RFQ_GMRC_ED Planning Consultant (4_5_24).pdf

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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

2024 GMRC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/PLANNING CONSULTANT

Issuing Agency Georgia Mountains Regional Commission 1310 W. Ridge Road Gainesville, Georgia 30501 Phone: (770) 538-2626

Issue Date April 5, 2024

Economic Development Director Patrick Larson

(770) 538-2611 plarson@gmrc.ga.gov

RFQ Number 2024-PL-01

RFQ Response Closing Date May 6, 2024

RFQ Response Closing Time 2:00 PM

Table of Contents

SECTION 1 – SUMMARY

A. Introduction B. Geographic Area of Work C. Statement of Work

SECTION 2 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR RFQ

A. Response Deadline B. RFQ Schedule C. Price Quotations D. Disclaimers E. Rejection of Responses F. Project Contact Information

SECTION 3 – RFQ RESPONSE CONTENT

A. Executive Summary B. Consultant Profile C. Experience and References D. Implementation Plan / Schedule E. Cost Proposal F. Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act

SECTION 4 – EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Evaluation Methodology B. Selection Criteria

APPENDICES

A. GMRC Service Area B. Affidavit Pursuant to Georgia Immigration Laws

SECTION 1 – SUMMARY

A. Introduction

The Georgia Mountains Regional Commission (GMRC) is soliciting qualifications from a qualified consultant for services to assist the organization in assisting its 49 member governments with opportunities presented by the unprecedented amounts of federal funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American

Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA SLFRF). This federal investment has the chance to be transformative, particularly in the region served by GMRC. Therefore, the organization is looking to hire a consultant to assist GMRC’s member governments in identifying, planning, and implementing transformational and long-needed projects by utilizing the wide range of newly available federal funding sources.

The GMRC intends to award a contract for work in late June 2024. The contract period of work will be June 2024 through April 30, 2025.

B. Geographic Area of Work

The proposed project area of interest includes all 12 counties within the Georgia

Mountains Regional Commission, including Banks, Dawson, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White. Additionally, work may be provided to the 37 municipalities that are in the GMRC Region. A map of the region

(referred to as the “GMRC Service Area”) has been included as Appendix item A.

C. Statement of Work

The selected consultant will help GMRC assist its communities in identifying federal opportunities, and plan, implement, and leverage federally funded projects for community transformations. Furthermore, the selected consultant will assist with the administration of an existing Brownfield Assessment Grant awarded to GMRC to perform property assessments around the region and upgrading the inventory of existing sites. Duties expected to be performed include but are not limited to:

- Provide outreach to GMRC’s 49 member governments to learn about existing project needs.

- Researching ARPA grant programs, IIJA grant programs, and other federal funding streams.

- Assisting in grant writing associated with these federal funding streams.

- Assisting in project update meetings with representatives of member governments.

- Assist in making presentations to the GMRC Council about progress on projects in development around the region.

- Assist the GMRC Grant Administrator with reporting requirements related to the administration of federally funded grants.

- Assist the GMRC Planning Director with services relating to the GMRC’s

Brownfield Assessment Grant award.

- Assist the GMRC Planning Director in the administration of the brownfield grant program.

- Network with local governments and key partner agencies in promoting the property assessment portion of the brownfield program.

- Develop a database of suspected brownfield properties.

- Other duties may be assigned if the work is comparable.

SECTION 2 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR RFQ

A. Response Deadline

The response to this request is due no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday, May 6, 2024, and must arrive at the below address:

Georgia Mountains Regional Commission

Attn: Patrick Larson

1310 W Ridge Road

Gainesville, Georgia 30501

770-538-2611

All respondents must furnish one (1) original and four (4) copies of the response and shall be delivered sealed in an opaque envelope and clearly labeled as:

Georgia Mountains Regional Commission

2024 Economic Development/Planning Consultant

Responses received after the scheduled deadline will not be accepted. Responses will be marked “LATE” and will be returned unopened to the respondent. In addition, faxed or emailed responses will not be accepted.

All responses submitted shall become the property of Georgia Mountains Regional

Commission and will not be returned. Georgia Mountains Regional Commission is not responsible for any cost incurred by the respondent in response preparation, presentations given, or benchmarks performed.

B. RFQ Schedule

The following is the schedule for this solicitation:

Milestone Date

RFQ Released Friday, April 5, 2024

RFQ Questions Submittal Due Date 5:00 PM EST – Friday, April 19, 2024

Responses to Submitted Questions 5:00 PM EST – Friday, April 26, 2024

Response to RFQ Due Date 2:00 PM EST – Monday, May 6, 2024

Response to RFQ Opening Date June 27, 2024

Proposed Date of Award June 28, 2024

*Note: the actual schedule may change after the submittal due date. All submitting firms will be notified via email about any schedule changes.

C. Price Quotations

This is a federal grant for $100,000 awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission through a program called READY LDDs. The purpose of the program is to identify federal funding opportunities and then plan, implement, and leverage federally funded projects for community transformation. The consultant will be expected to meet this goal and perform other duties as assigned that contribute to meeting it. Funds will also be used to assist the GMRC Planning Director with duties associated with the brownfield grant.

