Request for Proposals for Forestry Mgmt Plan 24.pdf

Request for Proposals for an Urban Forestry Management Plan and Implementation Assistance for the City of Moab Introduction The City of Moab is seeking a professional services team to provide planning services to develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan (UFMP). The selected firm will work with City of Moab staff and community members to lead a planning process resulting in a written plan of action. As part of the Plan, the professional services team will integrate existing plans and goals, facilitate community engagement, identify tools and metrics, and provide a prioritization guide that weighs proposed strategies with regards to cost-effectiveness and community equity.

The City of Moab is a community of just over 5,000 residents in the City limits but serves a regional area of approximately 10,000. The City is known for its dramatic scenery, outdoor recreation opportunities, and proximity to national parks. Moab has been an Arbor Day Tree City USA for over 30 years. However, as climate change progresses, this oasis in the Utah high desert is facing threats from extreme heat, flooding, invasive plants, wildfire, and drought. These threats require a better understanding of the local ecology. This plan’s focus is on the community, but it should address the impacts of tourism and opportunities that are available because of Moab’s unique position.

Project Background The City of Moab has been designated as a Tree City USA since 1993, which represents the City’s long commitment to the health, maintenance, and planting of trees within the city. Since then, the City has continued to pursue sustainability and adaptive landscapes in its initiatives and goals. In 2008, the city council passed a tree stewardship ordinance. In 2017, the City committed an 80% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2040. Sustainability and the importance of urban forestry are also evident in the City’s General Plan, Water Conservation Plan Update, Moab Tomorrow Together Think Tank Report, recently updated landscape ordinance, Parks Master Plan, and Sustainability Action Plan.

The Sustainability Action Plan identified urban forestry as one of six strategies for immediate implementation, emerging from the parks and sustainability planning processes as a high priority for community members. The City also received a USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Grant in 2023 to fund a tree inventory and UFMP. The inventory was completed in September 2024 and includes 1812 trees (Appendix A), excluding city properties managed by other organizations. These will be shared in GIS compatible formats with the selected consultant. According to i-Tree, tree canopy covers approximately 12% of Moab’s 4.8 square miles (Appendix B). Tree Equity Score provides estimates for parts of the city ranging from 5% to 28% tree canopy cover with a composite equity score of 96.

The plan requested should include a calculation of canopy cover, comparison of coverage in relation to streetscapes and disadvantaged areas, and problem areas for invasive species. It should also prioritize areas for improvements, identify appropriate species for local landscapes, identify appropriate species for park strips, and provide suggestions and necessary materials for education and a maintenance program.

https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/12.24 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=797&repo=r-353153d2 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=797&repo=r-353153d2 https://moabcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/1528/General-Plan-Final-071117?bidId= https://moabcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/3399/WCP-Update-2021-Final-11-23-21?bidId= https://moabcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/3399/WCP-Update-2021-Final-11-23-21?bidId= https://lab2.future-iq.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Moab-Vision-Final-WEB.pdf https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.10 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.10 https://engagemoab.com/moab-parks-master-plan/widgets/74855/documents https://engagemoab.com/sustainability-action-plan

Objectives

1. Develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan

a. Integrate existing knowledge and new information to develop City priorities for the urban tree canopy.

b. Analyze the tree inventory in tandem with data supporting the City’s priorities to develop an effective Urban Forestry Management Plan.

c. Recommend improvements to City planning, operations, code, and education to execute the Urban Forestry Management Plan effectively.

2. Facilitate community and city staff engagement

a. Offer educational opportunities during development of the plan.

b. Build capacity in the City and within the community to manage the planned tree canopy.

Schedule

• RFP posted September 19, 2024

• Clarification requests due October 3, 2024

• Answers to clarifications posted October 10, 2024

• Proposals due October 17, 2024

• Interviews (optional) October 24- October 31, 2024

• Contract Award November 12, 2024

• Mid-progress report May 2024

• Presentation to Planning Commission August 2025

• Workshop with City Council September 2025

• Final Adoption October 2025

Note: This is the City’s current schedule. The City reserves the right to modify the schedule. Notice to proceed will be issued shortly after the contract has been awarded.

