2026 City of Alamosa Comprehensive Plan RFP.pdf

Request for Proposals City of Alamosa, Colorado

Comprehensive Plan October 6th, 2025

Introduction

The City of Alamosa is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to prepare a long-range Comprehensive Plan. Our goal is to create a living document that is based on current social, economic, and natural conditions which describes a shared future to which Alamosa aspires.

Inclusive of varied perspectives and born from community conversations centered around our pressing needs for housing, economic development, and preservation of shared resources, this plan will also serve to balance the pressures of growth with cultural heritage of our community through changing population demographics, increasing interest in tourism and outdoor recreation, and emerging trends in development. The Plan is ambitious, with the intent of maximizing stakeholder and community engagement and participation in order to update and inform existing plans as a part of the overall process. There are specific elements that require focus and inclusion, including an update to the 2020 Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan; recreation; re-alignment of the 2019 Downtown Plan; climate & resilience; the water efficiency plan; future fire facility needs, and more, which are described further below.

For the past several years, the City of Alamosa has been investing into plans and strategies to help inform policies and goals in order to promote economic development, sustainable growth, and general improvements for the protection of the quality of life for the City’s residents and businesses. The most-recent Comprehensive Plan resulted in a new Unified Development Code, which streamlined the development approval process, and brought about the Downtown Plan.

The City is proactive with amending the Development Code to remove roadblocks and other issues as they arise. Housing needs were not addressed or a perceived need at the time of our last Comprehensive Plan process. However, the City embarked on a Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan in 2020. Master water and sewer utility plans have been recently completed and the storm sewer plan is nearing completion. A utility rate study will kick-off in early 2026.

Further recreation planning has also taken place since the last Comprehensive Plan. A housing rehabilitation framework plan was delivered to the City in the summer of 2025. The first quarter of 2026 will also include work from a City Streets Committee, supplemented by recently collected pavement condition information, to prioritize street construction for City Council to take a renewal of a Street Sales Tax to the voters in November 2026. While not City processes, Visit Alamosa is currently creating a 5-year Strategic Plan for tourism and Alamosa County recently completed its Comprehensive Plan. These planning efforts may have created planning fatigue for the community.

To help guide this process, a group consisting of Planning Commissioners, City Council members, community members, and City staff will serve as an Advisory Committee for this process. After review of the RFPs by City staff, a short list will be created; those firms will be requested to make a presentation detailing their proposal to the Advisory Committee. City Council will approve the contract with the selected firm.

Overview

The City of Alamosa, population ±9,800, is located in Alamosa County in the San Luis Valley at the intersection of Highways US-160, US-285, and CO-17, about 125 miles southwest of Pueblo.

Alamosa is located just 15 miles from the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The City, with a population nearing 10,000, is the regional hub for education, retail, service, and medical facilities. It is the home of Adams State University with almost 1,700 students on campus and Trinidad State College with approximately 600 students. The major employers are agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and government (City, County, K-12, higher education). The City has experienced challenges due to its geographical location and the long-term severe poverty of the area. The City has a very low property tax and depends mostly on revenue generated from sales taxes, of which tourism certainly plays an increasing role. The Alamosa County Regional Airport is south of the city and located next to the city’s industrial park. The County of Alamosa, unincorporated population of ±6,660, is largely rural-agricultural and is sparsely populated, with the exception of unincorporated East Alamosa, located just east of Alamosa. Other communities include the statutory town of Hooper and the unincorporated town of Mosca.

Since our previous comprehensive planning efforts, which occurred largely in 2016, many aspects of Alamosa have changed. Housing wasn’t a perceived need, economic development was slow, and downtown was in decline; Adams State University was at record enrollment, home prices were low, as were wages. The changes Alamosa has experienced in the last decade have been gradual, but when looking backwards, it's easier to see large shifts have occurred.

