25171129-CLIMATE ACTION _ RESILIENCE PLANNING-RFQ FINAL.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

CITY OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

CLIMATE ACTION & RESILIENCE PLANNING

RFQ #25171129

Responses Due: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.

Jonathan F. Mitchell Mayor

Environmental Stewardship 133 William Street, Room 304

New Bedford, MA 02740

CITY OF NEW BEDFORD

MASSACHUSETTS

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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMATE ACTION & RESILIENCE PLANNING

RFQ # 25171129

The City of New Bedford Purchasing Department, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Stewardship, is seeking responses from qualified and responsible consultants to assist the City in the continued development of the Climate Action Plan and implement strategic initiatives toward achieving resilience to climate change. The bid process and award of this Contract will be under the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 30B. The resulting contract will be a three-year on-call Master Services Agreement (MSA). Individual projects under this on-call MSA will be issued by a Task Order with an attached scope of work. For each project, the Successful Respondent will be requested to submit a proposed scope of services. The Successful Respondent and the City will negotiate a fee to be used during the term of the Task Order.

Copies of the RFQ may be obtained beginning on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 by visiting the City of New Bedford webpage, https://www.bidnetdirect.com/massachusetts/newbedford, or by emailing purchasing@newbedford-ma.gov.

Responses will be received by the Purchasing Department until Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 2:00 pm EST. Responses must be submitted electronically via the City of New Bedford Solicitation webpage on BidNet Direct: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/massachusetts/newbedford until the above time and date.

Responses received after the above time and date will be rejected and returned unopened. Emailed and/or faxed responses will not be accepted.

Responses must include ALL DOCUMENTS required by the Request for Qualifications and strictly follow its instructions. The City of New Bedford reserves the right to waive any informality, error, or omission in, or to reject, any or all responses, if it deems such waiver or rejection to be in its best interest.

A contract will be awarded within 60 days of submission deadline, or a later date as determined at the sole discretion of the City.

Awarding Authority City of New Bedford Geraldine Calheta, Acting Director of Purchasing mailto:purchasing@newbedford-ma.gov

RFQ # 25171129

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section I – Instructions to Respondents

Section II – General Requirements

Section III – Scope and Specifications of the Work

Section IV – Evaluation Criteria

Section V – Selection Process

Appendices:

Appendix A: Certificate of Non-Collusion and Tax Compliance

Appendix B: Vote of Corporation/ Certificate of Incumbency and Authority

Appendix C: Sample Contract

RFQ # 25171129

I. INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

1. RESPONSES

Responses herein specified as Climate Action & Resilience Planning will be received via electronic submission on https://www.bidnetdirect.com/massachusetts/newbedford by the City of New Bedford’s Purchasing Department on or before Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM. As this is an RFQ, the opening will not be public.

2. SUBMITTAL

Responses will be received by the Purchasing Department until Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM Responses may be submitted electronically via the City of New Bedford Solicitation webpage on BidNet Direct: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/massachusetts/newbedford until the above time and date.

Submissions received after the above time and date will be rejected. A respondent may correct, modify, or withdraw a response prior to the time and date set for the response opening. After the opening, a respondent may not change any provision of their response in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the governmental body or fair competition. The City may waive minor informalities. If a mistake and the intended response are clearly evident on the face of the response document, the City shall correct the mistake to reflect the intended correct response and so notify the Respondent in writing.

3. REGULAR RESPONSE

All information against which a response is submitted must be provided to constitute a regular response. No alteration, erasure or addition is to be made in the typewritten or printed matter. The submission of a response will be construed to mean that the Respondent is fully informed as to the extent and character of the service required and is representation that the respondent can furnish the manpower and equipment necessary to properly render the desired service.

4. TYPEWRITTEN

Information required, with the exception of the signature of the respondent, should be typewritten for legibility. Illegible or vague submissions may be rejected. All signatures must be written or digital signatures. Typewritten signatures are not acceptable.

5. RFQ QUESTIONS & ADDENDA

Questions concerning this Specification must be submitted online by visiting https://www.bidnetdirect.com/massachusetts/newbedford. Once logged in and viewing the notice online, use the “Ask a Question” button at the top of the page. If assistance is needed, please contact BidNet’s Vendor Support Department at 800-835-4603, Option 2. Questions are due Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM. City responses issued as addenda will be emailed to all Respondents on record as having pulled RFQ documents via Bidnet Direct. Failure of any Respondent to receive any such addendum or interpretation shall not relieve any Respondent from any obligation under this response as submitted. No oral interpretations will be made to any response as to the meaning of any provision of the Request for Responses or other contract documents. Failure to acknowledge all addenda may result in your submission being rejected as non-responsive.

