Community Wildfire Protection Plan RFP 25-05.pdf

Request for Proposals:

Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Huerfano County Solicitation #2025-05 May 22, 2025

1. Summary of Request The Board of County Commissioners of Huerfano County (the “County”) is seeking proposals from experienced consultants to prepare a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (“CWPP”) for Huerfano County. The County seeks to create an accessible and actionable CWPP that offers a comprehensive look at wildfire hazard in the county and offers specific mitigation measures and projects to address that hazard and minimize risk to life safety, critical infrastructure and natural resources in the county. This plan will be data driven, community informed, in line with the Colorado State Forest Service’s Forest Action Plan and conform to the CSFS Minimum Standards for Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans. The Huerfano CWPP will serve as an “umbrella plan” for the county produced collaboratively with local governments, fire protection districts, relevant public agency partners, community members and other stakeholders. The County has never completed a countywide CWPP, so this will be our first guiding document specific to wildfire protection planning. Completion and maintenance of a county CWPP is crucial for formalizing a strategy around response to wildfire risk in the county as well as seeking funding for future mitigation projects.

2. Submission Information Written submissions for the supply of the services described herein will be accepted until Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 4PM MT. Any response received after that time will not be considered.

The County will only accept electronic submissions in response to this RFP. Electronic submissions are required to be considered for an award. Please plan for a maximum file size of 2GB.

To submit your Bid online, please visit www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/huerfano-county-government.

If you experience problems submitting your electronic response, please contact the Bidnet Direct technical support team (800-835-4603) prior to the submission deadline. Please allocate sufficient time to submit your proposal to the Bidnet website. The 4:00 pm Mountain Time deadline is a hard stop. You must save your submission to the site before the deadline or you will be locked out and your submission will not be accepted.

3. Questions Procedural and technical questions are to be submitted online through Bidnet Direct. Questions will be accepted until Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 4PM MT. A summary of questions and answers will be released according to the schedule set below.

4. Anticipated Timeline Dates are approximations for the process steps and are subject to change.

Step Date Selection Process

One May 22, 2025 Solicitation Issued

Step Date Selection Process

June 12, 2025 Questions may be presented prior to 4PM MT on this date.

June 13, 2025 Questions and answers posted.

June 24, 2025 Responses due at 4PM MT

June 25, 2025 Committee Review of Responses.

Two June 26, 2025 Notifications of Interviews.

July 9, 2025 Interviews conducted.

Three July 11, 2025 Notification of selected finalist(s).

Four July 22, 2025 Agreement executed.

July 28, 2025 Anticipated Start Date

5. Background Huerfano County is a community encompassing 1,593 square miles and home to approximately 6,800 residents. The County is governed by a three (3) member Board of Commissioners, elected by districts to four (4) year terms. Huerfano County is home to two (2) incorporated communities: Walsenburg and La Veta. Each community has its own governing body. The County, however, provides many essential services to the residents of these municipalities.

Huerfano County through its staff and Officers provides a variety of services including, but not limited to: zoning and code enforcement, law enforcement, revenue assessment and collections, road and bridge construction and maintenance, social services, and general government administration.

The County is committed to cultivating a community that is prepared to respond to and recover from hazards and disasters. The Department of Emergency Management (“Huerfano OEM” or “OEM”) works to protect Huerfano County by developing, coordinating, and implementing executable plans to prevent, mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from emergent hazards. It is our aim to promote the mission and vision of Huerfano County by undertaking projects that focus on the resiliency of our community, infrastructure and natural resources, as well as the safety of our residents.

6. Outline of Services to be Provided The selected respondent is expected to form a number of tasks in the process of completing the CWPP, these are as follows:

Task 1. Review Colorado State Forest Service’s “Minimum Standards For Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans” and maintain it as a core guiding document (Found Here)

a. Plan includes all of “II. Plan Components A. CWPPs must include” components and “Plan Components B. CWPPs should include” elements.

b. Plan includes “Integrated Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Plan elements” from “Plan Components C. CWPPs may include”.

c. Work with core team to investigate feasibility of including “Post-fire considerations (e.g., flood hazard analysis, infrastructure concerns)” from “Plan Components C. CWPPs may include”.

