2025 3 10 Work Session Packet 1

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PUBLIC WORKS 
 
TO:  Randall Dowling, City Manager 
FROM:  Kevin L. Helms, Project Manager/Interim Public Works Director 
Cc:  Ben Burchfield, Public Works Director 
DATE:  March 4, 2025 
SUBJECT: Five Points Intersection Multi-Modal Grant 
 
Summary 
In July 2023 the City applied for a Multi-Modal Access Grant (MMAG) for pedestrian improvements at and 
around the Five Points intersection and in January 2024 the City received notice that the project had been 
funded.  The project budget is $750,184 with 90% funding from the grant and with a 10% match by the 
City of Athens.  In the months leading up to June 2024 we worked through the various requirements for 
the grant.  In June 2024 we were provided a Notice to Proceed with the Environmental Clearance phase.   
 
The City had originally written the RFQ for the ACS CTI project to include other improvements in the 
Historic Downtown (HDTA) area with the intent of using the same engineering firm on all projects within 
this footprint, but TDOT would not allow this because of a specific advertising requirement for this grant 
program which we did not follow for the CTI project. 
 
We recently moved forward with a new RFQ (# 24-08) for engineering services primarily for this project, 
but we also wrote the scope broadly enough to include any similar work which may occur as part of the 
HDTA.  Since this process met the requirements of the MMAG program, it should also meet the 
requirements of any other funding opportunity.  By using one firm for this full scope of work, there will 
be a uniformity throughout improvements downtown regardless of what phase in which they are done. 
 
The TDOT selection process was utilized which calls for interested firms to submit a Letter of Interest to 
the City.  The letters are  reviewed by an evaluation committee and scored based upon an established 
criterion.  Five firms submitted Letters of Interest and three were selected by the committee to submit a 
full proposal.  The committee evaluated the full proposals based upon another set of criteria and had the 
option to hold interviews with the firms if they chose to do so. 
 
The evaluation committee consisted of myself, Phillip Martin, Angela Robbins, and Anthony Casteel.  After 
reviewing the full proposals, the committee elected not to interview the firms because all four members 
of the committee ranked  Kimley Horn at the top of their list.  I notified Kimley Horn of the results and 
asked them to begin work on an agreement of services for us to review and present to the City Council 
for approval. 
 
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