CITY OF CAMARILLO &
CAMARILLO SANITARY DISTRICT
Request for Proposals
Water Reclamation Plant Financial Plan
October 11, 2024
Firm Name:
Contact Name:
Contact Email:
Contact Phone:
2 NOTICE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Professional Consultant for the Water Reclamation Plant Financial Plan
The City of Camarillo is requesting proposals from interested, qualified, and experienced consulting firms to develop the Water Reclamation Plant Financial Plan.
Notice is hereby given that proposals will be received by the City of Camarillo (“City” or “Camarillo) until Friday, November 22, 2024, 4:30 p.m. PST through the PlanetBids Vendor Portal. It is the intent of the City to contract for these services effective January 2024 and will end upon completion of services.
Proposals may not be submitted by fax, email, telephone, mail, hand delivery, or other means; any submission of proposals received through any means other than PlanetBids will be returned to the applicant unopened.
Interested parties may submit a proposal for the RFP by visiting the City’s website at https://www.ci.camarillo.ca.us/departments/finance/vendor_registration_bids_contracts. php a nd following the link to PlanetBids to download the Request for Proposals and submit qualifications, new vendors are required to register.
Please see “Proposal Submission and Requirements” section of this document for further guidance on submittals.
Consultants shall submit all questions, clarifications or comments through the City’s PlanetBids electronic bidding system utilizing the Questions & Answers tab. Consultant questions must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM, November 18, 2024.
The City will review and rank submissions as detailed in the included evaluation criteria, and staff will make recommendations to City Council regarding the qualifications of applicants and suitability for the City’s present and projected needs. The award of any funds will be subject to negotiations regarding the scope of work, available budget to carry out the provisions of the proposed agreement, and approval of the Camarillo City Council. The City reserves the right to reject any or all submissions determined not to be in the best interest of the City.
3 Background
The City of Camarillo was incorporated in 1964 as a general law city and operates under the council -manager form of government. The City has a population of 70,621 and provides a wide range of services through internal staff or consultants for administration, community development/planning, public improvements, street and landscape maintenance, traffic engineering, wastewater and water being provided by City employees. Building safety, landscape maintenance, law enforcement, animal control, library services, capital projects, solid waste, street sweeping and transit services are provided via contract. Fire and parks & recreation services are provided by special districts.
The Camarillo Sanitary District was formed in the mid- 1950s and has provided wastewater service for the City and adjacent areas ever since. The Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) was originally constructed in 1957, and due to the sustained growth in the area, it was expanded in 1962 and again in 1978. In 1992 the overall capacity of the plant was increased to its present capacity of 7.25 million gallons per day. The plant is now a 65-year-old facility that is reaching the end of its useful life and requires repl acement within the next ten years.
In 2022 the Camarillo Sanitary District completed the WRP Wastewater Master Plan (WWMP). The goal of this planning document is to detail the condition of the wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure and provide a roadmap to achieve the necessary long-term improvements. The plan outlines four alternatives that are most representative of the potential solutions for upgrades:
• Alternative 1 – Expand the existing plant.
• Alternative 2 – Hybrid of expansion and new facility.
• Alternative 3 – New treatment facility on-site.
• Alternative 4 – New treatment facility off-site.
After evaluation, Alternative 3 was highlighted as the preferred option in the planning document, with an original total cost estimate of $135 million.
The City is currently evaluating the alternatives outlined in the WWMP and developing preliminary designs and cost estimates to assist in the evaluation of various options. Staff in coordination with a consulting firm are evaluating Alternatives 2 and 3 of the WWMP and will be presenting scenarios with cost estimates for the District’s review.
The City of Camarillo is seeking the services of a qualified consulting firm with financial, wastewater, and capital expertise to review the WWMP as well as the preliminary design
4 and cost estimates and develop a financial roadmap for how the City can fund the capital improvements needed in the WRP.
Scope of Work
Phase 1: Data Collection
City staff will make data available to the selected firm to assist in the development of the financial plan. Some of the data includes, but is not limited to:
• City of Camarillo Annual Budget
• 2022 Wastewater Master Plan
• 5- Year Capital Improvement Plan
• Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR)
• Relevant sections of the City of Camarillo General Plan • Urban Water Management Plan
• Most recent rate studies for wastewater*
Additional data may be requested by the consultant to assist in the development of the financial plan. As the City’s current vendor tasked with conducting the preliminary design and cost estimates finalizes the scenarios, the selected firm will be provided the new data.
*The selected firm may be included in any upcoming efforts to modify rates and fees.
Phase 2: Analysis
Upon the completion of the data collection phase, the selected firm must conduct an in- depth analysis of the City’s financial activities and infrastructure needs. Throughout the analysis phase the firm must hold meetings with relevant City staff and consultants to gain further feedback on each of the data sets and documents collected.
Throughout or upon conclusion of the analysis, the selected firm must provide the project management team with a preliminary overview of their findings. The preliminary analysis must include, but it is not limited to:
• Initial assessment of the City’s financial status, including the preliminary analysis of the General Fund and Sanitary District Fund.