Scope of Work The City has budgeted up to $150,000 for the UFMP and implementation aspects outlined in this scope. The Consultant has the opportunity to suggest alternate methods of approach that meet the project goals.

1. Project Management

a. Schedule the project

i. The consultant shall prepare and update a project work plan with a schedule of tasks and milestones for deliverables.

b. Coordinate meetings

i. The consultants will coordinate all project activities, including coordination with City of Moab’s project manager, deliverables, submissions, permits, and other coordination efforts consistent with the scope of services.

ii. The consultant will establish regular meetings with City staff throughout the project as required to coordinate and execute the scope of services, including preparing and circulating meeting minutes.

iii. Provide well-organized and directed activities, techniques and formats that will ensure an equitable, inclusive, open, and proactive public participation planning process. This will include:

1. Interviews or focus groups with staff and local experts;

2. Technical Advisory Committee/s;

3. Community engagement in the form of a survey, open house, workshop, activity, and/or interviews; and

4. Structured public comment for adoption of final plan.

iv. Provide written records of the results of all public processes and communications.

v. The consultant shall present draft and final plan documents at relevant Planning

Commission and City Council meetings.

c. Administration

i. The consultant shall submit invoices on a schedule arranged with the city.

2. Urban Forestry Management Plan The contractor will support the City in developing a comprehensive urban forest management plan and provide a complete digital version of the final plan and all project files. The final document should include:

a. Accessible formatting

i. Provide written and graphic explanations of the findings and recommendations.

ii. Emphasize usability as a plan and accessibility for the public. Multiple materials may be produced to meet these goals.

iii. Include a digital summary, such as an interactive StoryMap, which is accessible online, in addition to a downloadable pdf.

iv. Contractors must provide any new map data generated from 2.c (below) to the City in spreadsheet and GIS shapefile formats.

b. An analysis of documents, expertise, and priorities, including—

i. Review of previous inventories, City plans, and Moab Municipal Code.

1. General Plan

2. Parks Master Plan

3. Sustainability Plan

4. Moab Tree Inventory

5. Tree Stewardship Code

6. Landscape Code

ii. Feedback from City staff, local experts, and community members.

c. An analysis of the inventory data, interactions with other data, and major management trends, such as—

i. Species composition;

ii. Presence of invasive species;

iii. Trees as key habitat for native animal species;

iv. Pest and disease management considerations;

v. Priority trees for preservation;

vi. Tree risk hazard mitigation;

vii. Canopy coverage in streets, parks, rights-of-way, and pathways;

viii. Canopy coverage in disadvantaged areas;

ix. Vacant tree sites- Locations where no tree exists but fit with current code requirements (17.10.040, 17.10.050, 17.20.020, 17.21.020, 17.27.020, 17.42.020, 17.45.020, 17.48.020, 17.51.020, 17.54.020, 17.65.060, 17.80.070);

https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.10.040 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.10.050 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.20.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.21.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.27.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.42.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.45.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.48.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.51.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.54.020 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.65.060 https://moab.municipal.codes/Code/17.80.070

x. Utility conflict management (including street signs);

xi. Local soils, testing as needed;

xii. Water conservation;

xiii. Drought resilience; and

xiv. Storm water management.

d. Key performance indicators

3. Ongoing Tree Management Recommendations and Materials

The contractor will support the City in identifying improvements to tree management. The final document should include:

a. Development of a multi-year budget, which includes—

i. Preservation of priority trees;

ii. Succession in priority areas;

iii. Removal or correction of hazardous trees;

iv. Addition of new trees;

1. Recommendations on tree species to plant in the future with an emphasis on biodiversity and climate adaptation, referenced with—

a. The Utah DNR tree species diversity grant list, and

b. Moab City approved plant list, and

c. Analysis of the trees (as outlined in the 2. Urban Forestry

Management Plan)

d. Intended tree purposes, e.g.

i. Reduced management costs;

ii. Street shade; and

iii. Screening.

b. Recommendations for improvements to practice, policy, and code, including but not limited to updating the inventory, developing a tree protection protocol, evaluating incentives for tree management, and improving the tree stewardship and landscape ordinances.

c. Development of training materials and schedules. These recommendations should include materials that are specific to:

i. City staff training material should include tree choice, planting, maintenance, and integrated pest management. For example, the Streets department may benefit from training related to the role of trees in green infrastructure and City owned rights-of-way, while the Parks department may benefit from training related to the role of trees in parks and on pathways.

ii. Residents of Moab information in English and Spanish and programming for public workshops should include the planting and maintenance of trees on private streets and in public rights-of-way on their property, which is a requirement of Moab City Municipal Code.