Population is up ~10%, median household incomes are up ~41%, home prices and rents have risen ~51% and 46%, respectively, while vacancy has decreased. Economic sectors seem to have remained relatively the same, but our downtown is not experiencing the vacancy it once did.

Crime and homelessness, or the perception of these issues, has also risen. Mental health and substance use disorder services, or the lack thereof, have become much more critical. In addition to the housing crisis, San Luis Valley partners have also identified lack of early childhood care as a crisis. The Great Sand Dunes National Park has continually set record visitation numbers. Several changes are on the verge, as well. Alamosa’s largest residential development, a mixed-unit, mixed-income 138-unit development has broken ground and will have units ready by late 2026. Also, a 93-room hotel in Alamosa’s downtown will also be online by late 2026, which is predicted to have a strong impact on the local economy. Finally, the community remains at risk for access to healthcare while changes at the Federal level impact hospital operations.

Demographics and Socioeconomic Context

Alamosa’s character is shaped by several significant demographic patterns. Below is a very high overview:

● Growth rate: Approximately 1% per year and 10% per decade, though population growth has slowed over the past few years due to the natural increase (births minus deaths) decreasing each year, as well as fluctuating net-migration trends.

● Racial and Ethnic Makeup: At least 56% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, with significant distinct multicultural and Spanish-speaking populations. These populations are not homogeneous, but represent multi-generational descendants of original Spanish settlers, immigrants since the turn of the 20th century, and more recent migrant workers to name just a few. Alamosa also has a notable Guatemalan community.

● Median Household Income: ~$47,000, nearly half of the state median ($92,470); 17.8% below the poverty line—nearly double the Colorado rate (9.4%);

● Housing: ~60% of households rent, with 50% of renters being cost burdened. As of the end of September, there are 120 individuals in Alamosa experiencing unsheltered homelessness, an additional 42 individuals experiencing housing instability and lacking a permanent residence, and 23 individuals at the local shelter.

● Language: English is the primary household language, and the 2023 ACS indicates 38.1% speak Spanish, with ~12% of residents report speaking English “less than very well.” The Guatemalan population speaks Q'anjob'al.

Project Area and Timeframe

The physical scope of the Comprehensive Plan will include the incorporated area of the city of Alamosa. Areas outside of the City’s current jurisdiction should be addressed as they pertain to potential future residential growth opportunities, such as those found in Alamosa’s 3-mile Annexation Plan.

The project should commence, be completed, and presented within a 24-month timeframe.

However, the City is willing to be flexible on the completion date depending on the scope of assessment and proposed cost. The City anticipates the project beginning no later than March, 2026.

Scope of Work

The following is a general overview and description of the tasks for the Comprehensive Plan. In preparing a proposal, the consultant is free to modify, revise or otherwise amend the list of tasks to best satisfy the overall requirements of the assessment. Please note that though this plan is funded, some elements are funded through specific grant programs, and those funds can only go towards the applicable plan element. This means it will be critical for the successful consultant to provide separate accounting, manage distinct budgets, and keep these tasks billed separately - specifically housing, water efficiency, and climate resiliency.

The planning process should be developed and submitted to the City in topical sections for review, comment and approval. Not only will this enable the project to remain at a manageable scale, but it will allow City staff and steering committee members to more effectively monitor and give feedback about the plan.

● Task 1. Project Management and Kick-off. The selected consultant will designate a primary contact to coordinate with the City's primary contacts. The process will begin with a kickoff meeting to finalize the project goals, communication protocols, billing requirements, and a detailed project schedule. The consultant will be responsible for ongoing project management, including facilitating check-in meetings with City staff, preparing for meetings with the project Steering Committee, and submitting monthly progress reports. A key deliverable for this task is a comprehensive project schedule, presented in a graphical format (e.g., Gantt chart), that outlines all major tasks, public engagement activities, deliverables, and meeting dates for the anticipated project timeline, culminating in the final adoption of the plan.

