RFQ-RFP MTI-013-050626 MUNICIPAL TREE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS

City of Torrington

MUNICIPAL TREE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN

RFQ-RFP # MTI-013-050626

The City of Torrington is issuing this Request for Qualifications & Proposals (RFQ/RFP) to retain a consultant or consulting team to develop an municipal forest inventory and community forest management plan, which will be funded through the Public Works Department budget.

The selected consultant will create a municipal forest inventory of trees in the public right-of-way and other municipal land within the urban/suburban areas of the City (approximately 4,000 trees) and will use that information in the development of a community forest management plan.

The Respondent’s shall be delivered to the Purchasing Department, 140 Main Street, Room 206, Torrington, CT 06790 during normal office hours by no later than 11:00 AM, May 6, 2026. Submittals received after this date and time will not be accepted. Sealed envelope(s) should be clearly marked: ”RFQ- RFP MTI-013-050626, MUNICIPAL TREE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN” (with the fee proposal submitted in a separate sealed envelope).

All questions must be submitted by email to pennie_zucco@torringtonct.org by April 27, 2026 by 12:00 noon. Questions will be answered through an addendum which will be posted on the City of Torrington website. Interested firms should check the website 48 hours before the closing date. Firms mailing proposals should allow for normal delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals. Proposals may not be submitted by e-mail or fax.

The City of Torrington reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals; to waive any informalities; to negotiate and award a contract that it determines best meets their needs and best serve the interests of the City of Torrington. The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by a firm in the preparation or submission of a proposal.

The information provided herein is not intended to and shall not bind the City of Torrington to any of the statements or assumptions set forth herein.

All proposals will be considered valid for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of opening. The sixty-day period may be extended upon written mutual agreement.

There will not be a public opening of this bid

MBE’s, WBE’s and SBE’s ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

CITY OF TORRINGTON

Pennie Zucco, Purchasing Agent Dated: April 6, 2026 mailto:pennie_zucco@torringtonct.org

RFQ-RFP MIT-013-050626

The City of Torrington is issuing this Request for Qualifications & Proposals (RFQ/RFP) to retain a consultant or consulting team to develop a municipal forest inventory and community forest management plan, which will be funded through the Public Works budget.

The inventory is expected to have the following:

• Spatial inventory of existing trees and stumps, with information regarding diameter, height, condition, and location.

• Spatial inventory of potential planting locations on City-owned land

• GIS data exported for municipal use

• PDF report describing methods and basic summaries

The management plan is expected to have the following:

• Vision, Mission, and Goals

• Actions and timeline to achieve goals and objectives

• Tree maintenance and protection plan

• A monitoring and evaluation plan

• Integration of public input

The City of Torrington is seeking a qualified team that includes urban forestry and GIS professionals, and has the capability and capacity to meet the City’s objectives outlined in Section IV of this document.

RFQ-RFP #MIT-013-050626

May 6, 2026

11:00 AM

This request for Qualifications and Proposals includes the following:

Section I - General Conditions and Submittal Requirements Section II - Selection Process & Criteria Section III - Project Background & Goals Section IV – Scope of Work – Work Plan Section V - Appendixes

Section I : General Conditions and Submittal Requirements

General Conditions:

The Respondent’s submittal shall include an original clearly marked, four (4) exact copies (in addition to the hard copy) and shall be delivered to the Purchasing Department, 140 Main Street, Room 206, Torrington, CT 06790 during normal office hours by no later than 11:00 AM, May 6, 2026 Submittals received after this date and time will not be accepted. Sealed envelope(s) should be clearly marked: ” RFQ-RFP MIT-013-050626 MUNICIPAL TREE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN” Firms mailing proposals should allow for normal delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals. In the case where City Hall is closed for weather related or some other emergency related circumstance, then submittals shall be due the next day when City Hall reopens for business, no later than 11:00 AM on that day. No fax or e-mail Bids will be accepted.

All questions must be submitted by April 27, 2026 by 12:00 PM. Questions must be submitted by email to the Purchasing Agent at pennie_zucco@torringtonct.org. All questions determined to be of interest to all prospective firms will be answered in writing by an addendum which will be posted on the City and state web sites within a week of the question deadline. It is the responsibility of potential bidders to check these websites for addendum(s). Interested firms should check the website 48 hours before the closing date.

