2026 Central Recreation District Master Plan

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough is seeking the services of a professional Design Team to create a Central Recreation District Plan. The framework would include improvements to areas from Ketchikan Creek and Schoenbar Creek, branching out through neighborhoods connecting parks, fields, beaches, the recreation and aquatic facilities, the Heritage center and into the downtown area.  This project will provide a unified vision of public recreation assets within the area through wayfinding, historical and interpretive signage, landscaping, and other improvements to increase appeal and attract users.

Considerations in this project include an evaluation of usage patterns, pedestrian routes, commercial and domestic vehicle routes and coordination with other governmental and private entities. The design would facilitate a variety of recreational activities and serve diverse interests and needs regardless of age or economic status.

Background

Since the 1920s, the Ketchikan Creek and Schoenbar Creek confluence has been a location of recreational and cultural significance. The locations are linked through sidewalks along city streets and sparsely lit-up, historically unattractive and unsafe pathways to the separate destinations. Locations and features in this neighborhood include the Schoenbar Trail, Ketchikan creek beachfront near Freeman Street, Skate Park, City Park, Deer Mountain Hatchery, Totem Heritage Center, Triangle (Totem Heritage) Tot Lot, Gateway Recreation and Aquatic Center, Valley Park (Tom Friesen) Field, and Norman Walker Field, and portions of the downtown Salmon Walk traverse the neighborhood.

This area promotes active recreation due to the centralization of high value sites, in addition to its proximity to both Downtown (less than one-half mile) and to no fewer than five high density residential developments (Glacier Park Apartments, AHFC Housing, Woodside Village, West Sesame Townhomes, 2122 Apartments) and surrounding neighborhoods in the Deermount and Bear Valley area. The area also houses two elementary schools (Tongass School of Arts and Sciences and the Ketchikan Charter School) and Schoenbar Middle School.

Projects in these areas that are funded and underway include:

Ralph Peters Building has been approved for demolition and is adjacent to Walker Field. The Walker Field is replacing lights around the ball field. City Park has a list of improvements including bridge replacement, repairing and replacing the perimeter rock retaining walls, raising the grade to cover exposed roots, improvements to the walking paths around the remainder of the wading ponds and creating ADA access to picnic tables. The Schoenbar Trail is part of the designated Salmon Walk with the Kichxcaan-Heeni Canoe Sculpture recently installed as a destination to increase the value of this trail. Skate Park improvements with the continuation of paved paths along the shoreline at Schoenbar Creek. The route is the continuation of the salmon walk towards city park, hatchery and the Totem Heritage center. The route along the creek is a highlight for wildlife viewing as it is an active salmon run.

Borough-owned recreation assets and opportunities include:

• Ketchikan Creek Parcels: These parcels contain the Schoenbar Trail, which provides access from Schoenbar Road to Grant Street and the Harris Street Bridge, and is also a segment of the Salmon Walk.  They also partially overlap Ketchikan Creek, with the Freeman Street waterfront being a Borough-owned property.
• Skate Park: The Park was renovated in spring 2026. The parcels lying above the Schoenbar Creek, where Ketchikan Creek joins the water way, along the Salmon Walk.
• Norman Walker Field: First constructed circa-1927 and thoroughly renovated in 2024. This baseball field is along the southerly intersection of Park Avenue and Schoenbar Road also contains a Quonset Hut batting cage operated by Ketchikan Little League and a Dog Park.
• Schoenbar Middle School: Schoenbar Creek is an open channel in front of this school, with a continuous flow down from the Gateway Recreation Center.
• Gateway Recreation & Aquatic Center: The Recreation Center houses a 1/12-mile running track, two wood-surfaced courts for basketball, soccer or roller skating, a weights room, three racquetball courts, and an outdoor playground; and the Aquatic Center contains a competition pool, recreation pool, diving boards, waterslides and a sauna.
• Valley Park Field/Ketchikan Charter School and Tongass School of Arts and Sciences: This single property contains a minors baseball size baseball field with scoreboard and outdoor school-age playground in proximity to the schools, as well as a completely covered playground (normally locked)
• City Park:  Developed circa-1930, this urban park is well lit-up and contains a fountain, streams, lawns, walking paths, and contains a footbridge that provides a rapid pedestrian route across Ketchikan Creek to the Totem Heritage Center and Deermount Ave.
• Triangle Park:  Located near the Totem Heritage Center and containing a distinctive humpback whale climbing feature, this tot lot has direct access from Woodland Avenue and is directly off the parking lot serving the Totem Heritage Center.

