San Miguel County (“County”) is requesting proposals from qualified professional firms or individual contractors to provide services associated with Climate Action Strategy Modeling, focusing on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction scenarios for government operations emissions.

The County adopted its regional Climate Action Plan in 2023 and established Greenhouse gas reduction targets in Resolution # 2023-4. The actions in the resolution were as follows.

1. Reduce the County government’s GHG emissions to 26% of 2010 levels by 2025, 50% of 2010 levels by 2030, and 100% of 2010 levels by 2040.
2. Continue to support the Sneffels Energy Board’s mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of valuable natural resources in the region through coordinated community engagement, project implementation, and policy change at both local and state levels and adopt the San Miguel and Ouray County Regional Climate Action Plan with the goal of a 50% reduction in our GHG emissions by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2050 from a 2010 GHG emissions baseline.
3. Annual Review of the County’s GHG reduction targets and San Miguel and Ouray County Climate Action Plan by the Board of County Commissioners.
4. Prioritize the following sectors to meet our GHG reduction targets: climate policy priorities, energy supply, building emissions, transportation, waste and material, food, water, land and air quality, and emergency response.

San Miguel County completed its clean energy projects in 2023. This project was supported through the Colorado Energy Office's Energy Performance Contracting program and greatly improved energy efficiency and renewable energy resource utilization across multiple facilities. San Miguel County balances both energy efficiency and renewable energy generation through solar to optimize funding and maximize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.

In 2022 San Miguel County was awarded two grants through the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and the Colorado Energy Office to develop a region-wide Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Plan for the San Miguel and Ouray Counties. The Plan focuses on supporting the current and future adoption of EVs, including on-road personal and fleet vehicles and necessary EV infrastructure. The plan was completed in 2023 and an EV task force was created to help implement the plan.

The Commissioners prioritized the sectors for the County in the Resolution and staff have created a long list of actions under those sectors. With limited resources, we need to focus on our GHG targets and what sectors and actions will have the greatest impact to achieve our goals.

We are contracting for a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy Analysis to translate targets into action and ensure staff at all levels of the organization have access and understanding as to what is needed to achieve deep GHG reductions within the desired time frame.

The Contractor will be responsible for general project management and communications to the County’s Natural Resources and Climate Resilience Director (NRCR).

Requested Services will include:

1. A project kickoff meeting with NRCR Director
2. Final project plan and baseline schedule to include; invoicing schedule, staff meetings, analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, Model BAU emissions through 2050, Model GHG reduction strategies, development of a list of strategies, wedge analysis, and final reporting.
3. Work with the County Staff to identify key GHG reduction strategies to model.
4. Identify and collect necessary background data to model each strategy.
5. Conduct a high-level modeling effort to determine GHG emission impacts from the list of potential strategies.
6. Bi-weekly meeting with the NRCR Director.
7. Monthly coordination and strategy meetings with the San Miguel County Staff.
8. Monthly and quarterly progress reports to the NRCR Director and potentially a final report for all project deliverables presentation to the Board of County Commissioners
9. Provide monthly invoices (or tbd)

The Contractor will use San Miguel County’s existing GHG emission inventories to develop a business-as-usual (BAU) forecast through 2050. This forecast will show expected San Miguel County emissions if no further action is taken and potentially two additional moderate and aggressive scenerios to reduce emissions.

The BAU will be used to model key GHG emission reduction strategies and identify the most impactful strategies the County can pursue to reduce emissions. At this time we have identified the following sectors; Transportation, Building Energy, Energy Supply, Food/waste and Land. Reduction strategies and targets will be identified through collaboration between the Contractor and the County staff.

The proposed schedule for the Contractor selection is as follows:

Milestone Proposed Dates

RFP Issued April 11, 2024

Questions Deadline April 19, 2024

Questions Response deadline April 26, 2024

Proposal Due May 1, 2024

Notification of Selection (Tentative) May 8, 2024

Contract (Tentative) May 15, 2024

Project Kickoff (TBD) May 16, 2024

Project Completion (TBD) No later than December 1, 2024

All dates are subject to change at the discretion of the County.

