Request for Proposals: Fertilizer Management Program
I. Invitation Request for
Proposals.
This request
for proposals (RFP) invites firm written technical proposals (Proposals) and
firm written price proposals (Price Proposals) for Marketing Public Relations
Services for a Lawn Fertilizer Management Program for the Town of
Falmouth. Copies of this RFP are
available at the Office of the Administrator, 59 Town Hall Square, Falmouth, MA
02540.
The Town of Falmouth requests
proposals to plan, develop, launch and manage a program to achieve major
reductions in the use of fertilizers that leach excess nutrients into our ponds
and pollute our waters. Proposals
should focus on a comprehensive marketing/public relations program that will
draw heavily on Town-supplied resources that are described; it will not be
necessary to conduct research into such subjects as nitrogen leaching, lawn
cultivation practices or fertilizer applications.
Sealed
submissions must be prepared in strict accordance with the instructions and
requirements contained in this RFP, and must be submitted to the Office of the
Town Administrator, on or before 3:00 P.M., on September 17, 2001. If it
becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP or otherwise provide
additional information, an addendum will be issued to all proposers who receive
copies of this original request.
II. Terms and Requirements
for Proposers.
A. Proposer Qualifications
Proposals will be accepted
from an established corporation, partnership, or proprietorship (Organization),
or from teams representing any combination of such Organizations (Team), that
furnish such services as a standard part of their business. The selected Organization or Team will
provide skills in all relevant disciplines required to satisfy the requirements
set forth.
B. General Terms and
Conditions.
1. Twenty (20) copies of all Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope marked "Proposal for Fertilizer Management Program”. The Proposal shall include a letter containing the name of the Organization or Team submitting the Proposal and the date of its presentation. One (1) copy of all Price Proposals also shall be submitted, under separate cover, in a sealed envelope clearly marked "Price Proposal for Fertilizer Management Program”.
2. All Proposals shall
contain a project time line, work plan and description of project
deliverables. The project time line
shall include all tasks, milestones and meetings described.
3. All Price Proposals shall
consist of a total fixed-price fee for all services to be provided under this
RFP, plus a unit price schedule for such additional meetings and/or
professional services as may be requested during the course of the
contract. The fixed price fee shall:
(a) be subdivided by task in sufficient detail to make clear the scope and type
of expense budgeted for each task; and (b) provide for meetings with Town of
Falmouth representatives.
4. All proposals must include the provision of all maps requested in
digital form that is compatible with AutoCad Release 14 and shall be delivered
to the Town on a 3.5 inch disc. The
coordinate base for all digital images shall be the Massachusetts State Plane
Coordinate System
5. The Town of Falmouth as
represented by its Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator and Ashumet Plume
Citizens Committee (individually or collectively, the Client) first shall
review each Proposal to ascertain whether it meets the minimum requirements set
forth. Any Proposal failing to do so
shall be rejected.
6. The Client then shall rate
each Proposal meeting the minimum requirements according to the comparative
evaluation criteria described and determine, in writing, a composite rating for
each Proposal. To assist in that
determination, the Client will invite proposers to make a presentation.
7. After a composite rating
has been determined for each Proposal, the Client shall open each Price
Proposal and determine the most advantageous Proposal taking into consideration
the composite ratings and related price.
If the Client selects a Proposal that is not the least expensive, a
written explanation will be provided.
8. All prices quoted shall be
exclusive of the Massachusetts Sales Tax and Use Tax, and Federal Tax from
which the Town is exempt. Exemption
certificates, if required, will be furnished by the Client upon request.
9. The Client reserves the right to: (a) accept or reject all or any portion of any or all Proposals submitted; (b) to waive informalities, irregularities, or technicalities of any Proposal; and (c) to examine all aspects, tangible and intangible, of each Proposal and then to make the award in the best interest of the Town of Falmouth.
10. The Client shall award
the contract within sixty 60 days after the Bid Opening. All Proposals and Price Proposals shall
remain valid and acceptable for that period of time, which may be extended by
mutual consent. The contractor selected
will be required to sign an agreement within ten (10) days of being notified of
the award, and must commence performance under the contract immediately
thereafter.
