DATE:
May 10, 2022
CATEGORY:
Consent
DEPT.:
Community Development
TITLE: Economic Vitality Strategy Consultant
Contract
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an agreement with Community Attributes, Inc., for a total not to exceed $177,700 to develop an Economic Vitality Strategy.
BACKGROUND
On October 12, 2021, the City Council provided feedback to staff on a scope of work outline related to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for consultant services to aid in the development of an Economic Vitality Strategy for the City of Mountain View. On January 10, 2022, the City of Mountain View posted an RFP (R21ED1) for an Economic Vitality Strategy.
Staff contacted 21 well-known consultants throughout the United States and encourag ed them to respond to the RFP. Staff also worked with members of the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance (SVEDA) to share the Mountain View announcement with their professional service contacts.
On February 25, 2022, at the close of the RFP period, the City received qualifying responses from the following five consultants:
• Community Attributes, Inc.
• Ernst & Young U.S. LLP
• Hinderliter de Llamas & Associates (HdL)
• Strategic Economics, Inc.
• TIP Strategies, Inc.
Economic Vitality Strategy Consultant Contract
May 10, 2022
ANALYSIS
An Evaluation Committee (Committee), comprised of City staff from Economic Development and the City Manager’s Office as well as an outside Economic Development consultant, reviewed and scored each proposal independently to determine the most qualified and suitable firm. Proposals were evaluated with the following objective, qualitative, and quantitative scoring criteria.
• Proposer’s experience, especially with public agencies, including the experience of staff to be assigned to this project, in engagements of similar scope, and complexity:
— Proposer provides meaningful and relevant examples of local jurisdictional (City) work developing Economic Development/Vitality Strategies.
— Lead and support staff should have direct experience project managing and working on Economic Development/Vitality Strategies.
— Representative examples that include community engagement.
• Work plan or project approach, meeting the RFP requirements:
— Approach to providing services as outlined in the RFP.
— Quality of proposal.
— Satisfies City requirements for services and community engagement.
• Past performance, references, and customer service:
— Representative projects of similar size and scope.
— Proposer references related to performance, customer service, etc.
• Adherence to the requirement of the RFP/exceptions taken:
— Clear documentation to support exceptions or requested changes to the RFP requirements or conditions.
• Proposed Timeline:
— Work plan and timeline are clearly delineated.
— Timeline reflects required engagement and meetings as outlined in the RFP.
Economic Vitality Strategy Consultant Contract
May 10, 2022
• Supportive Additions Offered:
— Proposer notes additional value-added elements related to data needs.
— Engagement or other areas of the RFP that are viewed supportive additions not originally defined in the RFP.
• Total Cost to the City:
— Proposal of costs are clear and reasonable.
The Committee selected three consultants for interviews based on the screening criteria :
Community Attributes, Inc., Ernst and Young U.S. LLP , and Strategic Economics , Inc. On April 1, 2022, the three firms participated in virtual interview s with the Committee. The Committee used a rank-choice method in determining the final selection.
Evaluation Result
The final ranking of consultants resulted in Community Attributes, Inc. , being the first -choice firm. Community Attributes, Inc., is a professional services firm located in Seattle, Washington, that supports all phases of community and economic development. Community Attributes, Inc., currently employs 10 staff members across three main teams focusing on economics, planning , and data systems. They have experience crafting economic development strategies for large and small cities and regions, including places with innovation-driven economies with both a robust small business base and a strong technology presence , such as Seattle, Washington , and Boise, Idaho. In addition , they have had recent experience with leading an economic recovery framework for the greater Seattle region, which addressed equity issues , acknowledging the region’s challenges and analyzing how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated them.
Specifically, the work Community Attributes , Inc., did with the Greater Seattle Partners was similar to the proposed scope identified in Mountain View’s RFP. This work focused on developing an economic business recovery plan for the Greater Seattle region with a lens towards greater geographic equity, recovery of small business es, and improving racial and gender inequities. Through research, community and stakeholder engagement , and survey fieldwork , Community Attributes, Inc., identified key strate gic priorities within a recovery framework for the Greater Seattle Partners . Some of the priorities identified include d supporting small and locally owned businesses, elevating the roles and focus of private enterprise in the community, investing in living wages, and fostering partnerships between workforce development and small business development. These priorities are key areas for exploration identified in the City of Mountain View RFP.
Economic Vitality Strategy Consultant Contract
May 10, 2022
Relatedly, Community Attributes, Inc., completed a project with the City of Tacoma to develop an equity index as a web-based dashboard for Tacoma and its partners to use as a decision-making tool to help improve access to opportunities for all community members in Tacoma. The Community Attributes, Inc., Scope of Work for Mountain View also will include a web-based dashboard to help measure and evaluate success of the Economic Vitality Strategy.
More specific details of the Community Attributes, Inc., Scope of Work are detailed in Attachment 1.
References were very compl imentary towards the Community Attributes, Inc., team regarding their overall approach to developing economic development strategies and conducting community and stakeholder engagement, which were important criteria in the RFP. Community Attributes, Inc., has worked on several strategies for cities located in Washington and Oregon.
Bay Area work includes a transportation impact fee analysis for the City of Hayward.
Staff recommends awarding a contract to Community Attributes, Inc. , for an amount not to exceed $177,700 for the development of Mountain View’s Economic Vitality Strategy.
FISCAL IMPACT
In the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Adopted Budget, the City Council approved $200,000 to implement an Economic Vitality Strategy. The contract for consultant services is for $177,700.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Do not authorize the agreement Community Attributes, Inc. , for the development of an Economic Vitality Strategy.
2. Provide other direction.
Economic Vitality Strategy Consultant Contract
May 10, 2022
PUBLIC NOTICING
The Council meeting agenda and Council report have been posted on the City’s website and announced on Channel 26 cable television.
Prepared by:
John Lang
Economic Vitality Manager
Approved by:
Aarti Shrivastava
Assistant City Manager/
Community Development Director
Audrey Seymour Ramberg
Assistant City Manager/
Chief Operating Officer
JL/4/CAM
819-05-10-22CR
201696
Attachment: 1. Scope of Work