● Task 2. Existing Conditions and Data Analysis. The consultant will conduct a thorough analysis of Alamosa's existing conditions to establish a baseline for the plan. This includes a comprehensive review and synthesis of all prior City plans and studies to identify key themes and policy directives. Concurrently, the consultant will collect and analyze demographic, economic, housing, land use, and infrastructure data to create a detailed community profile. The primary deliverable for this task is an Existing Conditions Report that combines all findings into a clear, graphically-rich narrative, highlighting the critical trends, challenges, and opportunities that will shape Alamosa's future.

● Task 3. Development of and Use of a Community and Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

Most crucial to this endeavor is an effective and robust community outreach plan that considers the demographics, technological literacy, and best practices. This is an area that the City has struggled with; recent societal trends have only made it more challenging, with higher levels of mistrust and skepticism of government. The City is open to any methods that will help gain as diverse and robust a response as possible.

Elements might include charrettes and open houses, stakeholder interviews, surveys, and specific outreach efforts tailored to vulnerable, underengaged, or traditionally unengaged populations such as marginalized hispanic, latino, and chicano populations, the Guatemalan community, and Adams State students. All survey results must be cross-tabulated. Outreach efforts must include input for all of the plan elements below, but the City also wants to ensure there is ample space for public input outside of the plan elements envisioned. The City wants to best understand what the community’s values and priorities are and how to best allocate its limited resources. In accordance with state laws to engage with disproportionately impacted communities (C.R.S.

24-4-109), the plan must use an environmental justice lens, particularly when it comes to the impacts of hazards, resources, and amenities to promote equitable outcomes.

● Task 4: Development of Plan Elements. The consultant will use the information gained from the community and stakeholder plans to inform and address the following plan elements.

○ Housing. Update to the City’s Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan, in accordance with Colorado Senate Bill 24-174, to take into account new development, population trends, economic data, implemented activities, and opportunities for future success. The current Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan has been well-received and heavily utilized. The City and its housing partners have accomplished, addressed, or are in the process of addressing nearly all of the stated goals of the Action Plan.

○ Downtown. Alamosa’s downtown development has been guided by the 2019 “Downtown on the Rio” design plan, which received a governor’s award for downtown excellence. As stated previously, Alamosa’s downtown is trending in the right direction and the plan’s framework has been largely successful. One challenge has been the loss of several of the identified development opportunity sites. The other has been lingering dissatisfaction from some members of the community about the Main Street lane diet; the lane diet was identified as a crucial component of downtown’s revitalization. However, when the short-term lane diet design was implemented in 2021, there was significant outcry. We still think it was the right decision, but the lesson we learned is that we needed to remind the community what the community had decided previously. Further, many of the catalytic sites have redeveloped or the nature of these have changed to the point the visioning in the plan is no longer relevant. This plan element is intended to re-focus the priorities and identify new opportunities for the downtown plan.

○ Recreation. Trails and riverfront activation were a key takeaway from the last comprehensive plan process, and to that end, Alamosa has made great strides and is working toward implementation of the 2022 Trails Master Plan.

Community partners have also recently completed a riverfront activation plan.

The City’s Parks and Recreation relies on a dedicated ½% sales tax that never sunsets, but this funding stream is increasingly unable to meet both capital and programming needs. At a minimum, this planning process needs to address these questions: quality, availability, and usage of recreation facilities and programs as well as suggestions for change; desire for a public pool and/or amphitheater; the quality of existing park amenities and desire for additional amenities; public art and culturally-relevant programming. These should be addressed in a prioritization matrix and weighed against existing funding avenues, funding opportunities, and community sentiment for an increase in taxes.

○ Fire Services. The City and Alamosa County Fire Protection District completed a District Staffing and Operational Analysis Report in January 2024. Unfortunately, the study did not address several key items that staff feels will become more pressing in the future. Based on call volume and ability to maintain volunteers for the fully volunteer Fire Department, the City anticipates that the department might need to become a combination department within the next 5 to 10 years.

This change would also prompt facility needs that should be evaluated and incorporated into the City’s long-range plans.

○ Core Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure. Alamosa relies heavily on general sales taxes for its main revenue streams and has 3 dedicated sales tax funds:

Parks and Recreation ½% does not sunset; Water/Wastewater Bond Financing ½% sunsets in 2034, and; Street Trust Fund ½% sunsets in 2029. The consultant will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the City's core services and infrastructure to ensure they can support planned future growth. This task involves inventorying the existing condition and capacity of the transportation network, roads, sidewalks, connectivity, parks and recreation facilities, fire and police services and facilities, and other public buildings. Much of this data has been assembled and is in a GIS format. The City is working on an Accessibility Assessment, which may also provide some helpful data and insights - as well as an Access Control Plan with the Colorado Department of Transportation, which may have some information and outreach overlap.

Alamosa is protected from flooding from the Rio Grande by a levee system, which is in need of several enhancements in order to retain its certification. The loss of certification would likely have a devastating effect on our community by requiring properties to carry flood insurance. The City is pursuing multiple funding streams, but the analysis must factor the levee into account. Water, wastewater, and storm systems have been addressed by their respective master infrastructure plans and should incorporate those findings. The City is set to commence a rate study in 2026. Based on growth projections, the consultant will perform a gap analysis to identify future needs and recommend appropriate level-of-service standards. The final deliverable will be a dedicated chapter in the Comprehensive Plan that establishes clear goals, policies, and strategic recommendations based on actual needs and the public's expectations to guide future capital investments and ensure the efficient and sustainable delivery of public services and amenities.

○ Rural Development. The pace of rural development is dramatically different than that experienced in metropolitan areas and resort communities. Many best practices for development, such as provision of infrastructure, cost recovery for impact on existing infrastructure, etc. will often kill a development project in Alamosa. There have been times that the cost to install the appropriate infrastructure would exceed the value of the property – even after development.

However, not requiring infrastructure, such as streets, inappropriately places the burden on existing residents and tax payers rather than the developer. This struggle has particularly impacted infill projects, where lots develop one at a time every few years. An evaluation of development roadblocks combined with out-of-the-box solutions is needed.

○ Water Efficiency, Conservation, and Water Supply. Since 2020, many goals in the Water Efficiency Plan have been met. The update should review water use data and action item accomplishments to see what programs can be expanded and what new goals could be established. The update needs to meet CWCB requirements. Furthermore, there are state statutes requiring a water supply section for the Comprehensive Plan. Details can be found in Colorado Revised Statutes 30-28-106(3)(a.5)(II) and 31-23-206(1.5)(c).

○ Climate Resiliency and Strategic Growth. These portions are new requirements by the state. The plan update should include resilience as an interwoven or https://dlg.colorado.gov/water-and-land-use-tips-requirements https://planningforhazards.colorado.gov/resilience-planning https://dlg.colorado.gov/planning-for-strategic-growth guiding theme. The resiliency planning needs to consider shocks and stresses throughout our community’s plans, land-use codes, zoning, development standards, incentive programs, and other plans or policies that guide and shape development. This plan also needs to incorporate strategic growth elements by identifying and promoting redevelopment and infill in the plan.

○ Economic Development. Economic Development was a core subject addressed by the previous Comprehensive Plan. While economic development is crucial to the on-going success and vitality of Alamosa, our understanding of how it fits into the larger puzzle has shifted to more of a “jobs follow people” approach. The overarching economic development goals and strategies are: to foster a resilient and diverse local economy by supporting existing major employers in agriculture, healthcare, and government; to identify strategies to increase median household incomes and reduce poverty; to build upon the success of the downtown revitalization and leverage the growing tourism sector associated with the Great Sand Dunes National Park; extend visitor stays in Alamosa through the promotion of our park and trail systems, and; increasing the role parks and recreation amenities serve as business preservation and recruitment tools. Additionally, the City is actively pursuing strategies to recruit businesses and services that address significant outmigration of spending outside the San Luis Valley, ensuring local needs are met and economic leakage is reduced. Additionally, since the last Comprehensive Plan, the City has created a Creative District Committee focused on securing State certification and growing the creative industry in Alamosa.

