Documentation of Concerns Surrounding Collective Issues
In the Vicinity of Beaver Pond Natural Area/8th Ave. NE and NE 105th St.
Seattle, Washington

Beaver Pond Friends and Neighbors

General Information

The dedicated nonprofit volunteer group Beaver Pond Friends and Neighbors (BPFN) has been awarded a City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund grant award and is seeking outreach and facilitation services to gather and document public input regarding experiences, concerns, and issues in the vicinity of 8th Avenue NE and NE 105th St. in the Northgate neighborhood of Seattle. This includes the street rights-of-way, drainage infrastructure, the south fork of Thornton Creek, tributary waters, and Beaver Pond Natural Area (BPNA, a City of Seattle park).

BPFN, with the 501(c)(3) volunteer nonprofit Thornton Creek Alliance (TCA) as fiscal sponsor, has up to $23,300 for consultant services to begin a public-outreach effort to gather and document stakeholder experiences and concerns, and prepare a draft and final report on the results of those efforts for BPFN and city use. City departments with jurisdiction (Seattle Dept. of Transportation [SDOT], Seattle Parks and Recreation [SPR], Seattle Public Utilities [SPU], and Seattle Department of Neighborhoods [SDON]), will all be active collaborators with BPFN in this effort.

Background and Context

BPFN consists of individuals with a range of interests and experience concerning the issues we are addressing. We have created a team to work with the City of Seattle to move the process forward, including TCA members who are concerned with restoring an ecological balance in the Thornton Creek watershed.

Issues identified so far include the following: Traffic flow is restricted in that vicinity, because NE 105th St. just to the west of 8th Ave. NE is narrow and one-way moving easterly toward 8th Ave., and there is no left turn or throughway for vehicle traffic northbound on 8th Ave. at NE Northgate Way. Apartment blocks already line the 8th Ave. superblock between Northgate Way and NE 105th St. There are well over 1,000, and possibly more than 2,000, new residential units under construction and planned in addition there. Thus there will be considerably-increased traffic consisting of residents’ vehicles, service vehicles, delivery vehicles, and emergency vehicles. Street parking is limited and may become more so. There is very little sidewalk area along that block, and no sidewalk where the street constricts just north of NE 105th St., forcing pedestrians and wheelchairs into the vehicle right-of-way. Eighth Ave. NE in this area has been designated a Greenway to facilitate bicycle and non-motor-vehicle travel to BPNA, as well as to function as part of the access to the Link Light Rail Northgate Station a few blocks to the west. Access to BPNA, especially by pedestrians, is restricted by traffic conditions and the lack of sidewalks. Safety is a concern here for all users not driving cars or trucks.

“Tributary J” is a perennial watercourse that arises from a spring a few blocks to the northwest at Hubbard Homestead Park. It is piped underground to where it daylights along the 8th Ave. NE superblock in question. It is confined in a ditch for a few yards along the west side of 8th Ave. NE, from where it daylights to where it enters a culvert under 8th Ave. to re-emerge into the BPNA wetland on the east side of the street. It is thus a tributary to the South Fork of Thornton Creek, which runs southwest to northeast through BPNA. Tributary J is habitat for at least some fish; three-spine stickleback have been observed in it.

The south fork flows via BPNA from the southwest of the project location. It flows under NE 105th St. immediately to the west of 8th Ave. NE, and then under 8th Ave. NE just to the north of NE 105th St. to re-enter BPNA. The culverts under those two streets are undersized, and are on SPU’s list of salmon passage barriers needing correction, but existing administrative constraints and the fact that there are other, higher-priority barriers downstream that must first be addressed mean that SPU currently has no plan for addressing those culverts.

A partial consequence of the culvert restrictions is sheet flow and sometimes standing water in the street at this intersection during heavy or prolonged rain events. That flooding is another pedestrian barrier.

Residents at and near that intersection have noted young beavers being killed by automobiles in the street, due to lack of other wildlife access between sections of BPNA.

This outreach effort is just the first step in a process leading to the conceptualizing, design, and implementation of potential solutions that will address these issues. There may be additional consultant services needed for future phases of the project.

