Parks & Recreation Strategic Plan Update

The City of Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation Department is requesting proposals for facilitation and development of a comprehensive five-year strategic plan update, with proposals due October 28, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. The Department will evaluate proposals on best value to the City rather than lowest price and retains the right to make multiple awards if deemed in its interest.

The scope encompasses six primary tasks: project initiation and work plan development, organizational assessment and strategic analysis, stakeholder engagement and leadership alignment, strategic framework and priority development, implementation and performance-management framework development, and draft plan refinement. The consultant must assess the Department's 2021 strategic plan for continued relevance and effectiveness, identify progress and outstanding needs, and recommend refreshed strategic direction aligned with current organizational conditions, community needs, the City's strategic direction, and existing planning documents including the Parks and Recreation Pathway and Open Space Management Plan. Final deliverables include a five-year strategic plan in accessible PDF and editable formats, an executive summary, a detailed implementation matrix, a performance-measure framework, a recommended annual strategic review process, and a final presentation.

The budget ceiling is $25,000. Work is anticipated to begin in 2027 with all deliverables completed within that calendar year; the estimated project duration is four to six months. The City of Wheat Ridge is sales-tax-exempt and requires no sales tax inclusion in proposals.

Proposers must demonstrate relevant experience with comparable strategic planning engagements preferably involving municipal parks and recreation departments or complex public-sector organizations, provide at least three client references and two work samples of completed strategic plans or comparable deliverables, and maintain Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions insurance of $1 million per claim and $1 million aggregate plus Commercial General Liability of $1 million per occurrence. All prices and fees remain firm for one year following City acceptance; subsequent price increases are capped at 3% per contract term. Contractors must comply with the 80% Colorado labor requirement under H.B. 13-1292 and cannot be debarred per sam.gov. All contract products become the sole property of the City.