Task 2. Participate in Orientation Meeting

a. Meet with Huerfano County Commissioners, OEM, and CWPP core team members for introductions, to set major milestones and explain proposed methodology for plan https://csfs.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-CSFS_CWPP_Min_Standards.pdf development.

Task 3. Facilitate Community and Stakeholder Meetings and Workshops

a. Coordinate and carry out robust community outreach events. The goal of these meetings will be to invite community input to the plan development, solicit community knowledge of local areas and weather patterns that could affect fire behavior, educate the community on wildfire resilience and the purpose of the county wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

b. Community Outreach events will be “robust” in that they will be regularly held throughout the plan development process, hosted at multiple venues across the county and offer reliable ways for community members to join electronically. The population of Huerfano County is just below seven thousand people, outreach should be conducted with an effort to reach as large a proportion of that population as possible. Frequency of outreach meetings will change throughout the planning process, but at minimum, should be held quarterly. Note that parts of the county are rural and do not have reliable high-speed internet, so additional in-person options will be beneficial for community engagement.

c. Assist in advertising and “spreading the word” on the location and objective of community outreach events.

d. Maintain records of meeting locations, participant sign ins (both in person and electronic), outreach documents/materials/exhibits and feedback gleaned from community stakeholders.

Task 4. Data Analysis

a. Focus on analysis of existing data sets rather than data gathering and modelling. Use US Forest Service’s “All Lands Survey (2022)” and Colorado State Forest Service’s “Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment (CO-WRA 2022)” as data sets and map models.

b. Find areas where the data sets “align” to prioritize for mitigation projects.

c. Find areas where the data sets “conflict” to perform greater assessment on those areas.

Make use of agency partners in the USFS and CSFS to guide that assessment.

Task 5. Plan Development and Design

a. CWPP is written in adherence with the CSFS Minimum Standards for Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (Found Here).

b. Development of an accessible electronic version of the final plan, that can be interpreted by screen readers and other assistive devices. Electronic plan should be in line with best practices for accessibility.

c. Development of a readable and actionable plan that enumerates specific mitigation actions and “shovel ready” projects while presenting data analysis from USFS All Lands and CSFS CO-WRA in clear, plain language for wider community interest and engagement.

d. Community Wildfire Risk Analysis must account for all fuel types present in Huerfano County. Data on fuel types should be taken from the Colorado State Forest Service CO- WRA data set and the United States Forest Service “Colorado All Lands” data set.

https://csfs.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-CSFS_CWPP_Min_Standards.pdf

e. Evacuation information should anticipate population density for different types of communities in Huerfano County and consider aspects of population density, Access and exit routes and availability of response personnel.

f. Identify socially vulnerable populations and develop strategies to reduce their wildfire risk with resource and response challenges in mind.

g. Collaborate with partners in Huerfano County that are carrying out structure hardening and Home Ignition Zone efforts to inform information and outreach around reducing structure ignitability in the CWPP.

h. Integrate community feedback throughout the plan. Including using it to inform local emergency notification resource outreach and evacuation information as well as deepen understanding of priority fuel reduction project areas and objectives.

i. Additional maps produced from the analysis of the USFS All Lands and CSFS CO-WRA should be saved as Esri Shapefiles and as produced for the Huerfano CWPP, will then be owned by the Huerfano County Government.

j. Towards an aim of being actionable and community oriented, published maps and data sets should be visually distinct, rooted in relevance to the CWPP’s objectives and underscore priorities in mitigation against wildfire risk at the county scale.

k. Synergize with projects and priorities outlined within the Huerfano County Hazard Mitigation Plan.

l. Coordinate with the core team to determine the feasibility and extent of Post Fire Considerations in the Huerfano CWPP. Elements of Postfire Considerations integrated into the plan should be prioritized in the same manner as proposed mitigation projects.

m. Use of Template to manage plan length/page count and separate into discrete sections.

n. Collaborate with the core team to implement an actionable and measurable tracking and implementation plan. This should be in line with and ultimately facilitate the 5-year revision timeline for CWPPs as outlined in the CSFS Minimum Standards for CWPPs.

