JANESVILLE — Janesville’s GM/JATCO Redevelopment Advisory Board will interview four firms in January that have shown an interest in guiding the next steps for the former assembly plant site on the city’s southside.
The advisory board on Wednesday reviewed submissions from the finalists, who were deemed the best fit of a field of 10 firms that responded to a Request for Qualifications the city put out in November.
City staff had recommended that three firms — AECOM of Middleton, Stantec of Cottage Grove and RINKA of Milwaukee — be granted interviews next month. The board on Wednesday voted unanimously to add Sigma of Milwaukee to that list of interviewees.
According to a city memo, AECOM received the highest overall weighted score in a review of submissions, based on the qualifications the city is seeking in a consultant for the redevelopment of the 250-acre brownfield that once held the General Motors assembly plant. Firms with experience in brownfield redevelopment, industrial site reuse, environmental remediation and public engagement were particularly sought.
Staff from the city manager’s office, public works and planning departments, along with the city’s environmental consultant, Ayres Associates, reviewed and scored each submission using weighted criteria outlined in the RFQ.
City Manager Kevin Lahner said while the scoring margins were relatively narrow, the 3 recommended firms performed strongest in the most heavily weighted categories: relevant project experience and brownfield expertise, team qualifications and key personnel, and public engagement strategies.
He said that once city staff narrowed the field to the top four or five firms, discussion focused on how well each team’s strengths aligned with the city’s long-term redevelopment goals. He also acknowledged that the city’s past experience working with the firms factored into evaluations.
“Some firms may have scored high on paper, but from our own personal interactions in recent years, they may not have made the cut based on how they actually perform when interacting with the city,” he said.
Public engagement
Several advisory board members emphasized the importance of public engagement, with some noting that at least one firm outside the top three proposed what they believed was a stronger or more targeted engagement plan.
“I focused on the community engagement piece… There was one firm in particular that I thought actually had the best engagement plan, but it wasn’t in the top three,” advisory board member Erin Klipstein said.
Sigma was the firm that Klipstein and Mick Gilbertson, chair of the advisory board, both cited as having a good record on public engagement and also having previous experience with data centers.
Lahner also said he knew the project manager for Sigma and had worked with him on other projects and noted that firm’s commitment to the environment.
Lahner said engagement strategies can be refined during interviews and contract negotiations and are not limited to what is initially proposed in the RFQ response.
He also stressed the importance of project management experience, telling the board that interviews will require firms to bring their assigned project managers rather than marketing staff.
“The success or failure of these projects really comes down to the project manager,” he said, adding that the board should have a high comfort level with the person leading the work day-to-day.
He also said the top three were recommended based on a series of demonstrated strengths.
AECOM stood out for its robust redevelopment experience, comprehensive project team and strong project approach.
Stantec stood out for its extensive brownfield experience, in-house multidisciplinary team and detailed public engagement tools.
RINKA stood out for its local and regional experience, including work on Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek, a former industrial brownfield redeveloped into a mixed-use hub, as well as its creativity in master planning and architectural design.
Lahner acknowledged that RINKA’s public engagement proposal was less detailed than some competitors, but said that could be addressed during interviews if it remained a concern for the board.
Before the vote, members reiterated that advancing firms for interviews does not lock the board into a final decision.
“If you’re not feeling it after the interview process, you should reject them,” Lahner told the board. “This is a very big project for the city and the community as a whole.”
The board ultimately voted to approve the city administration’s recommendation to move AECOM, Stantec, RINKA forward to interviews, and added Sigma. Interviews are expected to take place the week of Jan. 19. A final recommendation will be forwarded to the Janesville City Council following the interviews.
