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The City of Liberal, Kansas is soliciting requests for proposals (“RFPs”) with service cost bids from qualified and experienced firms to provide environmental regulatory review and assessments, in conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration and other project partners, to proceed with the development of the Liberal Crossing Analysis for Routes Enhancing Safety (Liberal CARES) Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) project (the “Project”) as stated in this RFP. The objective of this RFP is to identify those firms that specialize in providing technical environmental assessments to support compliance with federal regulatory standards for transportation projects under the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) using Department of Transportation grants. Any contract awarded through this RFP is anticipated to be funded by the RCE program funds and will be subject to any requirements of the grant. A qualified firm will be selected with which to commence negotiations for the execution of a contract to perform the Scope of Work. If the City of Liberal and the best qualified and capable firm are unable to reach a contract agreement, City of Liberal will then commence negotiation with the next highest qualified firm, and continuing thereafter in descending order, until such time as they are able to finalize the terms of a contract for the Scope of Work or City of Liberal elects to terminate this RFP. Notice of Non-Discrimination - The City of Liberal, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that for any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.
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| 2/13/2026 9:30 AM
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| 3/10/2026 11:00 AM
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| 3 sealed bids due to Liberal City Hall, City Clerk's Office.
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| 03/10/2026 at 11 am, City Hall
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| Any general questions, requests for clarification or notices of ambiguities, conflicts, mistakes, errors or discrepancies in this RFP may be submitted to Keeley Young at keeley.young@cityofliberal.org.
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| See related documents for the full RFP and submission format.
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Bids and proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee of not less than three (3) individuals from the City of Liberal. The responding firms will be ranked utilizing the Ranking Criteria identified below, and will select up to three (3) highly qualified firms. The City of Liberal will present the top bid proposals to the Liberal City Commission for final approval prior to entering into a finalized service contract with the awarded firm. Evaluation ranks do not create any right in or expectation to a contract regardless of any ranking given to any firm.
RANKING CRITERIA
Responding firms will be ranked pursuant to the following criteria and weighting:
1) The specialized experience and technical competence of the firm with respect to the type of services required, including experience with FRA guidelines (0-40 points);
2) The capacity and capability of the firm to perform the work in question, including specialized services, within the time limitations fixed for the completion of the Project (0-35 points);
3) The past record of performance of the firm with respect to such factors as control of costs, quality of work, and ability to meet schedules (0-20 points); and
4) The firm's proximity to and familiarity with the area in which the Project is located (0-5 points).MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Organization and Experience - Responding firms must be organized for the purpose of providing technical assessments, engineering, and public engagement services with at least 10 years of experience with proven effectiveness in conducting successful services for USDOT/FRA projects.
Start-Up - Responding firms must have a proven ability for immediate contract start-up as evidenced by past performance and current resources and personnel.
Debarment/Suspension - Neither responding firms nor any of their respective principals shall be debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from participation in any contract by any Federal department or agency.
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The following shall be mandatory requirements of any Contract awarded pursuant to this RFP. Any references to the term “Contractor” shall be deemed to refer to the selected firm under this RFP.
Indemnification - The Contractor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Project Partners and each of their respective agencies, officials, officers, or employees from and against all claims, damages, liability, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or resulting from any acts or omissions in connection with the Contract, caused in whole or in part by the Contractor, its employees, agents or subcontractors, or caused by others for whom the Contractor is liable.
Buy American - For infrastructure projects, as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 184, steel, iron, manufactured goods, and construction materials used in the project are subject to the domestic preference requirement at § 70914 of the Build America, Buy America Act (Buy American Act), Pub. L. No. 117-58, div. G, tit. IX, subtitle. A, 135 Stat. 429, 1298 (2021) and 2 C.F.R. part 184, as implemented by OMB, USDOT, and FRA. For all other projects, the acquisition of steel, iron, and manufactured goods is subject to the requirements set forth in the Buy American Act, 41 U.S.C. §§ 8301-8305. Contractor represents that it has never been convicted of violating the Buy American Act. Pursuant to the requirements of 2 C.F.R. § 200.322, as appropriate and to the extent consistent with law, the Contractor should, to the greatest extent practicable under this award, provide a preference for the purchase, acquisition, or use of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States. The Contractor shall include the requirements of 2 C.F.R. § 200.322 in all subawards including all contracts and purchase orders for work or products under this award.
No Collusion - No officer or employee of the City of Liberal, and no other public official or employee, who may exercise any function or responsibilities in the review or approval of this undertaking shall have any personal or financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contract or negotiation process thereof. This “no collusion” requirement shall be part of any contract for performance of the Scope of Work.
