SeaSk8 RFQ: FTW
In other SeaSk8 news, the SeaSk8 Request For Qualifications was posted today on the City of Seattle’s website.
There is a small back story here…
During a routine “check-in” phone call last week, SPAC Chairman Ryan Barth found out that Seattle Center staff were about to release the RFQ for SeaSk8 without seeking skater feedback. Ryan and other SPAC members scrambled over the weekend to try and provide them with some effective language to somehow ensure that a clueless general contractor would not secure the project with a low bid. Feedback was provided and most of it was integrated at the last minute, but many of the more specific requests were rejected for purported legal reasons. Let’s hope that Seattle Center takes a more pro-active approach to involving skaters in this process moving forward.
What remains to be seen is whether or not the RFQ process is even effective. Lower Woodland’s RFQ required that the applicants had built a full-pipe (amongst other strict qualifications), which is something that was previously thought to be a valid benchmark for worthy skatepark construction outfits. However T.F. Sahli, who is widely known for screwing up several area skateparks, still won the bid because they had recently completed their first full-pipe in Kent. Thus it seems that the legally-bound formal RFQ process, does not adequately address some of the more subtle aspects of what makes a good skatepark builder, rendering it somewhat ineffective.
Download the document at the link above to see for yourself, but this paragraph really is the only thing in the SeaSk8 RFQ that speaks to the quality of the contractor’s previous skatepark work:
The consultant team’s relevant experience in skatepark design projects ranging between 5,000-20,000 SF, with emphasis on projects with budgets exceeding $1.0 million. Demonstrated ability to design and prepare construction documents for the development of an innovative and world class skatepark. Provide photographs of specific skatepark design features that make your designs innovative and world class.
The skateboarders of Seattle need to remain vigilant and continue to watch this process closely, because this doesn’t even get close to weeding out the undesirables.
