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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

PROFESSIONAL PARKS PLANNING & STRATEGIC ADVISORY SERVICES

TWENTY-YEAR STRATEGY

I. INTRODUCTION

The Town of Highland Park (“Town”) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (“SOQs”) from qualified firms to provide professional parks planning and strategic advisory services for the development of a Twenty-Year Strategy for the Town’s park system.

The Town’s park system is a largely built-out, mature system that represents one of the defining features of the community’s character. The project will address reinvestment, lifecycle planning, operational sustainability, funding strategies, and long-term stewardship while identifying opportunities to enhance the park system.

Due to the system’s maturity, the community’s strong attachment to its traditional character, and the twenty-year planning horizon involved, the Town seeks a highly qualified firm capable of providing practical, implementable strategic guidance across planning, design, community engagement, and capital investment decision-making.

Resident and stakeholder expectations regarding communication, design quality, aesthetics, professionalism, and overall responsiveness will be exceptionally high. The selected firm shall operate as a trusted advisor to the Town and support the Town’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and preservation of community character throughout the planning process.

II. PROJECT OVERVIEW

Highland Park is a historic, residential, community-oriented town known for its classic architectural character, walkability, and high-quality public amenities. The Town seeks planning and design guidance that respects this traditional aesthetic while incorporating modernized, interactive, inclusive, and sensory-rich recreational experiences.

The Town’s park system reflects the community’s character through thoughtful design, consistent maintenance, and environmental stewardship. The system includes 22 park locations and 12 landscaped traffic islands totaling approximately 59.3 acres. Amenities across the system include tennis and pickleball courts, playgrounds, a public swimming pool, walking paths and trails along the Turtle Creek and Hackberry Creek corridors, and passive open space with gazebos, fountains, and gathering areas.

Lakeside Park, the Town’s largest park at 14.32 acres, runs along the Turtle Creek corridor and serves as the system’s signature destination for walking and gathering. Several parks have been recently

August 2026 | Page 2 renovated or expanded, including new pickleball courts, updated playground equipment, and redesigned landscaping, reflecting the Town’s ongoing investment in its park system.

III. PURPOSE OF THE RFQ

The Town seeks a practical, implementable Twenty-Year Strategy that will guide long-term decisions related to reinvestment, lifecycle planning, operational sustainability, funding strategies, and stewardship of the park system.

The Strategy should respect Highland Park's traditional character and the community's strong attachment to it, ensuring that future recommendations are sensitive to the Town's established aesthetic, sense of place, and long-standing commitment to quality. The Strategy will establish priorities for future investment and provide a clear path for implementation over the next twenty years.

The selected firm will serve as the Town’s strategic planning partner, providing the analysis, community engagement, and guidance necessary to produce an actionable Strategy.

The Town will review all submissions and select the most qualified firm to negotiate a Professional Services Agreement, with an agreement anticipated by September 30, 2026.

IV. PROJECT OBJECTIVES

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The Town intends to accomplish the following objectives:

1. Conduct a comprehensive needs and conditions assessment of the park system, amenities, infrastructure, operations, and community priorities.

2. Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, lifecycle planning, and maintenance sustainability while preserving Highland Park’s aesthetic standards.

3. Develop goals, policies, and strategic guidance for the park system, staffing, open space network, and trails over the next twenty years, aligned with the Town Strategic Plan.

4. Identify scalable opportunities for reinvestment, enhancement, renovation, and replacement of existing facilities and assets.

5. Assess community interest in additional amenities and evolving recreational expectations within a largely built-out system.

6. Evaluate the long-term role, character, and appropriate level of activation for the Town’s major parks based on each site’s setting, physical features, and function within the overall system.

7. Develop capital planning and prioritization tools for future improvements and replacements.

8. Provide guidance on maintenance best practices, lifecycle management, and sustainable system management.

9. Develop policy recommendations on preservation of historic elements; donations and memorials; sponsorships and naming opportunities; public-private partnerships; gifted land or donated improvements; and long-term maintenance obligations.

10. Deliver actionable recommendations to guide Town Council decision-making, budgeting, and policy.

V. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected firm will be expected to provide services including, but not limited to, the following:

Task 1 – Project Initiation and Management

• Kickoff Meeting: conduct a kickoff meeting with Town staff to confirm goals, schedule, communication protocols, and engagement strategies.

• Project Management Plan: prepare a plan summarizing schedule, milestones, communication procedures, team roles, risks, and decision points.

• Project Updates: participate in regular coordination meetings with Town staff throughout the project.

