R&P 7265

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SELECTION

R&P 7265

7265.1

A.

Application of this Procedure

This procedure shall apply to the selection of design consultants for publicly funded School System projects, where consultant fees are estimated to be in excess of $30,000 or as governed by Article 3D of NCGS Chapter 143 (143-64.31 to 64.34). If the design consultant's fee is estimated to be less than $100,000, the Associate Superintendent for Auxiliary Services or designee may waive these procedures in writing.  The written justification shall state the reason(s) and circumstances justifying the waiver.  If the proposed fee is $100,000 or greater, then the Board may waive these procedures with the same written justification.  When consultant fees are estimated to be less than $30,000, the procedures outlined here shall not apply, except the work shall be publicly announced and the consultant selected in a manner believed to be in the best interest of the school system, unless the Associate Superintendent for Auxiliary Services waives this process in writing.

7265.2

Selection Procedures

A.

List of Design Consultants

The Wake County Public School System encourages design consultants, including minority business enterprises to submit and maintain statements of current qualifications and performance data for reference purposes.  Facility Planning and Construction will maintain a file containing this reference material.  From this file, a current list of qualified design consultants will be generated.

B.

Project Announcement

On an individual or multiple project basis, staff will prepare and distribute, an announcement of the need for professional services to all named on the current list of qualified Design Consultants. The announcement will contain a description of the professional services desired, the scope of the work, any schedule requirements, including the deadline for responding to the project announcement, the amount of funds authorized and other appropriate information related to the specific projects.

C.

Design Consultant Response

A letter of interest and fully completed proposal for each project must be received by Facility Planning and Construction within the time established in the Project Announcement prior to being considered for professional services.  Proposals submitted by responding design consultants shall include Qualifications & Experience Form SF-330, or similar documentation, and other information in support of the proposal. Designers are advised to make the submissions simple and address the selection criteria directly.

D.

Selection

A selection committee for each announcement shall be established by the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities for the project(s) requiring professional services.  This selection committee shall consist of an odd number of members (a minimum of five). The selection committee shall include a school principal when applicable to an individual project or prototype.

The selection committee shall screen the list of design consultant respondents and select at least three firms for further consideration based on criteria similar to that listed below.  The list may be customized for the specific project(s).

1.      Specialized or appropriate expertise in the type of project.

2.      Past performance on similar projects.

3.      Adequate staff and proposed design team for the project.

4.      Current workload.

5.      Proposed design approach for the project.

6.      Recent experience with project cost control and maintaining design schedules.

7.      Construction administration capabilities.

8.      Familiarity with the area where the project is located and applicable municipal and state codes or ordinances.

9.      Record of successfully completed projects without major legal or technical problems.

10.   Other factors that may be appropriate for the project. (e.g. expertise in energy conservation, high performance buildings, etc)

The above listing of criteria does not indicate the order of importance.  The selection committee shall establish a priority ranking for the final list of criteria for the project(s).

E.

Review of Proposals

Following the submission of proposals, the selection committee will convene to review the selection rules.  Based on the complexity of the project or the number of projects for which services are needed, the committee will decide on how many firms (a minimum of three) they would like to short list for interviews.

F.

Interview Shortlist

Based on individual review of the proposals, the selection committee members rate the top candidates.  All the results are tabulated and interviewees are short-listed.  If the results of a committee vote are not absolutely clear, a discussion may ensue and the committee may  re-vote.

G.

Interview

Interviews are generally scheduled in 60-minute segments. This allows time for presentation by the designer teams, a period for questions and answers, and a reasonable period for take down and set-up. The teams are asked in the interview letter to address the selection criteria in their presentations.

H.

Final Selection

After completion of the interviews, the selection committee shall select its top candidates and document their final recommendation.  In the event the initial evaluation process does not result in a clear recommendation of the top candidate(s), the committee will re-evaluate critical items in order to determine the best candidate(s).

The committee shall provide a written recommendation for review and approval by the Superintendent, or the Associate Superintendent of Auxiliary Services. The recommendation shall list the first, second and third most qualified firm(s) for the project(s).  Contracts estimated in excess of $100,000 will require BOE approval.  Contracts less than $100,000 will require approval by the Associate Superintendent of Auxiliary Services or the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities.

7265.3

Contract Negotiations and Execution

A.

Upon approval to begin negotiations with a design consultant, the Directors of Construction Management and Facility Planning will discuss appropriate information about the project(s) with the higher ranked design consultant.  The discussion will include the scope of services to be provided, the design/review/construction process, and the project(s) schedule and budgetary constraints.  A good faith attempt will be made to negotiate final fees consistent with the standard terms of similar contracts as well as the specific services required for the particular project(s).

B.

In the event a fee or contract terms and conditions cannot be agreed upon, the Directors of Construction Management and Facility Planning will negotiate with the second most qualified firm.  Upon negotiation of an acceptable contract, it will be routed through the contract control process for final review and execution.  Board approval is required for contracts in excess of $100,000.  Contracts less than $100,000 will require approval of the Associate Superintendent of Auxiliary Services or the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities.

7265.4

Performance Evaluations and Project Closeout

A.

Upon closeout of individual projects, key staff who worked most closely with the design consultant(s) shall evaluate the performance of the design consultant(s).

B.

A session will be held at the completion of each project with representatives of school system, and the design consultant, to review the design consultant’s performance and the overall success of the project.  Results will be documented and placed into the design consultant qualification file in Facility Planning and Construction.

Adopted :  August 9, 2005