Review of the RFP for WIS 438 design services in Willow Landing, Wisconsin

Requirements, dates, fee terms, liquidated damages and contract terms in the City of Willow Landing’s RFP No. 2026-23, each traced to file and page, with the City’s Professional Services Agreement compared against EJCDC E-500. Five contradictions, one missing date and six deviations should be resolved before proposals are due on Dec 7, 2026.

City of Willow Landing, RFP No. 2026-23WIS 438 (Water Street) reconstruction at Cedar Street, preliminary design through final PS&E7 documents, 54 pages and fee formCompared with EJCDC E-500 (2020)Prepared Nov 5, 2026

Summary

Fee form · F3

The fee form has six lines; the RFP scores five

Attachment C adds line 6, Geotechnical exploration, which Exhibit A (p. 9) excludes from the scope. The RFP (p. 11) scores the sum of Tasks 1–5, but the form’s total row adds all six lines. With the draft estimate of $36,000 for borings, the scored fee differs by 7.2% depending on which total the City uses.

Action: ask whether line 6 should be priced and whether it is scored.

Dates · D5

Proposal validity ends before proposals are due

The RFP (p. 4) holds proposals valid through Dec 4, 2026. Addendum No. 2 moved the due date to Dec 7 and left all other dates unchanged, so validity now expires 3 days before proposals are due and 11 days before the Council award. The Proposal Form (p. 2) says 90 days. The deadline for questions was never filled in.

Liquidated damages · L2

Liquidated damages stack on top of actual delay damages

The RFP (p. 16) sets liquidated damages of $500 per calendar day for late final PS&E and keeps the City’s right to recover actual damages for the same delay. The PSA also departs from EJCDC E-500 on the liability cap, standard of care, duty to defend and reuse of documents.

Items from the RFP documents

All 34 items with source quotes. Filter by category and status, and select a row for the source, the E-500 baseline and the assessment. The timeline shows the dates and the proposal validity period, and the fee form is compared line by line with the RFP.

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Status

Sources and method

Sources

  • RFP_2026-23_Engineering_Services_WIS438.pdfRequest for Proposals: submittal requirements, evaluation, fee basis, insurance, liquidated damages24 pages
  • Exhibit_A_Scope_of_Services.pdfTasks, exclusions and schedule14 pages
  • Attachment_B_Proposal_Form.docxProposal validity, references, signature4 pages
  • Attachment_C_Fee_Proposal_Form.xlsxFee sheet with six lines and a total row1 sheet
  • Attachment_D_Professional_Services_Agreement.pdfCity of Willow Landing professional services agreement9 pages
  • Addendum_01_Questions_and_Answers.pdfAnswers to four questions2 pages
  • Addendum_02_Revised_Due_Date.pdfRevised proposal due date1 page
  • EJCDC E-500 (2020)Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services, used as the firm’s reference termsStandard form

Method

  1. All documents were read in full. Requirements, dates, fee terms, liquidated damages and contract terms were logged with a verbatim quote, file and page.
  2. The addenda were read against the RFP and the Proposal Form. Where an addendum changes a date, the addendum governs; all other dates were read as unchanged, as Addendum No. 2 states.
  3. The same item in different documents was compared. Conflicting statements are marked as contradictions, and blank fields or placeholders as missing.
  4. The PSA and the contract terms in the RFP were compared clause by clause with EJCDC E-500 (2020). Where a term departs from it, the E-500 language or a summary of it is shown alongside.
  5. The fee form lines were reconciled with the tasks in Exhibit A and with the scoring formula in the RFP.

Assumptions and limitations

  • Amounts in the fee form view are a draft estimate that shows the effect of line 6. They are not part of the RFP.
  • The RFP states that the project is locally funded. Federal-aid requirements, such as qualifications-based selection under the Brooks Act, were therefore not checked.
  • Enforceability of the PSA terms under Wisconsin law was not assessed. Have counsel and your professional liability broker review C1–C4 and L2.
  • E-500 language is quoted from the 2020 edition. Check it against the edition your firm licenses.