6. AWARDS

The contract will be awarded to the responsible and responsive Respondent offering the most advantageous response meeting the specifications within this RFQ. One contract will be awarded to the one responsive and responsible Respondent whom the City of New Bedford determines offers the most advantageous response, taking into consideration all required qualifications, submission requirements and selection criteria set forth in the RFQ, including price. Emphasis in selecting a firm shall be placed on the chosen firm's experience of similar past projects and overall experience within this category of work. It is understood that the City may use all means at their disposal to evaluate the responses received regarding these criteria, and the final decision as to the best overall offer, both as to price and to the suitability of the services offered to fit the needs of the City.

No response will be accepted from our contract awarded to any person, firm, or corporation that is in arrears or is in default to any Massachusetts municipality or had failed previously to perform faithfully any previous contract with a municipality.

7. REJECT RESPONSES

The City reserves the right to reject all responses. Also reserved is the right to reject for cause any response in whole or in part; to waive technical defects, qualifications, irregularities; and omissions if in its judgment, the best interest of the City will be served.

8. CONTRACT

This RFQ #25171129, submission by the Successful respondent, and Addenda (as applicable), shall form a part of this contract, and the provisions thereof shall be binding upon the parties thereto. The term “Contract Documents” shall include all of the aforesaid, together with the contract itself. A sample contract is included in this RFQ. No changes in contract language will be accepted unless expressly agreed to by the City in writing prior to the response deadline.

Respondents are encouraged to have their legal team review the contract language prior to submitting a response.

9. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

The Successful Respondent must meet all specifications. Any response which does not meet these requirements, is non-responsive, incomplete, conditional, and/or obscure, will be rejected. Any response which contains additions not called for, and/or irregularities of any kind, is non-responsive and will be rejected.

The attention of all Respondents is called to General Laws Chapter 156D, which requires in part that, not later than 10 days after it commences transacting business in the commonwealth, a foreign corporation deliver a certificate to the secretary of state for filing. Respondents required to be registered with the Secretary of State in the Massachusetts Corporate Database must use the same business name in their response documents as is listed in the Database for that business. All Respondents must use the same business name throughout all response documents, and for the Successful Respondent, throughout all contract documents. Examples of these documents include the response, vote of corporation, W-9, and certificate of insurance. Any Respondent with multiple and/or inconsistent business names for one business may be rejected by the City.

10. SPECIFICATION INTENT

It is the intention of this RFQ to establish and define the services that are to be provided and to determine the capability and experience of the respondents desiring to provide such services.

11. TAXES

No charge will be allowed for federal, state, or municipal sales and excise taxes since the City is exempt from such taxes. The price response fee schedule shall be net and shall not include the amount of any such tax.

12. SIGNED RESPONSE

A response must be signed as follows: (1) if the Respondent is an individual, by her/him personally; (2) if the Respondent is a partnership, by the name of the partnership, followed by the signature of each general partner; and (3) if the Respondent is a corporation, by the authorized officer, whose signature must be attested to by the Clerk/Secretary of the corporation and the corporate seal affixed. If the response is being submitted by an entity other than an individual, partnership or corporation, the response must include written evidence of the Respondent’s authority from the entity to submit the response in the form of legally binding documentation.

13. LICENSING

Respondents must be properly licensed and registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to perform the work identified in this specification.

14. NON-PERFORMANCE

In the event that the Successful Respondent does not fulfill its obligations under the terms and conditions of this contract, the City shall notify the Successful Respondent in writing.

If the Successful Respondent continues to neglect the terms and conditions of the contract, the City may elect to terminate the contract. Under no circumstances shall monies be due to the Successful Respondent in the event that the contract is terminated under non-performance.

END OF SECTION- INSTRUCTION TO RESPONDENTS

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

II. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. There will be no scheduled conference. No oral interpretations will be made to any Respondent as to the meaning of any provision of the Request for Qualifications or other contract documents.

2. The Respondent will be bound by all applicable statutory provisions of law of the Federal

Government, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and of the City of New Bedford.

Certificates of all required insurance will be required prior to executing a contract.

3. All submitted responses must be guaranteed to be valid to the City of New Bedford for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of the response opening. If a contract is to be awarded as a result of this RFQ, it will be awarded within a ninety (90) daytime period, with an associated negotiated task order, or at a later date as determined at the sole discretion of the City.

As provided by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 64H, §6(d), purchases made by the City of New Bedford are exempt from the payment of Federal Excise Taxes and Massachusetts Sales Tax; any such taxes must not be included in the quoted price. All Respondents should take this factor into consideration and be calculated accordingly.

4. The Respondent will not be permitted to either assign or underlet the contract nor assign either legally or equitably, any monies hereunder, or its claim thereto, without the previous written consent of the Director of Purchasing.

