REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS Fort Martin Scott Master Plan Fredericksburg, TX

Issue Date: January 3, 2018

Qualifications Due Date: February 2, 2018

1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY The City of Fredericksburg is requesting Qualifications Statements from professional planning, architecture or preservations firms to assist the City in the development of a Master Plan for Fort Martin Scott.

The City of Fredericksburg, the county seat of Gillespie County, is a Texas Hill Country destination approximately 70 miles from San Antonio and Austin. The city is a common starting point or destination for tourists visiting the Texas Hill Country. Tourism is a year- round industry with approximately 1.5 million visitors coming to patronize the historic sites, museums, vineyards/wineries, retail, restaurants, festivals and agri-tourism festivals and farms. The City has 23 hotels and over 400 bed & breakfast lodging establishments and is now in the development phase of a Hotel Conference Center. The estimated population of 11,000 has grown about 50% since 1990. The Fredericksburg Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

SOQ’s received past the aforementioned deadline will not be considered. The City will evaluate SOQ’s and make a selection based on the firm’s technical ability, experience, and ability to perform the work. The City will not provide compensation or defray any costs incurred by any firm related to the response to this request. The City reserves the right to negotiate with any and all persons or firms. The City also reserves the right to reject any or all SOQ’s, or to accept any deemed most advantageous, or to waive any irregularities or informalities in the SOQ’s received, and to revise the process schedule as circumstances arise.

The complete Request for Qualifications may be downloaded from the City’s website at www.fbgtx.org . It is the downloader’s responsibility to check the website for addendums and additional information.

Respondents to this RFQ must submit an original and four (4) copies of their Statement in a sealed package labeled “Fort Martin Scott Master Plan.”

Statements of Qualifications should be sent to: Andrea Schmidt, Director of Parks and Recreation Fredericksburg City Hall 126 West Main Street Fredericksburg, Texas, 78624

Questions regarding this request must be submitted in writing to the City by January 12, 2018. Responses to respondent questions will be provided by January 23, 2018. Statements should be received by the City by February 2, 2018, at 4:00 p.m.

Request for Qualifications Fort Martin Scott Master Plan – Fredericksburg, Texas

2. CONSULTANT SELECTION The selected consultant will be requested to develop a master plan for Fort Martin Scott. Previous master planning was completed in 2003 but was not finalized. A Preservation Plan was completed in 1983. These documents will be provided to be incorporated into the official master plan. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. The Fort Martin Scott Master Plan must adhere to THC guidelines for preservation of its architectural and archeological features. It will be necessary to note the State Antiquities Landmark designation of the site along with the associated permitting process for permanent new construction, ground disturbance, and all historic rehabilitation and restoration activities at Fort Martin Scott.

Located at 1606 E Mains Street across from Gillespie County Law Enforcement Center, Fort Martin Scott was the first U.S. Army outpost built on the Texas Frontier. The historic site contains one original garrison building, which has been restored, one late 1800s old farm shed and three reproduction garrison buildings.

The old military fort was in operation from 1848 to 1853 by the U.S. Army. Texas Rangers used the site as a camp, both before and after military occupation. During the Civil War, the Confederate States Army occupied the fort for a brief period. Later abandoned and then purchased and used by the Braeutigam family as a farm for 90 years, the property was purchased by the City of Fredericksburg in 1959.

Fort Martin Scott is currently operated as a self-guided tour of the historic site with volunteer site hosts. There is a Fort Martin Scott Advisory Board appointed by City Council and a Friends of Fort Martin Scott volunteer organization which organizes special events at the Fort.

Qualified firms must evidence experience in the following areas: 1. Ability to take the vision of the City and Fort Martin Scott Advisory Board and create a feasible master plan based upon this vision. 2. Ability to develop a master plan that is implementable in stages. 3. Ability to engage key stakeholders in creating a plan that meets their needs. 4. Experience in long- range planning including the development of master plans for historic sites

The Historic Site Master Plan should include:

1. Vision Statement: This should be a short and concise statement of the purpose and goals of the organization regarding the preservation and use of the historic site (which is not necessarily the overall mission of the organization). An important part of creating the vision statement is recognizing and incorporating within it aspects of why the property is historically important—its historic context—and avoiding objectives that conflict with preservation principles.

2. Executive Summary: This should summarize the property’s history and importance, why the Historic Site Master plan is being created, goals for the use of the property, information about the administering organization, and other important information as applicable. While the executive summary is at the beginning of the plan document, it should be one of the last things written so that all aspects of the plan contents can be considered before deciding what should be included. The Executive Summary should be engaging, informative, easy to read by

Request for Qualifications Fort Martin Scott Master Plan – Fredericksburg, Texas

the general public, and relatively short—no more than two pages. Excerpts from the Executive Summary and the Vision Statement might also provide text for public relations or educational tools as pamphlets or flyers about the property.

3. Historical Overview: This should be a highly detailed history of the site, its historical development, its historic features, buildings and structures, and a chronicle of important people or events associated with the property. If copious amounts of information about the history of the site are available, then a summary history may be more appropriate, with reference to a separate historic overview document. An appropriate way to organize and develop a historic overview is to complete a Historic Property Information Form (HPIF) as part of nominating the property for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Applying for listing in the National Register should be an objective within the master plan and when achieved, the nomination and announcement should be incorporated in the master plan document as well.

4. Organization Overview and Goals and Objectives for Use of the Historic Site: This section should include a detailed history of the administering organization and also explain thoroughly how goals and objectives for the use, care, and management of the historic site were determined and how decisions were made. These goals and objectives should be the logical result of a decision-making process that collected and considered such relevant information as: preliminary ideas regarding potential site usage, identification of historic resources on the site and their preservation needs, the historic context of the site, including association with important events or people, identification of issues beyond the immediate control of the organization and options for addressing these issues, costs of implementing a goal or objective, and priorities. Again, while this section of the Historic Site Master Plan is toward the beginning of the document, its final form may be dependent on information that follows.

5. Development Plan: This section should be the primary guidance tool for implementing the goals and objectives for the physical development of the historic site. Initially, the development plan should provide a general and broad perspective of what will be occurring to the property over time. As related individual projects are planned and implemented, they should be incorporated or referenced in the development plan section of the master plan. The development plan should include a site plan identifying historic resources, planned new construction, and other site alterations. It should also include, as they are developed, rehabilitation plans for the historic resources including whether buildings should be reconstructed. Coordination with the THC Archeology and Architecture Divisions will be necessary to ensure that any proposed development plans conform with state antiquities laws and guidelines.

6. Preservation Plan: This section should be the primary tool for determining the appropriate treatment of the historic resources on the property. A preservation plan characterizes and evaluates historic resources, provides the necessary information to responsibly deal with existing issues and concerns about the resources and plan for their future, guides implementation of recommendations resulting from the plan, and acts as a reference source. Incorporated within the preservation plan should be acknowledgement of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of

Request for Qualifications Fort Martin Scott Master Plan – Fredericksburg, Texas

Historic Properties and a Maintenance Plan. Associated documents include inventories of historic collections, photodocumentation of the site, Conditions Assessment Reports, Historic Structures Reports, other applicable reports, and archaeological studies. These may be included within the preservation plan or developed separately and incorporated.

7. Use Plan: This section should be the primary guidance tool for managing the various types of uses that are planned for the historic site. Within the use plan should be information on hours of operation, staffing needs, a general maintenance plan, and other day-to-day operational requirements. It should also outline work plans and task lists for operating the site, assign management responsibilities, and set schedules.

8. Disaster Plan: This section should be the primary guidance tool for reacting to an emergency situation involving the historic site, such as fire or natural disaster. Within the disaster plan should be information about emergency response measures, including notification responsibilities, emergency decision-making policies, recovery activity team assignments, and safety procedures. Notification responsibilities, team leader assignments, and other duties should include back-ups and be designated by position within the organization rather than to an individual to ensure continuity as terms and personal involvement fluctuates.

9. Interpretation Plan: This section should be the primary guidance tool for determining and managing how the historic aspects of the site will be presented to the public. Within the interpretation plan should be information about how historic collections are displayed and curated, how physical and visual historic resources are explained, and how historical associations, such as events, important people, and the site’s historic land uses are presented. Also included should be information about display designs, signage, markers, plaques, and monuments, etc.

10. Business Plan: This section should establish how the administering organization professionally manages the site. Within the business plan should be information about the management team and board of directors and their duties and responsibilities in operating the site, including marketing, developing and managing the budget, hiring practices, purchasing procedures, and contracting for services.

11. Financial Plan: This section should establish how funding the historic site’s operational and developmental needs will be achieved. Within the financial plan should be information about budgets, income, expenses, taxes, accounting and auditing practices, user fees, fund-raising activities, projects costs, etc. The financial plan should be updated on an annual basis.

12. Other Information: This would include, as applicable, appendices and reference documents.

Other Considerations

The guidance provided above is intended to be broad but not inclusive. However, all Historic Site Master Plans should have an introduction, a table-of-contents, and be

Request for Qualifications Fort Martin Scott Master Plan – Fredericksburg, Texas

well organized into logically arranged sections. While the specifics of the contents in each section are flexible, all the information mentioned should be considered for inclusion in some form or another, and if not initially, eventually. The plan may require more or less as circumstances warrant and some information may need to be repeated in more than one section, or frequently referenced as in an appendix. Sometimes it may make sense to combine sections and use subsections. A Historic Site Master Plan is not a static document; it should be regularly updated to stay current with the activities of managing and operating the property and of the administering organization.

Consultants proposing on this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) may submit Qualifications Statements which reflect a team capable of providing professional services to assist the City in all of the areas identified above.

EVALUATION CRITERIA Statements of Qualifications will be evaluated and ranked on the following criteria and point range respectively.

1. Project Approach/Project Management Plan (0-30 POINTS) • Understanding of Request for Qualifications and scope of work • Proposed approach • Detailed work plan for the proposed project • Interaction and coordination • Knowledge of the history of Fredericksburg and Fort Martin Scott • Work and previous project experiences with the City • Familiarity with historic site master planning • Experience in long range planning for historic sites

2. Key Project Personnel Qualifications & Experience (0-40 POINTS) • Project manager • Project manager's past performance on recent City projects • Project personal and roles, including architectural and archeological historian • Project team organization • Staff/project manager availability, commitment to the project, and staff location • Project team member's ability to meet on short notice at City Offices

3. Firm Qualifications and Experience (0-25 POINTS) • Directly related experience and qualifications • Recent experience in other municipal projects comparable to the one proposed • Experience in working with the Texas Historical Commission, Architecture and Archeology Divisions • Familiarity with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties • Familiarity with the State Antiquities Landmark permitting process

4. Firm Location (0-5 POINTS) • Firm’s location and ability to meet with City personnel or conduct site visits as required

TOTAL POSSIBLE SCORE 100 POINTS MAXIMUM

Request for Qualifications Fort Martin Scott Master Plan – Fredericksburg, Texas