III. Minimum Requirements
Each Proposal first shall be
reviewed by the Client to determine whether or not it meets the following
Minimum Requirements:
1. The Proposal must be
received by the Office of the Administrator before the Bid Opening, and signed
original copies of all documentation required must be included.
2. The Proposal must be from
an Organization or Team that normally provides the services specified in the
RFP as a significant element of its business, and the Proposal must be signed
by an agent (or agents) having authority to execute a binding contract at a
fixed price on behalf of the Organization(s).
The signature, title, address and phone number of such agent (or agents)
must be included in the Proposal.
3. The Proposal must provide:
(a) a narrative description of the experience of the Organization or Team in
providing the services specified in the RFP; and (b) a listing of at least five
(5) references from other municipalities or similar clients for whom similar
services have been performed.
4. The Proposal must
designate a lead professional, having at least (5) years experience with
similar projects, as manager of the project (Project Manager). It will be the Project Manager’s
responsibility to organize the work effort to accomplish the tasks and to
achieve the milestones set forth to coordinate the scheduling of meetings with
the Client, and to act as the contractor’s lead spokesperson at such meetings.
5. The Proposal must provide
a timetable to complete all of the tasks, milestones and meetings required.
The Town of Falmouth requests proposals to plan, develop, launch and manage a program to achieve major reductions in the use of fertilizers that leach excess nutrients into our ponds and pollute our waters. Proposals should focus on a comprehensive marketing/public relations program that will draw heavily on Town-supplied resources that are described in this RFP; it will not be necessary to conduct research into such subjects as nitrogen leaching, lawn cultivation practices or fertilizer applications.
The Town recognizes that it
will take several years to carry out a successful program, and intends to enter
a contract for an initial term of one year with options to extend if initial
results warrant. Completing the design of the comprehensive program, including
year-by-year goals and required resources, is one of the first year goals. The first year is expected to require the
equivalent of about one full-time person plus expenses; subsequent years should
require somewhat less effort. Program funding has been committed to by the US
Air Force under contract with the Town.
The proposal should address,
but not be limited to, the following subjects in no more than 25 pages of text
[excluding appendices]: (a) Approach; (b) Project Organization; (c) Project
Timelines; (d) Resources Plan; and (e) Experience.
a.
Approach: The proposal should discuss
how the Scope of Work, which is described
below, is to be accomplished. If
any significant resources are required from sources other than the proposer or
the Town, the type and potential provider(s) of such resources should be
identified. Team approaches are
welcome, provided the responsibility for achieving overall results is clearly
defined. This section also should
address any unique ideas being introduced as well as any feasibility or other
concerns.
b
Project Organization: The lead
firm(s) and any subcontractor(s) should be identified together with the
responsible officer(s), location(s) where the majority of work will be
accomplished, and means of contact.
Brief descriptions of project responsibilities and summary resumes of
professional staff should be provided.
Also, methods to carry out effective liaison with Town agencies and
local organizations should be clearly described. The proposed method of management control also should be
addressed [see Section II].
c.
Project Timelines: Approximate timing
to plan, develop and launch each element of the scope of work should be presented,
together with estimates of hours the proposers professional staff will require
to accomplish each part. Any work by
subcontractors, and affected Town agencies, should be identified. All assumptions underlying the proposed
timelines and estimates of professional staff hours should be clearly
stated.
d.
Resources Plan: Consistent with
concepts set forth in Section 1c, the type(s) and source(s) of resources
required for each phase of the Scope of Work should be described. Please note clearly any sources of
significant resources that have not yet been identified, and indicate how those
resources will be acquired in good time before they are needed.
e.
Experience: Provide a brief
description of no more than five (5) similar projects completed by the proposed
project leader and professional staff identified in Section 1b, together with
contacts for the clients of those projects.
VI. Scope of Work
The goal of the project is to achieve a reduction of at least 50%
in the nitrogen entering groundwater, streams and ponds from lawn and other
fertilizers. The scope is town-wide and
will focus initially on home lawns because they are the principal source of
excess nitrogen loading; at the appropriate time, other sources such as golf
courses and cranberry bogs will be addressed.