The City of Ketchikan also has the Totem Heritage Center as a component of its Museum Department, lying across Ketchikan Creek from City Park; and Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association operates the Deer Mountain Hatchery. The City-designed Salmon Walk traverses these parcels, providing connection down Deermount Street to Stedman Street, and to the Married Man's Trail and Creek Street.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-013
• Department: Public Works
• Department Head: Morgan Barry (Public Works Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-09T01:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• FORM AND CONTENT OF PROPOSAL (5 pts) —

  Whether the proposal is (1) well organized, (2) void of material that is neither required nor desired, (3) does not exceed the suggested maximum number of pages, and (4) includes the requested copies of the proposal for Part One and Part Two

• FIRM QUALIFICATIONS (10 pts) —

   Qualifications, experience, training, certifications and licenses for project manager and key supervisors anticipated to provide services called for under this RFP.

• FIRM QUALIFICATIONS (7 pts) —

  Approach to performing work called for under this RFP (how the job will be staffed, travel time policy [if relevant], resources, and structure on data reporting).

• FIRM QUALIFICATIONS (7 pts) —

  Respondent’s understanding of the project and its objectives

• FIRM QUALIFICATIONS (6 pts) —

  Qualifications of subcontractors expected to be used on the project (if subcontractors are not contemplated this allocation of up to 5 points should be applied to a) through c) above)

• RELEVANT PROJECT EXPERIENCE (10 pts) —

  Past project experience similar to this project.

• RELEVANT PROJECT EXPERIENCE (20 pts) —

  Evaluation of comments by Owner references on similar projects regarding matters such as change order history, litigation and other claims, completion within schedule, workmanship, and general satisfaction.

• WORKLOAD AND RESOURCES (8 pts) —

  Proposed project schedule and ability to complete the project within that schedule given current and potential time commitments for the proposed project

• WORKLOAD AND RESOURCES (7 pts) —

  Adequacy of support personnel, facilities and other resources necessary to provide their services as required

• PRICING (20 pts) —

  In addition to a technical proposal, the prospective proposer shall prepare a detailed cost proposal for the work to be performed. The cost proposal shall itemize all items that will be charged, including travel charges that will be involved in the project. Costs shall also be segregated to show staff hours, rates, and classifications, and administrative overhead.
  
  The least-cost proposal will be awarded the maximum points. Higher cost proposals will receive a reduced award of points. The minimum score for the price criterion is zero points.

Submission Requirements

• Please confirm that you have read and acknowledge the federal clauses pertaining to this solicitation. (required) —

  Federal Funding Acknowledgement
  Offeror acknowledges that the goods and/or services solicited under this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) are supported in whole or in part with federal funds. Offeror further acknowledges that any resulting contract may be subject to applicable federal statutes, regulations, and grant or award conditions, including but not limited to federal procurement and compliance requirements.

  Certification
  By submission of a proposal, Offeror hereby certifies that it:

  1. Has been notified and understands that this project is federally funded, in whole or in part;

  2. Agrees to comply with all applicable federal requirements, including those incorporated by reference in the solicitation and any resulting agreement; and

  3. Agrees to provide documentation of compliance and/or certifications upon request by the Owner/Agency and/or the federal awarding entity.

• Respondents must be registered (company name, address, and telephone number) with the Borough Procurement Officer as indicated in this solicitation. (required) —

  Amy L. Briggs

  Procurement & Contracts Officer

  Ketchikan Gateway Borough

  amyb@kgbak.us

  Ph. (907) 228-6637

• Subcontractor's List (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

  Respondents must fill out the Subcontractors List indicating the name(s) of any anticipated subcontractors for the proposed project. Use multiple pages if necessary. For portions of the work where a subcontractor will be selected by competitive proposals at a later date enter the type of Work to be subcontracted followed by “To be Determined”. For example: “Electrical – To Be Determined”. If the use of subcontractors is not anticipated, “N/A” or “NONE” is to be written on the form.