5. When submitting a response, the Respondent shall submit only one (1) original of the technical response through BidNet Direct. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY PRICING INFORMATION

WITH THE TECHNICAL RESPONSE.

6. Before submitting a response, each Respondent must make a careful study of the specifications contained in this Request for Responses document and fully assure themselves as to the quality, quantity and type of services that the City is seeking to have performed.

7. Insurance Coverage

Prior to commencement of the contract, the Successful Respondent shall obtain at its own cost and expense the required insurance from insurance companies licensed in their state, carrying a Best’s Financial Rating of “A-” or better, and shall provide evidence of such insurance to the City of New Bedford (City). The policies or certificates thereof shall provide that 30 days prior to cancellation or material change in the policy, notices of same shall be given to the City by registered mail, return receipt requested, for all of the following stated insurance policies.

If at any time any of the policies required herein shall be or become unsatisfactory to the City as to form or substance, or if a company issuing any such policy shall become unsatisfactory to the City, the Successful Respondent shall, upon notice to that effect from the City, promptly obtain a new policy, submit the same to the City for approval and submit a certificate thereof. All Respondents must use the same business name throughout all Response documents, and for the Successful Respondent, throughout all contract documents, including this certificate of insurance.

Upon failure of the Successful Respondent to furnish, deliver and maintain such insurance, the contract, at the sole election of the City may not be executed, or may be declared suspended, discontinued or terminated. Failure of the Successful Respondent to provide and maintain any of the required insurance shall not relieve the Successful Respondent from any liability under the contract, nor shall the insurance requirements be construed to conflict with or otherwise limit the contractual obligations on the Successful Respondent concerning indemnification. The City may waive the requirement of coverage type or amount if not reasonably available and if the City deems it to be in City’s best interest to do so. This requirement becomes part of the contract and/or purchase order for which the Successful Respondent is performing services to City of New Bedford.

A. Successful Respondent shall maintain insurance coverage for the minimum amounts as required below. Insurance coverages and certificates shall be provided to and include City of New Bedford as an additional insured, on a primary and non-contributory basis, on all liability policies. All such insurance as is required of the Successful Respondent shall be provided by or on behalf of any and all subcontractors to cover their operations performed. The Successful Respondent shall be held responsible for any modifications, deviations, or omissions in compliance with these requirements by the Successful Respondent and/or Successful Respondent ’s subcontractors.

B. Minimum required insurance limits (coverage on occurrence basis):

Commercial General Liability •$2,000,000 Products/Completed Operations Aggregate •$2,000,000 General Aggregate •$1,000,000 Any One Occurrence

Employers Liability (Coverage “B” on the Workers Compensation Policy) •$ 500,000 Each Accident •$ 500,000 Each Employee for Injury by Disease •$ 500,000 Aggregate for Injury by Disease

Commercial Automobile •$1,000,000 Combined Single Limit/Bodily Injury and Property Damage •$1,000,000 Hired/Non-Owned Auto

Professional Liability/Errors & Omissions •$1,000,000 Any One Occurrence •$1,000,000 Aggregate

8. The contract agreement shall be in the form customarily employed by the City and is attached hereto as a sample.

9. The response must include a certification of tax compliance as required by General Laws Chapter

62C, Sec.49A, (Requirement of Tax Compliance by All Contractors Providing Goods, Services, or Real Estate Space to the Commonwealth or Subdivision). All Respondents must submit a signed and completed Non-Collusion and Tax Compliance Form.

10. The following list has been prepared for the convenience of the Respondents. The Respondent is responsible for verifying and determining the required forms to be submitted with their response.

Respondents shall complete and submit the following attachments with their Responses in accordance with the Instruction to Respondents and the Request for Responses:

• Technical response (DO NOT INCLUDE ANY PRICING INFORMATION)

• City of New Bedford Non-Collusion and Tax Compliance Form

• City of New Bedford Vote of Corporation

• Addenda Acknowledgement Form (if applicable)

• DBE Forms (see attached checklist)

11. All materials provided to the City become the property of the City and may be returned only at its sole discretion. The City is a public entity. All responses and any materials submitted with a response may be deemed public records subject to disclosure pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Act. No portion of any response or materials submitted therewith will be withheld from disclosure as proprietary, trade secret or confidential unless that portion is clearly marked by the respondent as such, and the respondent agrees to indemnify the City against any claim or action to compel disclosure of such portion of the response. The City is not obligated to accept any response or to negotiate with any entity. All transactions are subject to the final approval of the City, which reserves the right to reject any and all responses without liability. All costs directly or indirectly related to a response to this RFQ will be borne by the respondent.

