biddoc.pdf

RFP No: 2026-02a

R.F.P. Name:

Professional Legal Services for Bayfield, CO

Contracting Agency: Town of Bayfield

Mailing Address: Town of Bayfield, C/O Kathleen Cathcart, PO Box 80, Bayfield, CO 81122

Physical Address: Town of Bayfield, C/O Kathleen Cathcart, 1199 Bayfield Parkway, Bayfield, CO 81122

Telephone: (970) 884-9544

Date: __ June 9, 2026_____

RFP Questions Due: July 6, 2026

Proposals Will Be Received Until: July 13, 2026, 12 P.M. MT at Finance Department, 1199 Bayfield

Parkway, Bayfield, CO 81122

Town Manager: John P. Waters

For additional information, please contact:

Finance Director/ Treasurer: Kathleen Cathcart, (970) 884-9544, kcathcart@bayfieldgov.org

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

mailto:kcathcart@bayfieldgov.org

Summary:

The Town of Bayfield is seeking the services of a municipal attorney(s) to fulfill the duties and responsibilities described in this Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Town Attorney position.

The Town is inviting individual attorneys or firms to respond to provide the Town with legal services as outlined below.

Background:

The Town of Bayfield, located in La Plata County, Colorado, is a statutory municipality incorporated under State of Colorado law in 1906. Bayfield has a Council-manager form of government with a board of six trustees and a mayor. Located along US Highway 160 between

Durango and Pagosa Springs, the Town provides a full range of public services, including a police department, municipal utilities (water, wastewater, and solid waste), public facilities, transportation infrastructure (drainage, streets, and sidewalks), Senior Center, and Recreational programs (parks and recreation activities). Bayfield currently employs 34 regular full-time, and

15 seasonal part-time employees. The community is zoned for and developed with different zones for commercial, residential, industrial, institutional and agricultural development. For a smaller community, Bayfield is currently experiencing significant growth with multiple annexation requests and numerous housing developments in various stages of development.

The Town’s Board of Trustees will appoint an attorney or firm of attorneys (hereafter referred to as “Attorney”) licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado. The Attorney shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees and perform duties determined by the Board of Trustees.

Per town ordinance, the attorney:

1. shall prosecute or defend any and all suits or actions at law or equity to which the town may be a party, or in which it may be interested or which may be brought against it, or by any officer of the town on behalf of the town or in the capacity of such person as an officer of the town;

2. shall be the duty of the attorney to see to the full enforcement of all judgments or decrees rendered or entered in favor of the town, and of all similar interlocutory orders;

3. shall be the legal advisor of the town and shall render advice on all legal questions affecting the town, whenever requested to do so by any town official and upon request by the mayor or by the board of trustees, shall reduce any such opinion to writing;

4. shall be the duty of the attorney to see to the completion of all special assessment proceedings and condemnation proceedings; and

INTRODUCTION

SCOPE OF WORK

5. It shall be the duty of the attorney to draft or supervise the phraseology of any contract, lease or other documents or instruments to which the town may be a party, and upon request of the board of trustees or town manager to draft and or review new or updated ordinances covering any subjects within the power of the town.

Additionally, the Town Attorney

6. shall prosecute ordinance violations (including municipal court prosecutions), they shall conduct for the Town such cases in court and before other legally constituted tribunals, and shall file with the Clerk copies of such records and files relating thereto as the Board may direct;

7. shall call to the attention of the Board all matters of law, and changes or developments therein, affecting the Town;

8. shall act as parliamentarian for the Town Board of Trustees and inform accordingly; and

9. shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed for them by the Town Board of

Trustees.

10. Town Board of Trustees meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month starting at 6:30 PM. The Board of Trustees also holds occasional work sessions, typically starting at 6 PM, and special evening meetings throughout the year. The Town Attorney is required to attend two (2) Town Board meetings a month, preferably in person, and may be requested to attend occasional Planning Commission meetings, Manager’s meetings with the Department Heads, and other meetings, when needed, these meetings may be attended in person or remotely.

Compensation of the Town Attorney shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees. The Town Attorney works closely with the Town Manager (who also reports to the Town Board of Trustees) and department directors of the Town, often receiving the majority of work requests from the Town

Manager and department Directors.

The Town retains a separate firm to handle water rights-related legal issues. The Town is a member of CIRSA and works with CIRSA for liability and insurance needs. The Town currently works with CIRSA and the Town Attorney on employment law matters. The Town Attorney will work with CIRSA on legal matters.

Corresponds with Evaluation Criteria below

1. Professional Legal Competence-

a. Provide the name and qualifications of the person proposed to provide the Town

Attorney services to the Town. This is the person that will be appointed as Town

Attorney from your firm.

b. Provide the names and qualifications for each supporting member of the Town

Attorney team and how they will be utilized by the Town Attorney.

c. Describe any knowledge or experience that makes you, or any attorney(s) in your firm, particularly qualified to fulfill the Town Attorney duties.

d. Describe your and/or your firm’s experience with municipal law generally and specifically address your experience regarding municipal land use regulations, municipal elections, real property matters, zoning law, constitutional issues (state and federal) affecting municipalities, environmental & permitting issues, municipal finance, complex litigation, appellate practice, and any other areas you believe are relevant to the Town’s decision.

