Town of Arlington, Vermont
Request for Proposals
Update Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Proposals due by 2:00 PM July 5, 2024
The Town of Arlington (the Town) is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to update its single jurisdiction local hazard mitigation plan (LHMP). The Plan will be submitted to the State of Vermont and FEMA for comments and approval.
Funding Source
This work is funded by a Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant. The selected consultant must be available and willing to complete the required work within 12 months of the date of the award of this contract, including FEMA approval. No expenses related to this project can be charged beyond this date unless an extension has been granted.
It is anticipated that the FEMA grant funds will cover the consultant expense, which will account for 75% of the total project cost. The Town of Arlington will be responsible for the remaining 25% of the project cost through a combination of cash and in-kind hours. Tasks that will be undertaken by the Town of Arlington include printing, photocopying, public notices, and publicity efforts and research.
Background and Scope of Work
The Town of Arlington received a grant from the State of Vermont Department of Public Safety (DPS) for the purpose of updating the LHMP. The full scope of work to be performed is located in Attachment A.
The project proposal should generally be organized along the following steps. Each step should outline the consultant’s role and responsibility, proposed date of completion, number of consultant hours required for each step, hourly rates and any associated direct expense. The Town of Arlington will, to the extent reasonably practicable, align its resources in the most cost effective manner possible. Consultants are encouraged to suggest strategies for delegating tasks and responsibilities.
- Town to assemble planning staff and meet with consultant to review the existing plan and confirm outreach strategy.
- Establish work plan with deliverables, timelines for completion, and confirmed roles and responsibilities.
- Review information on hazards based on available information.
- Review hazard information in a public meeting.
- Complete vulnerability assessment to quantify the extent of each hazard.
- Identify mitigation strategies
- Review mitigation strategies in a public meeting.
- Submit plan to Vermont and revise accordingly.
- Submit revised plan to FEMA, revise if necessary, and adopt the plan.
The final plan document shall be available to the town in an accessible format, such as Word, to be used in future plan updates.
Contact Persons
The Town will use a municipal employee to fulfill its responsibilities with regard to project management and has designated the Town Administrator, Nick Zaiac, as the Municipal Project Manager. The Municipal Project Manager will be the contact for all aspects and questions related to this request for proposals and the development of the project. Mr. Zaiac can be contacted at 802-379-9916 or Arlington Town Hall 3828 VT Route 7A Arlington VT 05250, nick.zaiac@arlingtonvermont.org.
Deadline for Proposals
Proposals must be received by 2 pm on July 8, 2024 by email to nick.zaiac@arlingtonvermont.org, or by mail to PO Box 268 Arlington VT 05250, or by depositing the submittal in the drop box located in the foyer of Arlington Town Hall, 3828 VT Route 7A Arlington VT 05250. In the event the Town does not receive any proposals by this date, the proposal deadline shall automatically be adjusted to 2 pm on August 5, 2024.
Submittals
- The consultant’s qualifications and resume, including references to past mitigation planning projects if available.
- Description of experience with grant funded projects, with particular focus on any FEMA or Vermont Emergency Management work.
- Project and cost proposal, itemized by project steps as identified above. Proposal should include all consultant hourly rates and associated direct expenses.
Evaluation of Proposals
The Town’s selection of a consultant will be based on the written proposal received and:
Documented experience
Technical staff capability
Experience with working with local, state, and/or federal government
Ability to recommend viable mitigation actions
References of past work in mitigation planning
Cost
Timeliness
The Town of Arlington reserves the right to seek clarification of any proposal submitted and to select the proposal considered to best promote the public interest. The Town retains the right to reject any and all proposals received, to negotiate with any qualified source, or to cancel in part or in its entirety this RFP as in the best interest of the Town. This solicitation in no way obligates the Town to award a contract.
The Town of Arlington encourages responses from disadvantaged, women-owned, minority-owned, and small local firms. Selected candidates should be prepared to execute a contract that contains pass-through provisions regarding Federal programs and assurance related to this grant-funded work, including policies regarding conflicts of interest, equal opportunity, non-discrimination, retention of and access to records, and audit requirements when applicable.