12. Termination Clause

If at any time the Successful Respondent fails to fulfill or comply with any of the requirements of this RFQ/contract, such as shoddy workmanship, executing improper operating procedures, supplying sub-standard, improperly trained employees, not adhering to the work schedule, etc., the City, at its option, can terminate this contract upon thirty

(30) days written notice to the Successful Respondent.

END OF SECTION – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

III. SCOPE & SPECIFICATIONS OF THE WORK

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The City of New Bedford Department of Environmental Stewardship is seeking a consultant to assist the community in identifying and implementing strategic initiatives toward achieving continued resilience to climate change. This will include the identification of municipal and community vulnerabilities, baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, GHG reduction targets and implementation plan, and other activities to develop a Climate Action Plan which meets the Compact of Mayors requirements.

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City of New Bedford, Massachusetts has embarked on a number of resilience initiatives over the past several years, examples of which include:

• installed municipal solar projects estimated to save New Bedford $22 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years;

• obtained grants to enhance natural systems to build resilience to erosion and other results of climate change;

• engineered changes to wastewater infrastructure to prevent flooding from sea level rise;

• joined the Compact of Mayors (now the Global Covenant of Mayors) as well as Climate Mayors in support of upholding the Paris Agreement; and

• achieved a 3-Star Rating from STAR Communities. STAR is the nation’s leading framework and certification program for evaluating local sustainability, encompassing social, economic and environmental performance measures.

The City of New Bedford has also completed several vulnerability and resilience planning initiatives through Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grants including:

• NB Resilient: the City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan;

• New Bedford Harbor Port Resilience Evaluation;

• New Bedford Harbor Port Resilience Design Guidelines;

• Maritime Industry Business Toolkit; and

• Harbor Port Assessment which included a public-facing Harbor Port Assessment

Summary.

We are currently in the process of developing a City-Wide Green Infrastructure Master Strategy and Implementation Roadmap.

The City, through this RFQ, is seeking to procure the services of a qualified Firm to assist the City to continue to implement the priority actions in NB Resilient, to evaluate and update these initiatives with the City, and to see funding opportunities to do so.

https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB%2BResilient%2BPlan%2B-%2BFinal%2B3-20.pdf https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB-FHV%2BResilient%2BDesign%2BGuidlines.pdf https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB-FHV%2BMaritime%2BBusiness%2BResilience%2BToolkit.pdf

3. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The Successful Respondent will work with the Director of Environmental Stewardship, department members, and any City agency whose contribution to this process would be beneficial.

Tasks will include:

A. NB Resilient Implementation, Evaluation and Update

The selected Firm will work with the City to seek funding to continue to implement NB Resilient priority actions, evaluate and document progress, and seek new opportunities to fulfill the core goals.

B. Update Community-Wide Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory, GHG Reduction Plan, and Clean Transportation Transition Planning

The selected Firm will update the community-wide baseline GHG Inventory that will be compatible with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (Covenant) requirements as well as Massachusetts reporting platforms. The Firm will also develop a detailed strategy for the City to achieve its goal of net-zero by 2050.

C. Hazard Mitigation Planning

The City is planning to complete an All Hazard Mitigation Plan Update, Comprehensive Management Plan, and Evacuation Plan as one comprehensive document. The selected firm will take the lead on development or support another selected Emergency Management consultant relative to public outreach, education, and facilitation.

D. Professional Documentation and Communication

The selected Firm will present the above documents and supporting data in an online format that is visually appealing, easy to understand, and can easily be exported and/or translated to a variety of media for different audiences. This information is intended to mobilize the community towards change, maximize participation, and provide metrics to measure its success. The Firm will provide one or more platforms that will provide the flexibility for municipal input, use, and evaluation of data, while also providing the data in a searchable public format.

E. On-Call Climate and Resilience Services

Throughout the course of this contract period, the City will continue to update the documents above as well as look to procure funding for implementation. The selected Firm will assist the City in funding identification and procurement. Based on secured funding, the selected Firm will assist the City in completing ongoing climate and https://data.bloomberglp.com/mayors/sites/14/2015/07/Compact-of-Mayors-Full-Guide_July2015.pdf resilience initiatives either through direct service provision, project facilitation through a specialized third party, or a combination thereof.

4. RESPONSE OUTLINE

To simplify the review process and to obtain the maximum degree of comparability, the responses should include the following sections and be organized in the manner specified below.

A. TECHNICAL RESPONSE OUTLINE

A. 1 SECTION 1 – LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

A Letter of Transmittal briefly outlining the Respondent’s understanding of the work and general information regarding the Respondent and individuals to be involved. The letter should clearly identify the local address of the office of the Respondent performing the work, the telephone number, and the name and email address of the authorized representative. The letter shall include a clear statement from Respondent that this offer is binding and shall remain open for sixty (60) days from the due date of this RFQ and acknowledges that its response cannot be withdrawn within that time without the written consent of the City.