Basis of Effort, Timeline, and Deliverables

The consultant is expected to use best practices to gather and document as complete a picture of public stakeholder concerns as possible. Specific methods to be used by the consultant are not prescribed here, but are expected to result in a defensible report on results. Note that the extent of in-person meetings (as opposed to mailings or virtual sessions) may be influenced by public-health circumstances at the time.

SDON’s grant process stipulates that the outreach must be open to the public. BPFN, TCA and possibly the stakeholder city departments will endeavor to provide contact information to the consultant for as many known interested parties (individuals, community groups, businesses, schools and so on) as possible. BPFN will help serve as a bridge to the community for the consultant. The area of concern will include, but not be limited to, the Northgate area, focusing within the boundaries of 15th Avenue NE on the east to 1st Ave N. on the west, and NE 125th St. on the north to NE 95th St. on the south. The consultant’s contacts with any stakeholders may provide information on other stakeholders, some of whom may be outside the Northgate area.

Deliverables:

Draft outreach plan: Consultant will prepare a comprehensive plan detailing methods and materials for obtaining public input on the issues at the project location; the intended outreach methods, whether postal, electronic, telephone or face-to-face; the process for garnering and recording public input; materials needed; and any assistance required from BPFN, the city, or other community members.

Final outreach plan: Following review of the draft outreach plan by BPFN and the city, the consultant will revise and finalize its outreach plan and submit that to BPFN for approval. BPFN will notify the consultant when it is appropriate to proceed with the outreach effort.

Draft outreach report: The consultant will develop a report on the the outreach effort and its results. It should include, but not be limited to, the set of contacts made or attempted; a description of the outreach process (mailings, phone calls, emails, advertisements, etc.); information-gathering from meetings (in-person or virtual), online surveys, mailings, etc.; observations on the tone and level of concerns expressed by public participants; and a descriptive and quantified set of results from the public input.

Final outreach report: The consultant will revise and finalize its report, based on review comments from BPFN and the city. It will submit the report to BPFN.

Proposed Timeline

• Advertisement for submittals: January 15, 2024
• Site visit for information of prospective submitters: Friday January 26, 2024, 10:00 am Pacific Standard Time, at the intersection of 8th Ave. NE and NE 105th St., Seattle
• Submittals must be received: not later than February 12, 2024
• Notice of award: February 27, 2024
• Begin work: March 4, 2024
• Submit draft outreach plan to BPFN: March 22, 2024
• Respond to comments from BPFN and city and finalize outreach plan: April 12, 2024
• Set up, advertise, and begin community outreach: May 10, 2024
• Midcourse check-in with BPFN, city: June 7, 2024
• Submit draft report to BPFN on results of community outreach: July 12, 2024
• Respond to comments from BPFN and city, and finalize report: August 16, 2024

RFQ Submittal Requirements

Prospective consultants must submit the following in order to be considered:

1. A one-page letter of interest summarizing your understanding of the project and its goals, and your interest in leading this community outreach process;
2. Your company profile, including size, experience, number of years in business, summary of key staff who will be involved in the project, and your project contact/lead (maximum two pages). Please note that any former City of Seattle employee who terminated city employment in less than the last twelve (12) months is not eligible to work on this project.
3. A description of your company’s experience successfully delivering community-driven projects of a similar scope, scale, and nature, including project descriptions, locations, and dates of completion;
4. A brief description of your company’s familiarity with the City of Seattle’s departments with jurisdiction over elements of concern at the project location (SDOT, SPU, SPR, SDON) and their processes and policies (maximum of two pages);
5. Contact information for three professional references.

Woman- and minority-owned businesses are encouraged to submit responses.

Submittals must be received no later than 5 pm Pacific Standard Time on Monday, February 12, 2024. Materials submitted after this deadline will not be reviewed.

Email or mail to:

Jeff Laufle, BPFN Chairperson

biz@thorntoncreekalliance.org

or

c/o Thornton Creek Alliance

P.O. Box 25690

Seattle, WA 98165-1190

Submittals will be judged based on the quality of their responses to the submittal requirements. Final selection will be based on the combined results of the consultant submittal, qualifications, and ability to meet the project needs and timeline, within its constraints.

Download the RFQ Below.

Thank you.