Task 6. Participate in regular Progress Tracking with Huerfano OEM

a. Attend regular electronic meetings with Huerfano OEM and Core Team members to discuss plan progress. Identify and review major milestones, chart next steps and develop strategies for community outreach events. Frequency of these meetings will change as needed, through discussion between vendor, Huerfano OEM and Core Team membership. We expect these meetings to take place on average every three weeks.

b. Maintain open lines of communication with Huerfano OEM outside of scheduled meetings through phone calls and email correspondence.

c. Present on progress to the Board of County Commissioners, either verbally or in writing, at least quarterly and when a draft plan is ready for review.

Task 7. Maintain an accessible, up to date “working draft” of the plan

a. Maintain an updated “shared drive” with Huerfano OEM which contains the most current working draft of the plan as well as any accessory documents (I.E. materials for community outreach and graphs/charts/figures/tables).

Task 8. Coordinate with Huerfano OEM And CSFS Through Plan Review and Final Acceptance

a. Work closely with Huerfano OEM, CSFS and local Fire Districts in the lead up to and after completion of the CWPP draft to ensure its review and final acceptance are expedient and efficient.

Task 9. (DELIVERABLE): Huerfano County Community Wildfire Protection Plan

a. An accessible and actionable plan that offers a comprehensive look at wildfire hazard in the county and offers specific mitigation measures and projects to address that hazard and minimize risk to life safety, critical infrastructure and natural resources in the county. This plan will be data driven, community informed, in line with the Colorado State Forest Service’s Forest Action Plan and conform to the CSFS Minimum Standards for Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans.

b. An electronic version of the plan that is compatible with screen readers and other assistive devices and conforms to standards and best practices of accessibility.

Task 10. (DELIVERABLE): Meeting and Workshop Minutes and Artifacts

a. Log of Meeting/Workshop Minutes, documents and Artifacts. This will include participant sign in sheets; including duration and any participant mileage.

7. Qualifications The selected respondent will possess or demonstrate: (1) knowledge and relevant experience conducting similar projects in a timely manner; and (2) familiarity with Southern Colorado’s unique wildfire threats and regional history.

8. Budget and Timeline.

1. The budget for this project is not to exceed $180,000. This project is funded by the Colorado

State Forest Service through a grant from the US Department of Agriculture U.S. Forest Service.

2. The County seeks to complete this project by June 30, 2027. This will provide sufficient time to conclude grant paperwork before the August 31, 2027 grant expiration.

9. Contents of Letter of Interest Written responses for the supply of the services fully described herein will be accepted until the date set forth in the anticipated timeline above. Any response received after that time will not be considered.

Responses should be no longer than 15 pages and include:

1. Cover Letter, which must include:

a. A statement of interest for working with the County to complete the scope outlined above including a summary of key points describing the respondent’s unique qualifications as they pertain to this particular scope;

b. A brief introduction to the respondent including structure, time in business, number of employees, and other data to assist in characterization of the respondent;

c. The name, address, and daytime telephone number for contact persons to whom additional selection process requests and notices should be communicated;

d. A disclosure of the name of any employee or official of Huerfano County who could be directly and personally benefited if the proposing firm is awarded a contract pursuant to this solicitation. If there is nothing to disclose, the response shall so state.

2. Experience and Reputation

a. Describe respondent’s experience in the types of work likely to be performed;

b. Describe similar engagements performed or operations run by the respondent within the past five years; and

c. Please provide contact information for engagements or operations listed. Letters of reference are also accepted.

3. Personnel and Qualifications

a. Provide a resume that describes the respondent’s expertise, experience and qualifications for this work;

b. Describe the availability and commitment of either the respondent to undertake the outlined work; and

c. Provide an organizational chart of the project team, if applicable.

4. Understanding and Approach

a. Describe in detail the respondent’s understanding of and approach to providing the types of services described;

b. Describe the respondent’s approach to partnerships or client service, including onboarding process, communication methods and approaches, as well as availability to take on projects and answer questions; and

c. Describe the respondent’s capability and approach to meeting schedules and deadlines.

