Attached is a letter from Jeff Wise updating financial partners on the status of the US National Whitewater Center. The letter indicates an additional amount of $6 million of private financing taking the total from $32 million to $38 million. As far as the City of Charlotte is concerned we still are capped at $2 million of total financial participation over seven years with each year standing alone at $285,714 per year of potential contribution. The US National Whitewater Center had a delayed opening due to several factors, but is operating at full capacity. We will keep you informed of any additional information that is shared by the US National Whitewater Center.
Bicycle Advisory Committee - Bike Tour, Saturday, May 5
Staff Resource: Ken Tippette, 704-336-2278 - ktippette@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Hal Bouton, Chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bicycle Advisory Committee, on behalf of the Committee, would like to offer his invitation for our Council members to join the Committee on a bicycle tour of bicycle facilities to be held on Saturday, May 5, as part of the BIKE!Charlotte series of bicycle events. This bicycle tour is approximately five miles long and offers a choice of starting times. The first tour will begin at 9:00 am and the second at 11:00 am and each will be led by members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee. Both rides will begin at Freedom Park in the parking lot by the train. At several stops along the way, Committee members will offer information related to the different types of bicycle facilities. Dress comfortably and all you need to bring is a bicycle and helmet.
On behalf of the Police Department, Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Neighborhood Development Code Enforcement Division, Business Support Services/Procurement Services Division (BSS/PSD) is managing the procurement for new contracts for towing services.
Due to the recent CMPD redistricting of zones into divisions, the services have been renamed Division Wrecker Services, replacing the old Zone Wrecker Services Contract that began in October 2001 and was extended through October 2007. BSS/PSD expects to have new replacement contracts for Division Wrecker Services in place in August of 2007, requiring the early close-out of the older Zone Wrecker Contracts (which is permitted under the terms of the renewal amendment). This early close-out will allow for the formal transition from zones to divisions, allowing the City to more accurately and adequately respond to citizen calls for service related to towing needs.
The City has established a project staff team which has developed an extensive scope of work and incorporated process improvements where needed. The formal Request For Proposals (RFP) will be posted to the North Carolina Interactive Purchasing System (NCIPS) on May 2, 2007. Proposals are due in June 2007 with evaluation scheduled for July 2007 and Council award in August 2007.
More than forty (40) perspective service providers are available to participate in this solicitation. Staff expects that this process will be hotly contested and extremely competitive. In the past, the evaluation and award process for these contracts has been highly controversial. It is possible members of Council will be approached by one or more of the companies seeking a contract, or by their attorneys.
As with all solicitations, it is staff's priority to maintain a process of integrity. This is accomplished in part by ensuring that all vendors receive the same information regarding the project, have an equal opportunity to participate, and that the process utilized is legal, accurate, inclusive and open.
The RFP will provide for a single point of contact in BSS/Procurement for any questions or issues that the vendors may have. The RFP indicates that vendors are not to contact City or County Officials, employees or agents concerning this RFP and gives the City the option to disqualify any Service Provider who does so. To that end, if you are contacted by a service provider or any other person regarding the Division Wrecker Services project, you are encouraged to simply refer them to BSS/Procurement. Staff will be more than happy to discuss the project and provide them with any additional information they may request. Your specific contact in BSS/PSD is Billy Belcher. He may be reached via e-mail at
bbelcher@ci.charlotte.nc.us or by phone at 704-336-8084.
