Nestled alongside the Centennial Trail and the Spokane River is the Coeur d’Alene Advance Wastewater Treatment Facility.  A publicly-owned treatment facility, the AWTF is subject to one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and the country’s most restrictive effluent discharge requirements.

In an effort to increase the public’s awareness of the AWTF, the City of Coeur d’Alene Wastewater Department is actively seeking creative and fun ways to engage and educate trail users of “what is biogas and what is it used for?”  In short, biogas is a byproduct of one of many wastewater treatment processes and is often used for power generation or as a heat source. Excessive biogas is flared or flamed (burned) off.  While the flare operates under pressure, the actual flame burns continuously with a flickering effect.

There is no specific theme for the artwork other than the AWTF has requested that the final piece be safe, FUN, and appropriate for viewers of all ages.  It should complement and include open flame into its final design and reflect the amazing transformation of recycling wastewater into a viable “Class A” clean water source.

The goal is to significantly beautify and delight those passing by the AWTF, while at the same time providing an educational element pertaining to biogas along the trail. The city will develop, fund, and install the educational element associated with the biogas flare project.  The completed final artwork and educational product will become the property of the City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

SITE LOCATION AND SCHEDULE

Beginning in the fall of 2023, the city will be upgrading the existing AWTF’s biogas flare.  The biogas flare is located at the southeast corner within the facility grounds (881 Hubbard Avenue) and runs parallel with the Centennial Trail.  It is visible from the Spokane River and is secured behind an eight-foot fence separating trail users from the AWTF. While the flare operates under pressure, the actual flame burns continuously with a flickering effect.  The city intends to bid out this upgrade project with a completion date of 2024.  The artwork should be scheduled for installation in August of 2024. 

The design criteria are as follows: 

●       Sculpture must permit an unobstructed access to the biogas flare infrastructure.  Artist must demonstrate how this may be accomplished prior to selection;

●       Sculpture cannot impede and/or otherwise restrict access of the AWTF’s daily operations and maintenance of the biogas flare, infrastructure, electrical, and controls.  Artist must demonstrate how this may be accomplished prior to selection;

●       Sculpture must not impose any removal or alterations to the biogas flare, infrastructure, electrical, or controls.  See dimensions contained herein RFQ;

●       Sculpture must incorporate into its design an elevated continuous open flame of varying heights without altering or deflecting said flame;

●       Sculpture must not hinder the intended performance of the biogas flare;

●       Sculpture must be inclusive of all materials and medium that can withstand fire up to 1,000°F without compromising structural integrity due to stress, strain, stiffness, strength, and thermal expansion;

●       Sculpture must not contain any melting, flammable, combustible, or otherwise volatile materials;

●       Sculpture must be self-standing, static structure mounted onto concrete footing.  No kinetic structures will be considered;

●       Sculpture must be fully comprised of low-maintenance materials that are North Idaho all-weather resistant and can withstand the wear and tear of prolonged outside exposure;

●       Sculpture may include or encompass all biogas flare piping.  Control panel is not included.

The existing biogas flare is a 36” diameter steel barrel securely mounted at the top of a 4” diameter steel standpipe.  It rises 12 feet vertically above the finish grade (ground).  There is a connecting 2” diameter steel gas feed pipe parallel to the stand pipe and extends 3 feet above the ground running 14 ft horizontally from the stand pipe to the control panel box.  The control panel box will not be a part of this artwork project.

BUDGET

The budget for this project is $75,000, which is inclusive of all costs related to the artist and/or artist team’s design and project which include the following: management fees, all subcontract and consultant costs including engineers, electricians, fabricators, studio and overhead costs; fabrication, lighting, transportation, delivery and installation of all art components, including foundations, concrete pad and footings; liability and insurance costs as required; and all other costs associated with the art project. Artwork should meet all applicable city building codes.  All finalist proposals must include a 10% contingency as part of their budget, included with the overall $75,000 budget, to be used only with written permission from the City.

TIMELINE

 August 22, 2023         CALL OPENS-Request for Qualifications Announced

(Submissions ONLY accepted through the CaFE website, www.callforentry.org)

 December 1, 2023   Artist Submission Deadline

 January 3, 2024       Finalist Notification.  (Up to five (5) qualified finalists are invited to make proposals.)