This plan element will involve assessing and developing strategies to facilitate potential business growth.

● Task 5: Critical Issues Report. An overall summary of the public engagement activities should be compiled and presented to identify the critical issues recognized through the preceding process. The critical issues report will be prepared in a way that prioritizes the development concerns that emerged during the public engagement activities and general research for the plan. This information is intended to provide direction in the development of the Goals and Objectives for the City of Alamosa and identify key resources and strategies for implementing the Comprehensive Plan.

● Task 6: Goals, Objectives & Policies. The Goals and Objectives of the City of Alamosa should consist of vision and mission statements constructed to address future growth and specific issues identified earlier within the study, with an emphasis on community priorities. The consultant will hold a meeting with community leaders and representatives and the Steering Committee in formulating the basis for the City of Alamosa Comprehensive Plan. The goals and objectives will be the basis for establishing policies and priorities for coordinated development, redevelopment, resource allocation, and will form the framework for the development of the Comprehensive Plan land use recommendations.

● Task 7: Future Land Use Plan and Planning District Map. Strategies should be developed identifying the most effective use of existing land (redeveloped land), undeveloped land, and surrounding land outside the present city limits. This will also include an evaluation of mixed-use in-fill opportunities, new development, adaptive reuse and redevelopment opportunities. The findings of this task will be analyzed and presented as short and long term opportunities for the community. This will include priorities and strategies to help achieve the market potential consistent with the current and forecasted market potential upon redevelopment—recognizing the area’s physical characteristics and considering existing and potential public financial resources. City staff can help the consultant understand any physical limiting factors for specific sites (such as infrastructure availability, topography, etc.).

The deliverables for this task include Planning District Maps and Planning District/Future Land Use recommendations. The maps will show future land uses and zones, recommended public improvements, proposed park locations and other community facilities and improvements. These improvements may include the location of gateway features, streetscape enhancement corridors, viewshed preservation areas, strategic redevelopment locations and future growth areas.

● Task 8. Implementation. The consultant will review the use of traditional and non-traditional tools and approaches for guiding community development. These tools will include, but not be limited to current ordinances, plans, and regulations, the principles of new urbanism, smart growth, sustainable communities, form based zoning and other applicable planning and design tools and concepts. It is expected that the consultant will be well versed in best practices and trends in other communities to assist in implementation. Options for implementing the goals and objectives of the plan will be identified in a written report. Options will include financing, physical improvement, regulatory and other relevant implementation tools and actions that the City can utilize.

Based upon the input from the prior phases and the experience and expertise of the project team, the consultant will recommend land use policies, overlay district options, future land use projections and zoning changes to implement the preferred alternatives.

The recommendations will be prioritized and presented in both narrative and graphic means and will focus on establishing sound land use policy that will guide all future development, redevelopment and zoning decisions.

● Task 9. Plan Formulation. The final product, the City of Alamosa long range Comprehensive Plan, will be the synthesis of efforts and research into providing the City with a workable, sound document, fine tuned to the desired future of the City. The first draft and an Executive Summary will be distributed for review by the Planning Commission. Any revisions and alterations will be completed and presented in the final Plan.

● Task 10. Public Review. In addition to the public outreach conducted as part of Task 3, conduct a public hearing for community comment and information, leading to the adoption of the City of Alamosa Comprehensive Plan, including preparation of the statutorily-required public notice of the hearing by the Planning Commission.

● Task 11. End Product and Final Deliverables. The Assessment will be presented in a format and language that is user-friendly and easily comprehendible and accessible to the general public. The extensive use of maps, graphics and other devices is encouraged to enhance the readability and ease-of-use of the Comprehensive Plan. At the time of completion of the planning process, the consultant must provide a complete package with all maps, graphs, tables, comment cards, and other material that will become the domain of the City. This information, like all information supplied to the City, must also be available in electronic format.