Substantive Proposals - By submitting a Bid Proposal, each responding firm certifies that: (a) the Bid Proposal is genuine and is not made in the interest of, or on behalf of, an undisclosed person, firm, or corporation; (b) the firm has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other responding firm(s) to put in a false Bid Proposal; (c) the responding firm has not solicited or induced any other person, firm, or corporation to refrain or abstain from proposing a Bid Proposal; and (d) the responding firm has not sought by collusion to obtain for themselves any advantage over any other responding firm or over the City of Liberal.
Conflict of Interest - No employee, officer, or agent of any responding firm, or any immediate family member or partner of such, shall participate in the selection or award under this RFP. No employee, officer, or agent of the successful firm, or any immediate family member or partner of such, shall participate in the administration of any contract award with respect to this RFP. No employee, officer, or agent of the City of Liberal, or any immediate family member or partner of such, shall solicit or accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from, or on behalf of, any responding firm or the successful firm. A responding firm will be disqualified if any violation of these provisions is identified by the City of Liberal. Any employee, officer, or agent of the City of Liberal found to be in violation of these provisions will be subject to such penalties, sanctions, or other disciplinary actions provided by City of Liberal policy.
Debarment - A responding firm will be disqualified, and must disclose to the City of Liberal, if the firm or any of its principals are debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in any contract by any Federal department or agency.
CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS
During the performance of any subsequently awarded contract, the contractor, for itself, its assignees, and successors in interest (hereinafter referred to as the “contractor”) will be required to agree to the following terms:
1. Compliance with Regulations: The contractor (hereinafter includes consultants) will comply with the Acts and the Regulations relative to Non-discrimination in Federally assisted programs of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), as they may be amended from time to time, which are herein incorporated by reference and made a part of this contract.
2. Non-discrimination: The contractor, with regard to the work performed by it during the contract, will not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in the selection and retention of subcontractors, including procurements of materials and leases of equipment. The contractor will not participate directly or indirectly in the discrimination prohibited by the Acts and the Regulations, including employment practices when the contract covers any activity, project, or program set forth in Appendix B of 49 CFR Part 21, including any amendments thereto.
During the performance of this contract, the contractor, for itself, its assignees, and successors in interest agrees to comply with the following non-discrimination statutes and authorities; including but not limited to:
Pertinent Non-Discrimination Authorities:
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., 78 Stat. 252), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin); and 49 CFR Part 21, including any amendments thereto.
• The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, (42 U.S.C. § 4601), (prohibits unfair treatment of persons displaced or whose property has been acquired because of Federal or Federal-aid programs and projects);
• Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, (23 U.S.C. § 324 et seq.), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex) (as applicable);
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, (29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.), as amended, (prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability); and 49 CFR Part 27;
• The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, (42 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq.), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of age);
• The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, (P.L. 100-209), (Broadened the scope, coverage and applicability of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, by expanding the definition of the terms “programs or activities” to include all of the programs or activities of the Federal-aid recipients, sub-recipients and contractors, whether such programs or activities are Federally funded or not);
• Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in the operation of public entities, public and private transportation systems, places of public accommodation, and certain testing entities (42 U.S.C. §§ 12131–12189) as implemented by Department of Transportation regulations at 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38;
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits you from discriminating because of sex in education programs or activities (20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).
3. Solicitations for Subcontracts, Including Procurements of Materials and Equipment: In all solicitations, either by competitive bidding, or negotiation made by the contractor for work to be performed under a subcontract, including procurements of materials, or leases of equipment, each potential subcontractor or supplier will be notified by the contractor of the contractor’s obligations under this contract and the Acts and the Regulations relative to Nondiscrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin.
4. Information and Reports: The contractor will provide all information and reports required by the Acts, the Regulations, and directives issued pursuant thereto and will permit access to its books, records, accounts, other sources of information, and its facilities as may be determined by the Recipient or FRA to be pertinent to ascertain compliance with such Acts, Regulations, and instructions. Where any information required of a contractor is in the exclusive possession of another who fails or refuses to furnish the information, the contractor will so certify to the Recipient or FRA, as appropriate, and will set forth what efforts it has made to obtain the information.
5. Sanctions for Noncompliance: In the event of a contractor’s noncompliance with the Nondiscrimination provisions of this contract, the Recipient will impose such contract sanctions as it or FRA may determine to be appropriate, including, but not limited to:
a. withholding payments to the contractor under the contract until the contractor complies; and/or
b. cancelling, terminating, or suspending a contract, in whole or in part.
6. Incorporation of Provisions: The contractor will include the provisions of paragraphs one through six in every subcontract, including procurements of materials and leases of equipment, unless exempt by the Acts, the Regulations and directives issued pursuant thereto. The contractor will take action with respect to any subcontract or procurement as the Recipient or FRA may direct as a means of enforcing such provisions including sanctions for noncompliance. Provided, that if the contractor becomes involved in, or is threatened with litigation by a subcontractor, or supplier because of such direction, the contractor may request the Recipient to enter into any litigation to protect the interests of the Recipient. In addition, the contractor may request the United States to enter into the litigation to protect the interests of the United States.
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