REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (#2010-01) California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) Contractor Services for Administration of the Carl Moyer Year 12 Rural Assistance Program (RAP) 1) Introduction CAPCOA is requesting proposals from qualified contractors to administer the Carl Moyer Year 12 RAP for CAPCOA. Funding for the program is provided by rural air districts electing to contribute their allocation of Moyer funding to the RAP. Funding for this contract is provided by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to CAPCOA. Funding for the work effort under this solicitation is contingent upon receipt of ARB grant funding. Proposals are due Friday, December 10, 2010 before 4:30 pm. 2) About CAPCOA CAPCOA is a Section 501(c)(6) non-profit organization. Its members include air pollution control officers from all 35 local air pollution control officers within the State of California. Formed in 1976, and incorporated in 1984, CAPCOA strives to improve public health through cleaner air and carefully managing air resources. The organization fosters the sharing of knowledge, experience, and ideas among its members and provides a key forum for air districts and others to learn about advances in health sciences and pollution control technologies. It encourages consistency in methods and practices of air quality management. The organization is comprised of air quality professionals recognized leaders in the field. 3) Background The RAP was initiated over four years ago to assist rural air districts in administering the Carl Moyer Program through a pooled resources approach. Rural air districts have the option of administering their own Moyer program, or contributing all or part of their annual allocation to the pooled RAP fund. Through a contractor, CAPCOA administers this program to include public outreach to solicit applicants for qualifying projects, evaluating applications to determine eligibility of projects; interfacing with the ARB s CARL database; coordinating with CAPCOA, ARB, air districts, and project applicants; and working with air district staff to transfer the qualifying applicants and projects for air districts to complete the project process. Page 1
In past years, funding to the RAP was provided late in the Moyer statutory two-year cycle. However, in the last few years, the option to contribute to the RAP was provided to air districts by ARB at the outset of the two-year cycle, affording more time to solicit and evaluate projects. This solicitation covers Moyer Year 12, for which the final project implementation deadline is June 30, 2012. This contract is expected to cover the period from February 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012 in order to implement the funding cycle from initial outreach efforts through final project transfer to air districts. Typically late-in-the-cycle changes in both funding levels and project withdrawals necessitate continuing administrative action through the end of the Moyer cycle. 4) Qualifications and Requirements A responding person or firm must demonstrate the following qualifications: (If a firm, then the lead person for the project team must meet these qualifications.) a) Experience in administering the Carl Moyer Program. (Preference will be given to those who demonstrate experience in administering Moyer programs for small and rural air districts.) b) Experience in conducting public outreach programs and in arranging and conducting public workshops. c) Experience in interfacing with the CARL database or a similar database. (If a similar database is used for demonstrating this experience, the bidder must show how such database is similar to the CARL database in function and interfacing with users.) d) Experience in working with at least three of the following organizations or agencies: (1) CAPCOA staff (2) Air district staff (3) ARB staff (4) Other state agency staff (5) Federal agency staff A responding person or firm should describe the methods suggested or proposed to accomplish the following: a) Developing an outreach program to solicit project proponents with potentially qualifying projects, including outreach materials. b) Establishing and conducting one or more public workshops Page 2
c) Determining eligibility of projects under the ARB s Moyer Guidelines. d) Conducting cost-effectiveness calculations consistent with ARB s Moyer Guidelines. e) Dealing with possible problem areas during the course of the work effort. (Please identify specific problem area(s) and describe how you would approach each one.) f) Recommending appropriate protocols for the prioritization of projects as well as distribution of administrative funds. 5) Tasks and Deliverables The selected contractor will be expected to accomplish the following tasks under this work effort: a) Solicitation of Projects Year 12 o Meet with contributing rural districts to discuss solicitation process o Conduct in-person meetings with staff and Board members of contributing districts o Conduct on-site outreach efforts such as meetings with groups, workshops etc. o Develop targeted outreach materials o Prepare and distribute outreach materials, web sites, letters, ads etc. o Develop and distribute RAP applications o Encourage project applications within districts contributing to the RAP o Assist applicants, vendors, districts and industries o Encourage districts oversubscribed for year 12 to submit projects to RAP b) Evaluation of Projects Year 12 o Review applications and determine completeness o Enter projects into CARL o Work with applicants, vendors, districts and industries to complete project applications o Determine project eligibility. Coordination with ARB is recommended, but such coordination may not be available. o Based on all inputs, develop project ranking based upon CAPCOA s eligibility criteria protocol o Coordinate with CAPCOA for final project selection Page 3