Task 2 – Comprehensive Needs and Conditions Assessment

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• Review relevant Town documents, including prior parks planning documents, capital improvement plans, the strategic plan, community survey, ADA transition plan, maintenance standards, operational budgets, and related policies.

• Assess parks, trails, recreational assets, landscaping, hardscape, site furnishings, and related infrastructure, identifying asset conditions, lifecycle considerations, deferred maintenance, modernization opportunities, operational concerns, aesthetic consistency, and replacement priorities.

Task 3 – Maintenance and Operations Review

Evaluate maintenance practices, operations, staffing, and long-term sustainability, and provide recommendations including lifecycle best practices, maintenance standards, replacement planning methodologies, operational efficiencies, staffing allocation, and maintenance burden.

Task 4 – Community and Stakeholder Engagement

• Engagement Plan: identify stakeholder groups, engagement methods, communication tools, meeting formats, and project milestones.

• Community Input Process: conduct engagement tailored to Highland Park’s character to identify resident priorities, desired amenities, improvement opportunities, and long-term expectations.

• Stakeholder Interviews and Workshops: facilitate interviews and/or workshops with Town leadership, committees and commissions, community organizations, neighborhood stakeholders, and operational staff.

Task 5 – Park Character, Activation, and Amenity Enhancement

Evaluate the Town’s major parks based on each site’s setting, existing features, role within the overall system, and appropriate level of activation. Identify opportunities for amenity enhancement, modernization, connectivity, beautification, accessibility, and operational efficiency that are responsive to community expectations and appropriate to each site.

Task 6 – Revenue and Funding Assessment

Identify grant opportunities and other external funding sources that may support implementation of the Twenty-Year Strategy. The assessment should include funding programs that align with anticipated capital improvements and provide recommendations regarding projects that may be well suited for future grant applications

Task 7 – Donations, Sponsorships & Partnership Framework

• Donation and Gift Acceptance Policies: develop recommendations and evaluation criteria for donated parkland, gifted amenities, memorials, donor-funded improvements, and associated maintenance obligations.

• Sponsorship and Naming Rights Framework: develop policy guidance on sponsorships, naming opportunities, donor recognition, philanthropic partnerships, and public-private collaboration.

Task 8 – Strategic Plan Development

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• Draft Strategic Parks Plan: identify system priorities, reinvestment opportunities, operational recommendations, capital priorities, partnership strategies, maintenance considerations, and implementation recommendations.

• One-Page Park Plans: develop one-page park plans for locations as determined by the Town. Each plan should address the park’s role, character, appropriate level of activation, enhancement opportunities, and operational implications. Design charrettes or a similar approach may be used.

• Capital Reinvestment & Replacement Plan: develop a prioritized capital framework with short-, medium-, and long-term projects, including planning-level cost estimates, lifecycle considerations, maintenance impacts, and prioritization criteria.

• Design and Aesthetic Guidance: prepare concise guidance to promote consistency, durability, and quality while allowing flexibility for signature spaces and unique interactive amenities.

• Strategic Implementation Matrix: develop a matrix identifying recommended actions, timelines, responsible parties, funding considerations, and priority levels.

Task 9 – Final Deliverables

The consultant will provide:

• Draft Plan

• Final Strategic Parks Plan with one-page park plans

• Executive Summary

• Presentation materials

• GIS and mapping files

• Editable electronic files

• Supporting graphics and exhibits

Task 10 – Leadership Presentations

Provide in-person presentations to Town leadership, the Parks Advisory Committee, and/or Town Council as required.

VI. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Firms submitting an SOQ must demonstrate the following qualifications:

• Proven experience in long-range parks system planning for mature, largely built-out municipal park systems.

• Experience with asset lifecycle planning, reinvestment strategy, and capital improvement prioritization for park systems.

• Demonstrated experience leading community and stakeholder engagement processes tailored to residential communities.

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• Experience developing policy frameworks for donations, sponsorships, naming rights, and public-private partnerships.

• Experience preparing capital planning and prioritization tools, including planning-level cost estimating and implementation matrices.

• Familiarity with historic, traditional, or architecturally distinct residential communities.

• Strong graphic, GIS, and presentation capabilities to support Town Council and public communication.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver actionable, implementable planning recommendations within an established timeline.

VII. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

SOQs must be submitted electronically in PDF format through the Town’s CivCast bidding portal. Hard copy, faxed, and emailed submissions will not be accepted. SOQs received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

All questions regarding this RFQ must be submitted electronically through the Town’s CivCast bidding portal. Questions directed to Town employees outside of CivCast will not be accepted and may be rendered a submittal non-responsive.

