RFP #6592-26 1

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

NUMBER: #6592-26

RFP TITLE: Fire Fuel Reduction

RFP COORDINATOR: Thea Prince, City of Spokane Purchasing Department

PRE-SUBMITTAL MEETING: July 23, 2026 at 9:00 am – - Parcel # 25155.0201 off of W. Greenwood Road. There is a Parking lot for Palisades park on the North and South side of Greenwood at Rimrock

QUESTION DEADLINE: Friday, August 14, 2026 at 5:00 pm

PROPOSAL DUE DATE: TUESDAY, AUGUST

25, 2026

TIME: 11:00 am Proposal Submittal:

All Proposals shall be submitted electronically through the ProcureWare online procurement system portal:

https://spokane.procureware.com before the due date and time.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

A Pre-Proposal Conference is scheduled to be held on July 23, 2026, at 0900 a.m., local time, at - Parcel # 25155.0201 off of W. Greenwood Road. There is a Parking lot for Palisades park on the North and South side of Greenwood at Rimrock. All prospective Proposers should attend; however, attendance is not mandatory.

Questions and answers will be issued by Addenda through the City of Spokane’s online procurement system portal https://spokane.procureware.com. The City shall be bound only to written answers to questions. Any oral responses given at the Pre-Proposal Conference shall be considered unofficial.

1.2 COMMUNICATION

All communication between the Proposer and the City shall be with the RFP Coordinator and submitted through the ‘Clarifications’ tab in the City of Spokane’s online procurement system portal:

https://spokane.procureware.com. Any communication directed to other parties is prohibited.

1.3 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The City of Spokane, through its Fire Department (hereinafter “City”) is initiating this Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit Proposals from Firms interested in providing silvicultural land management services on city owned and privately owned forestlands. This work will be defined as Fire Fuel Reduction which is reduction projects and vegetation treatments that lessen the wildfire hazard. This project is considered Silviculture and is not considered a Public Work.

CITY OF SPOKANE -

PURCHASING

915 N Nelson Street Spokane, Washington 99202

(509) 625-6403 https://spokane.procureware.com/

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1.4 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The Firm must be licensed to do business in the State of Washington. The Firm must have two (2) years of experience in fire fuel reduction work.

1.5 CONTRACT PERIOD

Any contract resulting from this RFP will have a base year of three (3) years with one one-year optional renewal.

1.6 ADDENDA

It is the responsibility of Proposers to check the City of Spokane’s online procurement system https://spokane.procureware.com for Addenda or other additional information that may be posted regarding this Request for Proposals.

1.7 TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and Conditions applicable to this IRFP are included herein by reference and attached to this IRFP as Attachment 1.

1.8 ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES

Question and answer period July 15 – August 15, 2026 Pre-Proposal conference July 23, 2026 at 0900 Proposals due August 25, 2026 at 1100 Evaluation, Negotiation and Contract Award Week of August 25, 2026 Begin contract work October, 2026

The City reserves the right to revise the above schedule.

1.9 DEFINITIONS

Definitions for the purposes of this RFP include:

City – The City of Spokane, a Washington State municipal corporation, the agency issuing this RFP.

Firm or Consultant – Individual or company whose Proposal has been accepted by the City and is awarded a fully executed, written contract.

Proposal – A formal offer submitted in response to this solicitation.

Proposer - Individual or Firm submitting a Proposal in order to attain a contract with the City.

Request for Proposals (RFP) – Formal procurement document in which a service or need is identified but no specific method to achieve it has been chosen. The purpose of an RFP is to permit the consultant community to suggest various approaches to meet the City’s needs at a given price.

2. SCOPE OF SERVICES

Crews using masticators or hand crews will cut small trees under 8” DBH, prune all leave trees, manage some brush and other ground fall debris. And chip or masticate all cut materials.

Objective:

https://my.spokanecity.org/administrative/purchasing/current-projects/

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-To modify fuels in a manner that will significantly change expected fire behavior, slowing fire spread enough for local resources to suppress a wildfire fire before it can threaten lives and damage nearby homes.

-This will involve developing vertical separation and lowering the horizontal continuity of fuels by cutting and mulching ladder and ground fuels, i.e. brush, small trees, tree limbs, and down woody debris.

Project Area:

-The project areas will be marked with pink ribbon near the ownership boundaries.

