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�� � REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Depar t A al 1�• � � Item Description: Approve Brownfield Consultant Contract BACKGROUND Date: Sept. 28, 2015 Item No.: 8.c City Manager Approval Earlier this year, as part of the Twin Lakes Planning Process, Community Development Staff recommended the City Council consider hiring a brownfield consulting firm. The consulting firm would help the City become more informed and effective dealing with brownfield issues in the Twin Lakes area. The City Council agreed and directed staff to initiate that process. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process was initiated and submittals were received from six firms, including most of the large local environmental firms that specialize in this type of work. Three firms were interviewed by a panel consisting of the City Manager, Community Development Director and Public Works Director. Following the interview process, there was a unanimous consensus that the top firm was the one led by Liesch Associates, a Terracon Company. The Liesch team also consists of the legal firm Stoel Rives (grants) and SRF Consulting (civil engineering). Elements that stood out about the recommended firm include the following: • Experience with large, complex and high profi]e brown�eld economic development projects such as the Phalen Corridor, Lowertown Ballpark, Globe Building Materials and Beacon Bluff Successful grant experience and past working relationships with state/regional regulatars and funders • The project team has worked together on similar work for approximately a decade, so there appears to be good team familiarity and understanding There are four main elements of the proposed contract: Consolidation of Existing Information — There has been a lot of analysis, monitoring and some cleanup throughout the area over the past three decades. Some of this involved the City, but much of it has been at the private sector level, dealing directly with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on project specific areas. During this stage of the project, the consultant will gather this information into a GIS layered environment so that the City is able to have a better understanding of the overall picture of what is known and unknown about brownfields in the Twin Lakes area. Based on what is discovered in the process, the level of environmental threat can be evaluated, information gaps can be identified and a strategy for transforming the sites back into production can be developed. Page 1 of 2