The final report shall be submitted in four formats:

1. 25 printed, bound, color copies;

2. 10 printed copies of the overall executive summary;

3. A digital copy of the entire document including the text, any appendices, and all graphics in PDF and Word or Google Docs format. The PDF must meet the Digital Accessibility Laws for Local Governments and related rules.

4. Additionally, all data used for analysis needs to be organized in Excel or Google Sheets format.

Existing Documents The following linked documents should be reviewed by the applicant.

● City of Alamosa 2017 Comprehensive Plan

● Alamosa City Ranch Plan 2018

● City of Alamosa 2019 Downtown Design Plan

● Water Efficiency Plan 2020

● Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan 2021

● Park and Recreation Trails Master Plan 2022

● Alamosa Housing Rehabilitation Plan 2025

● Alamosa Riverfront Project

● Alamosa County Fire Protection District Staffing and Operational

Analysis 2024

These additional resources will also be valuable references.

● Alamosa County Comprehensive Plan 2025

● 3-Mile Annexation Plan 2025

● Unified Development Code

● Alamosa County Emergency Operation Plan and Hazard Mitigation

Plan 2023

Client Responsibilities

The City of Alamosa shall provide all available existing documentation to the consultant and will make staff available on an as-needed basis. City staff will schedule, coordinate and make all necessary arrangements for meetings conducted by the consultant during the course of this https://cityofalamosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AlamosaComprehensivePlan-FINAL-February2017.pdf https://cityofalamosa.org/alamosacityranch/ https://cityofalamosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Alamosa_Downtown-Design-Plan_FINAL_small-FixOutput.pdf https://cityofalamosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2020.10.21-Alamosa-Final-WEP.pdf https://cityofalamosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Housing-Needs-Assessment-and-Action-Plan.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VXQNPlzSSwloIMG5WcLF8olFg2a_A-5d/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/13InHeP-KypwBN2en2lLi2CcZstFk-SJm/view?usp=drive_link https://riograndeheadwaters.org/alamosa-riverfront https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F9Apqp63KB2Q6oDYUFEa59_8f9b1Zjtt/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F9Apqp63KB2Q6oDYUFEa59_8f9b1Zjtt/view?usp=drive_link https://www.alamosacounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/983/Alamosa-Comprehensive-Plan-approval-draft-72225?bidId= https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p0wAgD0lLF4rrGjMeqUMcxNYTgotC_Iu/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qixWU5IKz1O6owtrRYKeR59nf1jhfKp5/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iCGqrOSBauOBcPryiRW4BVugnspxICXn/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/16j63qIaDZN5jQBxhflKDaQjUvPEP727-/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/16j63qIaDZN5jQBxhflKDaQjUvPEP727-/view?usp=sharing project. The City of Alamosa has a robust GIS dataset of all land uses and land use categories by parcel within city limits, as well as GIS data for streets (including pavement condition), sidewalks (condition, connectivity, and hazards), public infrastructure (water, wastewater, and stormwater systems), parks, and more.

Submittal Requirements In order to be considered, 12 copies of the proposal and an electronic copy on a flash drive must be received by the City of Alamosa on or before 5:00 pm, November 24, 2025.

All proposals must be in a sealed envelope marked:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – ALAMOSA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

ATTN: DEACON ASPINWALL

Each proposal should contain the following information:

1. Project Team Qualifications: Include relevant individuals and their defined roles and responsibilities. If appropriate, include partners or sub-consultants. For the key project team members, include professional background and relevant experience (resume/bio) and list office locations and their role in the project.

