Request for Proposals for Mono County Drought Resilience Plan

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Introduction

The County of Mono, Community Development Department (CDD), is soliciting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to establish a county-wide Drought Resilience Plan (DRP). Community Development is responsible for administering the Drought Resilience Plan as well as establishing and maintaining a Drought Relief Task Force (DRTF). These programs were created in response to CA Senate Bill 552, which requires counties to establish the task force and develop a drought emergency response plan for domestic wells and small water systems (serving 4-14 connections).

This work is being funded by a grant awarded through the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).  The main purpose of this solicitation is to identify and contract with a qualified consultant to perform the scope of work with a work completion date of November 17, 2025.

All bid materials are posted at: https://bids.monocounty.ca.gov/rfp/request-proposals-mono-county-drought...

Anticipated Scope of Work

The Consultant will develop an SB-552 compliant DRP that includes the following elements:

1. Drought and Water Shortage Risk Assessment: The County aims to understand pathways and potential impacts of water shortage events on County residents and the environment. The Consultant will utilize publicly available data as well as data provided by the State, County, and other relevant parties.
   
   The Consultant will identify potential drought impacts by reviewing records from previous drought periods, where available, and identify areas that are most susceptible to water shortages, including areas with high densities of domestic wells and areas served by state small water systems. The Consultant will investigate both the physical and social vulnerability of these populations through a comprehensive risk assessment approach using the checklists provided in the DWR Guidelines for the Small Community Drought Relief Program.
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2. Short-Term Response Actions: In coordination with water stakeholders and water managers, a portfolio of short-term response actions will be established under an interim action plan to address immediate public health and safety needs during a water shortage event. The Consultant will consider and evaluate the feasibility of emergency actions, which may include but are not limited to:

• Emergency supply agreements between County water suppliers;
• Emergency interties between neighboring water systems;
• County-wide policies (e.g., streamlining well construction permits, mandatory conservation measures).
• Emergency drinking water supplies (e.g., bottled water, fill stations).

Additional emergency and interim actions will be considered based on discussions at quarterly Community Drought Relief Task Force meetings. Emergency and interim solutions will be selected based on their implementation feasibility by the County or other identified lead agency. The DRP will include clear triggers and an implementation strategy for each identified solution.

3. Long-Term Mitigation Strategy and Actions: In coordination with water stakeholders and water managers, the Consultant will develop long-term mitigation strategies, including preventive measures, for areas susceptible to drought and water shortage conditions. Long-term mitigation strategies may include but are not limited to:

• Developing a domestic well drinking water mitigation program in coordination with property owners and local water management agencies;
• Consolidation of existing water systems and domestic wells;
• Development of conservation strategies and education for demand reduction;
• Identification and prioritization of infrastructure projects that provide additional sources of supply; and,
• Data acquisition and data gap filling.

Additional strategies and actions will be considered based on discussions at the Community Drought Relief Task Force meetings and input gathered from outreach and engagement activities. Long-term mitigation strategies will be selected and developed based on their implementation feasibility by identified lead agencies or through County-wide or regional coordination.

4. Implementation Considerations: In this section, the Consultant will create a roadmap to DRP implementation, including:
   • An analysis of local, state, and federal funding sources available to implement the plan; and
   • An analysis of the steps necessary to implement the plan.
   • Coordination between County departments, water suppliers and stakeholders, and other agencies.
5. Submit Draft DRP: Prior to publishing the Final RFP, the Consultant will hold a public workshop during a Drought Relief Task Force meeting to discuss their DRP work and explain the public commenting process. 
6. Written quarterly progress reports.
7. Compliance with CCD/DWR Agreement #4600016060.
8. Prepare Findings for Adoption of the DRP: Following the public comment period, Consultant will compile findings and incorporate both public and County comments for the final DRP for the County Board of Supervisors to consider.  The final DRP shall be submitted to Mono County by November 17, 2025.

Timelines and Major Milestones

April 2025: Select Consultant, begin drafting Drought Resilience Plan

Summer and Fall 2025: Consultant to attend Community Drought Task Force meetings (remote attendance is possible) to provide updates, draft details, and hear community and inter-agency concerns to be incorporated in DRP.

Fall 2025: Public outreach and comment period prior to Board consideration of final plan.

November 17, 2025: Submit Final draft of DRP to Mono County Community Development Department.

December, 2025: DRP goes to Board of Supervisors for consideration of adoption.

Budget

The preparation of the Drought Resilience Plan is fully funded by the grant awarded to Mono County Community Development by the California Department of Water Resources (attachment 1: Agreement #4600016060). The Consultant’s funding award is not to exceed $80,000.

