Walton County Vulnerability Assessment Including Municipalities

Walton County has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment (VA) that will encompass the county and its three municipalities: DeFuniak Springs, Freeport, and Paxton. The procurement seeks a qualified consultant to conduct a detailed climate adaptation study in compliance with Florida Statute 380.093, utilizing funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Resilient Florida Program. The project requires extensive data collection, GIS mapping, and analysis of critical infrastructure vulnerability to various flooding scenarios, including tidal flooding, storm surge, rainfall-induced flooding, and compound flooding. Key deliverables include a kick-off meeting, two public outreach meetings, background data acquisition, exposure and sensitivity analyses, and a final vulnerability assessment report covering two planning horizons (2040 and 2070). Proposals will be evaluated across four criteria: experience of firm/team members (40 points), project understanding and approach (30 points), coordination acknowledgment (20 points), and compensation/fee schedule (10 points). The proposal submission deadline is August 5, 2024, at 2:00 pm, with an anticipated contract award on August 13, 2024.

The project is funded through a $300,000 state grant from the Florida General Appropriations Act, structured as a cost-reimbursement agreement with no matching funds required from the county. The grant period runs from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, providing ample time for comprehensive assessment and reporting. While no specific set-aside designations are mentioned, the RFP emphasizes the need for consultants with expertise in climate resilience, GIS mapping, and infrastructure vulnerability analysis. The selected consultant must demonstrate ability to coordinate with municipal stakeholders and prevent duplication of existing assessment efforts. The project will utilize 2017 NOAA intermediate-low and intermediate-high sea level rise projections and requires adherence to specific GIS data standards. The assessment will prioritize critical and regionally significant assets impacted by various flooding scenarios, with a focus on long-term community resilience and adaptation planning.