This RFQ/RFP does not commit the City of Torrington to select any Respondent or enter into any contract agreement. The City of Torrington reserves the right to accept or reject any or all RFQ/RFP’s; to waive any informalities, and if it is deemed to be in the public’s best interest, to enter directly into negotiations with one or more Respondents based on responses to the RFP, to request additional information from some or all Respondents. The City of Torrington reserves the right or to accept any bid deemed in the best interests of the City of Torrington.

The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by a firm in the preparation or submission of a proposal.

The information provided herein is not intended to and shall not bind the City of Torrington to any of the statements or assumptions set forth herein.

Responses must set forth accurate and complete information for each of the items listed below. At the City's discretion, failure to do so could result in disqualification.

The successful respondent will be expected to be able to commence services as soon as possible upon award, as determined by the City. Any contract entered into by the City and the successful bidder shall provide that the City may terminate the contract upon thirty (30) days’ notice to the bidder. The information provided herein is not intended to and shall not bind the City of Torrington to any of the statements or assumptions set forth herein.

mailto:pennie_zucco@torringtonct.org

Submittal Requirements:

In your submittal, the City is requesting the following:

1. A cover letter signed by the primary firm, binding the firm to all of the commitments made in the proposal. This shall include the prime consultant contact information and all subconsultants. Note:

the City will contract with the primary consultant/firm of the team and all others will be considered subconsultants under the executed agreement.

2. The name(s), business address, phone number, e-mail address of firms and individuals proposed to participate in all tasks identified in the scope of work.

3. A Project Management Plan that identifies the core personnel and their ability to perform the integrated services as described in the work plan in Section IV. Please include the qualifications of each firm and resumes of all the key personnel that would be assigned to this project. Resumes shall not be more than one page in length.

4. Three references for projects of relevant scope giving the name of the project, project period, and project cost. (Include the names of clients, primary contact person email and phone number.)

5. A narrative that outlines the proposed scope of services along with the approach, methodology and process that was used in developing the scope and will be used during the implementation of the scope.

6. Proposed timeline outlined by the scope or work and those individuals or consultants performing that work.

7. Proof of Insurance and Liability (See Appendix A)

8. Fee Proposal for Scope of Services (separate sealed envelope, clearly marked). The project budget is $70,000. The Fee proposal shall include either a lump sum or hour allocation for each task and an hourly rate and expense schedule. Fee Proposal must include a statement that the fees remain valid for a period of at least ninety (90) days from the date of its submission

9. Required Forms - Non-Collusion Affidavit, Appendix B & C and any additional forms the City may require.

10. Provide any additional information about your firm that is relevant to this RFQ/RFP that you believe will assist the City in making its selection.

Section II : Selection Process & Criteria

Schedule Applicants are to respond to this request by 11:00 AM on May 6, 2026

Deadline for all questions must be sent in by April 27, 2026

The City will develop a short list of candidates based on the stated selection criteria to interview for the project. The short-listed firms will be notified via email and will be provided sufficient notice of the interview date and time.

A decision is expected by: TBD.

Selection Criteria The selection committee will evaluate the applicants based on the following criteria:

Thoroughness, creativity and clarity of the proposed work, schedule, and project management plan.

Proposals are reasonably expected to meet the objectives of this proposal

Qualifications and experience of personnel to be assigned to the project team

Demonstrated capacity to meet schedule. Ability to provide the services within proposed project schedule time constraints

Teams clear understanding of the goals and outcomes of the project, project opportunities and constraints that exist within Torrington and the project area.

Project team’s composition and experience on similar projects

Quality and performance of past services

Hourly fees and expense schedule

Fee Schedule (submitted in a separate, sealed envelope, clearly marked)

References

Section III - Project Summary, Goals & Background

Summary:

The City of Torrington has allocated funding to inventory trees on municipal property, within the right-of-way and some city-owned land, and use that data to develop a community forest management plan to improve the stewardship of the urban forest. The scope of this project is limited to the city core and some adjacent suburban neighborhoods, totaling approximately 4,000 trees/stumps and 400 potential planting locations.

