PRO Housing Grant - Housing Study Request for Proposals

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PRO Housing Grant Housing Study PDF of this RFP INTRODUCTION The Montana State Department of Commerce was awarded a US Department of Housing and Urban Development PRO Housing Grant (“grant”) which is being distributed in cooperation with the League of Cities and Towns to several cities in Montana, including the City of Kalispell (“City”). A portion of the funds to be received by the City are intended to be allocated to provide a housing study for the City in support of the City’s efforts relating to attainable housing for the community in accordance with its recently adopted land use plan. Responses to this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) will be used to identify qualified consultants to support the City’s efforts. BACKGROUND In the 2023 legislative session, the Montana legislature adopted the Montana Land Use Planning Act (“MLUPA”) which requires certain cities in the state to adopt a new land use plan as part of a restructured statutory scheme relating to land use decisions. The City recently adopted its land use plan under MLUPA. The plan included a provision for a housing study to provide more detail to support housing efforts. The grant provides funding to the City for assistance in obtaining a consultant to conduct the study. Under the terms of the grant, the study will need to be completed by May 2027 to be reimbursable. GENERAL INFORMATION Pursuant to the authority granted to it under MCA 7-5-4301(2)(a). , the City of Kalispell seeks to procure a qualified professional firm (“professional service provider”) to provide assistance in preparing a housing study. The Proposal must be received by the City Clerk at P.O. Box 1997, 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, 59903, by 3:00 p.m. local time, August 21, 2026 . Questions pertaining to the selection process should be directed to PJ Sorensen, Director of Development Services, at (406) 758-7732 or For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. . The City of Kalispell shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to this Request for Proposals (RFP) will be in the form of an addendum, which will be furnished to all registered RFP holders. The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to waive any informality or irregularity in any Proposal received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the Proposals received. A pre-submittal conference for the RFP will be held at 201 First Avenue East (First Floor Conference Room), Kalispell, MT on August 18, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. City staff will discuss the scope of work, general contract issues, and respond to questions from the attendees. Staff will not be available to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this pre-submittal conference, attendance at this pre-submittal conference is highly recommended. A summary of Q & A from the pre-submittal conference will be posted on the City of Kalispell, Development Services website. The Service Provider will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of services required, and thereafter the City will negotiate the services agreement with what it deems to be the most qualified company. GENERAL RFP REQUIREMENTS Ability To Conduct a Housing Study. The primary role for the Service Provider will be to effectively and efficiently conduct a housing study for the City. The Service Provider will be responsible for all aspects of developing and analyzing data, drafting the study, and presenting the final product. Ability to complete the study before May 2027 within the budget framework will be a critical aspect of the project due to reimbursement timelines under the grant funding the study. To the extent allowed by the budgeted amount, the Housing Study would ideally include information related to the following questions. Information should be presented through mapping and graphics when applicable. • What are the demographic and economic characteristics of households living in our community? • What can the City expect with respect to economic, employment, and population growth that will impact housing planning and policy decisions? • Based on market information, what is the nature and extent of immediate and longer-term housing need in our community for different segments of the community and price ranges, including, but not limited to, needs of seniors and others transitioning from one type of housing to another? • Based on analysis of age and quality of current housing stock, what are strategies for sustainability of older housing stock, and the viability and cost effectiveness of rehabilitation of older structures? • Is there a market for unsubsidized, market rate housing, and what are the City’s strategic options for promoting or attracting market rate homeowners and renters? • What strategies and programs should the City consider for the development and/or redevelopment of necessary housing within the city? Specific examples from similar cities should be provided. • How might the City maximize the use of public resources to support the potential housing market, improve housing for all income levels and stabilize neighborhoods? • Information addressing needs and gaps baseline data should be included. SERVICES REQUIRED After being selected, the Professional Service Provider will execute a services agreement with the City to provide the scope of work set forth below. The Professional Service Provider and the City shall negotiate the exact scope of work after the selection. ACTION PLAN SCHEDULE Milestone Schedule Date Selection of Professional Service Provider August 28, 2026 Contract Award September 2026 Project Closeout May 2027 BUDGET The City received the PRO Housing grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Montana State Department of Commerce. The portion of the grant allocated to a housing study is $126,000. PROPOSAL SELECTION CRITERIA The Professional Service Provider will be selected through a qualification-based selection process. Firms interested in providing requested scope of services to the City must submit a Proposal that addresses the following evaluation criteria. Applicants are encouraged to organize their submissions in such a way as to follow the general evaluation criteria listed below. Information included within the Proposal may be used to evaluate your firm as part of any criteria regardless of where that information is found within the Proposal. Information obtained from the Proposal and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and selection process. The proposal shall at a minimum include the following: Cover Letter (1-page) containing at a minimum: Company name, contact name, physical and email address. General Information Description of company Lead firm’s primary and secondary contact information Legal company organization; organization chart with names List of applicable Montana licenses Relevant Company Experience (15 points) . Describe the firm’s experience with similar projects. For each project, provide the following information: 1. Key project staff members and their project role as it relates to housing studies. 