SOQs should be concise, well organized, and tailored to the Town’s project objectives and the scope of services outlined in this RFQ. The Town reserves the right to reject SOQs that are incomplete, generic, or fail to demonstrate a clear understanding of the Town’s objectives.

Submittals shall include the following sections:

I. Cover & Transmittal Letter

A letter summarizing the firm’s understanding of the project and commitment to providing the requested services, including:

• Firm name and address

• Primary contact information

• Statement of understanding of the project

• Signature of an authorized representative

II. Qualifications of Project Team

A detailed description of the proposed project team, including:

• History and philosophy of the firm

• Principal officers and professionals

• Firm culture and approach to project management and communication

• Organizational chart specific to this project

• Role and responsibility of each team member, including subcontractors

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• Relevant experience of each key individual on comparable projects

• Availability and anticipated level of involvement for the duration of the project

• Resumes for all key personnel

III. Relevant Experience and Past Performance

Detailed information demonstrating relevant firm experience, including:

• Three (3) to five (5) comparable projects completed within the last five (5) years of similar quality and sensitivity.

• Experience in built-out communities, reinvestment and lifecycle planning, pocket parks, and topographic or geographic constraints.

• Project descriptions, contract value, delivery method, key challenges and resolutions, and references.

IV. Project Approach and Understanding

A narrative describing the project approach that describes the:

• Understanding of the Town’s goals and priorities

• Proposed methodology and timeframes

• Approach to operational and maintenance assessments

• Methods to ensure quality throughout the project

• Philosophy on implementation and prioritization

• Anticipated challenges and opportunities

V. Community and Stakeholder Engagement Approach

A narrative describing the approach for:

• Community and stakeholder engagement strategy tailored to Highland Park

• Public meetings, workshops, and outreach coordination

• Engagement techniques for reaching a broad range of residents and stakeholder groups

• Reporting and coordination with Town leadership, committees, and elected officials

Include examples of engagement tools, formats, or materials used on similar projects.

VIII. EVALUATION CRITERIA

An evaluation committee will review all submissions in accordance with the criteria below to identify the firm best qualified to meet the Town’s needs. The Town’s decision is final.

Evaluation is based solely on the corresponding sections of the SOQ described in Section VII, Submission Requirements. The Cover & Transmittal Letter and Required Attachments are administrative requirements and are not independently scored.

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Evaluation Criteria (Corresponding Submittal Section) Points

Qualifications of Project Team 20

Relevant Experience and Past Performance 30

Project Approach and Understanding 30

Community and Stakeholder Engagement Approach 20

Total Possible Points 100

IX. PROPOSED SCHEDULE

Milestone Date

Request Issued August 11, 2026

Questions Deadline August 28, 2026, prior to 4:00 p.m. CST

Submittal Deadline September 4, 2026, prior to 4:00 p.m.

CST

Interviews / Presentations (if needed) September 23-24, 2026

Anticipated Final Selection September 25, 2026

Additional Information

Questions and Clarifications

To ensure that all prospective respondents accurately and completely understand the requirements, the Town will only accept written questions submitted electronically through the CivCast bidding portal.

Respondents should not seek clarification from any Town employee, as doing so may render a submittal non-responsive. Responses to all inquiries will be published as an addendum through CivCast. Verbal and fax inquiries will not be accepted.

Public Information

All materials submitted as part of this RFQ process shall become the property of the Town and shall be treated as Town documents subject to applicable public records laws.

Proposal Preparation Costs

All costs associated with preparing a response to this RFQ, including document preparation and any travel or delivery expenses, are the sole responsibility of the respondent.

Selection Process

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Requests for interviews or private meetings prior to the submittal deadline will not be permitted. The Town may request interviews with responsive firms after the deadline to help determine the most qualified firm; selection may also be made solely from submitted materials. The Town reserves the right to conduct interviews with, or request presentations from, any respondent during the selection process.

Final Selection and Negotiation

Selection will be made by a Town evaluation committee. The most qualified firm will be invited to negotiate a Professional Services Agreement, including scope of services and compensation, with an agreement anticipated by September 30, 2026. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Town reserves the right to terminate negotiations and proceed with another qualified firm. The Town also reserves the right to select a qualified firm outside of this RFQ process in accordance with applicable law.

X. INSURANCE AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

The selected firm will be required to provide a certificate of insurance prior to execution of a Professional Services Agreement with the Town. Required insurance coverage must remain in effect throughout the duration of the agreement.