• P reliminary analysis of the needs as compared to the existing funding available (needs versus resources).
• Findings of other cities’ funding strategies with similar population, financial resources, and infrastructure needs.
• Any other resources, data sets, or additional analysis needed to complete this phase.
5 City staff and other stakeholders will provide feedback on the overview of the analysis prior to the actual development of the financial plan. Multiple rounds of discussion may be required before continuing to the plan development phase, and committee/Council presentations on the preliminary findings and analysis may be required.
Phase 3: Plan Development
Upon the completion of all data collection and analysis ( and upon the project management team approval), the selected firm will use the discovery and feedback from the previous two phases to develop the WRP Financial Plan. The plan will provide roadmaps for how the Sanitary District will finance said needs in light of the analysis conducted on the existing resources.
The roadmap must include a wide range of financing options and implementation strategies, including but not limited to the following:
• Grant resources available at the local, state, and federal level, also including public/private partnerships when appropriate.
• Short- and long- term loans, including but not limited to State Revolving Funds (SRF), Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), and more.
• Debt issuance, including but not limited to general obligation debt, revenue debt, special assessment debt, and more.
• Use of available general/enterprise funds not committed to other programs and projects.
Prioritization
City staff is currently engaged in the development of a prioritization criteria to help rank capital projects by level of importance. Upon completion of this process, the criteria will be provided to the selected firm to assist in the development of the financial plan.
Prioritization must be taken into consideration when developing the financial scenarios to ensure the correct phasing is taking place.
The selected firm will present a preliminary draft of the roadmap and scenarios for each of the projects in the financial plan for City staff review. Similarly, as previous phases, multiple discussions may take place before finalizing the roadmaps and overall plan, and committee/Council presentations on the preliminary plan may be required.
Phase 4: Deliverables
Upon the completion and approval of the financial scenarios, the selected firm will gather all options into a single document to be reviewed and presented to City Officials and staff for final approval and implementation.
The draft of the Financial Plan must contain, but it is not limited to the following components:
6 o Executive Summary
o Summary of Data Collected
o Analysis of needs and resources
o Prioritization Criteria
o Financial Plan (scenarios of financial alternatives per project) o Challenges & Opportunities
Phase 5: Implementation (optional)
The selected firm may be tasked with assisting in whole or in part with the implementation of the Financial Plan, however, actual implementation will be determined at the completion of the plan, as the City may already have the resources to conduct the implementation.
The consulting firm must provide a recommendation of how the implementation should be prioritized based on competitiveness/availability of funds and capital infrastructure needs.
Timeline
The prospective firm must develop a proposed schedule for the project and include associated milestones to ensure project timeliness. The proposed timeline shall specify how long it will take the consultant to complete each phase of the project.
The timeline shall include the following meetings:
• M eetings in person or virtually with City and District staff, including but not limited to kick- off meeting, data collection meetings , data discussions and site tours, preliminary analysis review meetings, analysis presentation to committee/Council, plan development and review meetings, plan presentation to committee/Council, and final report presentation. Additional milestone meetings may be identified by the consultant in the proposal.
Please note that this scope of work is preliminary in nature and subject to change based on the feedback and recommendations of the selected firm. The City is open to modifications to enhance the deliverables of the scope.
Required Proposal Information
The Consultant is responsible for preparing an effective, clear, and concise proposal. To be considered for selection, vendors must submit a complete response to this Request for Proposal that includes the following mandatory information and/or requirements in the following format. Failure to provide any of the information requested below may be cause for the proposal to be rejected.
1. Cover Letter (1 page)
7 A Request for Proposal transmittal letter introducing the Consultant and/or Firm and the individual who will be the primary contact person.
2. E xecutive summary (1 page)
3. Statement of Qualifications (3-4 pages)
a) Background information including specific qualifications and experience in providing similar services to government/public sector entities.
b) Describe your organizational structure and explain how your organization qualifies to be responsive to the requirements of this Request for Proposal.
c) References: Provide a list of at least three (3) clients for whom you have provided similar services within the last five (5) years, comparable to that described within this Request for Proposal. Indicate client organization name, contact person, and phone number.
d) Provide three (3) examples of similar work conducted for other public agencies.
e) Provide proof of financial stability enabling the firm to be capable of meeting the requirements of this Request for Proposal.
f) Proof of insurance:
See Exhibit C in the attached Professional Services Agreement “Attachment A”:
4. Scope of Work (5 pages)
a) A discussion of your Firm’s methodologies used and/or approaches taken to successfully accomplish the duties and responsibilities stated in the RFP’s Scope of Work section.
5. Cost Proposal (2 pages)
This section shall define the fee schedule/pricing information for the project .
Pricing shall remain firm for the length of the initial Agreement term. Thereafter, any proposed pricing adjustments for follow -on renewal periods will require a contract amendment and shall be submitted to the City representative in writing at least ninety (90) days prior to the new Agreement term. City reserves the right to negotiate any pricing adjustment.
