Request For Qualifications For On-Call City Engineer Services
9/23/2026
IDAHO CITY RFQ #2026-001: ENGINEERING SERVICES
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR ON-CALL
CITY ENGINEER SERVICES
City of Idaho City
2026
I. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK
The City of Idaho City, Idaho, is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from qualified engineering firms to provide on-call City Engineer services. The City is seeking a City Engineer who will function as a trusted extension of City staff and proactively identify infrastructure needs, risks, funding opportunities, and implementation considerations. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with Idaho Code § 67-2320 using a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) process. Firms will be evaluated and ranked based on qualifications and demonstrated competence. Firms shall not include hourly rates, fee schedules, cost proposals, or other pricing information in their SOQs. Pricing proposals cannot be included; they will be requested only after the highest ranked respondent is selected.
Following selection of the highest-ranked firm, the City will negotiate scope and compensation in accordance with Idaho Code § 67-2320.
General Scope of Work
City Engineer services will include, but are not limited to:
• Providing planning, technical, and operational guidance related to the City's water, wastewater, streets, drainage, and public works infrastructure.
• Advising City staff, the Mayor, and City Council on engineering and infrastructure matters.
• Attending City Council, public, regulatory, or project meetings as requested.
• Preparing or reviewing feasibility studies, preliminary engineering reports, plans, specifications, cost estimates, construction documents, and other technical materials.
• Providing engineering support for grant and loan applications and administration, including projects funded through the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
• Coordinating with state and federal agencies, contractors, consultants, and other project partners.
• Providing bidding, construction administration, inspection, and project oversight services as authorized.
• Assisting the City with applicable permitting, environmental, regulatory, public participation, and state or federal funding requirements.
• Providing other municipal engineering services as requested by the City.
A Master Agreement will be executed with the selected engineering firm, under which Task Orders will be issued for specific projects as needed. The City must approve the scope of work, budget, and design schedule proposed by the selected firm for each Task Order, including the identification of scope, deliverables, schedule, assigned staff, and written authorization to proceed. Projects funded in whole or in part through DEQ or other state or federal programs will also be subject to all applicable funding-agency requirements.
II. RFQ TIMELINE AND SCHEDULE
The following timeline shall govern the RFQ process:
Event Date
First RFQ Publication September 23, 2026
Second RFQ Publication September 30, 2026
Questions about RFQ Due October 6, 2026 (4 PM Mountain Time)
Answers to RFQ Questions Due October 9, 2026 (4 PM Mountain Time)
Submission Deadline for Statements of Qualifications October 16, 2026 (4 PM Mountain Time)
City Council Consideration of Evaluation Committee’s Recommendation October 29, 2026 (City Council Meeting)
Submission Requirements:
Statements of Qualifications must be received by October 16, 2026, at 4:00 PM (Mountain Time) at:
• Electronic Submission: Email Statements of Qualifications in PDF format to [email protected]. Email receipt will be confirmed. Clearwater Financial is serving as the administrative contact for this RFQ on behalf of the City. Final evaluation, ranking, selection, and contract approval remain the responsibility of the City of Idaho City.
• Response Format: Responses shall be submitted in PDF format and submitted electronically.
• The City reserves the right to reject any or all SOQs, waive minor informalities or irregularities, cancel this RFQ, or take other action consistent with Idaho law and the City's best interests. Selection of an engineering firm will be made in accordance with the qualifications-based procedures described in this RFQ and Idaho Code § 67-2320.
• Responses submitted after 4:00 PM MT on October 16, 2026 shall be considered late and will not be accepted.
• Responses shall include a cover letter with their Statements of Qualifications, addressed to the Mayor and the Idaho City Council.
• All costs incurred by the candidate in preparing a response to this RFQ shall be at the submitting party’s sole expense.
• Attendance at the optional pre-submittal meeting will not impact scoring of proposals.
• Responses shall include an acknowledgement of all addenda.