• Corporate Certificate, Partner Acknowledgement, LLC Acknowledgement, or Individual Acknowledgement. (required) —

  Please select the applicable document, download the document, complete, and upload.

• Price Proposal (required) —

  Submit the price proposal separately from the proposal.

  Each price-proposal component must be signed and dated by the person who prepares it. If that person is not authorized to bind the respondent, the price-proposal component must also be signed by a person who is authorized to bind the respondent.

  Failure to properly sign and date the Price Proposal will be grounds for rejection.

• Proposal (Exclusive of Price Proposal Component) —

  Please upload a complete proposal exclusive of the price-proposal component. 

  Proposals must respond directly to the evaluation criteria for this project. Additional material (other than that requested below) is not required or desired. Clarity and brevity are encouraged. Limit submittals as follows:

  Proposal Documentation	Use forms provided in RFP
  Cover Letter	1 page suggested maximum
  Response to Criteria	5 pages suggested maximum
  Resumes	Provide resumes for key personnel, 1 page suggested maximum each resume
  Price Proposal	Per instructions, provide the price  component in Proposers own format

  The following sections address the specific content expected for each portion of the proposal.

• Proposal Documentation Form (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

  The proposal itself must be signed by a person who is authorized to bind the respondent. Specifically:

  1. A proposal by a corporation shall be executed in the corporate name by the president, vice-president, or other corporate officer. Evidence of authority to sign must also be provided. Such evidence may be in the form of a copy of the corporate bylaws, articles of incorporation, resolution of the board, corporate certificate, or other reliable evidence.
  2. A proposal by a partnership shall be executed in the partnership name and signed by a partner (whose title must appear under the signature), accompanied by evidence of authority to sign. Evidence of authority to sign may be in the form of a copy of the partnership agreement or other reliable evidence.
  3. A proposal by a limited liability company shall be executed in the name of the firm by a member and accompanied by evidence of authority to sign. Such evidence may be in the form of a copy of the corporate bylaws, articles of incorporation, resolution of the board, corporate certificate, or other reliable evidence.
  4. A proposal by an individual shall show the proposer’s name and business address.
• COVER LETTER (required) —

  In the cover letter, the respondent should:

  1. state its understanding of the services to be performed,
  2. explain why the respondent firm is the best qualified to provide those services,
  3. state why the respondent firm is most likely to help the Borough achieve the goals outlined in the Project Scope of Work portion of this request for proposals; and,
  4. Provide the name and contact information of the individual who is authorized to make representations and commitments on behalf of the respondent.
• RESPONSE TO CRITERIA (required) —

  The narrative response to the Selection Criteria should specifically and accurately address each criterion in the order listed in this proposal. Respondents are encouraged to limit the response to 5 pages. Project and individual experience must be verifiable by listed references. It is the responsibility of the proposer to make certain that contact information is current. 

• RESUMES (required) —

  Provide resumes for each managing member of the team (i.e., project manager for the prime contractor and each known or planned subcontractor) that will be assigned to this project. List name, title, intended role and responsibilities for the duration of the contract, educational background, and specific qualifications related to role and responsibilities, past relevant experience, number of years of relevant experience, supervisory responsibilities if relevant, list of projects individual was associated with during the last five years including type of project and project cost.                        

  For each managing member of the team, provide at least two Owner or two Firm references for recent relevant projects.

• Will you be doing evaluations? (required)
• Will you be requiring References? (required)
• Will a surety bond be required? (required)
• Is this state or federally funded? (required)
• Bid protest must be filed within ____ days (required)
• Provide project site address: (required) —

  Example: 1234 Park Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901

• When do you need to have this awarded by? (required) —

  Please enter an estimated date. 

• Will there be a pre-proposal meeting? (required)
• Will the pre-proposal meeting be mandatory or non-mandatory? (required)
• Standard Insurance Policies (required)
• General Liability Minimum Limits (required)
• Automobile Liability Minimum Limits (required)
• Workers' Compensation Liability Minimum Limits (required)
• Additional Insurance Policies (required)
• Professional Liability Minimum Limits (required)
• Excess Liability Minimum Limits (required)