c) Transmittal of Projects Year 12 o Transmit project files and information to appropriate air districts o Follow-up contact with air districts and applicants d) Administration o Assist districts with submission of all required documents and reports. o Coordinate with districts, CAPCOA and ARB as needed. o Develop a breakdown of administrative funding to be received by air districts based upon CAPCOA s administrative funding protocol. The selected contractor will be expected to provide the following deliverables: a) A monthly progress report at the beginning of each month describing the accomplishments for the preceding month, and the expected accomplishments for the current month; b) A spreadsheet depicting all applicants, the status of each application and project, the cost of the project, the amount requested, the air district jurisdiction for the project, the cost-effectiveness ranking, and any other relevant information. This spreadsheet should be submitted on a regular basis once an initial set of applications are received. c) Copies of any correspondence with applicants regarding eligibility and/or selection of their project(s). 6) Schedule The following proposed schedule is provided: November 3, 2010 RFP Released December 10, 2010 Proposal Due Date December 22, 2010 Proposals Evaluated January 5, 2011 Interviews, if needed January 12, 2012 Contractor Selected by CAPCOA Board January 28, 2011 Contract Executed February 1, 2011 Contract Begins June 30, 2012 Contract Ends 7) Contacts The contact person for this RFP is: Mel Zeldin Executive Director, CAPCOA 1107 Ninth Street, Suite 210 Sacramento, CA 95814 Ph: 916-441-5700 Email: melz@capcoa.org Page 4
8) Deadline Five copies of all responses to this RFP must be received by: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 4:30 pm (Pacific time) At the following address: CAPCOA Attn: Mel Zeldin 1107 Ninth Street, Suite 210 Sacramento, CA 95814 No responses will be accepted after the date and time indicated above. Incomplete responses will not be accepted All components of the proposal are mandatory Failure to include all requested information may result in rejection Minor or inconsequential deviations may be waived. 9) Response Document Your RFP response must be a written document prepared in narrative form. Submittal of a proposal constitutes an agreement to all provisions and conditions set forth in this RFP. The proposal submitted must specifically address the following items in the specified order presented. Please respond to all elements as described below: a) Address and telephone number of the person or firm s office. b) Name of the person or firm s representative designated as contact to CAPCOA. c) A well-reasoned response to all of the items in Section 4: Qualifications and Requirements d) A Statement of Work for the tasks to be undertaken. e) A cost breakdown for all proposed labor, labor rates, and expenses, by task, and for the entire work effort. f) Three (3) references. 10) Expected Funding It is anticipated that a total amount of approximately $55,000 will be available for this contract work effort. Page 5
11) Limitations This RFP does not commit CAPCOA to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of proposals, or to procure or contract for services and supplies. Costs for developing the proposal are entirely the responsibility of the respondent and shall not be chargeable to CAPCOA. All proposals become the property of CAPCOA and will not be returned to respondents. 12) RFP Modifications CAPCOA reserves the right to modify the RFP prior to the deadline by issuance of a revision to all parties who have received the RFP. 13) CAPCOA Discretion CAPCOA reserves the right, without limitation, to reject any and all proposals, to waive any minor informality or irregularity in any proposal, or to cancel awarding of a contract and advertise for new proposals. 14) Woman/Minority/Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE/MBE/DVBE) It is the policy of CAPCOA to provide equal opportunities for all persons to be engaged without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, marital status, gender, age or sexual orientation. It is also CAPCOA policy to encourage participation Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises in the bidding process. To the extent that any conflict exists between this policy and any requirements imposed by federal and state law relating to participation in a contract by a certified MBE/WBE/DVBE as a condition of receipt of federal and state funds, the federal or state requirement will prevail. 15) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) CAPCOA encourages the participation of DBEs as defined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations part 26 (49 CFR 26) in the performance of contracts financed in whole or in part with Federal Funds. This project is funded by Federal Funds, and is therefore subject to 49 CFR 26 entitled Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Department of Transportation Financial Assistance Programs. The selected firm shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex in the award and performance of subcontracts. Page 6
16) Evaluation Criteria Criteria for evaluating responses will include: a) Response to Section 4, Qualifications and Requirements [50%] b) Statement of Work [10%] c) Cost [30%] d) References [10%] 17) Withdrawal of Proposal A respondent may withdraw his or her proposal by submitting a written request to the Executive Director that has been signed by the respondent or authorized agent at any time prior to the proposal submission deadline. The respondent may thereafter submit a new proposal prior to the deadline. Proposal modifications, oral or written, will not be considered after the deadline. 18) Award Notification The Executive Director will notify both the successful and unsuccessful respondents in writing. 19) Insurance Prior to execution of the contract, commencement of work and/or disbursement of CAPCOA funds, the selected firm or its insurance company shall submit an original certificate of insurance and certified copies of required endorsement. Certificates of insurance must evidence that the coverage is in effect and in an amount of at least $1 million General Liability Coverage. 20) Payment CAPCOA will reimburse selected person or firm only for the actual time and expenses incurred in the performance of the contract and shall not exceed the maximum payment limit specified in the contract. CAPCOA will not under any circumstances reimburse the selectee for any commitments made by the selectee for services not yet performed or materials not yet received. 21) State of Corporate and Tax Payer Information Federal Income Tax Law requires CAPCOA to file information returns for services rendered by certain individuals and others. The code provides that the Taxpayer Identification Number of the payment recipient (you) must be furnished upon request to the service recipient (us). Page 7