Contract period
The Town will select the consultant on or around July 8, 2024, or August 5, 2024 if the automatic deadline adjustment is triggered.
ATTACHMENT A
SCOPE OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED
Objective: The Town of Arlington will update its single jurisdictional local hazard mitigation plan (LHMP).
Activity to be performed:
Each jurisdiction is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of their current plan at achieving plan goals and monitoring the status of mitigation action taken in the community. To encourage resident participation and ownership, each jurisdiction will hold public meetings, inviting residents, business owners, and other potential stakeholders to join the conversation while their plan is in development.
Each jurisdiction must complete the following tasks for updating their LHMP:
1) Hire Contractor: Each jurisdiction will seek competitive proposals to complete the LHMP. The jurisdiction will enter a contract with the vendor as selected by the community.
2) Scoping Meeting with Town and Contractor: The Contractor will work with the Jurisdiction to plan and facilitate the first hazard mitigation planning committee, including coordination of participants and preparation of materials. The Contractor will explain the hazard mitigation planning process to the Jurisdiction’s planning committee at the Scoping Meeting, and the group will assign roles and responsibilities as appropriate.
3) Initiate Public Input Process: The Jurisdiction and the Contractor will work together to design and initiate the most appropriate public input strategy for the jurisdiction to maximize meaningful public participation. The Public Input Process may include local news articles, surveys, meetings open to the public and sufficiently advertised, or other preferred alternatives.
4) Review Current LHMP: The Contractor will facilitate a review of the current LHMP with the hazard mitigation planning committee. The review will help the planning committee familiarize with the local hazards and vulnerabilities described in the LHMP, and identify needed updates due to changes in development, changes in hazards and vulnerabilities, and implementation of mitigation actions.
5) Gather Data and Develop Risk Assessment: The Contractor will lead data gathering and risk assessment for the Jurisdiction. The Contractor will provide maps of hazards and vulnerabilities as appropriate. All jurisdictions will evaluate their risks for each hazard addressed in the 2018 State Hazard Mitigation Plan (or its successor 2023 State Hazard Mitigation Plan) and develop an associated vulnerability assessment, which will aid in determining mitigation strategies.
6) Identify Mitigation Strategies: The Contractor will work with the Jurisdiction to develop Mitigation Strategies to address the hazards and vulnerabilities identified through public and stakeholder input, data gathering, and risk assessment. The strategies will be comprehensive, including actions that address local plans and regulations, structure and infrastructure projects, natural systems protection, and education and awareness programs.
7) Prepare Draft Plan: The Contractor will prepare a draft plan for review and additions by the Jurisdiction, public, and stakeholders. Plans must be prepared for approval pursuant to 44 CFR § 201.6.
8) Public Hearing on Draft Plan: In addition to the public input gathered during the drafting of the LHMP, a final draft and public hearing will be provided to present the final draft LHMP to the community for any final comments.
9) Revisions Based on State/FEMA Comments: Each jurisdiction, after seeking final public input, will submit its plan to Vermont Emergency Management for review. Should revisions be requested by the State, the plans will be revised as appropriate and resubmitted for a second review. As Vermont is currently designated Program Admin by State (PAS) for LHMP review, Vermont Emergency Management will notify the jurisdiction of their Approval Pending Adoption
(APA) status.
10) Plan Adoption: Each jurisdiction will formally adopt their plan and submit the adoption letter and final plan to Vermont Emergency Management for formal approval.
Performance Measures: The financial assistance provided for this project is contingent/conditioned upon the delivery of mitigation plans for each community identified in the scope of work that FEMA approves before the end of the period of performance. If FEMA does not approve a plan for a community before the end of the period of performance, then FEMA may partially terminate the project, disallow costs associated with the mitigation plan for that community, and recover all payments made to the Recipient for that community.