The Letter of Transmittal shall be signed by a person authorized to execute such documents.

A.2 SECTION 2 – TABLE OF CONTENTS

Include a table of contents that identifies the material by section, page number, and a reference to the information to be contained in the response. A list of any and all tables, figures, and appendices shall be provided.

A.3 SECTION 3 – PROFILE OF RESPONDENT

Provide a brief summary of the firm including but not limited to the number of employees, founding of the firm, current office locations, breadth of firm’s qualifications, etc. State whether the Respondent is a local, national, or international Respondent and include a brief description of the firm/corporation.

Provide a statement as to whether the Respondent is in compliance with the registration and permit requirements to do business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

State whether the respondent is a qualified small or minority-owned business, women’s business enterprise or labor surplus area respondent.

Provide the location and address of the firm’s corporate office and the office where the work will be completed out of.

Provide the largest dollar contract amount entered into agreement for the firm, the date of project completion, duration of the project, the location of the project, name of the division or department for whom the work was completed, and a contact name, phone number and email address for the project.

A.4 SECTION 4 – REFERENCES & QUALIFICATIONS

Section 4.1 – Previous Project Description and References Describe recent experience with undertaking similar climate action and resilience planning solutions for organizations of a similar size to the City of New Bedford.

Include three project descriptions with client references completed in the last five years. A reference for a municipality located in Massachusetts is recommended.

As part of the references, provide project descriptions for the work completed.

The project descriptions shall clearly indicate the scope of work, the cost of the project (initial), the completed project cost (final cost), the size of the organization, and any other pertinent information. Please provide contact names, phone numbers, and emails for each reference.

Section 4.2 – Staff and Project Team

Provide the following information related to the proposed Project Team. Team members shall be fully available for the entire project and no team members shall be removed unless approved by the City.

Provide a project organizational chart of all key staff and support staff including any subconsultants along with resumes of, at a minimum, the following key staff:

Client Service Leader – Provide a resume for the proposed Client Service Leader (CSL). The CSL shall be the main business contact for business related communications between the City and the Respondent. Provide a minimum of three clients that the CSL has been involved with within the last 5 years including references.

Project Manager – Provide a resume of the proposed Project Manager (PM). The PM shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project and completion of tasks in accordance with scope, schedule and budget.

The PM must have successfully completed a minimum of three implementations of similar scope in the last five years. Provide a minimum of three client references and project descriptions of three representative projects. Project descriptions shall include a summary of the scope, the total budgeted cost, the final cost at completion, the anticipated project duration and actual project duration.

Subconsultants – If the Respondent intends to utilize subconsultants for the purposes of completing tasks, those firms shall be clearly listed in the organizational chart and response. Resumes for each subconsultant shall be provided.

A.5. SECTION 5 – SCOPE OF SERVICES AND PROJECT APPROACH

The Respondent shall clearly describe the process/methodology to establish climate action and resilience planning services for the City of New Bedford Department of Environmental Stewardship to meet the City’s needs that are outlined in above section 3. Scope of Services. The Respondent shall provide any alternative implementation approaches or modified business practices that the Respondent deems appropriate to provide a better, more efficient system for the City. Respondent must demonstrate knowledge and experience in providing the solutions and/or services included in the response.

A.6. SECTION 6 – SCHEDULE

A project schedule and timeline must be provided. This should include all aspects of the project. The finalized timeline and schedule will be specified by the City and Successful Respondent once the contract has been awarded. The schedule shall be shown graphically and described in words.

B. PRICE RESPONSE OUTLINE

The Fee Schedule Price Response shall be provided in a separate, sealed envelope as noted in Instructions to Respondents.

Respondents must provide a fee schedule that shows staffing, role/title, and hourly rates.

Future tasks will be authorized on an as-needed basis and an agreed-to scope and fee will be negotiated per task.

Include the fee schedule in your price response only, not in the technical response. If the price response is included with the technical response, the response submission is automatically considered non-responsive.

The price response must be signed by a person authorized to execute such documents and include the printed name, title, firm’s name, address, telephone number and email address.

Fee Schedule Escalation Clause:

Fee Schedules offered by the respondent must be firm and not subject to increase during the term of the contract. Fee Schedule escalation clauses over and above the total submitted response Fee Schedule(s) are not allowed. Only the total response Fee Schedule(s) will be accepted. Respondents cannot insert/include a statement indicating their Fee Schedule(s) will increase above or beyond their submitted response Fee Schedule(s) due to third party actions or unnamed contingencies. Inclusion of an escalation clause of any kind will result in the rejection of the response.

