A04_-_SOW.pdf

Cane River Creole National Historical Park

STATEMENT OF WORK:

Planning & Design for Self-Guided Tours at the Oakland Main House

DATED:

July 2021

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

1. Background

Cane River Creole National Historical Park (CARI) is comprised of two Creole plantations, Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, located south of Natchitoches along Cane River, with a headquarters building located in downtown Natchitoches.

Oakland Plantation, located at 4386 Highway 494 Bermuda LA 71456, was founded by Jean Pierre Emanuel Prud’homme, who began farming the area in 1785 and received a Spanish land grant in 1789. Eight generations of his French Creole family lived and worked on this land, managing to keep the physical complex intact for two centuries. Today, visitors come to Oakland to experience the plantation landscape, which includes the main house—a historically furnished house museum with museum objects on display. All museum objects are original to the house, were owned by the Prud’homme family, and date from the late 1700s to the mid- 1960s.

Because of the integrity of the resources at Oakland, the plantation has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

2. Objectives

This project involves planning and design of visitor barriers to accommodate self-guided tours of the Oakland Plantation main house. The park was established in 1994, and since that time the park has provided guided tours of the main house on a daily basis. However, the park has struggled to keep regular tours since 2016. Tour times are limited and visitors often arrive after the guided tour has occurred for the day, resulting in low visitor satisfaction. Limited staff and volunteers, maintaining interpretive operations at three separate park units, and other increasing operational needs have decreased the amount of staff time available to give tours. The park has tried altering tour times, tours by appointment, and other strategies, but sporadic visitor demand exceeds available staffing.

Recently, the park has realized that the house needs to be permanently converted to self-guided tours, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has limited traditional ranger-visitor interactions.

Converting the house for self-guided tours through installation of sensitive barriers will increase visitor opportunities to see the interior of the historically furnished structure. With COVID-19, guided tours have ceased since March 2020, as social distancing is not possible and visitor and staff safety is paramount. The park adapted the guided tour into a self-guided option using temporary barriers in October 2020. Since that time, the house is only open on weekends from 10 AM to 2 PM and only when interpretive staff are available to monitor visitors. Because of the need to continually monitor visitors, the temporary barriers have had mixed success and a more permanent solution is needed.

Installing sensitive visitor barriers inside the house and permanently converting the main house to self-guided visitor tours will enhance the visitor experience and provide greater accessibility to the rich park history. It will allow greater efficiency and flexibility in park staffing, while still offering a quality experience in a more sustainable, long-term approach. The need for self-guided tours was identified during recent partner meetings with local tourism organizations. NPS visitor use surveys and other feedback has indicated that visitors want increased, on-demand access to the interior spaces of the park buildings, not just limited to select days and times.

The project will include a plan with design details, material selections, and cost estimates to be used to convert the main house space into self-directed experience. The plan will include various options to provide visitor access, while protecting the museum objects. A variety of commercial and custom barriers will be evaluated (acrylic, metal, post/panel, etc.) and a preferred material and barrier configuration will be selected based on aesthetic, compatibility with historic setting, weight per square foot, and cost. The plan will also address how museum objects will be secured or moved out of reach from unmonitored visitors and how physical security and sanitation measures will be enhanced, following NPS museum standards. Identified accessibility issues will also be addressed. Once the preferred plan is approved, it will be used to request additional funding for fabrication and installation of the self-guided barrier system at a later date.

The installation of the self-guided system shall have minimum impact on the main house interior and museum collection. The system will also be designed to be removable or reversible, meeting Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation standards. The park will work with interpretive planners and security professionals to determine alternative techniques for installation. Such an approach would further enhance interpretation and ensure protection of the historically furnished interior spaces.

3. Scope of Work

The Contractor shall provide all services including labor, materials, equipment, facilities, and travel, (except as otherwise specified in this contract), necessary to provide planning and design services to convert the Oakland Plantation main house into a self-guided experience. Planning services shall include a site visit, series of meetings with park staff, research and design options, materials suitability, cost estimates, and draft and final reports. Work also includes coordination with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

Requirements for the Completed Project:

Qualifications & Experience

• Contractor shall consist, at a minimum, of an interpretive planner, security specialist, and museum professional.

o Interpretive planner shall have previous work experience with NPS interpretive projects.

o Museum professional shall be familiar with NPS museum standards for physical security.

o All three experts shall have experience in working with sensitive historic resources and historically furnished house museums.

Work Flow & Tasks

• Task 1: Start-Up and Site Visit: Contractor shall participate in a start-up meeting to outline project goals/expectations of the project. This meeting may be a teleconference or may take place in-person, combined with a site visit. The Contractor shall also participate in an in-person site visit to experience the main house in its current self-guided configuration.

• Task 2: Planning and Design of Barrier Systems: Contractor shall complete all aspects of planning and design of at least three alternative barrier systems. Each option shall include design details, material selections, weight considerations, and cost estimates and other considerations mentioned above in the Objectives section. A variety of commercial and custom barriers will be researched and evaluated (acrylic, metal, post/panel, etc).

• Task 3: Physical Security & Museum Protection Plan: Contractor shall complete a physical security survey to ensure that museum objects are protected, moved, or secured to prevent theft and visitor handling during self-guided tours. The physical security and protection plan may include various options based on levels of threat/impact.

• Task 4: Virtual Presentation/Workshop: Contractor shall host a virtual presentation/workshop with park staff to explore the various barrier alternatives compiled in Task 2 and the physical security plan in Task 3. The results of the virtual presentation/workshop shall form the basis of the draft and final reports and shall include a preferred design and configuration. The preferred design and configuration will be selected based on aesthetic, compatibility with historic setting, weight per square foot, and cost. NPS shall have final approval on the preferred option.

• Task 5: Draft Report: Contractor shall compile the results of Task 2, 3, and 4 into a draft report and submit electronically for NPS review. NPS shall have 30 days to review and comment. Comments will be provided in written form and contractor shall resolve and incorporate all NPS comments into the final report. Both draft and final reports shall include a section on the preferred barrier system design that shall include drawings, specifications, cost estimates, quantities, and enough other pertinent details that the NPS shall be able to use the information to contract out the fabrication and installation with little to no additional effort.

• Task 6: Final Report: Contractor shall submit a final report within 30 days of receipt of NPS comments on the draft report. If necessary, a conference call may be scheduled to resolve unclear or conflicting comments before the final report is finalized. The Contractor shall provide 2 bound hard copies and one PDF of the final report, including digital files of the preferred design for future fabrication/installation contract. All digital files over 50MB in size shall be provided to the COR via secure FTP or encrypted flash drive (with the secure password sent to the COR).

4. Period of Performance

All work, including review and approval, shall be completed on or before December 30, 2022.

5. Key Officials

Contracting Officer (CO): TBD

Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

Carrie Mardorf Superintendent O: 318-352-0383, 100 C: 318-652-0141 Email: carrie_mardorf@nps.gov

Technical Expert:

Barbara Justice Chief of Interpretation O: 318-352-0383, 200 Email: Barbara_justice@nps.gov

6. Attachments

The following listed documents are incorporated into this contract:

o Oakland Main House Floor Plan