The time horizon is long-term and the emphasis is mainly on voluntary
compliance of homeowners and other applicators, similar to the Town’s water
conservation program.
To achieve that goal will
require homeowners, in particular, to change habits via some combination of
using better lawn cultivation practices, fertilizing less frequently, or not at
all, switching to slow-release formulations, and landscaping to replace lawn
areas with low-maintenance native plants.
Such a fundamental change in
habits and culture will require a creative program composed of several
elements. The objective of this project
is to create the overall management plan for such a program, identify and
enlist the support of significant stakeholders, develop and deliver appropriate
messages to target audiences, and create supporting incentives to change
habits.
There will be at least five
elements to such a program: (a) Outreach; (b) Education; (c) Cultural Change;
(d) Compliance Incentives; and (e) Results Measurement. Proposers are encouraged to describe in
detail their concepts in regard to those elements, and to suggest any others
they consider that would contribute to a successful program.
a.
Outreach: Develop the means to work
with intermediaries such as nurseries, hardware stores, lawn-care and
landscaping firms and builders, plus influential groups such as realtors,
service clubs, and civic associations that can support and help shape a
successful program. Create effective
messages for targeted intermediaries [e.g. point-of-sale messages, encourage
stocking of slow-release and/or organic fertilizers; best practices brochures,
etc.] and influential groups.
b.
Education: Using Town-supplied
information, create informational literature for homeowners and other
applicators [e.g. describe the nitrogen pollution-fertilizer leaching problem;
what fertilizers to use and how; the savings from less fertilizer, watering and
mowing; benefits to the Town from fewer sewers and more water; explain best cultivation
practices]. Develop effective delivery
media [e.g. school programs, demonstrations and workshops; newsletters;
cost-effective advertising; speaker panels].
c.
Cultural Change: Promote alternative
landscape forms as economically and environmentally sound, and encourage
homeowners to see big lawns as anti-social and irresponsible. Action could be to define alternative
landscaping forms, promote demonstration projects, enlist intermediaries with
an economic interest in substituting native plants for areas of lawns,
introduce homeowner contests and/or awards for adopting new landscape forms;
and conform Town properties to such new forms.
d.
Compliance Incentives: These could be
selective economic benefits for homeowners [e.g. free soil testing; rebates for
buying native plants to replace lawn areas] or retailers [e.g. advertising or
training incentives in stores; switch to organics, incentives for cooperative
lawn-care firms]. Homeowner awards
could be an important incentive, too. Also, potential regulatory measures
should be defined [e.g. like water use restrictions and fines; mandate
reporting of fertilizer sales by retailers and lawn-care firms].
e.
Results Measurement: Given the
long-term nature of the goal, it is essential to establish credible means of
measuring results as time passes.
Unfortunately, it is not
possible
easily to isolate the impact of reduced nitrogen loading from fertilizer,
compared with leaching from septic systems and other sources that may increase
with further development, and so measuring the results of the fertilizer
management project poses a special challenge.
The Town welcomes demonstrations of creative thinking throughout the
project, but especially in terms of credible measurement of results.
Some
potential means of measurement have been considered. One means, particularly short-run, is to establish objectives for
the number of leverage points to be addressed [e.g. home owner contacts,
support of key intermediaries]. Another
would be to estimate, however imperfectly, annual consumption of
nitrogen-containing fertilizers [e.g. sales reporting by retailers and
lawn-care firms plus periodic surveys of homeowners]. Other steps could flow from the design of program elements [e.g.
numerical targets for homeowners to take the pledge to be nitrogen-free]. Also, aerial photography perhaps could be
used to trace changes in grass area and color in key neighborhoods over time.
It should be emphasized that
creative ideas in regard to the scope of work are essential to a successful
project, and more rather than fewer such ideas are solicited in responses. Once all proposals have been evaluated, the
Town expects to negotiate a specific scope of work and related schedule and
management control plan with the favored proposer(s).