2. Project Experience: Describe qualifications and experience with this type of work. Give examples and reference contact information for previous similar projects. Links to adopted example plans from other jurisdictions are recommended. For at least three recent projects, provide the following:

a. Project name & location

b. Duration/schedule

c. Description and services provided

d. Consultant’s Fee

e. Project Manager & Key Staff

f. Other staff and sub-consultants that are part of the team for this project

g. Describe Public Engagement – list successes, challenges, and key take-aways

3. Approach: Include a detailed narrative of your approach to illustrate understanding of the project based on the provided information, available resources, and assumptions.

4. Engagement Plan: Provide a detailed plan for broad community engagement, soliciting participation, and keeping the public engaged throughout the entire process process. The

City emphasises continuing, broad public engagement as the most important part of this process.

5. Schedule: Provide an estimated project schedule and narrative demonstrating the ability to complete the scope of work within a 24-month timeframe. Connect this schedule to the project team and detail their workload capacity to meet the proposed schedule.

6. Rates & Cost- It is the City’s intent to select a contractor(s) that will, in the City’s sole determination, provide the best proposal at the most appropriate cost. Provide a current rate sheet along with your proposed overall project cost, broken down into each plan element and key areas of work as needed. The project costs must include any/all fees related to the project requirements including but not limited to travel, meetings, technology, public and stakeholder engagement, presentations, advertisements, publications, or similar. Please provide a reasonable allocation for activities or areas of work that apply to multiple plan elements (i.e. climate resiliency is estimated to be 5% of the total of all outreach activities). All foreseeable rates/costs including any escalation or contingency terms should be included; unidentified rate charges or increased costs will be the responsibility of the consultant.

Copyright Release

All proposals submitted in response to this RFP shall become the property of the City.

Selection Process

The deadline for submission of proposals is November 24th, 2025 at 5 PM local time.

After initial review by City staff, a short list of proposals will be forwarded to the Steering Committee for review. Several criteria will be closely evaluated, including, but not limited to the following: the public input and outreach plan, technical approach to the project, qualifications of consultants, logical capabilities and previous performance with planning projects in similar communities, pricing, and the proposed timeframe.

Following the interview process, the City will attempt to negotiate an agreement with the preferred consultant. If no agreement can be reached with the preferred consultant, that consultant shall be dismissed and the City shall proceed with negotiations with the second-preferred consultant. This process may be repeated as necessary until an agreement can be negotiated that is satisfactory to both parties.

Compensation

Following the selection of a firm and the successful negotiation of an agreement, a contract shall be negotiated between the City and the successful firm. Reimbursement shall be made according to an agreed upon schedule, specified within the contract for a maximum not-to-exceed amount.

Contact Information

Firms responding to this solicitation should mail proposals to and direct all inquiries to:

Deacon Aspinwall City of Alamosa

300 Hunt Avenue PO Box 419

Alamosa, CO 81101 Telephone: (719) 587-2519

Email: daspinwall@alamosa.gov

Questions for clarification on any item contained in this request must be made in writing via email. Addenda will be added periodically with the questions and answers.

City Reservation of Rights

The City of Alamosa reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to use without limitation any and all information, concepts, and data submitted in response to this RFP, or derived from further investigation of such proposals. The City further reserves the right at any time and for any reason, to cancel this solicitation, to reject any and all proposals, to supplement, add to, delete from, or otherwise change this RFP as determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the City. The City may seek clarifications from a respondent regarding their proposal at any time, and failure to respond promptly may be cause for rejection. The City also reserves the right to interview only those respondents it determines can provide the most advantageous services and to negotiate with one or more respondents on contract terms acceptable to the City of Alamosa. This RFP and any resulting contract shall be governed by the laws of Colorado.

Alamosa’s Vision Statement

The City will provide a compassionate, welcoming and collaborative environment for its residents, visitors and businesses. Alamosa will be a driver of business friendly economic development while valuing and embracing our rich heritage and history of ethnic and cultural diversity.

Our Mission Statement

We are committed to providing balanced, effective and efficient public services for our residents, visitors and businesses by cultivating a vibrant, resilient and livable city.

mailto:daspinwall@alamosa.gov