Request for Clarification All requests for clarification in specifications regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing no later than October 3, 2024 to Alexi Lamm, Sustainability Director, at alamm@moabcity.org.

Any questions or comments directed by a respondent to persons outside of the individual listed above are inappropriate and such activity may result in that proposal being deemed non-responsive.

https://ffsl.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Appendix-B-Approved-Tree-Species-List.docx https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19wmkFLNcSTZJSgrYvHZI7c0AiI_Qw5Xc/edit?gid=1726696005#gid=1726696005

Method of Evaluation (100 Total Points) Proposals may be up to 20 pages total. A cover and cover letter may be included outside the page count. The selection committee will review the submitted qualifications based on these evaluation factors:

Company Overview, Statement of Qualifications, Team Description Points: 10 Provide names, educational background, and experience of each team member, including sub consultants, if applicable. The information should describe the nature of the work and the role of these individuals and/or companies as they relate to this project. Include names and qualifications of outside consultants and associates that may be employed to assist on this project.

Project Relevant Experience Points: 20 Describe and provide links to or documentation for a minimum of three current projects or projects completed within the last five years. Include links to the plans or client contact information. Preference will be given to respondents who have developed urban forestry-related plans for similar municipalities.

References Pass/Fail Provide a minimum of three (3) related business references, including names, addresses and phone numbers plus a description of the type of work you performed for them, with a preference for urban forestry-related plans. If these references are included in the project experience, additional ones are not needed in a reference section unless they are different.

Project Approach Points: 50 Describe your understanding of the project and an approach for completing the project. Provide task details.

The proposal should demonstrate a clear understanding of the planning requirements and the work to be performed. The consultant may propose services that differ from the Scope of Work if the changes more efficiently and effectively achieve the project’s objectives.

Anticipated Timeline Points: 10 Include a timeline for the Scope of Services.

Price Points: 10 Provide the pricing for the Scope of Work including—

1. Fees by task in the Scope of Services

2. Billing rate for all proposed staff

3. Additional expenses associated with the project, including subconsultants.

Optional Interviews The selection committee reserves the right to select a short list of the highest scoring respondents for interviews. Interviews will be scored with the same method of evaluation.

The City will enter into negotiations with the highest ranked respondent to finalize a contract for the contract period. If a contract cannot be successfully negotiated with the highest ranked respondent, then negotiations will be terminated with that respondent and the City will enter negotiations with the next highest ranked respondent until an agreement is reached or an impasse is declared.

Notice of Award and Appeal Process The City intends to select a single Consultant. The selected Consultant will be identified by the selection committee and a notification letter will be sent to all respondents. Any respondent wishing to appeal the recommendation must do so in writing and within 7 business days of the notice being sent. The City Manager or designee will recommend entering a contract with the identified Consultant at a City Council meeting.

General Terms & Conditions The City reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to waive any informality or irregularity in any Proposal received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the respective Proposal received. The final award will be subject to the execution of the contract. The City reserves the right to negotiate a final contract that is in the best interest of the City. The City reserves the right to modify or incorporate additional steps in the evaluation process in the interest of having a thorough and comprehensive body of information in order to make a recommendation.

Submittal Instructions All proposals must submitted electronically through the U3P Portal or be turned in to the Moab City Recorder’s Offices at 217 East Center Street, Moab, Utah 84532.

Moab City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to accept or reject the whole or any part of the proposal; or to waive any informality or technicality in the interest of the City of Moab. For further information, please contact the Moab City Recorder’s office at: (435) 259-5121.

