3-2. Specifications.pdf

SPECIFICATIONS

SCOPE OF WORK:

Over an 18-month planning timeframe: the consultant will support the development of a district-level planning framework and apply the framework to the development of a district-level management plan for the Peak to Peak District, including:

• Project kickoff and early data review

• Refinement of district boundaries

• Integration and evaluation of existing plans and policies

• Development of sideboards

• Development of baseline assessments

• Partner with and support BCPOS GIS analysis team, as requested

• Development of KPIs and implementation guide

• Structured countywide and place-based equitable engagement phases, materials, and communication

• Analysis and summarization of community feedback to inform management direction and decision-making

• Structured engagement and meeting facilitation of a Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) Community Working Group (CWG) and documentation of the POSAC CWG’s input to inform management direction and decision-making

• Drafting and refining district management direction

• Graphic design services

• Preparation of materials for POSAC recommendation and Board of County Commissioner (BOCC) adoption

CONTRACTOR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

BCPOS staff will continue leading all stewardship decisions, technical and GIS analysis, interagency coordination, and public servant responsibilities. GIS analysis includes, but not limited to habitat quality, wildlife movement, ecological connectivity, climate sensitivity, visitor use patterns, visitor crowding, forest condition, stream health, emergency response times.

The consultant’s role is to provide the added capacity, structure, and specialized planning support needed to make developing and piloting a district-level planning model feasible at this scale. This includes managing logistics, producing high-quality documents, coordinating and facilitating equitable engagement activities, and applying national best practice experience to strengthen our approach.

Staff are the leads of stewardship recommendations and planning direction, while the consultant expands capacity, ensures equitable and inclusive engagement across district and countywide audiences, and provides disciplined project coordination throughout the pilot.

It is also expected that an interdisciplinary team of BCPOS subject-matter experts (SMEs) will make significant contributions to this planning effort in the areas of wildlife, plant ecology, cultural resources, forestry, public amenities and related fields. It is not anticipated that expertise in these disciplines will be provide by the consultant team – but rather, expertise and familiarity working with resource management SMEs to create land management plans for public lands is an expectation.

Consultant’s expected responsibilities include:

Project Management & Logistics

• Organize, schedule and attend meetings, workshops, and engagement events

• Prepare meeting materials, agendas, handouts, visual aids, and summaries

• Provide document production services, including draft and final plan materials

• Assist with project tracking, timelines, and process documentation

• Lead an After-Action Review with BCPOS staff and community working group (prepare agenda, facilitate and prepare summary reports) to document lessons learned to apply to future district level planning efforts

Technical Research & Analysis

• Support landscape-scale research synthesizing ecological, cultural, agricultural, and recreational resource considerations

• Provide analysis aligned with national best practices in large-scale public lands planning

• Assist with integration of existing management plans, unplanned acreage analysis, and resource-specific policies

• Provide a detailed analysis and refinement of the six proposed districts and their draft boundaries, evaluating how ecological systems, recreation use and visitor flow, agricultural operations, community use, and operational logistics/O&M interact across each landscape. This work will help ensure the district boundaries reflect real-world conditions and support an effective pilot of landscape-scale planning

• Data needed for the technical analysis will come from publicly available sources or from internal county datasets provided by Boulder County.

Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) The consultant will work collaboratively with BCPOS to develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measure the effectiveness of district‑level parks and open space stewardship. These KPIs must directly align with and connect to specific management actions outlined in each district‑level management plan, ensuring consistency and applicability across all districts. The indicators should also support the prioritization and practical implementation of management actions, providing a clear and actionable framework for guiding decisions, operationalizing goals, and assessing performance.

The consultant will:

• Identify and define each KPI

• Identify baseline conditions

• Establish measurement methods and data sources

• Recommend procedures for ongoing monitoring and reporting to support consistent, transparent, and data‑informed management that will be applicable across all districts

• Develop a KPI implementation guide that outlines how BCPOS staff should collect data, update indicators, interpret results, and apply KPIs in future district planning cycles

• Include equity-centered KPIs that measure district-level accessibility, engagement quality, and equitable use of open space resources

The KPIs must directly align with and advance Boulder County Parks & Open Space’s established goals:

1. To preserve rural lands and buffers.

2. To preserve and restore natural resources for the benefit of the environment and the public.

3. To provide public outreach, partnerships, and volunteer opportunities to increase awareness and appreciation of Boulder County’s open space.

4. To protect, restore, and interpret cultural resources for the education and enjoyment of current and future generations.

5. To provide quality recreational experiences while protecting open space resources.

6. To promote and provide for sustainable agriculture in Boulder County for the natural, cultural, and economic values it provides.