5. Fee Proposal

a. Provide pricing on a task by task basis as well as an overall price. Pricing must be broken out by labor rates per hour for each resource, number of hours anticipated for each resource per task, and total expenses anticipated for each task as well as an amount for overall expense.

10. Selection Process The process for selection and award of the Lease will consist of four steps and be organized as follows:

Step One Review and scoring of Responses submitted Step Two Interviews (if required) Step Three Selection of successful respondent, negotiation of Professional Services Agreement Step Four County Commissioner approval of Professional Services Agreement

Step One: Review of Responses Following an initial screening of the responses, the committee will select what it considers the most highly qualified party to provide the services outlined in the scope of services. Selection will be based on the evaluation criteria set forth below. Those submitting responses will be ranked, and the committee will then recommend the most qualified respondents for interviews. Responses for County Surveyor will be scored and ranked separately.

The following selection criteria will be the basis for the ranking of most qualified respondent:

Criteria Points

Experience and Reputation 20 Points Personnel and Qualifications 25 Points Understanding and Approach 25 Points Fee Proposal 20 Points Overall Evaluation of Capabilities and Ability to Provide Required Services (Interview) 10 Points

Total 100 Points

Step Two: Interviews (if required)

1. Interviews may be conducted for the purpose of determining which respondent is the most highly qualified to perform the required work and which responds most fully understands and is able to perform the work envisioned by the County. Note that one of the above criteria is reserved for interview scoring.

2. Key personnel from interested party are required to be present and participate in the interview.

3. Respondents are asked to give a presentation on their organization. The Review Board will then ask any questions they have of the respondent.

Step Three: Selection of Successful Respondent and Negotiation of Professional Services Agreement

1. After the successful respondent is selected, the County will negotiate a Professional Services

Agreement.

Step Four: County Commissioners Approval of Professional Services Agreement

1. The successful respondent is encouraged to attend the County Commissioners’ meeting to answer any questions concerning the response, or the respondent’s qualifications.

2. The County reserves the right to undertake or award supplemental or successor contracts for work related to this Contract.

3. This solicitation shall not be binding upon the County or respondent, and no services shall be performed under the terms of the response or the Professional Services Agreement until the Contract has been reduced to writing and approved by the County Commissioners.

11. Selection and Contracting Provisions Notifications.

The County will provide timely notifications in writing (letters and/or emails) of the following actions to individuals or firms responding to the Request for Proposals as follows:

Selection of short-listed individuals or firms for interviews (if required);

Individuals or Firms not short-listed;

Selection of recommended individual or firm; and County Commissioner approval.

Right to Reject The County reserves the right to waive informalities in the responses or fees and to reject any and all responses and re-advertise this solicitation at any time prior to County Commissioner approval of the recommended firm or individual and the negotiated professional contract for services if doing so would be in the public interest, as determined by the county in its sole discretion. The County reserves the right to award this solicitation to the individual or firm that best fits the requirements outlined in the solicitation. The County reserves the right to waive any informality in any submittal and/or reject all responses, and to accept the response that is in the best interest of the County. The County further reserves the right to: (1) negotiate a final professional contract for services that is in the best interests of the county and the public; and (2) request any additional information county deems reasonably necessary to allow the County to evaluate, rank and select the most qualified proposer to perform the services described in this solicitation.

If the County and the selected individual or firm cannot agree on the contract, the negotiations will be terminated, and the County reserves the right to begin negotiations with the next highest ranked proposer.

Procedure Requirements

1. Any individual or firm failing to submit information in accordance with the procedures set forth herein may be considered non-responsive.

2. All costs incurred by individuals or firms choosing to participate in this process shall be borne by the proposing individual or firm.

3. All responses submitted regarding this solicitation are the property of the County and will only be returned to the individual or firms if requested in writing to the County at the sole discretion of the County.

4. Late submittals shall not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the individual or firms to ensure that the response arrives at the Huerfano County Administrator’s Office, prior to the date and time stated in this solicitation.

Conflicts of Interest Any conflicts of interest whether real or perceived by the individual or firm submitting a response should be fully disclosed and explained within the response.