RFP Requirements

To be considered, a consultant responding to this RFP must provide the following items and/or information in the submittal:

• A cover letter which shall provide the following: name, title, address, telephone number and email of individuals with the authority to negotiate and contractually bind the company.
• A statement of the consultant’s qualifications, including a brief profile of the company and key personnel who will be assigned to work on the project.  Any relevant certifications or education should be identified. 
• Discussion of proposed approach to the project, including any assumptions, methodologies, special resources, etc., and a timeline for completion. If relevant, include any recommendations for additional items which should be added to the project scope to assure success.
• A brief discussion of similar projects performed by the consultant with references and contact information for each.
• A not-to-exceed cost proposal which is itemized by phase, task, and completion date. Each item must include designated personnel and estimated hours based upon the Consultant’s proposed work plan.
• A disclosure of any financial, business or other relationship that the prospective consultant has with the County or any County employee that may have an impact upon the outcome of the selection process of this project. Alternatively, the consultant shall provide a signed statement that no disclosure is being made because no such relationship exists.
• A general statement confirming the ability to meet the following minimum insurance requirements:
  • General Liability: $2 million combined single limit per occurrence. An additional insured endorsement applying to the County of Mono will be required upon contract award.
  • Automobile Insurance: $1 million combined single limit per occurrence.
  • Professional Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance: $1 million each occurrence/$1 million policy aggregate.
  • Workers Compensation: in the legally required amount for employees engaged in the work.
• Any additional information demonstrating the consultant’s capabilities as related to the selection criteria listed below.

Scoring Criteria

Each submittal will be reviewed to determine if it meets the requirements contained under “Submittal Requirements”. An evaluation committee will evaluate the submitted RFPs based on the following criteria and values:

ITEM	SELECTION CRITERIA	VALUE
1.	Familiarity with drought conditions and concerns throughout the state of California.	20 pts
2.	Familiarity with unique environmental characteristics of Mono County.	20 pts
3.	Professional qualifications and experience of key personnel, and recent experience in projects comparable to proposed tasks.	40 pts
4.	Demonstrate capability to meet schedules and complete projects without major cost escalations or overruns.	20 pts

The evaluation committee may choose to conduct oral interviews. Cost negotiation with the top-qualifying firm(s) will follow the evaluation, if necessary, and then the selected firm will be expected to enter into a contract with the County to govern the provision of those services.

Questions about this RFP are due by 5 pm on Thursday, March 13, 2025, and must be sent in writing to ebauer@mono.ca.gov. Responses to all questions will be posted online only on the RFP webpage by 5 pm on March 14, 2025.

RFP Submittal

• Deadline: To be considered, one digital copy of the consultant’s RFP must be submitted to the address below by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Hard copies (maximum 2) are also welcome and may be sent to the address below.
• Send to:

Mono County Community Development Department

c/o Erin Bauer

1290 Tavern Rd., Suite 138

PO Box 347

Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

• Modifications or Withdrawals of Submittals: Any RFP received prior to the date and time specified above for receipt may be withdrawn or modified by written request of the consultant prior to the submittal deadline.
• Property Rights: RFPs received become the property of the County and all rights to the contents therein become those of the County.
• Confidentiality: Before award of the contract, all submittals will be designated confidential to the extent permitted by the California Public Records Act. After award of the contract (or if not awarded, after rejection of all submittals), all responses will be regarded as public records and will be subject to review by the public. Any language purporting to render all or portions of the submittal confidential will be regarded as non-effective and will be disregarded.
• Amendments to Request for Proposals: The County reserves the right to amend this RFP by addendum before the final submittal date.

State/County Funding Requirements for Contract Award

In addition to adherence to the agreement between Mono County Community Development and the Department of Water Resources, prospective and selected consultants are bound by the competitive bidding requirements outlined in Mono County Code Chapter 3.04 – Purchasing.

Review and Selection Schedule

Submittals will be evaluated using the criteria described above. It is CDD’s intention to evaluate submittals to award the contract, select consultants for interviews if necessary, and notify those consultants within two weeks of the deadline for submittals.

This RFP does not commit the County to award the contract, to pay any costs incurred in preparation for this request, or to procure or contract for services. The County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submittals received as a result of this request, to negotiate with any qualified firm or to modify or cancel in part or in its entirety the RFP if it is in the best interests of the County to do so.

Please contact Erin Bauer at (760) 924-4620 or by email at ebauer@mono.ca.gov should you have any questions or comments regarding this request.