-Wildlife areas are not marked but need to be left at approximately 1 for every 3-5 acres. These areas can be thinned lightly, but focus should be on leaning and subpar trees. No more than 40% of the trees in these pockets should be thinned. Wildlife areas should be 1/10 of an acre or less.

Thinning:.

− No trees greater than 8 inches DBH shall be cut.

-Trees shall be thinned so that healthy trees remain and the outside portions of their crowns are separated by 15 feet or more. Promoting a clumpy tree distribution is encouraged in order to maintain stand integrity, individual tree health, wildlife habitat, aesthetics, etc. For example, clumps of saplings can be retained at spacing closer than 15 feet where they do not serve as latter fuels to the overstory and where they can be spaced a minimum of 15 feet from other retained vegetation.

-Prioritized order of favored leave trees of other species: Douglas Firs then Ponderosa Pines.

Pruning:

-All residual trees shall be pruned 10 feet, but never more than 50% of their live crown, whichever is less in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. It is not necessary to prune trees that are 5 feet in height or less. -Cuts should be at the branch collar - not too close (flush), and not too far away (stub) Particular attention needs to be expressed for the pruning on city property. This needs to be looked at and bid, at a quality over production standpoint, and can be bid that way as well.

Disposal:

-Chipping or masticating will be required throughout the unit. Any Material cut will need to be disposed of onsite. The Chips can be scattered throughout unit with no piles and no taller than 18 inches.

-No Burning is allowed.

-Brush: Brush can be masticated if necessary to get to areas in the unit, but not counted as far as stems per acre and not more than 1/3 of brush can be mulched or destroyed.

-Slash and Down Woody Material − some down woody material and slash shall be masticated (if a Masticator wins the bid)

-Logs greater than 5 inches in diameter, at the small end, need not be masticated. This material shall be limbed and cut to lie flat on the ground and scattered in a manner that appears natural

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-The Operator shall obtain all necessary permits and licenses and shall comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations applicable to the operator’s work under this contract.

-The Operator shall adhere to all State Forest Practices Act requirements.

-The Operator shall comply with all environmental regulations and laws involving spillage of toxic materials and shall meet all clean-up requirements of the regulating agency.

Time Frame:

These projects shall be completed within 90 days from the receipt of the task order. This Contract will potentially have more task orders which means more projects will likely be funded under the same RFP over the next 3 years.

3. PROPOSAL CONTENTS

3.1 PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL

Proposals shall be clear, concise, in order and titled as: Letter of Submittal, Technical Proposal, Management Proposal and Cost Proposal.

3.2 LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

The Letter of Submittal shall be signed and dated by a person authorized to legally bind the Firm to a contractual relationship. Include the following information about the Firm and any proposed sub-consultants:

A. Name, address, principal place of business, telephone number, and e-mail address of legal entity or individual with whom contract would be written;

B. Legal status of the Firm (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc.) and location of the facility from which the Firm would operate;

C. Identification of any current or former employees from the participating Agencies employed by or on the Firm’s governing board as of the date of the Proposal or during the previous twelve (12) months;

and

D. Acknowledgement that the Firm will comply with all terms and conditions set forth in the Request for Proposals, unless otherwise agreed by the Agencies.

3.3 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

Proposal content for this section shall include an understanding of the City’s requirements and a proposed approach, methodology and comprehensive work plan.

A. Demonstrate a clear and concise understanding of the project requirements along with a proposed approach and methodology for management and successful completion of the scope of services.

Provide details describing project team, lines of authority, responsibilities and person within the Firm that will have prime responsibility and authority for the work. The Firm may also present any creative approaches that may be appropriate and may provide any pertinent supporting documentation.

B. Provide a detailed description of all of the proposed tasks, services, activities, etc. necessary to accomplish the scope of the project as described in the Scope of Services section. This will include team assignments, allocations of resources and a project schedule with completion dates for elements of

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work and deliverables. If applicable, provide name and address of any sub-consultant and what services they may provide. Describe how Firm will respond proactively to issues and project scope changes.

Include any required involvement by City staff.

3.4 MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL

Proposal content for this section shall include experience, capabilities and qualifications to convey the ability to perform the scope of services.

A. Indicate the experience the Firm, staff and any sub-consultants have relevant to the scope of services. Provide name, title, brief description of duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and years of pertinent experience. Indicate availability for each staff member assigned to the project and include percentage of time each will be assigned to the project. Resumes may be included limited to 2 pages per person. The Firm shall commit that staff identified in its Proposal will actually perform the assigned work. Any staff substitution must have the prior approval of the City.

