Request for Proposals
Local Hazard Mitigation Planning Services for the Town of Wardsboro, Vermont
Date of Issue: August 28, 2024
Closing Date: October 1, 2024, 4:00 p.m.
The Town of Wardsboro, in Windham County, Vermont, is seeking the services of a qualified consultant to create a new Local Hazard Mitigation Plan for the Town of Wardsboro (2020 pop. 869). The plan will be submitted to FEMA for approval.
The selected consultant(s) shall 1) demonstrate the ability to identify various hazard mitigation strategies that will eliminate or greatly reduce the impact of hazards that may affect the municipality and 2) have experience related to mitigation planning work.
Funding Source:
This work is funded by a Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant from FEMA. The selected consultant must be available and willing to complete the required work within 18 months of the date of the award of this contract, including FEMA approval.
It is anticipated that the FEMA grant funds will cover all of the consultant expense, which will account for 75% of the entire project cost. The Town of Wardsboro will be responsible for the remaining 25% of project cost, through a combination cash and in-kind hours. Tasks that will be undertaken by the Town of Wardsboro staff and officials include:
• General printing, photocopying, and other direct meeting expenses such as public notices.
• Public outreach and publicity efforts.
• Research (e.g. listers’ data, flood levels and loss data).
The consultant will assist the Town of Wardsboro in tracking and helping to maximize in-kind hours towards the required match.
The selected consultant will be expected to propose a budget and timeline that makes the most cost-effective and expedient use of all in-kind resources, as well as other cost-saving measures, such as teleconferencing.
Project Proposal
The project proposal should be organized along the following steps (some discretion is allowed as long as the proposal is in line with the requirements of the FEMA Review Tool effective in 2023). Each step should indicate the consultant’s role and responsibility, proposed date for completion, number of consultant hours required for each step, hourly rates and any associated direct expense. The Town of Wardsboro brings to this project a willingness to align its resources in the most cost-effective manner possible, so consultants are strongly encouraged to suggest strategies for delegating responsibilities.
Step Description
1. Assemble planning team and meet with consultant(s) to review the planning process and confirm outreach strategy.
2. Establish work plan with deliverables, timelines for completion and confirmed roles and responsibilities.
3. Review information on hazard history and future conditions utilizing best available data to determine priorities based on risk.
4. Design and initiate a public participation strategy for the jurisdiction to maximize meaningful public participation from stakeholder groups identified in the FEMA Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guidance. Request for public input is to occur during drafting stages of the plan, and when a draft is available, and may include outreach to local newspapers, surveys, meetings open to the public, posted fliers, or other alternatives.
5. Complete hazard assessment to determine vulnerability to each hazard and quantify the extent of each hazard.
6. Identify mitigation strategies to address vulnerabilities to each hazard.
7. Draft and submit plan to Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) and revise accordingly.
8. Submit revised plan to VEM, revise if necessary.
9. Adopt plan and return the final plan to VEM and FEMA.
10. Attend all public and planning meetings.
The final plan document developed by the consultant will be available to the Town of Wardsboro¬ in an accessible format (e.g. Word) to be used in future plan updates.
This plan is funded through a FEMA planning grant under Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities 2022. The Period of Performance (POP) for the grant funding this work is through November 21, 2026, and no expenses related to this project can be charged beyond this date. In limited circumstances, grant extensions may be feasible through VEM and will require contract amendments.
Qualified, interested individuals should submit the following information no later than October 1, 2024, 4:00 p.m.:
1. Consultant’s qualifications and resume. Please include references and contact information for similar emergency management or hazard mitigation planning projects.
2. Description of experience with grant-funded projects, especially FEMA or Vermont Emergency Management programs.
3. Project and cost proposal, itemized by project steps as identified above. Proposal should include all consultant hourly rates and any associated direct expenses.
Evaluation of Proposals:
Selection of a consultant(s) will be based on the proposal and:
• Documented experience in mitigation planning
• Technical staff capability to assess risks based on identified hazards
• Experience working with local, state, and/or federal government
• Ability to recommend viable mitigation actions
• References of past work in mitigation planning
• Cost
• Timeliness
The Town of Wardsboro encourages responses from disadvantaged, women-owned, minority-owned and small local firms. Selected candidates should be prepared to execute a contract that contains pass-through provisions regarding Federal programs and assurance related to this grant-funded work, including policies regarding conflicts of interest, equal opportunity, non-discrimination, retention of and access to records, and audit requirements, when applicable. The Town of Wardsboro reserves the right to reject any or all responses.
Please deliver responses and inquiries to:
Wardsboro Town Clerk
contact@example.gov
+1 (555) 000-0000
Town of Wardsboro
P.O. Box 48
Wardsboro, VT 05355
