Streetscape Committee reviews bids

Town of Bath Streetscape Committee has received ten responses to the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was sent out earlier this month.

The RFP is for the initial design work needed for streetscape improvements on Wilkes Street between Fairfax Street and Route 9 west and the connecting blocks of Congress and Independence Streets.

A selection committee of Larry Lower, Robert Marggraf, Rebecca MacLeod and Diane Peterson reviewed the proposals and narrowed the list down to the top three responders. The list of responding companies has not been released to the public.

The entire Streetscape Committee met in executive session Tuesday, October 23 to review the top three proposals.

What happens next

During the public part of the meeting, the committee talked about the process that needs to follow.

The committee must contact the three firms and schedule interviews, consisting of a presentation by each company and a question and answer period.

The committee will then rank the firms as one, two or three. At that point cost negotiations will begin with the number one ranked firm. If that firm is rejected, negotiations will then start with the number two ranked firm and so on.

Beth Curtin, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, volunteered to be the person to contact the three firms. Curtin will try and schedule interviews for the week of November 5.

Once negotiations are complete with the selected firm, the committee must draw up a contract, including costs, and submit it for approval to the West Virginia Division of Highways.

After approval, and somewhat later in the design process, the 42 property owners on the affected streets will be briefed on planned changes.

The committee agreed the design firm that is selected should consult with courthouse architect Tom Potts to insure that streetscape plans are comparable.