END OF SECTION- SCOPE & SPECIFICATIONS OF THE WORK

IV. COMPARATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

Responses will be evaluated by the City against the factors specified in the below Comparative Evaluation Criteria. Respondents are advised to refer to these Comparative Criteria when preparing their responses and submit sufficient information under each category to permit the City to fairly and responsibly rate the responses. The City will ultimately award to the most responsive and responsible Respondent(s) whom the City determines offers the most advantageous response(s), taking price into account. Price responses will be factored into evaluations only after technical responses are reviewed and ranked.

1. Proposed scope of work and project approach:

Highly Advantageous: A response will be considered highly advantageous if it demonstrates a superior understanding of the RFQ requirements and challenges, high technical competency to address all project elements, thoughtfulness of proposed approach to achieving completion of the projects outlined in the Scope of Services, and a clear vision to achieve community resilience.

Advantageous: A response will be considered advantageous if it demonstrates understanding of the RFQ requirements and challenges, sufficient technical competency to address all project elements, an adequate approach to achieving completion of the projects outlined in the Scope of Services, and a vision to achieve community resilience.

Not Advantageous: A response will be considered not advantageous if it demonstrates limited or no understanding of the RFQ requirements and challenges, lacks technical competency to address all project elements, and/or provides an inadequate approach to achieving completion of the projects outlined in the Scope of Services.

2. Relevant experience of Respondent’s team:

Highly Advantageous: A response will be considered highly advantageous if Respondent can demonstrate that the firm and Team have a demonstrated record of achievement in the timely completion of five (5) or more projects with similar tasks as those outlined in the Scope of Services. At least three (3) of these projects are with Massachusetts municipalities.

Advantageous: A response will be considered advantageous if Respondent can demonstrate that the firm and Team have a demonstrated record of achievement in the timely completion of four (4) or more projects with similar tasks as those outlined in the Scope of Services. At least two (2) of these projects are with Massachusetts municipalities.

Not Advantageous: A response will be considered not advantageous if Respondent demonstrates that the firm and Team have completed three (3) or fewer projects with similar tasks as those outlined in the Scope of Services. Key staff has little to no experience with the activities listed.

3. Examples of relevant work:

Each Firm must present brief examples of GHG Inventories, GHG Reduction Plans, and Climate Resilience Plans including links to online municipal data platforms. The Firm must agree to commit key staff to the project for the duration of the contract and may not replace key staff without consent of the City. The experiences of the firm will be rated as follows:

Highly Advantageous: The respondent has strong and demonstrable experience with each of the activities listed. The examples are of a similar scope with the activities in this RFQ and are in a clear, appealing, and usable format.

Advantageous: The respondent has strong and demonstrable experience with the activities listed. The examples are of a similar scope with the activities in this RFQ and are in a clear usable format.

Not Advantageous: The respondent has some experience with the activities listed. The examples are not of a similar scope with the activities in this RFQ.

4. Completeness and quality of response:

Highly Advantageous: A response will be considered highly advantageous if it is complete, concise, informative, and highly detailed. Response reflects that Respondent is able to perform in a superior manner acceptable to the City. The City is completely convinced about the Respondent’s ability to provide the level of services as required by the City. Response demonstrates excellent communication and documentation skills.

Advantageous: A response will be considered advantageous if it is complete, informative, and meets criteria for responsiveness. The City finds that the response reflects that Respondent is able to perform in an adequate manner acceptable to the City. Response demonstrates a good level of communication and documentation skills.

Not Advantageous: A response will be considered not advantageous if it lacks a comprehensive approach but meets criteria for responsiveness. The City finds response reflects that Respondent may be able to perform in a manner acceptable to the City.

Communication and documentation skills appear only adequate.

5. Coordination skills and facilitation of a public process:

This project consists of the need to coordinate between many different stakeholder groups, including community groups, the general public, and City departments. The selected Firm will be expected to present and lead the facilitation of public processes.

Coordination/facilitation skills will be rated as follows:

Highly Advantageous: A response will be considered highly advantageous if the respondent has strong past experience (more than 5 projects) in coordinating activities of multiple stakeholders and facilitating participatory public outreach events.

Advantageous: A response will be considered advantageous if the respondent has past experience (3 to 5 projects) in coordinating activities of multiple stakeholders and facilitating participatory public outreach events.

Not Advantageous: A response will be considered not advantageous if the respondent has limited past experience (1 to 2 projects) in coordinating activities of multiple stakeholders and facilitating participatory public outreach events.

6. Capacity to provide professional in-house and public platforms for data sharing:

The City intends to share information with the public as well as for internal collaboration. The Selected firm will provide one or more web-based platforms with which to provide this data:

Highly Advantageous: A response will be considered highly advantageous if the Respondent demonstrates the ability to provide one or more web-based platforms with the flexibility to be used internally to enter, share, evaluate, and present raw data, and can also be used by the public to find information on the areas of interest and to “drill down” to the level of information that is useful to them.