7. To develop human resources potential, employ sustainable and sound business practices, and pursue technological advancements.

Engagement Strategy and Communication

• Create an innovative public engagement strategy and communications plan that centers equitable community engagement, integrating place-based input from Peak to Peak communities with broader countywide perspectives as well as input from a POSAC Community Working Group

• Having consultant team members with relationships in Boulder County’s local communities is desired. Consultant should also anticipate providing honoraria or stipends to community members who contribute substantial time, knowledge, lived experience, or relationship-building to the project, including community connectors, working group members, or other defined engagement roles. Consultants should include an appropriate allowance for these payments in the proposed budget and describe how compensation would be administered.

• In formulating your proposal, consult BCPOS’s Cultural Responsiveness & Inclusion Strategic Plan (CRISP) (Attachment B) and the County’s Digital Accessibility Initiative.

Apply the goals and requirements of these documents. Boulder County’s Equitable Community Engagement Framework (ECEF) will also need to be applied (Attachment A) to ensure engagement activities are inclusive, accessible, and representative of diverse community needs. Proposals should emphasize:

o Building on existing BCPOS community relationships and potentially catalyzing on relationships with community that the consultant has to identify key stakeholder groups and communities to engage focusing on historically marginalized or underrepresented voices (e.g. Latinx and Chicano, Native American and Indigenous communities, youth, elders, people experiencing disabilities, LGBTQIA+ community) o Innovative and equitable engagement activities (e.g. listening sessions, interviews, meeting people where they are via micro-engagements, etc.) using culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices, recognizing that traditional planning meetings may not be appropriate or effective for all stakeholder groups o Making engagement materials and events accessible across language, age, ability, and cultures, including the use of Spanish and other relevant languages

• Attend and potentially facilitate a range of engagement events. Coordinate logistics, provide notetaking, summary reports, and materials for engagement events. In addition to digital engagement opportunities, a wide range of in-person engagement events are envisioned including: open houses, field trips, public meetings and various micro-engagements

• Analyze public feedback, identifying key themes, and develop engagement documentation for POSAC Community Working Group meetings, POSAC briefings and BOCC updates

• Facilitate POSAC Community Working Group (CWG) meetings (every 4-6 weeks). Develop schedule, agendas, meeting materials and presentations, facilitate CWG meetings including site visits, provide notetaking and summary reports for integration into planning efforts and for POSAC briefings and BOCC updates https://bouldercounty.gov/government/ada-eeo-notices/#:%7E:text=Our%20goal%20is%20to%20deliver,all%20users%2C%20regardless%20of%20ability.

Plan Development

• Assist in the development of sideboards, or supporting documentation, to help ensure consistency and alignment with existing planning guidance and policies and clarify what is in scope vs out of scope for the district plan

• Organize plan content, draft plan sections, create maps and graphics as needed and as directed by and coordinated with BCPOS staff

• Produce a comprehensive Peak to Peak District Plan in PDF format

• Develop a PDF plan template for use in Peak to Peak and other future districts that is visually engaging and accessible, and that provides a balance of text and graphics to support the broader public in comprehending the final plan. An example of the department’s most recent plan (East Boulder Creek Site Management Plan for Prairie Run Open Space) in plain language and graphic style can be found here:

https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ebc-prairie-run-management-plan.pdf

• Over the course of the framework and district planning process, develop tiers of innovative digital options for sharing district-level planning information including individual district plans and supplementary information, maps, videos, etc. to support understanding of the framework, district plans, and details about each district.

Consultants will share options and what would be needed to implement each of the options while BCPOS staff would review and implement the chosen option(s)

• Prepare interim materials for POSAC presentations, Board discussions, and public review

DELIVERABLES:

• Project management schedule, public engagement strategy, and internal/external communications plan

• Agendas, materials, meeting minutes of selected project-related meetings

• Digital and analog engagement materials (flyers, survey tools, presentations, facilitation materials, and associated maps and technical graphics, etc.)