VII. Management Control
Plan
It is expected that the
overall planning and organization of the program, message development and
launch of the homeowner effort will take place during the initial year of the
contract. The Ashumet Plume Citizens Committee
[Committee] that is acting as program manager for the Town for this and related
projects, will play a significant contributory and review role, probably
through a subcommittee appointed for that purpose. In addition, some local effort already is underway in public
education about nitrogen pollution and fertilizer usage, and those
contributions should be supported.
Consequently, management
control will require a collaborative approach to secure the input and support
of a variety of local resources, while sustaining focus on overall project
goals and quality execution of each individual element. Proposers should describe their approach to
this overall management challenge before addressing the following specific methods
or systems of control:
a.
Schedule Control: Please describe in
particular the type of tasks to be incorporated in the schedule, how timing for
those tasks will be established and reported, and how updates and schedule
adjustments will be handled.
b.
Cost Control: The nature of cost
controls will depend to some extent on the form of contract, of course; a
cost-plus-fee arrangement would require more frequent and more detailed
coverage than a fixed-price contract.
Proposers should fashion their cost control plan to the form of contract
they propose [Section 6 below]. For
example, a cost-plus-fee arrangement may need to establish a budget for various
tasks once the control schedule is established. If so, the process for approving such a budget should be
addressed, also.
c.
Status Reporting: Although an
elaborate reporting system is not envisaged, there will be need periodically to
inform the Committee, Town officials and local stakeholders about project
status. Such status reporting should
incorporate key data on schedule and cost status, and focus on accomplishments
and upcoming actions. Status reports
should be in writing, limited to no more than 2 or 3 pages, and suitable use on
the Committee web site.
VIII. Town-Supplied
Resources
Based upon its
investigations, the Committee believes there now exists an adequate basis for
understanding the nature of the nitrogen pollution problem, how fertilizer
contributes to it, and the types of steps homeowners can take to sharply limit
their use of harmful fertilizers. Thus,
the principal focus of the project will be on a broadly defined
marketing/public relation’s effort, and not on further scientific research or
study.
Two examples of Committee
investigations are attached. Attachment
I is the October 27, 2000 Committee report entitled: A Water Quality
Assessment, Conclusions and Program Options that describes the threat to three
coastal ponds in East Falmouth. About
one-third of Falmouth’s residents live in the watersheds of those ponds. The report is based in large part on reports
from consultant scientists and engineers, and each of those reports is
available on the Committee web site [www.geocities.com/ashumet2001]. Also available there are downloadable copies
of the Committee report and a series of informative articles being published in
The Falmouth Enterprise.
Attachment II is a handout
prepared by an umbrella civic group [Falmouth Associations Concerned with
Estuaries and Saltponds]. FACES has
begun a public education effort on lawn fertilizer, in coordination with the Committee,
which is focused on organizations like the League of Woman Voters, Falmouth
Garden Club, and other organizations that belong to FACES.
The Committee also has
received support from The Falmouth Enterprise, Cape Cod Times,
and Upper Cape Codder newspapers, Falmouth Community Television [Channel
13] and local radio. In addition, the
Committee has conducted three public forums on the nitrogen pollution problem
and potential remedies. Also of note,
the Falmouth Planning Board has launched GIS coverage of the Town with detailed
land use maps such as those included in the reports of consultants noted above,
and the Committee has a listing of all properties located in the watershed of
Great, Green and Bournes Ponds, which are the subject of the reports cited
above. In addition, Town Assessor
records containing landowner names and addresses are available online.
Proposers should make
appropriate use of local resources in developing their approach to the project,
identify which ones they would like to use, and indicate how and to what extent
they will be incorporated in developing various elements of the project.
IX. Optional Scope of Work
As part of the Committee’s investigation of effective remedial
action to restore reasonable conditions of water quality in the coastal ponds,
it is planned to conduct a homeowner survey before Labor Day. The timing is dictated by the desire to
reach summer residents who more than double our year-round population. There are some 6300 homes in the three-pond
watershed, and the number of interviews will be based on obtaining statistical
reliability. Attachment III sets forth
a preliminary list of questions for the survey questionnaire. The use of focus groups [alone or in
addition to a field survey] should be addressed as well.
