REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) FOR COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING ACTION PLAN RFQ Issued: July 17 th, 2018 City Contact: KENT JARCIK PLANNING & ZONING DIRECTOR kentj@ci.williston.nd.us PO Box 1306 113 4 th ST. E Williston, ND 58802-1306 701-577-8104 1
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING ACTION PLAN CITY OF WILLISTON, NORTH DAKOTA Project Purpose The City of Williston, North Dakota intends to develop a comprehensive housing action plan. The plan should address and create action items that will help the City meet the housing demands as forecasted by the 2016 Statewide Housing Needs Assessment. The product should be a long-term action plan with goals and strategies for achieving the projected housing needed for each income category of the study. Parameters of the plan include: Identify development constraints in the community, assess local implementation capacity, and identify community housing goals and strategies that will address housing needs. o Identification of constraints within the public sector that includes review of ordinances, regulation, policies and program implementation. In addition, a review of private sector items should include financing, price/availability of land, cost of construction, home owners associations, local capacity to assist/finance/manage construction, provide housing support services, and administer housing funds/programs; Identify and address the current shortfall or gaps of housing for each income category of the 2016 Statewide Housing Needs Assessment. Provide programs and actions to promote the development of housing for each income category to meet future projections; Preserve existing neighborhoods: Address existing neighborhoods to improve and maintain quality housing stocks. Provide an existing neighborhoods analysis with recommended strategies toward maintaining quality neighborhoods, encouraging and promoting rehabilitation and maintenance of older homes and rentals; Development of a toolkit: Tools and/or programs based on the City s specific circumstances to give action to the plan. The toolkit should consider all strategies including programs, policies, incentives and regulations. The plan should identify what the best entity is to lead or develop each specific strategy or new structure if there are organizational gaps or limitations for implementation; The action plan should include detailed next steps to develop each strategy including responsible parties and timelines. Community Background Williston s population history has been characterized by periods of rapid growth due to increased oil and gas exploration and subsequent downturns when the commodity price is down. Williston was recognized as the fastest growing micropolitan City (cities under 50,000 in population) four consecutive years between 2011 and 2015. Recent trends are a 2
more stabilizing population with increases in oil and gas extraction and production technologies as well as increases of transportation infrastructure to the market. Currently the City is seeing expanded population growth and employment opportunities. Housing market trends have been characterized during the peak of the growth cycle by high costs for land and high infrastructure and construction costs. Even in slower periods of growth, developers are constrained by original return on investment calculations from high initial investments in property and infrastructure. The area also requires significantly higher amounts of equity in order to obtain debt to capitalize construction projects. While the area currently has a very strong jobs market, low unemployment rate and higher demand on the rental market, new construction starts for single family homes is stagnant. The jobs market is very strong with a reported 1600 advertised positions for Williams County at the North Dakota Jobs Service. This statistic is generally understood to be well below actual positions available in the area. Williston s demographic data indicates a current median household income of $90,875, which is significantly driven by the surge in oil related jobs with other sectors of the community significantly impacted by higher wages and high property values. The current median property value is $223,800. While new single family detached home construction is small, the ones that have been built within the City are generally in the $340,000 to $350,000 range or higher. The current population of Williston is estimated by City Official s to be approximately 32,000. The 2016 Statewide Housing Needs Assessment forecasts for the City of Williston for increased dwelling units needed per income category by the year 2029 include: Extremely low: 0-30% MFI, an increase of 40.4%; Very low: 31-50% MFI, an increase of 52.0%; Low Income: 51-80% MFI, an increase of 45.1%; Lower Moderate: 81-115% MFI, an increase of 54.1%; Moderate: 116-140% MFI, an increase of 45.3%; Upper Income: Above 140% MFI, an increase of 46.2%. Statement of Qualifications The consultant shall include a statement of qualifications addressing their strengths within each of the categories below: Knowledge of and experience with implementation of the fundamentals of an organized communitywide comprehensive action program; Demonstrated ability to research a community in a short period of time to understand the specific community dynamics and market conditions and propose applicable recommendations of tools and strategies to address the circumstances; Knowledge, understanding and experience with a variety of strategies and techniques and their implementation as used in the field of housing development. The consultant is not intended to address each item separately as listed below nor is the list intended to be exhaustive. The following list is intended as a frame of reference and the City s intent for a complete analysis of conditions, understanding of innovative approaches with recommendations as applicable to the specific community dynamics. 3