Submission Date and Time: October 17, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. local Utah time

LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Appendix A

Appendix B i-Tree Canopy Cover Assessment and Tree Benefits Report Estimated using random sampling statistics on 1/9/2024

Land Cover

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

8mi²

7mi²

6mi²

5mi²

4mi²

3mi²

2mi²

Non-Tree Tree

10%

0%

NT T

1mi²

0mi²

C ov er ed

A re a C ov er ed m i²

Abbr. Cover Class Description Points % Cover ± SE Area (mi²) ± SE

NT Non-Tree All other surfaces 176 88.00 ± 2.30 8.12 ± 0.21

T Tree Tree, non-shrub 24 12.00 ± 2.30 1.11 ± 0.21

Total 200 100.00 9.22

Tree Benefit Estimates: Carbon (English units)

Description Carbon (T) ±SE CO₂ Equiv. (T) ±SE Value (USD) ±SE

Sequestered annually in trees 679.50 ±130.11 2,491.49 ±477.08 $115,889 ±22,191

Stored in trees (Note: this benefit is not an annual rate) 24,287.49 ±4,650.70 89,054.14 ±17,052.57 $4,142,249 ±793,180

Currency is in USD and rounded. Standard errors of removal and benefit amounts are based on standard errors of sampled and classified points.

Amount sequestered is based on 613.819 T of Carbon, or 2250.671 T of CO₂, per mi²/yr and rounded. Amount stored is based on 21939.921 T of Carbon, or 80446.378 T of CO₂, per mi² and rounded. Value (USD) is based on $170.55/T of Carbon, or $46.51/T of CO₂ and rounded. (English units: T = tons (2,000 pounds), mi² = square miles)

Tree Benefit Estimates: Air Pollution (English units)

Abbr. Description Amount (lb) ±SE Value (USD) ±SE

CO Carbon Monoxide removed annually 604.02 ±115.66 $8 ±1

NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide removed annually 2,150.59 ±411.81 $0 ±0

O3 Ozone removed annually 45,921.03 ±8,793.21 $40 ±8

SO2 Sulfur Dioxide removed annually 313.73 ±60.07 $0 ±0

PM2.5 Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns removed annually 1,262.83 ±241.81 $37 ±7

PM10* Particulate Matter greater than 2.5 microns and less than 10 microns removed annually

23,322.07 ±4,465.84 $1,359 ±260

Total 73,574.27 ±14,088.40 $1,444 ±276

Currency is in USD and rounded. Standard errors of removal and benefit amounts are based on standard errors of sampled and classified points. Air Pollution Estimates are based on these values in lb/mi²/yr @ $/lb/yr and rounded:

CO 545.638 @ $0.01 | NO2 1,942.716 @ $0.00 | O3 41,482.413 @ $0.00 | SO2 283.407 @ $0.00 | PM2.5 1,140.769 @ $0.03 | PM10* 21,067.815 @ $0.06 (English units: lb = pounds, mi² = square miles)

Tree Benefit Estimates: Hydrological (English units)

Abbr. Benefit Amount (Kgal) ±SE Value (USD) ±SE

AVRO Avoided Runoff 59.15 ±11.33 $529 ±101

E Evaporation 42,558.49 ±8,149.33 N/A N/A

I Interception 43,371.99 ±8,305.10 N/A N/A

T Transpiration 119,168.35 ±22,819.00 N/A N/A

PE Potential Evaporation 571,124.70 ±109,362.05 N/A N/A

PET Potential Evapotranspiration 511,556.57 ±97,955.63 N/A N/A

Currency is in USD and rounded. Standard errors of removal and benefit amounts are based on standard errors of sampled and classified points.

Hydrological Estimates are based on these values in Kgal/mi²/yr @ $/Kgal/yr and rounded:

AVRO 53.436 @ $8.94 | E 38,444.886 @ N/A | I 39,179.756 @ N/A | T 107,649.828 @ N/A | PE 515,921.172 @ N/A | PET 462,110.749 @ N/A (English units: Kgal = thousands of gallons, mi² = square miles)

About i-Tree Canopy

The concept and prototype of this program were developed by David J. Nowak, Jeffery T. Walton, and Eric J. Greenfield (USDA Forest Service). The current version of this program was developed and adapted to i-Tree by David Ellingsworth, Mike Binkley, and Scott Maco (The Davey Tree Expert

Company) Limitations of i-Tree Canopy

The accuracy of the analysis depends upon the ability of the user to correctly classify each point into its correct class. As the number of points increase, the precision of the estimate will increase as the standard error of the estimate will decrease. If too few points are classified, the standard error will be too high to have any real certainty of the estimate.