The Optional Scope of Work,
to be negotiated once all proposals are evaluated, will cover: (a) a clear
definition of objectives; (b) questionnaire design; (c) selection of
respondents; (d) supply and training of field interviewers; (e) delivery of education
materials; (f) evaluation and analysis of responses; and (g) presentation of
findings. The Town will provide
educational materials.
Separate proposals for the
Optional Scope of Work should address in abbreviated form the points set forth
in Sections 1, 3 and 4 as applicable.
Please indicate the number: (1) of interviews required for statistical
reliability for the 6300 homes in the three-pond watershed and for the Town as
a whole [about 20,000 homes]; and (ii) size of any focus groups being proposed.
X. Selection Criteria
Selection of the preferred
candidate(s) will be based on both the proposal and the interview. The proposal and interview will be weighted
equally. The criteria to be used to evaluate
the proposal and the interview are summarized below:
Comparative Evaluation
Criteria:
a.
Proposal Evaluation [50% of total score]:
Approach to Work [25% of
total score] including
1. Responds to the scope of work.
Highly
Advantageous. The proposer clearly
understands the scope of work and articulates such understanding in a narrative
and the project proposal clearly meets the defined scope. .
Advantageous. The proposer
understands the scope of services and articulates such understanding in the
narrative.
Not
Advantageous. The proposer does not understand the scope
of work
Project Personnel [25% of
total score] including the
qualifications and experience of key professionals, demonstrated ability to
administer a project of this scope, and availability or methods of acquiring
required resources.
2. Management control plan.
Highly
Advantageous. The proposal provides a clear hierarchy of
staffing and responds to the scope of services with the skill sets and staffing
levels or subcontractors of trained professional to achieve its objectives.
Advantageous. The proposal
provides a clear hierarchy of personnel or subcontractors and provides
appropriately skilled personnel.
Not
Advantageous. The proposal does not provide adequate or
appropriately trained personnel or subcontractors to carry out the scope of
work.
3.
References [20% of total score]
Highly
Advantageous. The proposer provides
references for ten to twenty similar products for similar clients.
Advantageous.
The proposer provides references five
to nine similar products for similar clients.
Not
Advantageous. The proposer provides
less than five references for similar products for similar clients.
b.
Interview Evaluation [50% of total score]:
·
Presentation [30% of
total score] including the content,
style and effectiveness of the presentation, and demonstrated interest of key
professionals
It is expected the interviews
will take place approximately thirty days after the cut-off date for submitting
proposals. The interview format will be
relatively informal and devoted mainly to Committee questions on proposal
content. Any additional presentation
material, which is not encouraged, should be submitted at least five days
before the scheduled interview.
Proposers will be informed of
the outcome of the ranking process within 45 days of the conclusion of the last
interview. After a composite rating has
been determined for each proposal, the Town will open the price proposals and
select one or more proposers to negotiate a final Scope of Work, contract
terms, and related price. Proposers not
selected for the negotiation process will be informed when the selection is
made.
If it becomes necessary to
revise any part of the RFP or otherwise provide additional information, an
addendum will be issued to all addressees of this RFP. Any additional information also will be
posted on the Committees web site that can be reached directly as noted above,
or via the Town of Falmouth website at www.town.falmouth.ma.us
Questions may be addressed in
writing to Ms. Heather B. Harper, Assistant Town Administrator at 59 Town Hall
Square in Falmouth, or at [email protected].