D. Disclaimers

The Georgia Mountains Regional Commission reserves the right to withdraw this RFQ at any time for any reason, and to issue clarifications, modifications, and/or addenda, as it may deem appropriate. Unless the consultant specifies in its response the GMRC may award the contract for any items/services or groups of items/services in the RFQ and may increase or decrease the quantity specified. GMRC reserves the right to waive minor variances in responses, provided they are in the best interest of the region. Any such waiver shall not modify any remaining RFQ requirement. No portion of the work to be awarded under this contract shall be sublet, assigned, or otherwise disposed of, except with the written consent of GMRC. Consent to sublet, assign or otherwise dispose of any portion of the work awarded under this contract shall not be construed to relieve the consultant of any responsibility for the fulfillment of any contract agreements. A subcontractor shall not subcontract any portion of its work under this contract.

Furthermore, no work shall be performed by companies, contractors, or subcontractors outside of the United States.

GMRC is an equal opportunity employer. E Verify # 66218

E. Rejection of Responses

The Georgia Mountains Regional Commission reserves the right to accept or reject in part or in whole, any or all responses submitted.

F. Project Contact Information

Technical issues regarding response to this request shall only be addressed by GMRC when directed to the following email address of the GMRC project contact at:

Patrick Larson, plarson@gmrc.ga.gov

All questions must be received by 5:00 PM EST on Friday, April 19, 2024, and answers will be posted on GMRC’s website by Friday, April 26, 2024.

mailto:plarson@gmrc.ga.gov

SECTION 3 – RFQ RESPONSE CONTENT

A. Executive Summary

An Executive Summary shall provide a brief description of the consultant’s approach to accomplish the requested services and products.

B. Consultant Profile

The consultant must provide the following information relative to their firm. (NOTE: No subcontractors should be used by the consultant for this project.)

1. Contact Information, including Firm Name, Address, and Telephone Number

2. Type of ownership, indicate if the firm has done business under a different name or ownership as well as the name and location of any parent company or subsidiaries

3. Detailed statement of experience in preparing applications for and successfully administering federal grant programs

C. Experience and References

Responses shall include the names of three (3) client project managers who have received similar products requested above during 2022 or 2023. In addition to the client’s references, also provide the following information on the experience of key personnel assigned to this project:

1. Name and Title

2. Project Assignment

3. Years of Experience

4. Education: Degree(s) /Years of Specialization

5. Other relevant experience and qualifications to the proposed project complete with client name, phone number, and contact

D. Implementation Plan / Schedule

Description of the implementation plans for all project phases must include the elements detailed below. The implementation plan must identify the project team and include persons and/or organizations responsible for each phase of the work. The implementation plan must include a schedule of events in narrative and / or chart form. The schedule must include but is not limited to the following milestones:

1. GMRC Community Outreach Plan

2. ARPA/IIJA Grant Program Research Plan

3. Grant Application Writing Plan

4. Grant Administration Plan

5. Brownfield Stakeholders Outreach Plan

E. Cost Proposal

Proposals should include their consulting fees, travel expense fees, administration costs, extra work hourly fees, and any other applicable fees. However, the cost proposal should not exceed $100,000.

F. Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act

Consultants submitting a Qualification package in response to this RFQ must provide the following information in the package to indicate compliance with the Georgia Security and

Immigration Compliance Act. The form is provided for completion.

1. A statement that indicates the contractor will conduct itself in compliance with O.C.G.A.

§13-10-91 and Rule 300-10-02 in the execution of the contract.

2. By completing the affidavit that is provided with this solicitation, the consultant is attesting to the following:

i. The affiant has registered with and is authorized to use the federal work authorization program;

ii. The user identification number and date of authorization for the affiant;

iii. The affiant is using and will continue to use the federal work authorization program throughout the contract period;

iv. Any employee, contractor, or subcontractor of such contractor or subcontractor shall also be required to satisfy the requirements set forth in this paragraph.

3. Failure to provide the completed and notarized affidavit with the contractor’s response will result in immediate disqualification as required by the Georgia Security and

Immigration Compliance Act.

SECTION 4 – EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Evaluation Methodology

Award shall be made to the consultant, whose response is determined to be the most advantageous to the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission and the participating local governments, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in this request for qualifications.

Responses will first be examined to eliminate those which are non-responsive to the stated requirements. Consultants should exercise particular care in reviewing Section 3, the RFQ Response section of this RFQ. Those responses, which meet the criteria set out in the RFQ, will be evaluated in detail for the quality of the response.

B. Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate responses. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, nor is the arrangement of the criteria meant to imply order of importance in the selection process.

Firm Background The response will be evaluated based on the respondent’s background, including the number of years in business, size, financial stability, and relevant experience.

Similar Project Experience The response will be evaluated based on project experience that is of a similar technical nature and complexity, for clients that are similar in size, location, and type as the GMRC project.

Technical Approach and Expertise The response will be evaluated on the methods and technical details that will be used to complete the project.

Cost The cost should be within the constraints of the grant.

APPENDIX A

GMRC Service Area

APPENDIX B