Request for Proposals: Consultant Services for Strategic Planning 

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Consultant Services for Strategic Planning 
Town of Guilford, Vermont 
posted September 14, 2022 

The Town of Guilford, Vermont is seeking proposals from consultants to develop a strategic plan to meet the short and long term needs of our community. Proposals are due in the Town Office by 1 p.m. on October 31, 2022. 

Background 
In 2022, the Selectboard of the Town of Guilford, Vermont adopted a Town Plan covering the period of 2022 through 2030. The intent of the Town Plan is to build a strong, resilient, and equitable community by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity. 

The Town seeks to hire a consultant to facilitate a strategic planning process with the community to elucidate future priorities for the Town. Building upon community engagement work that has been conducted in the community, the selected consultant will work with the Town Planning Commission to develop and implement a community engagement process, which could include seeking community input at community-wide forums, issuing a community survey, and other strategies. Such forums would be moderated by the Strategic Planning Consultant.

The consultant will be expected to develop a strategic plan that takes into consideration the following: 

  • A review of the ARPA community survey, Town Plan, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, Capital Plans, Town Budgets, VCRD Report, and any other relevant initiatives
  • Inclusion of elements that provide broad community benefit and have long-term value for the community without substantial impact on property tax rates
  • Identification of opportunities to leverage ARPA and other dollars  Identification of regulations that could potentially enable implementation and attainment of Guilford’s short- and long-term planning goals.

The consultant will provide a strategic plan document that identifies and prioritizes projects, provides a timeline for completion and estimated cost, and identifies funding sources. The plan will be developed in such a way that it allows the Town to easily update the plan after the consultant completes the project.

Scope of Work 
The Town has developed this scope of work for the consultant to implement for this project.
The Town will consider alternative proposals for the scope of work based on the consultant’s experience with completing similar strategic plans for other communities. 

Community Engagement 

  • Hold a kickoff meeting with the Planning Commission and Selectboard.
  • In consultation with the Planning Commission and Selectboard, implement a community-wide engagement process to inform the formulation of a strategic plan.
  • Review existing plans, pertinent documents, to include ARPA community survey, Town Plan, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, capital plans, town budgets, and VCRD Community Visit Report and Action Plan. 

Development of Strategic Plan 

  • Hold meetings with Town Planning Commission, Selectboard, to review and solicit feedback on the summary of community input and identified projects from existing town plans. 
  • Develop a strategic plan that identifies and prioritizes projects, provides a timeline for completion and estimated cost, and identifies funding sources. The plan should also include a written narrative providing a summary of the planning process used to develop the strategic plan. 
  • Meet with the Town Planning Commission and Selectboard, to review the draft of the strategic plan. 
  • Provide a final strategic plan document in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PDF formats. 

Project Schedule 
The following is the anticipated project schedule and is subject to change: 

  • Request for Proposals (RFP) Issued: September 14, 2022 
  • Proposal Submittal Deadline: October 31, 2022
  • Consultant Selection: November 30, 2022 
  • Project Completed: August 31, 2023 

Submission Requirements
All responses to this RFP shall include the following:

  • A cover letter expressing the individual/firm’s interest in working with the Town of Guilford. Include information on any similar strategic plans developed for municipalities.
  • A description of the general approach to be taken toward the completion of the project, an explanation of any proposed changes to the scope of work as outlined in the RFP, and any insights into the project gained as a result of developing the proposal.
  • A scope of work that includes detailed steps to be taken, including any deliverables resulting from each task.
  • A proposed schedule that indicates project milestones and overall time for completion. 
  • A list of individuals that will be committed to this project and their professional qualifications.
  • The client name, contact person, telephone number, and email for at least three clients for whom you have completed similar projects in the past. 

Proposed project fee. 

Proposals may be mailed or hand delivered by 1 p.m. on October 31, 2022 to: 

Guilford Town Office
Attn: Assistant Town Administrator 
236 School Road 
Guilford, VT 05301 

Proposals may be mailed electronically by 1 p.m. on October 31, 2022 to: 

help@guilfordvt.gov

Questions 
All questions regarding this RFP must be emailed by October 3, 2022 to Zon Eastes, Chair, Selectboard, zoneastes@guilfordvt.gov and Jeannette Tokarz, Chair, Planning Commission, jeannettetokarzpc@gmail.com.
Questions and responses will be posted on the Town’s website at: https://guilfordvt.gov. 

Selection Process 
Selection criteria will include, but not be limited to, the following: qualifications, experience, project team, technical ability, project understanding, availability, quality of proposal, references, and cost. The Town reserves the right to seek clarification of any proposal submitted and to select the consultant that is best able to address the project purpose. The Town reserves the right to withdraw this Request for Proposals, to accept or reject any or all proposals, to advertise for new proposals if it is in the best interest of the Town to do so, and to award a contract as deemed to be in the best interest of the Town.