CN-550000-C8S48-00010000.pdf

URS Corporation Southern 7650 West Courtney Campbell Causeway

Tampa, Florida 33607-1462

Contact:

Ron Gregory, AICP Principal-in-Charge

813.636.2435 ron_gregory@urscorp.com

Financial Project No.: 198230 1 22 09

District Wide District Environmental

Management Office Consultant

Florida Department of Transportation - District One

September 2, 2008

ORIGINAL

Front Cover Trim Size: 11” x 8.5”

DISTRICT WIDE DISTRICT ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OFFICE CONSULTANT

PAGE 1 FMN: 198230 1 22 09

Project Name District Wide District

Environmental Management Office Consultant Contract

Financial Management Number 198230-1-22-09

Contract Number 09131

URS Team Manager Ron Gregory, AICP

Consultant’s Name, Address and Responsible Office

URS Corporation Southern 7650 W. Courtney

Campbell Causeway Tampa, Florida 33607

813.286.1711 (Tel)

813.287.8591 (Fax)

Contact Person, Phone, E-mail Ron Gregory, AICP

813.286.1711 (Tel)

Ron_Gregory@urscorp.com

URS Team Prequalifications

2.0 – Proj. Dev. & Environ.

(PD&E) Studies

3.1 – Minor Highway Design

4.1.1 – Miscellaneous Structures

4.1.2 – Minor Bridge Design

6.1 – Traffic Engineering Studies

9.1 – Soil Exploration

13.4 – Systems Planning

15.0 – Landscape Architect

20.0 – Appraisal

Key Personnel Included is a staffing plan identifying the proposed key personnel, their roles, years of experience, and their availability.

DBE Participation URS Corporation Southern is not a DBE Certified Firm. However, our subconsultants, Adams Traffic, Inc., Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Cella Molnar & Associates, Inc., GMB Engineers & Planners, Inc., KB Environmental Sciences, Inc., The Heimburg Group, and Tierra, Inc. are FDOT-certified DBE firms.

September 2, 2008

Mr. Felipe Alvarez Consultant Acquisition Supervisor Florida Department of Transportation, District One Professional Services Office – MS 1-67 801 North Broadway Avenue Bartow, Florida 33830

Dear Mr. Alvarez:

URS Corporation Southern (URS) is excited about the opportunity to submit this Letter of Response for the District Wide District Environmental Management Office (DEMO) Consultant contract. Based on a review of the scope of services and our long-term experience providing district wide support to Department staff, URS has assembled a team that will provide the District broad, deep, and experienced coverage of all noted scope items. This Letter of Response will discuss the URS Team’s:

Project management structure for project administration;

Approach to the project’s task-based structure based on our understanding of the scope of services;

Quality assurance / quality control process;

Staffing quality, quantity, relevant experience, and availability;

Utilization of key personnel known to the District’s staff for superior performance on these types of assignments;

Commitment to the District’s needs; and Unique and cost-effective use of specialized equipment/tools.

The general information specific to our team in response to this project’s advertisement is provided to the right on this page.

Technical Plan Understanding of Scope The District requires a cohesive group of professionals and support personnel to provide professional services for all DEMO related activities on a specific task assignment basis. These services must be performed in a proficient, effective, and timely manner to advance the District’s program and not result in additional work efforts by District staff.

Project Approach Over the years URS has successfully provided district wide services to the District. This past experience, and similar assignments for FDOT statewide, has given the URS Team a time-proven approach to an efficient execution of task work order based contracts.

The key to such an approach begins with the basics . . . proven management and leadership that are directly applicable to the task at hand. With over 35 years of experience spanning all facets of Transportation Planning, I will act as our Team’s Principal-in-Charge and Team Manager.

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Vickie Scott, AICP, will join me as Public Involvement Task Manager. Vickie brings 25 years of experience specializing in public involvement and environmental studies. She has recently orchestrated successful District One Public Involvement Programs for the US 41, SR 542, I-75, and SR 29 PD&E Studies. Environmental and Planning task assignments will be the responsibility of Task Manager Mark Easley, who has over 25 years of experience including multiple PD&E/NEPA projects throughout Florida and District One. Our Team’s Engineering Task Manager is Paul Schmid, P.E. Paul has over 17 years of experience, including SR 542, SR 29, and I-75 PD&E Studies for District One. Supporting Vickie, Mark, and Paul will be a team of experienced and responsive professionals (see attached Staffing Plan on page 5) who will ensure that the already over-extended resources of the District are not burdened unnecessarily. The URS Team will employ a “Task Team” approach to the assignments as they are issued by the District. This approach allows the District the greatest flexibility related to the skills needed.

To increase the immediate responsiveness for the District and streamline “fire drill” assignments, we recommend the District initiate three task work orders immediately after the execution of the contract. These task work orders would be designated as follows with generalized scopes of services:

Task Work Order #1 – Engineering Support: Provide the District with support related to engineering review and evaluations to include but not be limited to data collection, project analysis, alternative engineering design, traffic analysis, drainage, reviews, cost estimation, research and summarization, analytical comparisons, documentation, and appropriate coordination, which are all the necessary elements to provide the District with engineering documentation for project assignments.

Task Work Order #2 – Environmental Support: Provide the District with support for various elements in support of PD&E and NEPA studies to include but not be limited to development of field data, data assembly, analysis of alternatives, environmental evaluations/documentation, assistance with permits and applications, and appropriate agency coordination, which are all the necessary elements to provide the District with environmental documentation for project assignments.

Task Work Order #3 – Public Involvement Support: Provide the District with public involvement services tasks that include but are not limited to attendance at meetings, creating reports, displays, graphics, newsletters, brochures, web sites, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and mailouts/handouts for various small group meetings, TPO/MPO/BOCC meetings, public workshops, and/or public hearings.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Process District One's QA Form will be completed and submitted for all deliverable/submittal. URS Corporation also has a long-established and time-tested process to assure and control the quality of project deliverables and submittals. The flowchart depicts our QA/QC process. The primary author submits their work first to an independent peer reviewer. If the work is acceptable, it is passed on to the Task Manager. If the work is acceptable to the Task Manager, it is passed on to the Team Manager for review. If it is acceptable to the Team Manager, it is then submitted to the District Project Manager.

At any point in this process if the deliverable/submittal is not acceptable, it is returned to the primary author with comments and suggested revisions. Once the revisions are made, it is resubmitted into the process. This process applies to all members of the URS Team, including subconsultants.

At the initiation of the contract, the Team Manager is responsible for creating an internal document, known as the Project Management Plan, which contains the URS QA/QC process. Second, the QA/QC process is tracked using an Independent Technical Review (ITR) form, which is signed by each party in the process.

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Management Plan Staffing Quantity and Availability The URS Team has been assembled to provide the District with the most available, most qualified, and most experienced group of professionals. The staffing plan on page 5 illustrates how we propose to staff and organize our efforts. Each group of tasks is led by a task manager who will assist me in developing specific "Task Teams" for the assignments requested by the District as mentioned earlier in the Approach. Specific technical staff with appropriate skill sets will form these “Task Teams” under the Task Manager. Where multiple Task Managers are required due to the complexity of the assignment, I will provide overall project task direction and coordination through the appropriate Task Manager and staff/subconsultant.

Due to page limitations for this document, only key personnel are identified on the staffing plan. Resumes for all key personnel are found in our resume section. The availability of key staff and support staff is recognized as one of several components in the District’s consideration for this contract and is indicated on our staffing plan as the percentage of time available during the contract period. The URS Team’s commitment of our staff in response to the needs of the District will meet or exceed the task schedule.

Staffing Quality The URS Team brings with it a wide range of relevant and applicable experience. In an effort to stay within the page limitation we feel that the URS Team member’s work experiences, project assignments, and history of working with District staff speaks for itself. Please see our staffing plan for the names of these excellent professionals you have worked with over these many years as well as the their years of experience.

Subconsultant Partners The URS Team has gathered subconsultant partners who not only complement our coverage of and responsiveness to the District’s needs, but also eliminate any potential conflicts of interest that may arise. This will provide the District with a choice of Team members who are highly qualified AND objective to the District’s needs. Joining us is:

Adams Traffic, Inc. (ATI), located in Plant City, will provide traffic count support for URS. ATI is also a certified DBE.

Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (ACI) and Janus Research, Inc. (JR) will perform services under the major task – Development and Evaluation of Environmental Studies. ACI, located in Sarasota, will conduct cultural resources archaeological excavation/recordation activities. Located in Tampa, Janus will conduct historic and structural studies and provide any required Tribal Coordination. ACI is also a certified DBE.

Cella Molnar & Associates, Inc. (CMA) will provide support for public involvement meetings and hearings;

audiovisual presentation deliverables; and other public involvement activities. CMA, located in Fort Myers, is also a certified DBE.

Florida Acquisition & Appraisal, Inc. (FLAA) will provide appraisal services for the URS Team. This Tampa-based firm is prequalified under work item 20.0 – Appraisal Services. They have provided responsive, accurate service for URS and FDOT on many projects.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) and KB Environmental Sciences (KBE), located in Tampa and St. Petersburg, respectively, will assist URS in performing air quality and noise study reports. URS has a well-established working relationship with both firms and has successfully completed many air and noise analysis reports jointly. Both ESA and KBE routinely provide Noise Study Reports to the District. KBE will also perform air quality analysis for the URS Team. KBE is a certified DBE.

I.F. Rooks & Associates (IFR), located in Plant City, will provide any aerial mapping services that may be required under this District contract IFR has provided this type of support services to the District on numerous projects.

Inwood Consulting Engineers (ICE), located in the Orlando area, has agreed to provide a wide range of support engineering, environmental and public involvement services to the District and URS. Review of the staffing plan will show the significant role given ICE on the URS Team.

Environmental Analysis & Permitting (EAP) will assist URS in performing habitat and protected species assessments. Mark Easley and his staff have a long established working relationship with Gene Bauer, who is located in Bradenton.

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The Heimburg Group (THG) will provide conceptual design plans, constructability review and maintenance of traffic plans in support of URS on this contract. THG, located in Tampa, is a certified DBE.

GMB Engineers & Planners (GMB) will support URS’ Team with traffic modeling and traffic engineering services. GMB is a certified DBE located in Orlando.

Tierra, Inc. (Tierra), located in Tampa, will provide services under work group 9.1 - Soil Exploration as identified in the project advertisement. Tierra has an established working relationship with URS and FDOT.

Tierra is a certified DBE.

Other Proximity to Project The URS Team is physically positioned to be responsive to the District's needs by having team member offices in Tampa, Bartow, and Fort Myers. The Bartow and Fort Myers locations can be staffed with additional team members for periods of specific needs to maintain assignment schedules.

Use of Specialized Equipment/Unique Tools Having and using unique and creative tools is one thing, but utilizing them in an applicable and cost-effective manner is quite another. The URS Team proposes to use several unique tools in just that way.

URS' Creative Imaging Group/Inwood’s Video/Graphics Group – These two groups support the URS Team’s video production, 3-D animations, and web site development. The equipment used by both firms is state-of-the-art and production quality is excellent based on actual experiences with District projects.

Hand-held GPS/GIS Units – These units efficiently combine sub-meter GPS accuracy with ARCView-based GIS datasets and aerial photography to allow Team members to perform cost-effective and highly productive field reviews. These units can be programmed to have point-and-click data collection forms, and ancillary information such as digital photographs can be uploaded and geo-referenced.

Geo-referenced Public Comment Tracking – By coding public comments based on project property address, issues cited, and date received, this tracking system allows the District to query the who, what, where, and when of public comments on a map. This provides insight to potential "flash points" and "problematic areas" that may require an expanded Public Outreach effort.

Online Surveys – Utilization of online surveys via project web pages allows the District to collect a vast variety of datasets from the public. The statistical analysis of these surveys is automated, easily retrieved, continuously accessible, and cost effective.

Throughout this Letter of Response we have addressed all of the items requested in the project advertisement. In doing so, we have provided information about the URS Team, our Approach, Staffing Plan, Staff Availability/Experience, Quality Assurance and Control Process, Relevant Project Experience, and use of Specialized Equipment/Unique Tools.

We are confident that we have demonstrated how the URS Team has set itself apart as not only a uniquely and highly qualified team, but also as being immediately available to serve the District. Success for this type of contract relies upon strong, organized project management and depth and breadth of staff resources. It is also measured by the consultant's responsiveness and cost-effective approach to each assignment balanced against minimal effort from and expenditure of District resources.

URS once again makes available to the District familiar faces that you know, trust, and respect as well as offers new resources and skills through young professionals and team partners. This project is extremely important to the URS Team, and we look forward to continuing our service to the District and exceeding your expectations.

Sincerely, URS CORPORATION SOUTHERN

Ronald W. Gregory, AICP Vice President/Team Manager

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URS Corporation Southern 7650 West Courtney Campbell Causeway Tampa, Florida 33607-1462

Back Cover Trim Size: 11” x 8.5”