Goal:

The goal of the municipal tree inventory and management plan is to help the Public Works Department, its partners, and contractors to understand the composition of the urban forest and to use that data to plan for its maintenance and enhancement. With these tools, the City will work to improve the health of existing trees and plant new trees in locations where they can bring the most benefit to residents, visitors, and businesses.

Background:

On March 20, 2023, the Torrington City Council adopted a new ordinance outlining the City’s responsibility to its urban forest. Section 181-3 (a) requires the City “prepare and maintain a long-range, comprehensive strategic plan for the administration and management of the Community Forest Program…which shall comprise the Urban/Community Forest Management Plan.” To create an effective management plan, the City must create and regularly update a comprehensive municipal tree inventory to guide goal setting and management objectives.

In 2010, a UConn intern inventoried trees within portions of Torrington, but the student was not a professional and the work product has not been updated since that time. There is no historic community forest management plan for the City.

Section IV - Scope of Work The City of Torrington will establish a Technical Advisory Committee that will work closely with the Consultant to ensure all interests are considered and proper stakeholders are engaged. Meeting with the committee should be included in the Scope of Work, along with public outreach/engagement.

• Technical Advisory Committee will include the City’s Assistant City Planner / Deputy Tree Warden

(Project Manager), Public Works Director/Tree Warden, City Engineer, and landscaping contractor.

Other representatives may be added to the Technical Advisory Board when appropriate.

The Scope of Work must be a multi-disciplinary approach that will rely on technical assistance from urban forestry and GIS professionals.

Below is a proposed work plan that has been developed to outline the City’s objectives. The respondent is being asked to develop a formalized scope of services that meets these objectives and is within the allowed project budget of $70,000.

The Scope of Services shall describe its approach, methodology, process, and allocated funding for each task:

Task Proposed Activity / Task Deliverables

1. Conduct a municipal tree inventory of trees, stumps and potential planting sites within municipal property, including the right-of-way and other municipal land. The geographic extent of this inventory will include the city core and some adjacent suburban neighborhoods. The inventory shall include tree attributes related to size, health, risk, etc.

• Report describing methods and basic summary data of inventory

• Inventory of existing trees, stumps, and planting locations

• GIS data of inventory with attributes

2. Develop a community forest management plan with a vision, mission, and goals; a timeline for actions to achieve goals and objectives; tree maintenance and protection plan; and a monitoring and evaluation plan.

• Report covering all required elements of a community forest management plan

3. Collect input and present final deliverables to the public and internally.

• Regular meetings with the Technical Advisory Committee

• Basic public outreach strategy

• Final presentation to the public and appropriate city staff

SECTION V – APPENDIX

Appendix A – Insurance Requirements - Indemnification

Appendix B – Acceptance of Terms of the Agreement Appendix C - Non-Collusion Affidavit

APPENDIX A

MUNICIPAL TREE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN

RFQ-RFP #MIT-013-050626

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Certificate of Insurance: All insurance policies must include a Waiver of Subrogation whereby the insured waives its right to subrogate against the City, its subsidiaries, employees, volunteers, directors and officers. Proof of proper insurance coverage, Workers Compensation Insurance, Liability and Property damage, and Vehicle Insurance shall be filed with the City of Torrington Purchasing Agent within 10 days after the award of the bid. The Certificate of Insurance must name the City of Torrington, 140 Main St., Torrington, CT, its subsidiaries, employees, volunteers, directors & officers as the “Additional Insured” and filed with the Purchasing Agent prior to commencement of work. Renewal Certificates of Insurance must be mailed to the Purchasing Agent 10 days prior to the expiration of the required coverage.

NON-DISCRIMINATION

The respondent agrees and warrants that in the performance of the contract pursuant to this solicitation he/she will not discriminate or permit discrimination against any person or group of persons on the grounds of sex, race, color, religion, age, marital status, ancestry, national origin, past history of mental disorder, mental retardation or physical disability or other basis in any manner prohibited by the laws of the United States, the State of Connecticut or the City of Torrington.

