Seven proposals received in response to RFP
By Dan Schroeder
We haven’t heard much from the media about the field house recently. But even though none of the hoped-for funding for this massive indoor recreation project has yet materialized, Mayor Godfrey hasn’t given up hope and continues to push the city council to support it.
Meanwhile, attentive readers may be wondering about a loose end left over from early this year. On January 23 the city published a Request For Proposals for architectural services for the field house. A clarification of the RFP appeared on the city’s web site on February 1, and the deadline for proposals was February 9.
This RFP was unusual in a couple of ways. First, it was vague about the scope of the project and the format in which prospective architects were supposed to submit their bids. And second, it failed to acknowledge that the city had already hired an architect, Dan Van Zeben, to draw preliminary sketches of the field house. (Mr. Van Zeben claimed he was doing this work as a volunteer, but documents later showed that the city had funneled $5000 to him through the consultant who produced the field house feasibility study.)
After hearing nothing about the RFP since the February 9 deadline, I got curious and submitted a GRAMA request to the city, asking to see the full procurement file. The usual delays ensued, while the city attorney’s office considered whether the file had to be released. But they finally did so, and I got to look through the file earlier this week.
Seven architects submitted proposals in response to the RFP:
- VanZeben (Ogden)
- VCBO (Salt Lake City)
- CRSA (Salt Lake City)
- Mark Wilson Architects (Lehi)
- Sanders Associates (Ogden)
- EDA (Salt Lake City)
- Ridgeline Design (South Ogden)
All of the proposals consist mostly of information about the firms’ credentials and previous work. The bids themselves are brief and hard to compare, with some consisting only of hourly rates, others bidding as a percentage of construction cost, and so on.
Besides the seven bids, the city received five email inquiries from other interested firms. The “clarification” that the city posted on February 1 was actually a copy of its response to an inquiry from Bertoldi Architects of Ogden.
After the deadline passed, some of the bidders inquired into the schedule for awarding the contract. At first the city indicated that the process would be quick, but this gradually changed until May 6 when Management Services Director Mark Johnson stated that the project was “on hold”. That seems to be where things stand today.