Attachment II
Have Yourself a Falmouth Friendly Lawn
[FACES educational material]
Plant the Right Grasses:
$
Fine-leaf fescues are
shade-tolerant, drought-resistant and need less Nitrogen
$
Perennial rye is ok,
especially if mixed with fescues, but needs more maintenance
$
Blue grass like Kentucky
Blue is high-maintenance and not recommended
Provide the Right Topsoil:
$
If you are starting
fresh, apply at least 6" of topsoil to encourage deeply-rooted plants
$
Top-dress existing lawns
with a loam/compost mix until you build up to 6" depth
$
Top-dress in the spring
before you do any over-seeding [e.g. to grow more fescue]
$
Take soil samples from
3-4 areas of lawn to the Extension Office in Barnstable for testing; your grass
needs the right PH balance to use fertilizer efficiently, so test each year
Water Deeply, Weekly:
$
Water only when your
lawn is wilting, dull in color, or footprints stay compressed
$
Water deeply C 1"
once a week, in early morning C to encourage deeply-rooted plants
$
A shallow pan or can
near your sprinkler will measure how much water you’re applying
$
If you have a watering
system, make sure it doesn’t apply a little water every day; that’s the worst
thing you can do C you’re mainly watering the shallow-rooted weeds
Mow Properly:
$
Set mowers to cut at
least 3" high; that will shade shallow-rooted weeds from sunlight
$
Make sure your mower
blades are sharp; cut only 1/3rd of the grass blade each time
$
Leave the clippings on
the lawn to add organic material, provide natural [no-cost] nitrogen
Fertilize Smartly:
$
Only fertilize in spring
and early fall when grass is actively growing; cool-season grasses go dormant
in the heat, so if you fertilize in the summer you’re just feeding the weeds
$
Use slow-release
fertilizers [e.g. methylene urea, urea-formaldehyde, sulfur-coated urea or
IBDU] and check that the WIN [water soluble nitrogen] rating is at least 33%
$
Most bags of fertilizer
cover 5000 sq ft; calculate the square footage of your lawn, buy only what you
need, and don’t use up any extra left in the bag C more is NOT better
$
Check the weight of the
bag and multiply that by the percent of nitrogen [the first number in the
sequence of three]; don’t apply more than 1 lb of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft of
lawn
$
Calibrate your spreader
for the right rate of application; drop spreaders are more precise
$
Sweep up any overspread
from driveways that will wash away right into the ground water
Do You Need all that Lawn?
$
Why not replace some
with native shrubs, ground covers and wood chips?
$
You will save on mowing,
watering and fertilizing C and help keep Falmouth looking like the Cape and not
like just another look-alike suburb
Attachment III
Information Sought from Survey [Optional Scope of
Work]
Awareness of Degraded
Water Quality:
-
Have you read, heard about, nitrogen pollution of local coastal ponds? Where?
-
How severe is the problem? What will
happen if nothing is done?
Awareness of the Sources
of Nitrogen pollution:
-
What sources contribute nitrogen pollution to the coastal ponds?
-
How much pollution do home septic systems and lawns fertilizers cause?
- Do
you have to live right on a pond to cause nitrogen pollution?
Awareness of Nitrogen
Leaching from Lawn Fertilizers:
-
Have you read, heard about, nitrogen leaching from lawn fertilizers? Where?
- Do
you know whether organic fertilizers cause fewer leaching problems?
- If
you wanted to use organic fertilizers, do you know where to get them?
Present Fertilizer
Practices:
- Do
you or family members fertilizer your lawn, or do you have a service?
- If
your lawn gets fertilized, how many times a year is this done?
-
What type of fertilizer is used C chemical or organic; where do you buy it?
-
How is fertilizer applied to your lawn?
When did you last check the settings?
-
Fertilizer typically comes in bags for 5,000 sq ft of lawn; how big is your
lawn?
-
When you fertilize, how many bags do you use?
What happens with leftovers?
-
How much do you spend a year on fertilizer?
Have you considered doing less?
Awareness of Nitrogen
Content of Fertilizers:
-
When you buy fertilizer, how do you know how much nitrogen it contains?
-
Are you familiar with the three numbers shown on fertilizer bags?
- The first number is the percentage of nitrogen; if
the bag weighs 50 lbs and the first number is 30, you have 15 lbs of nitrogen
in each bag.
-
Can you estimate about how much nitrogen is put on your lawn each time?
Present Lawn Care
Practices:
-
How often is your grass cut? Who cuts
your grass?
- Do
you know high is the mower set to cut?
Why set it there?
- Do
you leave grass clipping on your lawn to help fertilize it?
- Do
you have a good topsoil base C 6" to 8" C under your lawn?
- If
you wanted to increase the depth of topsoil, how would you do it?
-
How often do you water your lawn?
When? Do you have an irrigation
system?
-
How much water does the lawn get each time?
How much does a lawn need?
-
Would you use less water if you used less fertilizer?