6. A letter, signed under penalty of perjury, regarding disclosure of financial interests of City officials or employees with the Firm (1 page).
7. Firms are required to list past, current, or pending litigation resulting from professional services rendered over the past five years. If a court or an arbitrator 8 rendered a decision, state the results.
8. The signature of an authorized individual to bind the Firm. The proposal must be a firm offer good for a 120‐day period.
Proposed Evaluation Criteria
The City of Camarillo intends to evaluate and rank the technical proposals received by utilizing the following criteria:
Criteria Points
Qualifications of the Firm
Strength and stability of the firm; experience and technical competence of sub-Consultants; logic of project organization; adequacy of labor commitment.
25 Qualifications of Personnel
Qualifications, education and experience of project staff, key personnel’s level of involvement in performing related work.
10 Related Experience
Experience in providing services similar to those requested herein; experience working with public agencies; strength of scope of work ; assessment by client references.
30 Completeness of Response
Completeness of response in accordance with RFP instructions; exceptions to or deviations from the RFP requirements; inclusion of required licenses and certifications.
10 Reasonableness of Cost and Price
Reasonableness of the individual firm-fixed prices and/or hourly rates, and competitiveness of quoted firm -fixed prices with other proposals received; adequacy of the data in support of figures quoted; basis on which prices are quoted.
25 Each of the proposals received by the deadline will be evaluated and determined if it meets the stated requirements. Failure to meet these requirements will be a cause for eliminating the consultant from further consideration.
The City is not liable in any way for any cost incurred by a consultant or in the preparation of its proposal in response to this RFP nor for obtaining any required insurance.
Evaluation of the proposals will be made and ranked by the designated staff, using the evaluation method described above. In addition to evaluating written proposals, demonstration of proposed platforms, portals, and any other software will be required.
The technical ranking may be adjusted subsequent to the completion of the interview(s).
9 The final evaluation and ranking of the proposals will consider the scores from the technical review and interviews /demonstrations, with the final selection being based upon qualification, experience, resources, understanding of the City’s requirements, approach, methods and procedures, and schedule. The highest ranked firm will be selected to negotiate an Agreement utilizing the submitted cost proposal as a starting point.
General Information
• The Consultant shall provide the City with any exceptions, additions, or suggestions that will aid in the selection process.
• The proposal and this RFP shall jointly become part of the Agreement for Professional Services for this project when said agreement is fully executed by the Consultant and City.
• Subcontractors/subconsultants (subcontractors): The Proposer may utilize the services of subcontractors on those parts of the work which, under normal contracting practices, are performed by specialty subcontractors. Unless a specific subcontractor is list ed by the Proposer, Proposer is representing to City that Proposer has all appropriate licenses, certifications, and registrations to perform the work hereunder.
o After submission of the proposal, the Proposer shall not award work to any unlisted subcontractor without prior written approval of the City.
The proposer shall be fully responsible to the City for the performance of his/her subcontractors, and of persons either directly or indirectly employed by them.
o Nothing contained herein shall create any contractual relation between any subcontractor and the City.
• A term of the Agreement will be that the individual directly responsible for Consultant’s overall performance of the work will be so designated in the Agreement and that person will serve as principal liaison between City and Consultant and attend all necessary meetings related to the Financial Plan .
This person shall be identified ahead of time and designated in the Agreement, and no other individual may be substituted without the prior written approval of the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee.
Proposal Submission
10 Proposals will be received by the City of Camarillo (“City”) electronically through the City’s online bid management provider (“PlanetBids”), until 4:30 p.m. PST on Friday, November 22, 2024. Proposals may not be submitted by fax, email, mail, hand delivery, or other means; any submission of qualifications received through any means other than PlanetBids will be returned unopened.
Interested parties may submit a proposal for the RFP by visiting the City’s website at https://www.ci.camarillo.ca.us/departments/finance/vendor_registration_bids_contracts. php an d following the link to PlanetBids. To download the Request for Proposals and submit qualifications, new vendors are required to register.
No amendments, additions or alterations will be accepted after the submission deadline.
Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposal and documents submitted become the property of the City of Camarillo.
City Rights Reserved
The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals without explanation. The City reserves the right to negotiate the specific requirements and costs using the selected proposal as a basis of negotiation.
The City also reserves the right to reject any proposals if they are deemed unsuitable to the City's needs. Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered. The City reserves the right to determine the completeness of all proposals.
Professional Services Agreement
The chosen vendor will be required to execute a Professional Services Agreement, similar to that found in "Attachment A” (which includes the City’s insurance requirements in Exhibit C). If a vendor wishes to modify any of the terms of the agreement, the reason(s) for the changes should be included in the proposal. The following are important requirements of the City of Camarillo to be included in the final, approved Professional Services Agreement:
1. The vendor will be required to comply with all existing State and Federal Labor laws.
2. The vendor will be required to meet all State and Federal laws applicable to Disadvantaged and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) provisions.
3. The vendor must obtain a City of Camarillo Business License.
11 Attachment A – Professional Services Agreement
[See Attachment]