2. Capacity and Capability-

a. Describe the organizational structure of your firm and address how this structure and your staff can handle the workload of a typical town attorney’s office for our small statutory municipal government.

3. Past Record of Performance-

a. Provide a list of all municipal clients with whom you and/or your firm have worked in the past five years.

b. Provide three municipal client references on the form provided below.

c. Describe the firm’s performance with respect to such factors as quality of work, past successes, ability to meet schedules, listed references, responsiveness to contacts from municipal officials, etc.

4. Familiarity with Contracting Agency-

a. Describe your firm’s or a member of your firm’s general experience and understanding of (familiarity, working with or against) the Town of Bayfield, Colorado.

5. Availability and Accessibility-

REQUIRED PROPOSAL SUBMITTALS

a. Describe how your firm plans on providing prompt communication and availability for

Town staff during the work week.

6. Conflicts of Interest and Ethics-

a. Please disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

b. Please provide a list of all attorneys in the firm who might provide services under this proposal and list any disciplinary proceedings against them.

Other Items of Consideration-

7. The Town is soliciting talent and expertise first and foremost. While cost to the Town is important, the selection will not be based solely on cost. Please detail and explain your and/or your firm’s required fees to perform the requested services.

8. If you propose to bill for services at an hourly rate or a monthly fee, provide the current hourly/monthly rate for each lawyer and for each employee of your firm who may work on

Town matters. State specifically whether you will work on a fixed fee basis and, if so, how you propose that such a fee be determined. State specifically that if you are the successful candidate, and if your fee will be based on hourly rates that you will not increase this for Town matters before July 1, 2027.

9. Please provide the name of your professional liability insurance carrier and the limits of your professional liability insurance.

REFERENCE FORM

Submitting Attorney shall furnish the names, addresses and telephone numbers of a minimum of three (3) local governments for which the Attorney has provided similar services:

#1 Municipal Agency Name

Address

Reference Name

Reference Email Address

Telephone Number

Services provided

Dates of Service

#2 Municipal Agency Name

Services Provided

#3 Municipal Agency Name

Services Provided

REFERENCE FORM

Proposals must address each of the following criteria by number under

Required proposal Submittals (above). Each proposal may be awarded points up to the amount listed.

Points

Allowed this RFP Points

1. Professional Legal Competence __20__ _____

Legal competence of the firm (including expertise and specializations for all attorneys and staff that provide services to Town).

2. Capacity and Capability __20__ _____

Capacity and capability of the firm to provide services that will or might be required by a Colorado statutory municipal government, including any specialized services.

3. Past Record of Performance __20__ _____

Past record of performance with other local government agencies, with respect to such factors as quality of work, past successes, ability to meet schedules, listed references, responsiveness to contacts from municipal officials.

4. Familiarity with the Contracting Agency __15__ _____

Proximity to or familiarity with the Town of Bayfield.

5. Availability and Accessibility 15 ______

The availability and accessibility to Town staff and elected officials.

6. Potential Conflicts of Interest / Ethics 10 ______

The firm’s potential conflicts of interest, disciplinary actions and possible effects on provision of legal services.

Total Possible Points this RFP __100__ ______

EVALUATION FORM/ CRITERIA AND POINT VALUES

The Town reserves the right to undertake its own investigation to evaluate a candidate.

The Town reserves the right to solicit or recruit any attorney(s) or legal firms directly to request qualifications.

All submittals become the property of the Town upon receipt and will not be returned to the applicant.

The Town operates under applicable Colorado public disclosure laws. Proprietary information must be identified and will be protected to the extent that is legally possible.

The cost of developing the proposal, attendance at the remotely held oral interview or any other such costs are entirely the responsibility of the candidate and shall not be reimbursed in any manner by the Town.

The successful candidate shall not at any time permit any individual employed by the Town to benefit because of a financial interest in the candidate’s firm, any affiliate of the successful candidate, or any subcontractor.

Cost of submitting the response to the RFP, attendance at an interview, or any other such costs are entirely the responsibility of the candidate or candidate firm and shall not be reimbursed in any manner by the Town.

Failure to conform to directions under this RFP may lead to the rejection of a submittal. The submittals should contain all information necessary to evaluate the qualifications of a candidate or firm.

The Town shall have the sole discretion to accept or reject any and/or all proposals and to waive any informality or irregularity in said proposals.

Prior to selection, the top candidates will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for interview.

The final selection will be based on the written proposal, oral and written responses of client references and on the interview with the candidate before the Board of Trustees.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS