Scope of Work-HP Resurvey-2009-02A.doc

March 3, 2009 Scope of Work

Geographic Information System (GIS) Based Survey of Central City National Register Historic District New Orleans, Louisiana

I. INTRODUCTION

In response to the need to remove Hurricane Katrina damaged private residences deemed unsafe by the City of New Orleans (the City), the City has requested funding reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 2006, FEMA negotiated a Secondary Programmatic Agreement specific to demolition of these properties (2PA, excerpt below) with the City, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and other consulting parties. This 2PA details FEMA’s obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act as amended (NHPA), including the specific survey services detailed in this scope.

Excerpt from the Secondary Programmatic Agreement Among The Federal Emergency Management Agency; The Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer of The Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism; The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; The City of New Orleans; and The United States Army Corps of Engineers Regarding the Demolition of Privately Owned Residential Buildings Within Orleans Parish Damaged as a Result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (executed May 31, 2006), Appendix B, Treatment Measures for Section 106 Compliance:

B. Post-demolition Treatment Measures

(1) Resurvey Existing Historic Districts: FEMA has developed a survey and evaluation technique implementing the use of highly accurate (+/- 3 meter) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) equipment to survey and document Buildings that may be demolished by the City of New Orleans. Locational attribute information collected as part of this survey meet draft national standards as defined by NPS for cultural resource spatial data, as mandated in OMB Circular A-16, and can be incorporated into the existing SHPO Geographic Information System (GIS). The data collected, aside from an extremely accurate location, includes information that can be readily incorporated into a SHPO/ HDLC survey form, for both Buildings and archeological sites. It also includes digital photographs of each Building surveyed.

The GPS survey and documentation of Building resulting in the creation of the GIS GeoDatabase allow FEMA to meet its requirements to follow the draft Federal spatial data standards, and shall assist the SHPO in complying with those draft standards, allowing the SHPO to better communicate and share data with any Federal agency. Implementing the proposed FEMA GeoDatabase also allows FEMA to link the existing SHPO database of historic resources to the FEMA generated locations and attribute information. This allows for digital transfer of information from the SHPO to FEMA, and vice versa. This linkage can also be established between the FEMA data and the local Historic District Commissions, the City of New Orleans databases, and any other potential partners for the SHPO. As part of this process, FEMA also shall support as a Treatment Measure the resurveying of the existing Mid-City, Central City, Carrollton, New Marigny, Lower Garden District, Esplanade Ridge, Faubourg Marigny, and Parkview National Register Historic Districts using the GPS methodology described above.

All data collected under this scope is for the direct utilization of FEMA in fulfillment of the 2PA and other Section 106 Agreement Documents. The contractor will keep internal records and copies of raw data sufficient for data backup until the end of the contract.

II. OBJECTIVE

FEMA wishes to have a complete resource level inventory of the approximately 4000 buildings in the Central City National Register Historic District in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The inventory will be timely and professionally conducted by a historic preservation oriented survey group (the contractor), which will utilize GPS equipment and software supplied by FEMA to generate a cost-effective result using current best methods of conduct.

III. SERVICES

The contractor shall perform all work required to meet FEMA’s objectives, to include the following services and products:

Background Research

The contractor is required to confirm the historic district boundaries with the boundaries maintained by SHPO on an as needed basis. Background research will be necessary to determine overall patterns of historic development within Central City NRHD to provide context for the survey. FEMA does not anticipate that intensive background research will be required to collect the electronic survey data or perform data entry services.

Fieldwork The contractor will conduct an electronic survey of the existing Central City National Register Historic District (NRHD) using the current version of the Katrina Survey Data Dictionary with the Trimble GeoXM ™ GPS Unit (the GPS Unit) to collect data. The electronic survey data consists of GPS location attribute information and digital photographs. Electronic survey data, accompanying digital photographs and applicable notes shall be collected for each standing structure within Central City NRHD. The contractor will perform Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) on collected survey data.

Among the detailed guidance afforded, FEMA will assist contractor to assure that the survey is consistent with other, prior surveys completed for the Agency. To enable the contractor to collect data according to FEMA’s requirements, FEMA will provide:

(1) Electronic copy of current Central City NRHD boundaries digitized at 1:1000 scale.

(2) A GPS Unit for each survey team, up to ten units.

(3) Current version of the Katrina Survey Data Dictionary with associated attribute definitions.

(4) Conventions for GPS filenames, photo filenames and unique ID number formats.

(5) Field form templates for all field notes.

Contractor is responsible for providing sufficient, fully trained personnel to accomplish FEMA’s objectives. Contractor shall be responsible for supplying any additional equipment to that listed above, together with providing for travel, lodging and food for all employees or agents assigned to the survey at contractor’s expense. The rental of any housing, office or lab space necessary to permit contractor to complete its work shall be for the account of contractor.

QA/QC Standards The contractor will conduct the survey and collect data according to basic procedures and standards set by FEMA. FEMA will provide detailed guidance in order to fulfill the following general QA/QC standards:

(1) Data is correctly entered into the GPS receivers, accurately spelled and capitalized with no unnecessary spaces or characters.

(2) All photos will be digital, clear and sharp, between 1.5 and 2.5 megabytes in size.

(3) Photo file names must match that recorded in the electronic data in the GPS and on the photo log.

(4) GPS IDs are consecutive to each survey team and unique to the surveyed structure.

(5) All field notes are legible.

All data shall be provided to FEMA, according to the deliverable schedule set out below.

Deliverables

All project-related materials, such as photographs, electronic data, and field notes, will be labeled and packaged appropriately and delivered to FEMA’s Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans, Historic Preservation Section. All electronic GIS data collected in the field will be turned in to FEMA on a daily basis. Survey data comprising photographs and other supporting documentation shall be placed on CD’s and submitted to FEMA on a weekly basis.

All deliverables will be reviewed by FEMA to meet basic QA/QC set out above. FEMA will inform contractor of any missing or incorrect data prior to end of contract period. Contractor will submit corrected data by end of contract period or within a reasonable time agreed upon by the contractor and FEMA.

Schedule

The contractor will begin the background research within three working days after execution of award document (the Award Date). Fieldwork will be started within 10 days of the Award Date. The contractor shall take the necessary steps to ensure that work, including collection of data, internal QA/QC, transfer to FEMA and any subsequent edits, will be completed not later than five months from Award Date.

Performance Standards All work must be conducted by or under the direct supervision of qualified individuals who meet, at a minimum, the appropriate qualifications set out in the Secretary of the Interior’s (SOI) Professional Qualifications Standards, 48 FR 44716, Sept. 1983 (http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/Prof_Qual_83.htm ). Contractor will be required to submit evidence of SOI qualification to FEMA personnel providing oversight of the work performed.