Estimated Budget: $52,000/Fiscal Year
INVITATION
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen/District) is pleased to announce the issuance of this Request for Qualifications and Proposals (RFQP) for professional on-call consulting services to evaluate District programs, services, activities and facilities for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. Midpen is seeking general qualification for on‐call consulting services for ADA compliance and peer review.
Midpen intends to enter into one or more on-call contract(s) with selected firms or individuals to provide on-call services for an initial contract term of one (1) year with the option for the District in its sole discretion to renew the contract each fiscal year for up to three (3) additional years. The value of work under any given contract is not expected to exceed $52,000 per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30 annually). In addition, firms and individuals responding to this RFQP may be pre-qualified to provide professional services for projects offered outside of the on-call process.
About the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Midpen is a public agency that owns and manages over 70,000 acres of land in 27 open space preserves. Midpen’s boundary includes portions of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties within the Santa Cruz Mountains. Midpen manages these areas to preserve a regional greenbelt, protect and restore the environment, and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public access and education. Public, low-intensity recreational use of the District land is primarily trail use by hikers, mountain bicyclists, equestrians, and dog walkers. Please visit http://www.openspace.org for more information about Midpen.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Introduction
Under Title II of the ADA, Midpen is required to have an ADA Transition Plan that identifies existing barriers limiting accessibility and describes actions that are to be taken to ensure facilities are accessible to all members of the public. In 1993, Midpen adopted a Transition Plan to comply with the Federal ADA regulations of 1990. Since the adoption of the 1993 plan, Midpen acquired new lands, built and open new facilities and expanded programs for visitors and volunteers. In 2015, Midpen completed a comprehensive update to Midpen’s Transition Plan. Implementation of the 15-year plan is underway to ensure that Midpen’s programs, services, activities, and facilities are accessible to the public.
Midpen seeks to identify creative solutions to removing barriers and expanding accessibility to all members of the public and District employees, volunteers and docents. The consultant’s recommendations must differentiate between what is required by law and what is not required but recommended and worthy of consideration.
Objective
This RFQP is being widely distributed to attract a diverse group of firms and individuals that, through education, training, and experience, can perform ADA compliance work. Qualified firms and individuals must demonstrate a high quality of work, cost effectiveness, and a record of successful projects within similar park and open space contexts.
The District is seeking services to ensure compliance of facilities supporting our programs, including, but are not limited to: paved and unpaved roads, trails, boardwalks, bridges, parking areas, administration office with public meeting/gathering spaces and paths of travel, a visitor center, staff offices, maintenance shops, interpretive and directional sign‐boards, restrooms, all weather shelters, picnic areas, a number of privately leased structures such as residences and equestrian facilities, and supporting signage and informational services. The District is also seeking services related to ensuing compliance of in-person events, signage and interpretation and web content.
On-Call Project Opportunities
Midpen will compile a list of the most qualified proposers to provide on‐call services for an initial contract term of one (1) year with the option for Midpen in its sole discretion to renew the contract annually for up to three (3) additional years. Each contract will be for a not‐to‐exceed amount of $52,000 per fiscal year. The number of firms selected will be dependent on the quality, the range of services provided and number of proposals received during this RFQP process.
These firms will work primarily with one District project lead, per task order, under the guidance of senior staff to accomplish small to medium-size capital improvement and maintenance projects and other ADA compliance related work similar to those listed on Midpen’s Current Projects webpage (https://www.openspace.org/our‐work/current‐projects ). This list includes examples of past public access improvements, site rehabilitation and facility maintenance and other projects completed, as well as potential future projects. Future work will be similar but not limited to these types of projects.
Pre-Qualified Consultants
Firms selected for on-call contracts, and other qualified firms and individuals responding to this RFQP, will also be added to a pre-qualification list that the District may use to solicit proposals for specific projects outside of the on-call process. Projects solicited from pre-qualified consultants typically represent larger endeavors with more complicated scopes, but similar services may be packaged into an on-call contract.
Consulting services for major projects that exceed $52,000 in contract value within one year may be solicited to select consultants on the prequalification list through project-specific Requests for Proposals. There is no maximum limit to the number of pre-qualified consultants, and consultants awarded on-call contracts will be automatically added to the pre-qualification list.
Project Locations
Project locations are primarily remote, relatively undeveloped sites within San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. Projects sites may include existing Midpen Preserves, potential new Preserve sites, or Midpen field or administrative offices (see Attachment 1). Access to project sites often requires using a four-wheel drive vehicle with a trained driver and hiking over rough, uneven and at times heavily vegetated and steep terrain. Project hazards may include stinging or biting insects, venomous animals, poison oak or other poisonous plants, or extreme weather. Driving access to the Preserves can be over narrow and winding rural roads that require significant travel time.
On-Call Scope of Work
Midpen will develop individual scopes of work on a project-by-project basis, as needed, and issue Task Orders with individual scopes of work to the qualified consultant selected for that particular project. Consulting services may include:
- Serve as on‐call accessibility specialist for Midpen’s public access capital improvement and maintenance projects and programmatic activities
- Conduct peer review of plans and drawings that are developed by other consultants, including plan sets submitted for permitting and as‐builts to confirm accessibility requirements have been incorporated into the plans
- Provide accessible design expertise to inform the design of capital improvement and maintenance projects
- Conduct site assessments to confirm accessibility requirements have been constructed correctly
- Provide recommendations for remedial measures and improvements to correct barriers and deficiencies
- Provide support and guidance associated with ADA related staff trainings at the District
- Provide professional guidance and recommendations based off ADA standards and guidelines for in-person events at Midpen, including but not limited to: review of event plans and layouts, recommended equipment and amenities (i.e. port-a-potty rentals) that are ADA compliant, etc.
- Provide guidance on Midpen sign program as-needed, including: District operational sign specifications; ensuring interpretive panels are accessible with language and design; additional support for interpretive opportunities including audio tours, braille trails, and accessible improvements in the Daniels Nature Center and other locations in the preserves that share interpretive material to the public.
- Provide assistance on troubleshooting the implementation of accessible web content as is required under the ADA Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule. This may include assistance with identifying non-compliant content and guidance to develop compliant web content including PDFs, online forms and other digital documentation, developing compliant accessible documents, coordinating technical standard trainings, and helping the District to understand the user experience through a disability lens.
