DMF Municipal Fish Passage Restoration Grant.docx

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

(617) 626-1520 | www.mass.gov/marinefisheries

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

ISSUE DATE: 2/26/2024

COMMBUYS Bid Number

Description or Purpose of Procurement:

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is seeking proposals from municipalities for projects that will sustain or improve migratory passageways for diadromous fish in Massachusetts. Diadromous (sea-run) fish enter coastal rivers each spring on spawning or foraging migrations. DMF routinely partners with municipalities to restore former migratory routes, maintain existing fishways, improve related infrastructure, and conduct stream maintenance.

1. Applicable Procurement Law

Executive Branch Goods and Services

2. Acquisition Method:

3. Whether Single or Multiple Contractors are Required for Contract:

Check One (“X”):

a. Estimated Number of Awards The target maximum number of Contractors is various the Purchasing Department may award more or fewer contracts, if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so.

b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award If, over the life of the contract, the Purchasing Department determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies that responded to this Solicitation and not awarded Contracts. If necessary to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids.

4. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract

5. Expected Duration of Contract (Initial Duration and any Options to Renew):

Initial Duration

Renewal Options

Total Maximum Contract Duration

6. Anticipated Expenditures, Funding, or Compensation:

Estimated Value of Procurement: ranges per contract

7. Contract Performance and Business Specifications:

Scope of Services: DMF has maintained a Diadromous Fish Restoration Priority List (Priority List) since 2005 to document the status of fish passageways and barriers and to guide decisions for restoration planning. The Priority List contains nearly 500 locations in coastal Massachusetts where fishways are present or dams and other structures occur along migratory pathways. For each location, there are scores assigned to 13 valuation parameters that are summed to provide ranks for potential restoration projects in four major coastal drainage areas in Massachusetts (Buzzards Bay/Narragansett Bay; Cape Cod/Island; South Shore; Boston Harbor/North Shore).

The Priority List is integrated with a DMF Diadromous Fish GIS Data Layer that also presently supports DMF environmental permit review, MassDOT transportation planning and MassDEP Clean Water Act assessments. The 2022 update of the Priority List is fully integrated with the MassGIS publication of the DMF Diadromous Fish GIS Data Layer ( MassGIS Data: Diadromous Fish | Mass.gov ).

The ranking of projects in the Priority List will be the most influential factor for project selection. Proposals that will receive the highest consideration for funding are for construction costs for small fishway projects that are in the top 20 ranking for each of the four coastal regions. This RFR does not exclude proposals for design and permitting costs, or for projects outside of the top 20 ranking on the Priority List. This RFR recognizes that dam removal is most often the first choice for restoring fish passage and improving river connectivity. However, numerous state and federal funding sources focus on dam removals, with fewer options to fund important fishway maintenance and restoration. This RFR will consider a wide range of restoration options including dam removal proposals, within the pool of annual requests, while focusing on construction funds for small, high priority fishway projects.

The RFR seeks proposals in the range of $10,000 to $75,000 that can be executed and completed within a given fiscal year (July 1st to June 30th). The RFR is limited to municipalities. Applicants are encouraged to review the status of their project of interest in the DMF Diadromous Fish GIS Data Layer and consult with DMF Diadromous Fish Project Leader, Brad Chase, brad.chase@mass.gov.

8. Small Business Purchasing Program- optional not required

9. Environmentally Preferable Products Products and services purchased by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 515, issued October 27, 2009. Under this Executive Order, Executive Departments are required to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance public health by procuring environmentally preferable products and services (EPPs) whenever such products and services perform to satisfactory standards and represent best value, consistent with 801 CMR 21.00. In line with this directive, all Contracts, whether departmental or statewide, must comply with the specifications and guidelines established by OSD and the EPP Program. EPPs are products and services that help to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, protect public health and the environment, and promote the use of clean technologies, recycled materials, and less toxic products. Bid responses must identify how a contractor meets these goals.

10. Evaluation Criteria Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored, and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

The 13 valuation parameters of the Priority List contain most of the factors needed to consider the regional priority status of most projects. This score/rank will be the most heavily weighted factor in the scoring matrix used to evaluate proposals. To augment this evaluation process, we add 3 other categories to the scoring matrix: Project readiness, Property Owner Match, and Cost/Benefit.

A score will be assigned for the Priority List rank as follows:

Projects in the top 20 rank per region will receive 10-20 points on a sliding scale where a rank of 1 = 20 pts and a rank of 20 = 10 pts. Projects that are not on the Priority List will be added to the list and ranked. Projects that are ranked below the top 20 per region will receive 1 to 5 points depending on rank.

Project Readiness relates to the project status: fully permitted projects that need a small match of funds to proceed with construction will receive a 5 score out of 5, while concepts with no progress for design or permitting will receive a 1 score out of 5. Sea-run fish passage responsibilities are required of owners of structures that impede fish passage in Massachusetts. Property Owner Match indicates the level of ownership support and maintenance of fish passage infrastructure: a 1 score of 5 indicates no match, a 3 score indicates 1:1 match and a 5 score indicates 3:1 match. Cost/Benefit considerations are integrated into the Priority List valuations. However, this concept is further highlighted in the scoring matrix to allow for a qualitative consideration of high value projects with the highest potential to augment diadromous fish populations: projects that are expected to increase fish populations for more than one species can receive a score of 5 out of 5, while projects that are addressing needed infrastructure maintenance with no potential to augment existing populations abundance can receive a score of 1 out of 5.

11. Instructions for Submission of Responses:

Electronic quotes submitted via COMMBUYS will be accepted in response to this RFR. Responses can be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix B. Reponses can also be emailed to Brad.Chase@mass.gov Any submission that fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and may be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the vendor to make minor corrections to the submission.

12. Estimated Procurement Calendar

Bidders are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the procurement calendar for this Bid.

13. Required Forms Responses to this RFR must contain the following documents once contract is initiated

The above attachments are available as part of the Bid record on COMMBUYS (WWW.COMMBUYS.COM).

14. RFR Attachments Appendix A: Required Specifications https://www.mass.gov/doc/rfr-required-specifications-of-commodities-and-services Appendix B: Electronic Quote Submission Instructions https://www.mass.gov/doc/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids Effective June 15, 2021, for all 1) CTR forms, including the Standard Contract Form, W-9s, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) forms, ISAs, and other CTR-issued documents and forms, or 2) documents related to state finance and within the statutory area of authority or control of CTR (i.e. contracts, payrolls, and related supporting documentation), CTR will accept signatures executed by an authorized signatory in any of the following ways: 1. Traditional “wet signature” (ink on paper); 2. Electronic signature that is either: a. Hand drawn using a mouse or finger if working from a touch screen device; or Page 2 b. An uploaded picture of the signatory’s hand drawn signature 3. Electronic signatures affixed using a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign. If using an electronic signature, the signature must be visible, include the signatory’s name and title, and must be accompanied by a signature date. Please be advised that typed text of a name not generated by a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign, even in computer-generated cursive script, or an electronic symbol, are not acceptable forms of electronic signature.

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