CITY OF KIRKLAND
Request for Proposals
PROJECT NAME: Tax Increment Financing Consultant
JOB NUMBER: 40-21-FA
PROPOSALS DUE: December 22, 2021 no later than 5:00 PM Pacific Time
PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO: Purchasing Agent, 123 5th Ave, Kirkland, WA 98033 (See RFP for details.)
Public notice is hereby given that the City of Kirkland has issued the above-mentioned Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP is to solicit proposals for a consultant with proven expertise to support the City in the creation of a Tax Increment Area.
The complete RFP, including all submittal requirements, can be found on the City of
Kirkland’s website at www.kirklandwa.gov. Locate by clicking on “Business” at the top of the webpage and then “Request for Proposals” under “Doing Business with the City.”
Call 425-587-3123 if unable to access RFP documents online.
The City of Kirkland requires that no person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity. The City of Kirkland further assures that every effort will be made to ensure non-discrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether those programs are federally funded or not.
Purpose and Background
The City of Kirkland is seeking qualified firms with proven expertise to submit a written proposal to support the City in the creation of a Tax Increment Area (“TIA” or “increment area”). The Consultant selected for award of contract shall also guide the City through the compilation of required documents and processes that support future debt issuance for the development of infrastructure, and other community development goals for the City of Kirkland. The ability of the City to create a TIA (that utilizes tax increment financing, or “TIF”) is the result of the State of Washington approving ESHB 1189 (the “Act”), effective July 24, 2021. This allows cities, counties, and port districts each with the ability to create up to two TIAs for which assessed value (“AV”) at the time of creation must not exceed the lower of $200 million or 20% of the entity’s “AV”, with the “increment value” (as defined in the Act) resulting from each TIA being leveraged to finance improvements in the increment area.
The City is concurrently developing a Station Area Plan (SAP) in the area surrounding the future WSDOT/Sound Transit I 405/NE 85th Street Interchange and Inline Stride Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Station. The BRT station, developed by Sound Transit, has been designed to connect Kirkland to the Link Light Rail at Bellevue and the Lynnwood Transit Center. The SAP, which began in 2019 and is currently ongoing, is looking at land use, urban design, open space, transportation, stormwater and utilities, and sustainability in the area approximately one-half mile from the BRT station, and will result in adoption of a Final Station Area Plan including a form-based code, a FEIS that supplements the Comprehensive Plan in this area, and a Planned Action Ordinance. As part of the planning process and alternative consideration, land-use and fiscal impacts models were developed and representative infrastructure needs have been identified to serve the potential growth in the Station Area. Some projects are necessary for redevelopment to occur, making them candidates for Tax Increment Financing. The successful proposer for this work will be conducted as a sub-consultant to the City’s prime consultant on
the SAP, Mithun, to ensure the coordination and integration with the overall effort.
The City team contacts for this project include leads from the Planning and Building Department together with the Finance Department, and include ongoing coordination with an inter-departmental team.
Additional information regarding the 85th Station Area Plan, please visit the City’s website at: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Planning-and-Building/Code-and-PlanAmendment-Projects/NE-85th-Street-Station-Area-Plan
The execution of this agreement is not a guarantee of work or that the City will hire the Consultant to perform work.
The City desires to establish a TIA to support specific eligible public improvements which will not only attract private development within its increment area but also the surrounding private developments. Candidate eligible projects will be identified by subject matter experts on the Mithun team, and the strategy and implementation developed by the Tax Increment Financing Consultant will be done in coordination this effort.
Performance Schedule and Budget
The budgeted amount for this professional services contract is between $50,000 and
$60,000. The initial length of the contract will be January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.
At the sole discretion of the City, this contract may be amended to provide services based on the scope of work and based on budget availability and consultant performance. The period of performance of an agreement resulting from this RFP is expected to be through completion of the project. Amendments extending the period of performance, if any, shall be by mutual agreement. A contract extension may be issued to provide the time necessary to complete task orders in process for projects not completed by the original contract completion date.
Jay Gewin
Purchasing Agent
City of Kirkland
425-587-3123
jgewin@kirklandwa.gov