Additional information can be found on the City’s website: https://idahoCity.municipalimpact.com/.
III. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS
Each SOQ should be concise and is limited to ten (10) pages, excluding the cover letter, resumes, and required forms or certifications. Responses shall be in letter size (8.5”x11”) with 12-point font, and include page numbers:
1. Firm Description
o Describe your firm’s legal structure, areas of expertise, length of time in business, number of employees, and other information that would help to characterize the firm. Provide the address of the main office and the address of the office that will manage the project.
o Identify the office that will provide primary service to the City and describe the firm's current capacity to provide responsive on-call municipal engineering services.
2. Relevant Project Experience
o Describe up to five projects or municipal relationships completed, substantially completed, or actively performed within the past five years that demonstrate experience relevant to Idaho City's anticipated needs, including municipal water, wastewater, public works, DEQ-funded projects, and on-call City Engineer services.
For each project mentioned, include:
1. client;
2. project/relationship description;
3. services performed;
4. lead personnel;
5. funding agency, if applicable;
6. reference/contact information.
3. Key Personnel
o Identify the professional engineer proposed to serve as the City's primary City Engineer and point of contact. Also identify a qualified backup engineer who could provide continuity of service if the primary City Engineer becomes unavailable. Please include:
1. Idaho PE licensure;
2. relevant municipal engineering experience;
3. DEQ/water/wastewater experience;
4. current workload and capacity;
5. office location;
6. anticipated availability;
7. ability to attend City meetings/site visits;
8. subconsultants, their disciplines, and their roles.
o The City expects the personnel identified in the SOQ to remain assigned to the City. Any proposed substitution of the designated City Engineer or other key personnel following contract award will be subject to City review and approval through the resulting agreement.
4. Availability, Responsiveness, and Capacity
o Describe the firm's ability to provide timely on-call service to the City, including:
1. availability for City Council and other meetings;
2. expected response time for routine and urgent requests;
3. availability for in-person site visits;
4. current workload and staffing capacity;
5. approach to maintaining continuity of service when key personnel are unavailable;
6. expected response times for routine requests, urgent requests, and site visits;
7. emergency-response capability for utility, drainage, or public works issues
5. References
o Provide three references for municipal clients for which the proposed lead engineer or firm has provided services similar to those anticipated by the City.
6. Approach to City Engineer Services
o Briefly describe the firm's approach to serving a small Idaho municipality on an on-call basis, including communication, coordination with City staff, management of individual task orders, quality control/quality assurance, budget tracking, schedule tracking, scope changes, cost estimating, project closeout, and coordination with regulatory and funding agencies.
o Describe how the firm will coordinate with City staff, operators, legal counsel, financial advisors, grant administrators, contractors, and other consultants
IV. SCORING CRITERIA
All SOQs will be evaluated on qualifications only in compliance with Idaho Code § 67-2320. The evaluation committee will assess firms based on the following weighted criteria:
Evaluation Area Weight
On-Call Municipal/City Engineer Experience 25%
Qualifications and Experience of Assigned Team 25%
Availability, Responsiveness, and Capacity 20%
Relevant Water, Wastewater, DEQ, and Public Works Experience 15%
Approach to Providing On-Call City Engineer Services 15%
Total 100%
POINTS
5.0 – Excellent
4.0 – Good
3.0 – Meets Requirements
2.0 – Unsatisfactory
1.0 – Poor
0.0 – No Information Provided
An evaluation committee designated by the City will evaluate and rank responsive SOQs using the criteria identified above. The committee may include City officials, staff, consultants, or other individuals designated by the City. The evaluation committee will provide its ranking or recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final selection. The final ranking of firms, including the scoring used to develop the ranking, will be made available to the public in accordance with Idaho Code § 67-2320. The evaluation committee shall notify the City of any conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest before scoring.
Following selection, the City will negotiate with the highest-ranked firm to establish a detailed scope of services, contract terms, and compensation determined to be fair and reasonable. If the City is unable to negotiate a satisfactory agreement, it will formally terminate negotiations with that firm and proceed to negotiate with the next highest-ranked firm.
The City may interview one or more of the highest-ranked firms. If interviews are conducted, the City may use the same evaluation criteria to finalize firm rankings following the interviews. Interview scoring evaluations may replace, supplement, or result in a re-ranking of the written SOQs.
V. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS
Questions regarding this RFQ must be submitted in writing by October 6, 2026, to [email protected]. Responses will be posted on the City’s website by 4 PM on October 9, 2026. Only formally submitted questions will be addressed.
VI. CONTRACT TERMS
• Agreement Term: The City intends to enter into a two-year agreement, with the option to renew for an additional two years based on performance.
Insurance Requirements: The selected firm will indemnify and save harmless the City, its officers, and employees from and against any and all suits, actions, legal proceedings, claims, demands, costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees arising out of a willful or negligent act or omission of the selected firm in the performance of this contract. The City will not be responsible for the negligence of the selected firm, or any of its agents or employees. The selected firm shall procure and maintain for the duration of the contract insurance for all claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in conjunction with the performance of the work hereunder by the selected firm, its agents, representatives, employees, or sub-contractors. The cost of such insurance shall be borne by the selected firm and a Certificate of Insurance evidence that such insurance has been procured and is in force will be forwarded to the City before commencement of work hereunder. Said insurance shall be maintained during the entirety of said contract term and shall name the City as an additional insured on said policy.
The City may, at any time request proof of current insurance on any one or all of the coverages required below. The failure to maintain current insurance as required below may result in the termination of the contract, save and except the selected firm’s obligations to indemnify the City from all claims.
• The selected firm must maintain:
o General Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
o Professional Liability: $1,000,000 per claim, or such greater amount as may be required by DEQ or another applicable funding agency for individual projects.
o Workers' Compensation: Statutory limits, as required by Idaho Law
Cancellation: Either party may terminate the agreement for cause or without cause with a 180-day notice.
VII. PREQUALIFIED ROSTER OPTION
In accordance with Idaho Code § 67-2320, the City reserves the right to establish a prequalified roster of engineering firms. Firms selected through this RFQ may be placed on a prequalified roster for up to four (4) years. The City may engage firms from this roster for specific projects through direct selection or a streamlined task order process. Roster placement does not guarantee any work, firms will be selected for future assignments at the will of the City.
DISCLOSURES
The City reserves the right to reject any or all SOQs, waive minor informalities or irregularities, cancel or modify this RFQ, or take other action consistent with applicable law. Issuance of this RFQ does not obligate the City to award a contract or reimburse firms for costs incurred in preparing an SOQ. Any final selection is contingent upon successful contract negotiations and approval by the Idaho City Council.
The City reserves the right to issue addenda, clarify or modify RFQ requirements prior to the submission deadline, negotiate contract terms following selection, or cancel the procurement as permitted by law.
Withdrawal of Statement of Qualifications
If a respondent wishes to withdraw its SOQ, the respondent must notify the City prior to the due date of this RFQ.
Public Records
SOQs and other materials submitted in response to this RFQ are public records subject to disclosure under the Idaho Public Records Act, Idaho Code Title 74, Chapter 1. Firms claiming that specific information is exempt from disclosure must clearly identify the information and the statutory basis for the claimed exemption. The City will determine whether information is subject to disclosure in accordance with applicable law. Marking an entire SOQ or document “confidential” does not make the information exempt from disclosure.
Conflicts of Interest
Firms shall identify and notify the City of any conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest at the time of submitting the SOQ. If any conflict of interest becomes apparent after the submittal of the SOQ, firms shall immediately notify the City of the conflict or potential conflict.
Link to complete document below:
https://idahocity.municipalimpact.com/documents/170/CITY_ENGINEER_-_RFQ_2026_9.22.pdf