o Regulatory approaches: State, regional and local inclusionary housing programs: Analysis of density bonuses and implementation of such; Use of incentives such as fee reductions, review process, modification of development standards, etc. to incentivize the desired number of units with each development at the defined affordable rate; o Nexus studies to implement such a program; o Financing approaches: Federal programs (CDGB, HOME, other); State and Local programs; Housing Trust Funds; Bond Financing; Taxation programs (tax-increment financing, tax credits, tax waivers or abatements); o Private Funding and programs: Financing Partnerships (Lending Consortia); Employer housing- production programs; Demand-side programs; o Housing: Accessible housing - options and incentives; Housing for the aging - options and incentives; Alternative housing (Co-housing; cooperative housing and variations; mobile home parks; accessory apartments; small homes; tiny homes; housing the homeless; student housing); o Programs: Home rehabilitation programs/incentives; Homebuyer assistance programs; Land Banking; Community Land Trust; Limited-equity housing cooperatives; o Institutional Support: Housing Advisory Boards; Community Housing Development Organizations; Approaches to State and Regional advocacy; Demonstrated knowledge and ability to provide market data analysis and neighborhood analysis to support desired outcomes and build public support for proposed tools and strategies; Public engagement: Description of the firm s experience to engage the community in order to understand the broad needs for housing in the community as well as the needs and barriers of those working to deliver housing; 4
Project Team: The project manager and list of personnel who will be assigned to work on the project should be identified, including titles, their responsibilities, education, and work experience; Description of the consultant s experience with similar projects: Names and telephone numbers of at least three client references to whom the applicant has provided services similar to the project described in this RFQ. Submittal Process All submissions must be received at the address below no later than Friday, August 17 th, 2018 (5:00 P.M. CST). One (1) hard copy and one (1) electronic copy (in e-mail, CD, or flash drive format) are needed. Submittal Cover letter: Teams of consultants are welcome to submit joint proposals, with the designation of a lead firm with subcontractors that will report to the lead firm. Submit a cover letter that address the items under the Statement of Qualifications section of this RFQ; RFQ submittals are to be delivered to: The City of Williston, Planning and Zoning Department C/O Kent Jarcik (Planning and Zoning Director) P.O. Box 1306 Williston, ND 58802-1306 E-mail contact: kentj@ci.williston.nd.us (Subject Line: Housing Plan RFQ) The City of Williston reserves the right to request additional information from responders following review of the information submitted. Inquiries: Questions regarding this RFQ to be directed to Kent Jarcik at (701) 577-8104 or by e-mail at kentj@ci.williston.nd.us Method of Evaluation and Selection Process The submitted RFQ s will be reviewed based on the evaluation factors noted below. Each submittal will be evaluated by a selection committee of the City of Williston. A short list of consultants may be asked to make presentations to the consultant selection committee. The selection committee will make a recommendation to the City Commission and upon approval of the selected consultant a contract of terms will be made. RFQ submittals will be evaluated and a consultant will be selected based on the following criteria: Interview evaluation (if required); Demonstrated ability to effectively and efficiently complete the project within the City s stated project purpose; Qualifications and technical competence; Demonstrated ability to engage the public in the process; Previous experience with other public/government agencies; 5
Post Selection Process Project Contract Agreement: Upon selection of a preferred consultant, the City will work with the consultant to negotiate a contract, scope of services, and work plan with timelines. The contract will define the responsibilities of the consultant and the City of Williston. The City shall attempt to negotiate and reach a final agreement with the consultant. If the City, for any reason, is unable to reach a final agreement with the preferred consultant; the City then reserves the right to reject the selected preferred consultant and negotiate a final agreement with another consultant who has the next most viable qualifications. The City may also elect to reject all consultant submittals and re-issue a new RFQ. RFQ Submittals and Presentation Costs The city of Williston shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by the proposer in preparing responses to this solicitation or any costs associated with the selection process. Each proposer shall bear its own costs; Upon submission of a response to this RFQ, all materials submitted become the property of the City of Williston, which retains the right to use any concept or idea presented in any response submitted, whether or not that firm is retained. The City of Williston expressly reserves the right to amend or withdraw this Request for Qualifications at any time and to reject any or all submittals; The City of Williston assumes no responsibility for delays caused by the delivery service. Postmarking by the due date will not substitute for actual receipt by the designated due date and time; The City reserves the right to request any additional information at any stage of the selection process. Compliance shall be at the Proposer s expense. General Conditions This Request for Qualifications does not commit the City of Williston to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred as a result of preparing such a response. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses received and interview any or all proposer s at its discretion, to negotiate with all qualified respondents and select the consultant evaluated to be the most advantageous to the City. The City of Williston reserves the right to enter into a supplementary agreement to have the consultant selected perform any additional work not currently assigned. 6