• Monthly summary reports and documentation of analysis and engagement feedback

• Draft district plan and final district plan

• Compilation of lessons learned to inform countywide district planning model expansion

• Documentation of district-level planning framework that can be applied (and improved upon based on lessons learned from the Peak to Peak district pilot) to other districts

• Tiers of digital options for sharing district level planning information and additional Peak to Peak District Plan supplemental materials

• KPIs and implementation guide

• Sideboards https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ebc-prairie-run-management-plan.pdf https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ebc-prairie-run-management-plan.pdf

• All project documents must follow the Boulder County Style Guide which will be supplied to the awarded proposer.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Demonstrated experience in public lands or landscape-scale planning

• Experience in supporting complex and equitable public engagement processes, including rural and underserved communities

• Ability to speak Spanish fluently to support linguistic and cultural accessibility and engagement

• Familiarity with resource-specific policies (forestry, wildlife, agriculture, recreation management), environmental analysis, and interagency coordination

• Ability to produce accessible, high-quality planning documents

• Experience in navigating projects that combine community engagement, elected leadership direction, and technical resource management

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

Proposals must include:

• A narrative describing the consultant’s approach to district-level or landscape-scale planning

• Description of the project team, roles, and qualifications

• Examples of similar past planning and engagement efforts

• Proposed project timeline aligned with the County’s 18-month pilot schedule

• Estimated budget with cost breakdowns for major task categories (Pricing Tab template provided)

• Three (3) references for similar projects

PERMITS, LICENSES, LOCATES AND CODES: (if applicable) The selected Contractor shall have full responsibility for identifying and obtaining, prior to the start of work, and for maintaining throughout the term of the Project, any permits and licenses which may be required in order to carry out the work. The Contractor shall also be responsible for following all State and County codes, which may be required in order to carry out the Project.

The Contractor shall also be responsible for all "locates" of all public utilities related to performing work under the terms of this Contract. The Contractor shall also be responsible for insuring that any of its subcontractors performing work on the Project satisfy the provisions of this paragraph.

Contractor is responsible for contacting and coordinating with utility companies regarding protection of existing utilities and special requirements at utility crossing locations, as well as other conditions where work is nearby existing utilities. Contractor shall be responsible for all costs of coordination with utilities including, but not limited to, outages, protection or support and any fees for costs from the utility.

CONTRACTOR LICENSING: (if applicable) It is the responsibility of the selected Contractor to apply for and ensure the appropriate Contractor’s license is obtained.

General contractors, HVAC contractors, and roofing contractors require licensing through the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Department. Electricians and plumbers are required to be licensed through the State of Colorado and registered with the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Department. Furthermore, it is required for all Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors to be fully-licensed through the State of Colorado.

SUBCONTRACTORS: (if applicable) Contractor is required to disclose to County the complete business name(s) of all potential subcontractors that will be assigned to this Project, should the Contractor be awarded.

Contractor acknowledges that it is completely responsible for the actions or inactions of its subcontractors. Contractor shall be responsible for the compliance of all subcontracting parties with the terms of the Contract and with any applicable local, state or federal laws or regulations.

Contractor shall be solely responsible for timely payment of its subcontractors.

PROJECT COMPLETION SCHEDULE:

The awarded contractor will have eighteen (18) months from the issuance of the NTP to complete the work.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

Any party that has developed, designed or drafted specifications, requirements, statements of work and/or has participated in planning activities for this Project may be excluded from consideration for the award of this Project.

CHANGE ORDERS:

Any unplanned, change orders, modifications or additional services to this Project, must be submitted by the Contractor, in a separate written document, including a fee schedule and completion schedule and presented to the County for review. Approval from the County, in writing, must accompany all change order requests.

OVERNIGHT CAMPING:

Boulder County prohibits any overnight camping; all operational staff, including designated security staff, are not authorized to be present at Project site from sunset to sunrise, the open space property will remain closed during these hours to the contractor and its subcontractors and/or designated representatives and/or agents, unless specifically authorized by a BCPOS representative.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

The selected contractor must be available to attend meetings scheduled at various times.

Meetings with BCPOS staff will take place during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In addition, the contractor must have the flexibility to participate in field trips, public meetings, and POSAC sessions, which may occur during evenings or weekends.

OWNERSHIP OF WORK PRODUCT:

All work product, property, data, documentation, information or materials conceived, discovered, developed or created by the selected Contractor pursuant to this bid and subsequent Contract will be owned exclusively by the County. To the extent possible, any Work Product will be deemed to be a work made for hire. The selected Contractor unconditionally and irrevocably transfers and assigns to the County all right, title and interest in and to any Work Product.

The selected Contractor will agree to keep confidential all County Data, and will agree not to sell, copy, modify, reproduce, republish, assign, distribute, data mine, search or disclose any such confidential information to any other person or entity without the County’s written permission, including metadata (e.g. aggregations of county data or analysis of county data content).

The Contractor shall not access County accounts or County Data, except in the event as required by the express terms of a written contract between the mutual Parties and/or at the express written request of the County. All data obtained by the Contractor in the performance of this solicitation resulting in a contract shall become and remain the property of the County. The Contractor shall not use any information collected in connection with the service issued from this solicitation for any purpose other than fulfilling a County contract for this RFP.