2. Statement of experience relating to housing studies. Plan for Providing Study (15 points) 1. Provide an outline of the consultant’s plan for providing a detailed housing study in a timely manner, including the potential for utilizing existing community resources to help develop data. Company Qualifications (10 points) Describe the company’s history in the industry. Provide resumes of key personnel and their availability to work on this project in Appendix A. Briefly describe any certifications and licenses held by the company in the state of Montana. List and briefly describe the professional services the company provides to 3-5 other jurisdictions and the length of time the services have been provided. Three to five referrals and references from the last six other municipalities or local governments for which work was performed. Contract Understanding and Approach (10 points) Describe your understanding of the current needs of the City for the professional services being requested. Identify and discuss any potential difficult issues your company may face in providing services for the City and how you would mitigate these difficulties. Present a brief description of how the firm intends to organize and conduct the project. Describe a proposed time schedule of work with key milestones and product deliveries. Budget allocation for aspects of the study. The Proposal shall include a one-page cover letter plus a maximum of ten (10) pages to address criteria outlined above (excluding resumes). Covers, table of Contents and section divider pages do not count toward the total page count. Eight copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City Clerk at P.O. Box 1997, 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, 59903, by 3:00 p.m. local time, August 21, 2026 . Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualification: Receipt of submittal past the specified cut-off date and time. The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified. Adherence to the maximum page criteria is critical; each page side (maximum 8 1/2” x 11”) with criteria information will be counted. Pages that have photos, charts and graphs will be counted towards the maximum number of pages. SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE A Project Evaluation Committee will evaluate each Proposal according to the above criteria, as well as past performance evaluations, and select finalists that will be Short Listed for the contract. The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the Short List and select the top qualified firm. If more information is required to select the top qualified firm, the Short List firms will meet with the Project Evaluation Committee for interviews. The purpose of the interview will be to expand on the information provided in the Proposal, not to repeat information already provided. Those firms selected for the Short List will be provided additional instructions by the City. Those firms not selected for further consideration will be notified. The following tentative schedule has been prepared for this project. Firms interested in this project must be available on the interview meeting date. Pre-submittal conference: August 18, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. First Floor Conference Room-Kalispell City Hall Proposal due: August 21, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Firms notified for interview: August 25, 2026 Interviews: August 27-28, 2026 Following the evaluation and interviews (if needed), the Project Evaluation Committee will determine a ranking for each Short List firm based on the published criteria of this RFP. Consideration will be given to both the written Statement of Qualifications and any oral presentations or interviews. No other factors or criteria will be used in the qualification ranking. The highest ranked firm will be recommended to the City Manager and City Council for contract award. Requests for debriefings or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the City. All information submitted by firms and related Project Evaluation Committee evaluations and rankings shall be considered confidential until after contract execution and award by the City Council. The City will enter into negotiations with the selected firm and execute a contract upon completion of negotiations for the professional services for City Council approval. Contract negotiations will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following elements: scope of work, project timetable, products of work, and fees. If the City is unsuccessful in negotiating a contract with the highest ranked team, the City may then negotiate with the second or third highest ranked team until a contract is executed. If the list of preferred design firms is exhausted without a contract being awarded, the City may decide to terminate the selection process or re-advertise. The city will not reimburse any cost associated with the preparation, submittal, or presentation of any Proposal. Consultant design firms are advised that in accordance with Montana law, any information submitted may be subject to public inspection. Firms are further advised that, while the City is constrained by budget for this work, the City does not consider cost proposals or estimates of fees in its evaluation of qualifications. Publication Dates: August 9, 2026 August 16, 2026

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