Willsboro Bay Park Shoreline Access & Land Use Management Plan

The Town of Willsboro, Essex County, New York, is soliciting proposals for professional planning and conservation consulting services to develop a Shoreline Access and Land Use Management Plan for the 68-acre Willsboro Bay Park on Lake Champlain, with written questions due November 12, 2026 and proposals due November 18, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The Town identifies no SDVOB, MBE, WBE, or DBE set-asides and sets each goal at 0.00%, though it encourages participation by certified entities.

The plan must balance water quality, grassland and migratory bird habitat, and other natural resources with public access and low-impact recreation, including potential walking trails, birding stations, shoreline access, and interpretive or educational features. Six tasks run from work planning and site assessment through stakeholder engagement and draft-to-final plan preparation. Deliverables include a work plan, existing conditions inventory with maps, preliminary findings and concept maps, draft and final plans in accessible PDF and editable formats, and an implementation matrix with recommended actions, priorities, timeframes, and planning-level cost estimates. Proposers recommend the number of public and stakeholder meetings; hybrid meetings are acceptable, with in-person meetings preferred. Project completion is required by December 1, 2027. The project is funded wholly or in part by U.S. EPA assistance agreement BIL 4N0A001022-4 to NEIWPCC, in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

The Town has not set a not-to-exceed fee, so proposers build cost proposals from the scope, approach, deliverables, and resources required. Cost proposals must be a separate document. Past project fees are optional and belong only in the cost proposal, and technical proposals carry no page limits or minimum font sizes.

Evaluation weights are qualifications and relevant experience (25 points), understanding and technical approach (30 points), work plan and deliverables (15 points), project schedule and capacity (10 points), and fee and value (20 points). The Town Board is anticipated to select and authorize the consultant on December 9, 2026, with contract execution targeted for December 21, 2026. Proposals go to Susan Thompson, Town Clerk, by email at townclerk@townofwillsborony.gov or through the Town's online portal. Proposers bear all proposal preparation, interview, and presentation costs unless the Town agrees otherwise in writing.