Inquiries on the contents and requirements of the RFP will be accepted in written electronic form only. Inquiries can be emailed to the attention of: Starr Jamison to starrj@sanmiguelcountyco.gov For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. . The deadline for inquiries is April 19th at 5:00 PM Mountain Time, after which time no further inquiries will be addressed.

Substantive requests for information received may be responded to in writing by the County in the form of an addendum to this RFP and sent to all recipients of the RFP.

Maximum page count for the proposal is five (5) sheets, two-sided. Resumes can be added to the proposal as part of the proposal’s appendix not applicable to the maximum page count, with five (5) sheets maximum, two-sided.

Proposals must include clear descriptions of the firm’s capabilities to perform the requirements of the RFP, including the following:

1. Transmittal Letter. This letter should outline the Contractor’s ability to provide the experience and scope of services requested. Please describe the company’s size, management, and ownership, including: name, address, number of years in business, number of employees, and primary contact. This letter must be signed by an officer who is authorized to bind the Consultant and state that the proposal is binding for 90 days from the submission deadline for proposals.
2. Staff Experience. Include a brief description of each key staff assigned to a typical project. Identify any sub-consultants proposed to serve on the project as well.
3. Sample Projects. Include up to three (3) sample projects including tasks and deliverables provided to the owner that are similar to what the County seeks. Include a brief description of the project, owner contact information, and project cost.
4. Exceptions. Please include a statement regarding exceptions to the County’s sample contract included in the Attachments. If no exceptions are included, the County expects the Consultant will be able to sign the County’s contract and provide the required insurance and indemnification.
5. Fee Estimate. Please submit a fee estimate for the total project cost for requested services # 1-9, including each of the tasks outlined in the scope of work and the total number of hours expected. Also, provide a menu of pricing for scenarios and strategies.
6. Signatory Requirements. The Transmittal Letter must be signed by the contractor’s representative who is empowered with signatory authority for the company. The form may be accompanied by a Corporate Resolution.

The proposals must be submitted by Wednesday, May 1, 2024, PM Mountain Time. Late proposals will not be accepted. It is the Consultant’s responsibility to see that the Proposal is received at the proper time. The County is not responsible for delayed deliveries due to connectivity problems. The time the proposal is logged as received in the City’s email system shall determine the official time received. Please submit an electronic copy of the proposal to the attention of Starr Jamison at starrj@sanmiguelcountyco.gov For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. with the subject heading “RFP for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy Analysis.”

The County will have a Selection Committee for the evaluation and ranking of proposals. The County may conduct interviews if determined necessary after review of the proposals.

The top three (3) ranked firms based upon the proposals (and interviews if held) will be given the opportunity to execute a professional services agreement with the County in the form attached to this RFP. If an agreement regarding scope and fee is not reached within a reasonable period, the County may pursue negotiations with the next ranked firm or reissue the RFP altogether. The Proposals will be evaluated and rated based on the factors listed below.

1. FIRM QUALIFICATIONS AND CAPACITY MAX POINTS 20

2. QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE OF KEY PERSONNEL MAX POINTS 20

3. UNDERSTANDING OF THE TYPE OF WORK BEING REQUESTED MAX POINTS 30

4. APPROACH AND SCHEDULING OF THE TASKS REQUIRED MAX POINTS 30

A. San Miguel County’s Climate Resilience Webpage https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/701/Building-Climate-Resilience

B. Regional Climate Action Plan https://www.ecoactionpartners.org/cap

C. San Miguel County EV Readiness Plan https://www.ecoactionpartners.org/ev-readiness-plan

D. San Miguel County’s CAP Action Items Work Book https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17qm6m6tJkJnqHH02oHINVe-s7SD3PQsp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104653132010952373334&rtpof=true&sd=true