INDEMNIFICATION

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Firm shall indemnify and hold harmless the City and their respective consultants, agents, and employees from and against all claims, damages, losses and expenses, direct, indirect or consequential (including but not limited to fees and charges of attorneys and other professionals and court and arbitration costs) arising out of or resulting from the performance of the Firm’s work, provided that such claim, damage, loss or expense is caused in whole or in part by any negligent act or omission by the Firm, or breach of its obligations herein or by any person or organization directly or indirectly employed or engaged by the Firm to perform or furnish services, or anyone for whose acts the Firm may be liable, regardless of whether or not it is caused in part by a party indemnified hereunder.

As to any and all claims against the City or any of its consultants, agents or employees by any employee of Firm, by any person or organization directly or indirectly employed by Firm to perform or furnish any of the work, or by anyone for whose acts Firm may be liable, the indemnification obligation under this section shall not be limited in any way by any limitation on the amount of type of damages, compensation or benefits payable by or for Firm under worker’s or workman’s compensation acts, disability benefit acts or other employee benefit acts.

FEDERAL PROCUREMENT

Any procurement made pursuant to a federal award or subject to reimbursement, in whole or in part, with federal funds must comply with the City of Torrington’s purchasing procedures, state law, and the applicable Federal Procurement Requirements, including 2 CFR § 200.322 ("Procurement of recovered materials"), 2 CFR § 200.323 ("Contract cost and price"), 2 CFR § 200.324 ("Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity review"), 2 CFR § 200.325 ("Bonding requirements"), and 2 CFR § 200.326 ("Contract provisions"). In the event of any conflict between Town, State, or federal requirements, the most stringent requirement must be used. (See 2 CFR § 200.318.) City employees must comply with funding agency requests for review of technical specifications or procurement documents as provided in 2 CFR § 200.324.

APPENDIX B

City of Torrington

Acceptance of Terms of this Agreement

Name of Proposer: _________________________________________________________

Contact Person: ____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: _____________________________________________________________

Telephone: _______________________________ Fax: ____________________________

E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________

Authorized Signature________________________________________________________

Title: _____________________________________________________________________

Name Printed: __________________________________________ Date: ______________

Federal Tax Identification Number: (FEIN) ________________________________________

It is agreed by the above signed proposer that the signature and submission of this proposal represents the proposer’s acceptance of all terms, conditions, and requirements of the proposal specifications, and, if awarded, the proposal will represent the agreement between the parties.

The proposer agrees that the cost of any work performed, materials furnished, services provided, or expenses incurred, which are not specifically delineated in the proposal documents, but which are incidental to the scope, intent, and completion of this contract, shall be deemed to have been included in the prices for the various items scheduled.

APPENDIX C

NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS

City of Torrington

STATE OF ___________________COUNTY OF _________________________________________________

I, ____________________________________________, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that:

1. I am ____________________________________________ of____________________________________________, the Bidder that has submitted the attached Bid for “_______________________________________”;

2. I am fully informed respecting the preparation and contents of the attached Bid and of all pertinent circumstances respecting such bid;

3. Such Bid is genuine and is not a collusive or sham Bid;

4. Neither the said Bidder nor any of its officers, partners, owners, agents, representatives, employees or parties of interest, including this affiant, has in any way colluded, conspired, connived or agreed directly or indirectly with any other Bidder, firm or person to submit a collusive or sham Bid in connection with such Contract, for which the attached Bid has been submitted nor has it in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement or collusion or communication or conference with any other Bidder, firm or person to fix the price or prices in the attached Bid or of any other Bidder, or to fix any overhead, profit or cost element of the Bid price or the price of any Bidder, or to secure through any collusion, conspiracy, connivance or unlawful agreement any advantage against the City of Torrington or any person interested in the proposed Contract; and

5. The price or prices quoted in the attached Bid are fair and proper and are not tainted by any collusion, conspiracy, connivance or unlawful agreement on the part of the Bidder or any of it agents, representatives, owners, employees, or parties in interest, including this affiant.

(Printed) ___________________________________

(Signed) __________________________________

(Title) _____________________________________

Subscribed and sworn to before this________ day of ______________, 20__________.

Notary Public Printed Notary Public Signature

My Commission Expires _______________________________ (Notary Seal)

NOTE: Documents must be signed before and sealed by a Notary Public. Only documents bearing a notary seal will be accepted.