February 15, 2024   Final Proposals are Due

March, 2024            Proposals on Public Display Throughout the Month

April, 2024               Selection Committee Meets, Conducts Interviews, Makes a Selection, and Forwards Their Recommendation to the Arts Commission for Approval.

April 23, 2024           Presentation to the Arts Commission

May 7, 2024              Arts Commission Forwards Their Recommendation to the City Council

May, 2024                 Review and Approval by City Council, Contract Generated

May, 2024                 Contract Signed and Commencement of Artwork Creation and Fabrication Begins

Oct/Nov, 2024          Artwork Installed and Dedicated

SELECTION COMMITTEE

The Selection Committee will consist of seven (7) voting members, including local citizens, educational professionals, arts professionals, a city councilperson, and two (2) non-voting members of the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission.  All eligible RFQ submissions will be reviewed by the Selection Committee. 

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is a two-step process. All interested artist and/or artist teams must first submit their qualifications to be reviewed by the Selection Committee (See criteria below). 

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) CRITERIA

Cover Letter:  A one-page cover letter which concisely summarizes the applicant’s interest in this artwork project along with contact information.

Professional Qualifications: A resume for each applicant (including team members), not longer than 1,000 words. A summary (not more than two pages) of experience in fabricating and installing permanent artwork suitable for the outdoor elements, with a budget of at least $50,000. This summary may include up to five (5) projects, with supportive information.

Supporting Information:  Supportive information should include: the title of the piece, commissioning body, project budget, date, materials and client (with contact reference information).  Special consideration will be given to successful experience working with local governmental or municipal agencies.  Up to six (6) color images may be submitted, each with annotated image information.  Failure to provide any of the published requirements may result in disqualification. 

PROPOSALS

The Selection Committee will invite up to five (5) finalists to develop and submit proposals of their artwork.

All proposals will be publicly displayed for a period of no less than one month.  At the end of the display period, the Selection Committee will review and rank all proposals.  They may choose to interview the finalists in person, via Microsoft TEAMS, or other video conferencing.  After the committee chooses the highest ranked proposal that best fits the theme and goal of the project, they will forward their recommendation to the Arts Commission for review and approval.

Upon the Arts Commission’s approval, the commission will forward its recommendation to the City Council. Following City Council approval, a contract will be issued to the selected artist and/or artist-team. Should this artist and/or artist team elect not to execute a contract, the next highest ranked artist and/or artist team will be issued a contract. This will be repeated until an executed contract is acquired.

PROPOSAL CRITERIA

After the five finalist(s) have been selected by the Selection Committee, a written invitation to the artist and/or artist team will be sent requesting proposals of their proposed artwork.  

Each of the finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium to prepare a proposal.

Each proposal must include detailed sketches, materials list, renderings, narration, budget, schedule, and a 3-D model (maquette).  The biogas flare displayed on artist’s maquette shall not include the means or the methods of starting and promoting an actual open flame or fire.  Artist and/or artist team must be creative in displaying the fire portion of their proposal.  All proposals will become the property of the City of Coeur d’Alene and will not be returned.  Every effort will be made to protect submitted materials; however, the city will not accept responsibility for any lost or damaged materials during the selection process.

All proposals shall be delivered to the City of Coeur d’Alene City Clerk’s Office located at 710 E. Mullan Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 83814 by 5:00 PM local time at the date specified under the Timeline Section herein.  Any submission(s) delivered after this date and time will not be accepted. 

Application Requirements

All submissions must include:

Cover Letter:  A one-page cover letter which concisely summarizes the applicant’s interest in this artwork project along with contact information.

Professional Qualifications: A resume for each applicant (including team members), not longer than 1,000 words. A summary (not more than two pages) of experience in fabricating and installing permanent artwork suitable for the outdoor elements, with a budget of at least $50,000. This summary may include up to five (5) projects, with supportive information.

Supporting Information:  Supportive information must include: the title of the piece, commissioning body, project budget, date, materials and client (with contact reference information). Special consideration will be given to successful experience working with local governmental or municipal agencies.  Up to six (6) color images may be submitted, each with annotated image information.  Failure to provide any of the published requirements may result in disqualification.

Eligibility Criteria

This call is open to all artists, designers, or creative individuals or artist teams regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, physical or mental disability.  Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission members and selection committee members are not eligible for participation.