The Port St. Joe Port Authority (PA) invites the submittal of statements of qualifications from firms or teams interested in providing a broad range of professional services including put not limited to engineering, planning, environmental, governmental advocacy, port marketing, and other as may be deemed appropriate to accomplish the objective of a “new start” port development as further described below. This solicitation is issued pursuant to the Consultants Competitive Negotiations Act, Section 287.055, F.S. Submittals should be in compliance with that act and other related general laws.
BACKGROUND
The PA’s Port St. Joe Port Master Plan (the Plan) provides the framework for the development of various properties on St. Joseph Bay and the Gulf County Canal (the Canal). A copy of the Plan in CD format may be obtained by making request to the Port staff office at (850)229-5240.
The subject properties, totaling approximately 130 acres, are identified on the attached Figure 2-2 from that Port Master Plan and include “Port Land”, “Parcel A”, and “Parcel B” within the Port Planning Area, and an additional 20 acres on the “Former Paper Mill Site” that includes 1,000 feet on the existing bulkhead at that site. That Bulkhead Site is located on the existing turning basin and ship channel. The PA anticipates initiating port cargo operations on that site immediately while efforts are underway to develop Parcel A as the permanent deep water port site.
Parcel A is an undeveloped site, a portion of which is a brownfield. The primary objective of this RFQ is to secure a team with the capabilities and commitment to acquire the permitting and funding, to plan and design the infrastructure and improvements (dredging, bulkhead, rail, road, utilities, security, etc.), and to provide construction management to develop the site into an operational deepwater port as quickly as possible.
Parcel B is owned by the PA and the construction of a bulkhead is underway on the Canal waterfront of that site. Parcels A and B are readily accessible from each other via a lengthy grade separation under the U.S. Highway 98 Bridge; that bridge has a vertical clearance of 75 feet over the Canal. These features present opportunities for Parcel B to be a support area for cargo operations initiated either on the waterfront of the newly developed Parcel A or on the Canal waterfront of Parcel B.
The Port St. Joe Ship Channel is a Federal channel Congressionally authorized to a depth of 35 feet, though maintenance dredging has not been performed in many years and is badly needed. The Parcel A improvements will require new deepwater access with depth of 35 feet. The Canal channel is a part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and is authorized to a depth of twelve feet; however, the Parcel B bulkhead is designed for a depth of 22 feet in anticipation of possible deepening of the Canal to that property so that some oceangoing vessels can access it. In light of these needs, dredge project permitting and design will be a major component of the work effort assigned to the successful team.
Funding of the improvements is vital and therefore a priority task of the selected team will be to assist in the pursuit of funding through all available channels. The PA is a member of the Florida Ports Council and the Florida Seaport Transportation Economic Development Council, is authorized in statute to secure funding through bonds, and is an independent special district with members appointed by the Governor of Florida. Each of these represents funding opportunities; it is expected that many others must be explored, including public-private partnership, in order to accomplish the objective of an operational deepwater seaport at Port St. Joe. Consequently, the PA welcomes the interest of potential private partners who may wish to respond to this RFQ. One likely task of the selected team is the preparation of planning, market, and financial documents that could be used to solicit the interests of private partners or investors or to support a bond issue, loan, or combination of funding mechanisms.
A vital component of funding is a reliable revenue stream. As such, it is anticipated that the selected team must develop and, after PA approval, implement a marketing strategy that will attract customers, tenants, users, and/or partners to the Port of Port St. Joe. There is little if any interest in an expensive print advertising campaign; instead respondents should communicate their ideas and strategy for attracting customers, users, tenants, and port-related industry to the Port St. Joe area as the selected team is expected to be a vital component to a port marketing effort.
EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE
The firm/team selected through this process will be engaged to provide to the PA general planning and engineering services, environmental consulting and permitting services, port marketing, advocacy at the State and Federal levels, and such other services as are required to develop the Port properties into a functioning seaport. Those services are anticipated to cover the broad range of disciplines needed to develop a port, including but not limited to: marine, civil, and environmental engineering; facility design and planning, including buildings, warehouses, etc. and both deep and shallow draft marine facilities; specifications and bid document preparation; construction management and oversight; application for and securing of environmental permits; advocacy for funding support; financial planning; and such other services as might be required. The information submitted in response to this RFQ must demonstrate the respondents’ comprehensive expertise and experience in these diverse areas.
QUALIFICATIONS OF KEY PERSONNEL
Responses to this RFQ should identify the project manager/point of contact as well as other key personnel who are anticipated to be assigned to tasks and projects for the Port of Port St. Joe. Information must be included to show their qualifications and experience on projects of similar scope and magnitude.
REFERENCES
Responses to this RFQ should include references from at least five clients for whom each firm has performed work similar in nature. Provide client name, project title and description, cost, date of assignment, and telephone number of contact person.
SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
Nine bound copies of the response to this RFQ must be submitted to the following address by 5:00 p.m., December 5, 2008. Faxed or e-mail submittals will not be accepted.
Port St. Joe Port Authority
Mr. Tommy Pitts, Port Director
206 Monument Ave.
Port St. Joe, FL 32456
Phone: (850)229-5240
Submittals should include the following sections, for a total of no more than forty pages, exclusive of resumes and corporate brochures.
1. Cover letter
2. Statement of the firm’s/team’s understanding of the objective and needs of the PA and how they are prepared and equipped to meet them
3. Overview of corporate/team qualifications and experience
4. Key management and technical staff including a chart showing hourly rates for the relevant professional and support personnel categories and other corporate cost factors
5. References
6. Resumes of key personnel
7. Company brochures
SELECTION PROCESS
No more than three firms will be selected to participate in personal interviews with the PA based on the information contained in the responses to this RFQ. Interviews with the selected firms will be held in Port St. Joe. For those firms selected for an interview, key team members, including a representative authorized to make commitments for the firm should be present.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
All responses to the RFQ become the property of the Port Authority. This RFQ does not commit the PA to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal. The PA reserves the sole right to evaluate the submitted responses to this RFQ, waive any irregularity therein, reconfigure proposed teams, insert added team members, select consultant, and/or reject any and all submittals for any reason, should such be deemed to be in the best interest of the PA.
State of Florida Public Records Law – Once a final award is made, all RFQ responses become a matter of public record and shall be regarded by the PA as public records. The PA shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records or portions thereof if the disclosure is made pursuant to a request under the State of Florida Public Records Law.
Any questions regarding this RFQ may be directed to: Mr. Tommy Pitts, Port Director at (850)229-5240, e-mail: tpitts@gtcom.net.