currently completed)
The following documents will also be available upon request:
* FEMA Floodway/Floodplain maps
* County Allen Creek Drain drawings (easement permitted infringements)
The City is currently engaged in development of the Vision Zero North Main
Transportation Study (estimated completion in December 2026).
Additional data will also be available from existing City GIS Layers:
* Wetlands
* Woodlands
* Aerial Photography
* City Utility Systems
* Parcels
* Historical Soil Boring Records
Please note that this information will only be made available to the chosen consultant and
that signing a non-disclosure agreement will be required. The Consultant shall verify
accuracy of any such data provided. For the purpose of preparing a response to this RFP,
refer to documents in Attachment A, City maps containing limited version of the data is
accessed at Map Ann Arbor.
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