Request for Proposals: Professional Consulting and Administration Services for Community Development Block Grant-CV (CDBG-CV) Grant
Apr 23rd, 2024
Posted in: Public NoticeNeighborhood DevelopmentBids
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
City of Mobile
Professional Consulting and Administration Services for
Community Development Block Grant-CV (CDBG-CV) Grant
INTRODUCTION
The City of Mobile has been awarded Community Development Block Grant – CV (CDBG-CV) funds and has an active subrecipient agreement from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) for administering said funds within the municipal jurisdiction of the City of Mobile. The ADECA funds were provided as part of an allocation of CDBG-CV funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in response to Coronavirus. The funds are required to tie back to the prevention, preparation, and response to coronavirus.
The City of Mobile is seeking administrative support as it looks to close out the grant with ADECA with an expected fund expenditure by the end of the current calendar year. This administrative support will include general administrative support of the grant through final spend down and audit of the program by ADECA. The general administrative support includes, but is not limited to, the following: report preparation, document filing, internal audit of new and existing files, file setup, preparation of substantial amendments for publication, recommendations on any relevant budget items, preparation of eligibility determinations prior to expenditure, environmental review document preparation, and invoice review for expended funds.
The City of Mobile is seeking proposals from Proposers that have specific experience and qualifications in the areas identified in this solicitation, in particular experience with CDBG and CDBG-CV. For consideration, proposals must contain evidence of the Proposer’s experience and abilities in the specified area and other disciplines directly related to the proposed service.
QUALIFICATIONS
The Proposer must demonstrate to the complete satisfaction of the City that it has the necessary facilities, expertise, staffing, financial, and other resources to provide the services specified herein in a satisfactory manner. The Proposer must also provide its past history and references which demonstrate the Proposer’s qualifications. The City may contact references and perform additional research and inquiries deemed necessary and proper to determine the ability of the Proposer to perform the work, and the Proposer shall furnish to City all information for this purpose that may be requested. The City reserves the right to reject any offer if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, the Proposer fails to demonstrate at the discretion of the City that the Proposer is qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to complete the work described therein.
SCOPE OF WORK
A. General Statement:
City of Mobile requests proposals for services providing Professional Consulting and Administrative Services for CDBG-CV and all activities related to the CDBG-CV allocations provided by ADECA to City of Mobile.
B. Supporting Data:
The City currently has an approved budget for its CDBG-CV funds being provided by ADECA. Remaining categories of available budget primarily include administration and acquisition. The acquisition portion of the budget was initially established to purchase existing move-in ready structures that could be utilized by the food banks being funded within the CDBG-CV budget. As the real estate market has become more competitive during the COVID-19 recovery, the availability of suitable buildings that could be purchased within the available budget has become increasingly less. Due to this, the City is reviewing alternative eligible uses for this funding and will request input from an awarded Consultant from this RFP for alternative eligible uses of funds should suitable buildings for this purpose no longer be viable.
C. Specifically, City of Mobile requests the following services to be provided:
· Review the remaining CDBG-CV budget available to the City of Mobile from ADECA and make recommendations of alternative eligible activities for the remaining unencumbered funds.
· Evaluate cost benefit of eligible CDBG-CV alternative activities.
· Provide administrative support through report preparation, audit preparation, and preparation of other various documents as required for the CDBG-CV grant by ADECA and/or HUD.
· Assist the Grants Administrator in reviewing the City of Mobile CDBG-CV files for compliance.
· Prepare CDBG-CV written policies and procedures as needed.
· Assist the Grants Administrator before, during, and after ADECA monitoring of the grant.
TIMELINE
It is expected that the Professional Consulting and Administrative Services for CDBG-CV process will begin in June 2024
· RFP Issued: April 23, 2024 (City website); May 1, 2024 (newspaper)
· RFP Responses due: May 8, 2024
· Selection of Consultant: May 17, 2024
The City of Mobile reserves the right to make adjustments as needed to the above schedule.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
A consultant, firm, or combination thereof wishing to submit a proposal must include the following in their response:
· A brief history of the proposing entity, including general background, knowledge of housing, knowledge of disaster recovery, and experience working with relevant agencies.
· A listing of the personnel to be assigned to the project, including organizational structure and each person’s area of responsibility. Resumes for each professional assigned to this project are also required. Responders must have sufficient and qualified staff immediately available
to contract solicitations and to enter into and manage any components targeted by the RFP statement substantiating the resources of the proposing entity and the ability to carry out the scope of work requested within the proposed timeline.
· Proposed fee structure, including billing rates, hourly rates, reimbursable expenses, etc. Preferences will be given to firm fixed pricing.
· References including contact information for at least three organizations.
· At least one (1) example of work.
· A statement of conflicts (if any) the proposing entity or key employees may have regarding these services. The statement should include conflicts, as well as any working relationships that may be perceived by disinterested parties as a conflict. If no potential conflicts of interests are identified, please state so.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Evaluation of the Proposer’s qualifications shall include:
A. Capacity: The ability, capacity, skill, financial, and other necessary resources to perform the work or provide the service required; and
B. Work Proposal: The ability to accomplish the items referenced in this RFP through an assessment of work hours proposed, skill of assigned staff, approach to be taken in completing scope of work, and previous experience with similar funding types; and
C. Cost: Presentation to the City that the fee proposed is of a reasonable and acceptable nature for the services to be performed; and
D. Timely Performance: The ability to perform the work or provide the services promptly or within the time specified, without delay or interference; and
E. Past Performance: The quality of performance of previous contracts or services, including judgment, ability, skill, and presentation.
SCORING CRITERIA
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by staff.
Criteria for evaluation will include:
25% Capacity to perform the services established
25% Proposal for accomplishing the tasks listed in Scope of Work
25% Cost
15% Ability to perform the work or provide the service in the timeframe provided
10% References
QUESTIONS
Please direct all questions to: James.Roberts@CityofMobile.org. All questions should be submitted at least 72 hours prior to the response deadline for this RFP.
RFP SUBMISSION PROCESS
Proposal deadline: Proposals must be received no later than May 8, 2024 by 4:00 p.m. Sealed proposals must be received in the City of Mobile’s Neighborhood Development Department at the address referenced below. Submittals should include three hard copies including signatures. No proposals received by fax or e-mail transmission will be accepted. Should the City have a need, the proposals from this RFP may also be used to contract with Consultants to provide administrative support for its direct CDBG-CV funds from HUD.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Room 508 – 5th Floor, South Tower
Government Plaza
205 Government Street
Mobile, Alabama 36602
Proposing entities must note on the outside of their proposal package:
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
CITY OF MOBILE
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
CDBG-CV ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES