Salem & Beverly Developer Training Request for Quotes

Bid Number: 
SRD RFQ FY22-01
Start / End Dates & Times: 
01/24/2022 - 3:00pm to 02/15/2022 - 4:00pm
Bid: Closed

Beverly and Salem Zero Net Energy Retrofits

Development and Municipal Training Program

 

The City of Salem reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or to waive any informalities in the proposal process, if deemed in the City's best interest.

 

Proposers or proposal teams must meet the following minimum qualifications:

  1. The lead personnel must have at least five (5) years of experience in conducting zero net energy building retrofits/sustainability and education/training of professionals
  2. The proposer must have successfully completed a minimum of three (3) similar projects or programs within the last five (5) years.
  3. At least one member of the team must be an engineer (mechanical or electrical) and the team must employ or contract with an architect.

 

Item                                                    Relevant Dates

Request for Quotes Issued:                  Monday, January 24, 2022

Questions:                                           Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Quotes Due:                                        Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Salem/Beverly Review:                                  Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Contracting:                                         Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Project Start:                                        Monday, March 28, 2022

Project End:                                        Friday, October 14, 2022

 

INTRODUCTION

The Cities of Beverly and Salem (collectively the “Cities”) are issuing this Request for Quotes for a consultant or team of consultants to develop a joint Zero Net Energy Building Retrofits and High Energy Efficiency Development and Municipal Training Program (the “Training”). Below, the Cities lay out a vision with goals and expected deliverables, but proposers should submit their creative ideas on how the program will be run. The Training could serve as a template for other surrounding communities to follow as they train their municipal staff and development communities on the benefits/incentives of retrofitting buildings and preparing for the upcoming zero net energy building code to be adopted by the Cities. The cost of this project is not to exceed $20,000.

The project has the following high-level goals: 

  • Educate the local development community and relevant City staff/commissions on Zero Net Energy & High Efficiency/Sustainable building. This training is meant to provide “Zero Net Energy 101” for City Staff and project developers, addressing common barriers and misconceptions, from planning to maintenance of both new and retrofitted buildings.
  • Educate the Cities of Beverly and Salem (municipal staff, commissions, boards, etc.) on how to understand and prepare for the upcoming state-developed net zero energy building stretch code, which both Cities plan to adopt.
  • Support the communities’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions from buildings, the greatest source of Beverly and Salem’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The goal of this Request for Quotes is to provide the best value of commodities and services to achieve the procurement goals of the Cities of Salem and Beverly. The Cities may negotiate a change in any element of contract performance or cost identified in the original request for proposers or their contractor’s response that results in a lower cost or more effective or better value than was presented in selected proposer or contractor’s original response. 

Costs that are not specifically identified in the proposer’s response and accepted by the Cities as part of a Contract will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to the Request for Quotes. The Cities will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by Proposers responding to this Request for Quotes.

The Cities make no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased as a result of this solicitation.

BACKGROUND

In June 2020, the Cities of Beverly and Salem partnered to create Resilient Together, our Climate Action & Resilience Plan to take collective action in the face of the climate crisis by building resilience to intense storms, sea level rise, drought, flooding, and heat waves. The Plan has several goals and actions in each of our seven focus areas (Buildings & Development, Natural Resources, Public Health & Safety, Solid Waste, Mobility, Energy, and Infrastructure) and has an overarching goal of exceeding Massachusetts’ commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The Resilient Together decarbonization scenario includes a strategy from the Commonwealth’s 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap for building electrification and efficiency, which refers to eliminating the direct use of fossil fuels for heating, cooking, and other uses in all existing buildings, and carrying out deep energy retrofits. Targeting this state goal, each City should conduct approximately 1,085 home retrofits or major renovations by 2025, or over 600 retrofits combined each year. In addition, the Cities expect thousands of buildings/units to be constructed or retrofitted in the next 5 years. To achieve these goals, City staff, boards, commissions, local developers, and local builders need to be aligned in understanding the feasibility and benefits of no- and low-carbon building technologies and approaches.

The Cities are formalizing joint implementation of Resilient Together through several goals, actions, and partnerships created throughout the planning process. Community training and education was identified collaboratively as an area of high impact and opportunity. Immediate action must be taken to provide such training and education in order to:

  • Retrofit existing buildings to improve sustainability, reduce energy use, and help community members save money on bills while increasing their comfort
  • Create new Zero Net Energy & High Efficiency/Sustainable building construction

TRAINING PROGRAM VISION

Training will demonstrate the feasibility, performance, and cost efficiency of current/innovative technologies and will communicate City expectations prior to and following the adoption of the zero net energy code. If needed, a focus group to understand specific barriers to more sustainable development will be held to inform further training/guidance.

The Cities envision this Training Program to cover two categories through a combination of webinars and in-person trainings and site visits

  1. Deep Energy Retrofits

This applies to medium to large-sized developments, including multifamily residential, commercial, and government buildings.

Consultant(s) must have knowledge of:

  • Any incentives, loans, and other financial assistance programs
  • Cost, feasibility, and performance of efficient heating, cooling, and insulation technologies, especially to support the transition from oil and gas heating systems to electric systems
  • Local, state, and federal policies
  • Other useful information.

 

  1. Zero Net Energy Development

This applies to medium to large-sized developments, including multifamily residential, commercial, and government buildings.

Consultant(s) must have knowledge of:

  • Any incentives, loans, and other financial assistance programs
  • Cost, feasibility, and performance of efficient heating, cooling, and insulation technologies
  • Local, state, and federal policies to support/prohibit
  • Other useful information.

The Cities envision this Training Program to be geared towards three key stakeholder groups: 

  1. Municipal Employees/Boards
  • Training will be provided to municipal staff and representatives from Building, Engineering, Public Works, Planning, and Sustainability departments and boards/commissions, such as from Planning Boards, Historic Preservation Committees, and Zoning Boards to learn about energy retrofits and net zero development.
  1. Local and Regional Developers/Property Owners 
  • Training will be provided for developers and property owners as identified and invited by the Cities to learn about feasibility and cost efficiency of deep energy retrofits and net zero developments in our communities, including new utility and other incentives that have shifted the financial viability of adoption of efficient technologies such as air- and ground-source heat pumps.
  1. Architects/Designers & Construction/Builders
  • Develop a list of trainings available to developers and property owners to share with architects, designers, construction companies, and builders. 

PROGRAM GOAL

  • Selected consultant(s) will educate City staff, boards/commissions, and the development community on the feasibility of energy efficient retrofits and planning, design, construction, and maintenance needs of zero net energy buildings.
  • There will be three main types of buildings targeted (with the potential of others):
    1. Medium to large commercial or mixed use
    2. Multi-family (medium to large-sized developments, local properties, etc.) including condominiums
    3. Government buildings
  • Develop “train the trainer” materials so that the training can continue after the end of the project.
  • Cities can confidently review, guide, and permit zero net energy projects now and in the future. 

DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTATIONS

The Cities expect the following from the selected consultant(s):

  • At least one joint, in-person training session for both cities, for each of the three key groups, as well as additional remote training sessions. These must be recorded with notes for future use. The Cities will provide the venue, refreshments, and incentives for key group members to join. 
  • Assistance with promoting the training sessions through direct marketing to key groups.
  • Virtual, recorded sessions and/or in-person site visits that illustrate case studies of buildings that are energy efficient, net zero, passive house, etc. with cost and energy savings figures provided. 
  • Work with the Cities’ existing programs to enhance incentives and savings options available, including the National Grid Community Solutions Program, PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), MassSave, CCA (Community Choice Aggregation), etc. 
  • At least monthly 1-hour meetings with the core municipal team to share updates and continued efforts to engage. The consultant(s) will run the meetings. City staff to take notes.
  • List of existing training resources. This will be regularly updated by the Cities and permanently available for developer reference.
  • A summary of “Lessons Learned” throughout the program for each key group and interim City guidelines for developers prior to adoption of the net zero building code. 
  • Availability for answering questions and providing support throughout contract term.
  • Additional Service quote requested:
    • Availability for support and Q&A for one year, November 2022-October 2023, up to 52 hours. This will be paid at an hourly rate for members of the team to respond to trainee questions. The rate of pay shall be stipulated in the proposal.

The following products are required:

  • Presentation materials, such as webinar recordings, display boards, slides, videos, etc., shall be submitted to the municipal team. All materials will become the property of the Cities of Salem and Beverly.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

The anticipated timeline for project completion is one year from the award of a contract, with all work being completed by October 14, 2022.

PROJECT FEE

The City has established a budget not to exceed $20,000 for the Scope of Service described herein (the Additional Service requested above is NOT included in that fee). Proposers must complete the Price Proposal Form. Fees shown shall include all costs and expenses (including materials, copying, mileage, photography, etc.) necessary to complete the Scope of Services of this Request for Quotes.

The Project is being funded through a Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Accelerating Climate Resiliency (ACR) Grant. The City of Salem shall be the Fiscal Agent for the project; all invoices shall be submitted to the City of Salem, which shall apply for all reimbursement from the City of Beverly. The City of Beverly reports to and receives reimbursement from MAPC.

Costs to the selected bidder include staff time to develop the trainings, travel, implementation of the trainings and provision of hourly consultation.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Selection Committee shall first review each proposal to ascertain whether or not the following minimum criteria have been met:

  1. The technical proposal includes all of the items for a complete proposal.
  2. The lead personnel must have at least five (5) years of experience in conducting zero net energy building retrofits/sustainability and education/training of professionals
  3. The proposer must have successfully completed a minimum of three (3) similar projects or programs within the last five (5) years.
  4. At least one member of the team must be an engineer (mechanical or electrical) and the team must employ or contract with an architect.

CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS

Together, the Cities seek a consultant with expertise in building retrofits and zero net energy to provide interactive, hands-on training for municipalities and the development community, who are key in ensuring that new and existing buildings are energy efficient and resilient. The selected consultant will have a broad range of expertise in:

  • Energy policy and incentives (local, state, and federal)
  • Deep energy retrofits and building electrification
  • Zero net energy buildings (new and existing; residential and commercial)
  • Renewable energy
  • Affordable housing retrofits and development
  • Building codes, including implications of the anticipated zero net energy building code

This overall project helps to ensure that climate resilience occurs in tandem with mitigation.

 

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL CRITERIA

The technical proposals shall be reviewed based on the following criteria: 

  1. Completeness of the response to the Request for Quotes
  2. Approach to the proposed Scope of Work.
  3. Alignment of the proposed Scope of Work with the objectives of the Cities. 
  4. Demonstrated understanding of specific issues to address in the Cities through training and outreach.
  5. Reasonable project schedule that meets the Cities’ timeline and a demonstrated ability to complete projects on time. 
  6. Qualifications and experience of the lead consultant and/or project manager on similar Training plans. 
  7. Qualifications of any sub-consultant(s)/team members who will work with the lead consultant on the project.
  8. Evaluation of work samples.
  9. Communication with the public through printed materials, social media, etc.
  10. References and past performance related to providing quality services.

 

COMPARATIVE CRITERIA

All responsive proposals will be judged according to the following criteria:

Plan of Services

The project proposal includes a reasonable, detailed, innovative, and highly efficient approach to address all the required issues within the time period, and provides a strong understanding of the Scope of Services.

Quality and Depth of Project Experience

The project demonstrates experience with similar projects and has a proven record of completing projects on time, within budget, and on schedule. Project work samples are of superior quality in content and technical presentation.

Qualifications of the Proposer

The proposer’s resume(s) demonstrate their training, educational and work experience appropriate to this project. All key personnel demonstrate related professional experience.

Overall Quality of Client References

References speak favorably of the work performed by the proposer and would use them in the future. All confirm that the consultant met schedule and budget expectations.

Completeness and Quality of Proposals

The proposal is complete, concise, informative, and detailed, demonstrating excellent communication and documentation skills. The Cities are convinced of the proposer’s ability to provide the required level of services.

RULE FOR AWARD

Any contract that may result from this procurement shall be awarded to the responsible and responsive proposer offering the most advantageous proposal, taking into consideration all evaluation criteria described herein.

SELECTION PROCESS

The Cities of Salem and Beverly will jointly evaluate proposals. Any questions will be sent to proposers. The Cities reserve the right to request a virtual interview of the project proposal team. Notification of award will be made, then the Proposer will need to provide necessary contractual documents. Notice to Proceed will be issued after all contractual documents are executed.

PROJECT FEE

The City has established a budget not to exceed $20,000 for the Scope of Services described herein. Proposers must complete Attachment B – Fee Proposal Form. Project fees must be provided for each of the areas work as described in the form. Fees shall include all costs and expenses (including materials, copying, mileage, photography, production of handbook, etc.) necessary to complete the scope of services in this Request for Quotes.

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