Advantageous: A response will be considered advantageous if the Respondent demonstrates the ability to provide one or more web-based platforms that can generally be used internally to enter, share, evaluate, and present raw data, and can also be used by the public to find information.

Not Advantageous: A response will be considered not advantageous if the Respondent demonstrates the ability to provide one or more web-based platforms that can be used internally to enter, share, evaluate, and present raw data and an independent platform for public presentation.

END OF SECTION- COMPARATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

V. SELECTION PROCESS

As a result of this RFQ, the City intends to award the contract to the responsible Respondent whose response is most advantageous to the City. All qualified technical responses will be reviewed and evaluated by the selection committee based on the established Comparative Evaluation Criteria set forth in this RFQ. Background checks, requests for additional information, and interviews will be performed as needed. The selection committee will then submit a recommendation to the Director of Purchasing who will review the recommendation and then open the fee schedule price responses, at which time a firm will be selected based on composite ratings and taking into account the price.

This Request for Qualifications does not commit the City to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this request, or to procure or contract for any services of any kind.

In the evaluation of the responses, the City, at its discretion, may obtain technical support from outside sources. The Respondents, by virtue of their response submissions, agree to fully cooperate with the personnel of such outside sources in the evaluation of their respective response. Failure to cooperate may result in the rejection of your Response.

If a contract is to be awarded as a result of this RFQ, it will be awarded within sixty (60) days after the opening of technical responses. When the City gives a Notice of Award to the Successful Respondent, within twenty (20) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after the date of receipt of such notification, the Successful Respondent shall return the acknowledgement of the Notice of Award and other applicable documentation to the City.

Within twenty (20) days thereafter the City will furnish the Contract for electronic signature via DocuSign.

END OF SECTION- SELECTION PROCESS

III. SCOPE & SPECIFICATIONS OF THE WORK

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The City of New Bedford Department of Resilience and Environmental Stewardship is seeking a consultant to assist the City in identifying and implementing strategic initiatives toward achieving continued resilience to climate change. This will include updating NB Resilient: New Bedford’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan, developing a Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Decarbonization Implementation Plan, establishing metrics and a reporting framework to measure success of outputs and outcomes associated with the above plans, supporting creative outreach and education. All these activities may be grant funded. As such, support identifying and applying for funding will also be part of the work.

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City of New Bedford has completed several vulnerability and resilience planning initiatives through multiple State and Federal Grants including:

• NB Resilient: The City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan;

• New Bedford Harbor Port Resilience Evaluation;

• New Bedford Harbor Port Resilience Design Guidelines;

• Maritime Industry Business Toolkit;

• Harbor Port Assessment which included a public-facing Harbor Port Assessment

Summary;

• Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Pathway to Zero;

• Green Infrastructure Master Strategy and Implementation Roadmap;

• Clean Fuel Transition Feasibility Study; and

• Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan in progress – submittal to FEMA anticipated in

May 2025.

Following the findings and priority actions set by these plans the City has embarked on a number of resilience initiatives over the past several years, examples of which include:

• Implementation of several Green Infrastructure projects within and around Buttonwood Brook to manage stormwater and improve water quality in Buttonwood Brook and Apponagansett Bay;

• Planning and/or implementation of Green Infrastructure projects in City Parks and parking areas, and planting of street trees to increase urban tree canopy;

• Deployment of 20 Air Quality Monitors throughout the City to track priority GHGs in ambient outdoor air;

• Design of geothermal heating and cooling system for public elementary school under construction.

The City, through this RFQ, is seeking to procure the services of a qualified Firm to assist the City to review and update priority actions in NB Resilient, to develop a decarbonization plan, and to establish metrics and a reporting framework to measure success of outputs and outcomes associated with these initiatives. Public outreach, education, and participation are priorities in our programming and creative solutions to these areas will be a key part of the work, as will seeking and supporting funding to https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB%2BResilient%2BPlan%2B-%2BFinal%2B3-20.pdf https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB-FHV%2BResilient%2BDesign%2BGuidlines.pdf https://kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com/New%2BBedford/NB-FHV%2BMaritime%2BBusiness%2BResilience%2BToolkit.pdf accomplish these initiatives.

3. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The Successful Respondent will work with the Director of Resilience and Environmental Stewardship, department members, and any City agency whose contribution to this process would be beneficial. Execution of this scope is pending receipt of funding for each element.

Tasks will include:

A. NB Resilient Implementation, Evaluation and Update

The selected Firm will work with the City to review, evaluate and update NB Resilient priority actions. This will be a robust public process and the selected firm will have demonstrated experience in creating a comprehensive community engagement strategy to expand the NB Resilient Team. The selected Firm will work with the NB Resilient Team to identify reportable metrics to track and document progress in implementing NB Resilient priority actions as well as quantifying/qualifying positive public outcomes.