B. Include a list of contracts the Firm has had during the last three (3) years that relate to the Firm’s ability to perform the services needed under this RFP. Provide contract period, contact names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Identify three (3) specific references from this list and briefly describe the work accomplished. Do not include City staff as references. The Firm grants permission to the City to contact the list provided.

C. If the Firm has had a contract terminated for default in the last five (5) years, describe the incident.

Termination for default is defined as notice to stop performance due to the Firm’s non-performance or poor performance and if the issue of performance was either (a) not litigated due to inaction on the part of the Proposer, or (b) litigated and such litigation determined that the Proposer was in default.

Provide other party’s name, address, phone number and email address. If no such termination for default has been experienced by the Firm in the past five (5) years, so indicate.

3.5 COST PROPOSAL

The Cost Proposal shall identify all costs to be charged including any expenses necessary to accomplish the tasks and to produce the deliverables under the contract. Submit as a fully detailed budget with a total cost per acre. Since this is Fire Fuels Reduction – no sales tax is required – When invoicing the line item MUST state Fire Fuels Reduction. Pricing should be submitted as “price per acre”.

4. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION

4.1 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals shall be submitted with most favorable terms that can be proposed. There will be no best and final offer procedure. Proposals shall be submitted electronically through the City of Spokane’s online procurement system portal: https://spokane.procureware.com before the due date and time.

Hard paper, e-mailed or faxed copies will not be accepted. Late Proposals shall not be accepted.

Proposers must register if they have not done so previously and follow the steps below to enter and submit the electronic Proposal:

1. Click on “Bids” located on the left hand column.

2. Find the applicable project and click the “Project Number”.

3. Click on the “Response” tab.

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4. In the “Questions” tab, answer questions and upload required documents into the bid portal by clicking on “Browse” for each item. Note that only one document can be uploaded per question line item so combine if necessary.

5. Click on the “Pricing” tab and enter pricing as requested. If there are no lines in the “Pricing” Tab, skip tab. Cost shall be included in Proposal document submitted. A “Comment” field is available if needed.

6. Once the Questions have been entered, the yellow “Question Response” information message will change from incomplete to complete. Then the “Submit” button will become available.

7. Click the “Submit Bid” button and review the terms and conditions, pop-up window that appears.

If you agree to the terms and conditions, click the “I Accept and Submit this Bid” button.

8. If you want to remove your Proposal, click the red “Withdraw Bid” button in the “Response” tab for the applicable Proposal.

4.2 EVALUATION PROCEDURE

Responsive Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the requirements stated in this solicitation and any addenda issued. The City, at its sole discretion, may elect to select the top-scoring Firms as finalists for an oral presentation and evaluation. The RFP Coordinator may contact the Firm for clarification of any portion of the Firm’s Proposal.

4.3 EVALUATION SCORING

The Proposal will be evaluated as follows:

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL – 35%

Project Approach/Methodology/Understanding Work Plan/Schedule/Deliverables

35 Points (Maximum) 35 Points (Maximum)

70 points

MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL - 30%

Firm and Staff Experience/Capabilities/Qualifications

60 Points (Maximum)

60 points

COST PROPOSAL – 35% 70 Points (Maximum) 70 points

GRAND TOTAL FOR WRITTEN PROPOSAL 200 POINTS

4.4 AWARD/REJECTION OF PROPOSAL/CONTRACT

This RFP does not obligate the City to award a contract. Any contract awarded as a result of this procurement is contingent upon the availability of funding.

The City of Spokane reserves the option of awarding this contract in any manner most advantageous for the City and without further discussion of submitted Proposal. Failure to comply with any part of the IRFP may result in rejection of Proposal as non-responsive. The City also reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to waive minor irregularities, reject any and all Proposals received without penalty and to not issue a contract from this RFP. More than one contract may be awarded. Contract negotiations may incorporate some or all of the Proposal.

Award of contract, when and if made, will be to the proposer whose Proposal is the most favorable to the City including consideration the evaluation criteria. Interlocal agreements accessing other agency contracts where applicable may be considered as a Proposal. Contract is optional (non-exclusive) use.

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5. IRFP ATTACHMENTS

Attached to this RFP and incorporated herein by reference are the following background documents:

• Terms & Conditions

5. IRFP ATTACHMENTS