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TOWN OF SMITHFIELD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

WINDSOR CASTLE PARK RECREATIONAL VENDER SERVICES

1. Purpose

The Town of Smithfield and its Windsor Castle Park Foundation Board are seeking proposals from qualified venders to provide outdoor and environmental programming services and concessionaire services and personnel for Windsor Castle Park under an exclusive contract agreement.  Windsor Castle Park is owned by the Town of Smithfield and is located along Jericho Road situated on approximately 208 acres and bounded by Cypress Creek and Little Creek.  The park presently offers a canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier and nature overlook – all on Cypress Creek, as well as miles of walking trails, a mountain bike trail and picnic area.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is intended to solicit responses from qualified firms or individuals interested in and capable of performing the desired services outlined herein.  It is the Town of Smithfield’s intention to negotiate a multi-year contract for such services and other possibly other related passive recreational oriented services.

A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference will be held on site (canoe/kayak launch parking area) at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.  Windsor Castle Park is accessible for viewing during normal hours when open to the public.

1. Scope of Services

The services requested may include, but not be limited to the following: canoe and kayak rentals, instruction and nature tours; mountain and road bicycle rentals and tours; shuttle services; environmental outreach programs – trail walking, bird watching, fishing and habitat education; health and fitness promotion; sale of non-alcoholic beverages and snack items; sale of equipment and supplies, etc. related to the above services and programs.

The successful vender must be prepared to do the following upon execution of a service provision contract with the Town of Smithfield:

• Finalize a service provision and program plan for the town’s approval.
• Employ staff sufficient in number to provide approved services and programs at the park.  Supervise such staff and enforce safe operation and responsible use of park infrastructure including trails, piers and rental equipment.
• Collect fees to include programming services, rental fees and concession take.
• Maintain a book of accounts and records consistent with accepted accounting practices and make the same available for audit by the Town Treasurer.
• Develop a list of concessionaire items to be sold and rented and submit to the town for approval.  The sale of tobacco products and alcohol are prohibited.
• Purchase and maintain comprehensive general liability insurance during the life of the contract.
• Promptly report all observed park safety concerns and repair needs to the town.

Further, the Windsor Castle Park Foundation Board is interested in vender recommendations for long range operational and developmental plans that would improve the operation of the park as a community asset.

1. Facilities

Presently the park infrastructure dictates that the vender will need to bring all supplies needed to provide and perform above services and programming on site in a portable mode.  There are two possible staging or storage areas.  The first is an open grass field immediately adjacent to the canoe/kayak launch parking lot.  The second is an open, metal roof utility storage shed near the fishing pier.  This non-historic structure may need to be shared with on site farming operations use or other uses at the park (see attached photos).  Use of water and electricity available at the park will be negotiated in the contract.  Any vender proposed site improvements must be approved by the town.

All park infrastructure and equipment affixed to the real property, except for the historic structures (two houses and outbuildings), dog park and farm fields, that are open to the public will be available for the vender’s use.  The town reserves the sole right to approve and conduct special events on site at the park.  All revenues generated from such special events and private functions belong to the Town of Smithfield.  The town may invite the vender to participate in providing services related to special events and those vender fees would be negotiated in advance of any such event.

1. Financial Consideration

The successful vender in return for the above exclusive rights and use of the property will agree to donate a portion of their revenues (percentage of gross, flat rate, etc.) generated at Windsor Castle Park to the park foundation account.  Donations to the foundation are tax deductible eligible.  The Town Treasurer will provide specific instructions to the vender in this regard following contract execution.

1. General Instructions

In order to be considered for selection, submit a complete response to this RFP.  Submit one (1) original and nine (9) copies of each proposal.  Proposals received after the prescribed date and time shall not be considered and shall be returned to the offeror.  Proposals shall be signed by an authorized representative of the offeror.

Failure to submit all information requested may result in the town requiring prompt submission of missing information and/or giving a lowered evaluation of the proposal.  Proposals which are substantially incomplete or lack key information may be rejected by the town.  Proposals should be prepared simply, providing a concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP.  Each copy of the proposal should be bound or contained in a single volume, and all documentation submitted should be contained in that single volume.

Offerors who submit a proposal in response to this RFP may be required to give an oral presentation of their proposal to the town.  This provides an opportunity for the offeror to clarify or elaborate on the proposal.  This is a fact finding and explanation session only and does not include negotiation.  Oral presentations are an option of the town and may or may not be conducted.

1. VI.          Specific Proposal Instructions

Submit the following items as a complete proposal:

1. Cover Sheet – Complete and return the attached cover sheet.
2. Experience – Provide a written narrative statement to address experience in providing goods/services described herein; names and qualifications of personnel to be assigned to this location; and references or list of clients during the past five years that directly relate your ability to perform the services needed under this RFP.
3. Approach – Describe your proposed tasks and activities necessary to provide recreational vender services to the town.  Provide a complete list of services to be provided at Windsor Castle Park. List equipment available to perform work.  State management and financial systems to be used and include a project/service deployment schedule with milestones.
4. Budget – Provide a draft budget including projections for business activity and revenues and expenditures.  State your financial and operational goals and objectives and provide an assessment of risks relevant to the financial viability of such operations at the park. 

Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 15, 2010.  Proposals may be mailed to the attention of the Town Manager, Town of Smithfield, P.O. Box 246, Smithfield, Virginia 23431 or may be hand-delivered to the Town Manager’s Office, located at 315 Main Street in downtown Smithfield.

1. Evaluation and Award Criteria

Proposals shall be evaluated by the town using the following criteria:

• Overall approach to providing requested services at the park and quality of the proposal.
• Offeror’s experience and knowledge of managing/providing similar services in size and scope to this request.
• Experience and qualifications of personnel who will perform services and work at the park.
• Proposed budget, cost of services and financial stability of offeror.
• References and background checks.

Selection shall be made of two or more offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals, on the basis of the factors involved in the Request for Proposals, including price if so stated in the RFP.  Negotiations shall then be conducted with each of the offerors so selected.  Price shall be considered but need not be the sole determining factor.  After negotiations have been conducted with each offeror so selected, the public body (town) shall select the offeror which, in its opinion, has made the best proposal, and shall award the contract to that offeror.

Should the public body (town) determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified, or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that offeror.  The notice of award shall be posted on the bulletin board for public notices located in the office of the Town Manager.

1. Proprietary Information

Ownership of all data, materials and documentation originated and prepared for the town pursuant to this RFP shall belong exclusively to the town and may be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA).  Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by an offeror shall not be publicly disclosed under VFOIA, however the offeror must invoke the protection of this section prior to or upon submission of the data or other materials and must identify the data or other materials to be protected and state the reasons why protection is necessary.  Offerors must indicate on the Cover Sheet the portions of their proposal that are proprietary.  Please list the page numbers and the reasons.  DO NOT mark the entire proposal proprietary.

Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted electronically via email to Town Manager Peter M. Stephenson at pstephenson@smithfieldva.gov.  All questions that are pertinent to the RFP will be answered in the form of an addendum provided by email to all recorded holders of the RFP.  Additional information, photographs and park map (under “At the Park” section) regarding Windsor Castle Park may be found at the park’s official website: www.windsorcastlepark.org.

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