B. Update Community-Wide Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory and Develop a Building Decarbonization Strategy and a Clean Transportation Transition Strategy

The selected Firm will update the community-wide GHG Inventory that will be compatible with Massachusetts reporting platforms. The Firm will also develop a detailed strategy and reportable metrics for the City to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Firm will identify standard and accepted reporting formats that these services will align with and the benefits of that alignment.

C. Heat Vulnerability Assessment

The selected Firm will work with the City to complete a Heat Vulnerability Assessment.

As with NB Resilient, this will be a robust multi-lingual public process and will include substantial outreach to and involvement with community-based organizations and health providers who work with the most vulnerable communities, as well as the community members themselves. The selected Firm will work with the stakeholder team to identify reportable metrics to track and document progress in implementing NB Resilient priority actions as well as quantifying/qualifying positive public outcomes.

D. Identify and Support Funding Opportunities to Implement Priority Actions

The City regularly pursues Federal, State, and philanthropic funding from a variety of programs. The selected Firm will work with the City to identify funding opportunities to implement priority resilience initiatives. This includes energy efficiency programming, renewable energy opportunities, and green job workforce training. The City may request support for grant application preparation as funding is available.

E. Professional and Public Facing Documentation and Communication

The selected Firm will present the above documents and supporting data in an online format that is visually appealing, easy to understand, and can easily be exported and/or translated to a variety of media for different audiences. This information is intended to mobilize the community towards change, maximize participation, and provide metrics to measure its success. The Firm will maintain an interactive and publicly accessible dashboard and provide monthly updates to provide accurate and relevant information.

4. RESPONSE OUTLINE

To simplify the review process and to obtain the maximum degree of comparability, the responses should include the following sections and be organized in the manner specified below.

A. TECHNICAL RESPONSE OUTLINE

A. 1 SECTION 1 – LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

A Letter of Transmittal briefly outlining the Respondent’s understanding of the work and general information regarding the Respondent and individuals to be involved. The letter should clearly identify the local address of the office of the Respondent performing the work, the telephone number, and the name and email address of the authorized representative. The letter shall include a clear statement from Respondent that this offer is binding and shall remain open for sixty (60) days from the due date of this RFQ and acknowledges that its response cannot be withdrawn within that time without the written consent of the City.

The Letter of Transmittal shall be signed by a person authorized to execute such documents.

A.2 SECTION 2 – PROFILE OF RESPONDENT

Provide a brief summary of the firm including but not limited to the number of employees, founding of the firm, breadth of firm’s qualifications, etc. State whether the Respondent is a local, national, or international Respondent and include a brief description of the firm/corporation. Provide a statement as to whether the Respondent is in compliance with the registration and permit requirements to do business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

State whether the respondent is a qualified small or minority-owned business, women’s business enterprise or labor surplus area respondent.

A.3 SECTION 3 – REFERENCES & QUALIFICATIONS

Section 3.1 – Previous Project Description and References Describe recent experience with undertaking similar climate action and resilience planning solutions for organizations of a similar size to the City of New Bedford.

Include three project descriptions with client references completed in the last five years. A reference for a municipality located in Massachusetts is recommended.

As part of the references, provide project descriptions for the work completed.

The project descriptions shall clearly indicate the scope of work, the cost of the project (initial), the completed project cost (final cost), the size of the organization, and any other pertinent information. Please provide contact names, phone numbers, and emails for each reference.

Section 3.2 – Staff and Project Team

Provide the following information related to the proposed Project Team. Team members identified shall be fully available for the entire project and no team members shall be removed unless approved by the City.

Provide a project organizational chart of all key staff and support staff including any subconsultants along with resumes of, at a minimum, the following key staff:

Client Service Leader – Provide a resume for the proposed Client Service Leader (CSL). The CSL shall be the main business contact for business-related communications between the City and the Respondent. Provide a minimum of three clients that the CSL has been involved with within the last 5 years including references.

Project Manager – Provide a resume of the proposed Project Manager (PM).

The PM shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project and completion of tasks in accordance with scope, schedule and budget. The PM must have successfully completed a minimum of three projects of similar comprehensive scope in the last five years. Provide a minimum of three client references and project descriptions of three representative projects. Project descriptions shall include a summary of the scope, the total budgeted cost, the final cost at completion, the anticipated project duration and actual project duration.

Energy and Emissions Specialist – Provide a resume of the proposed Energy and Emissions Specialist (EES). The EES shall be the technical lead on Task B above and be an expert in data analysis, reporting and projections, as well as Federal and State initiatives and programming.

Climate Specialist – Provide a resume of the proposed…