Comprehensive Plan Update

Purpose and Need

Richland County last completed a comprehensive plan in 2006, which can be found at https://www.swwrpc.org/our-work/comprehensive-plans . Wisconsin statute 66.1001 requires updates every 10 years. The County Board's Strategic Plan sets as a goal the completion of a new comprehensive plan by 2024. The Rules & Strategic Planning Committee completed a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats analysis of the comprehensive plan at its October 6, 2022 meeting. The findings were that the biggest strength of the existing plan was data, the biggest weakness was implementation, the biggest opportunity of a future plan is community groups, and the biggest threat is money. An update of the comprehensive plan should address these findings, as detailed in the Scope of Work and Budget sections of this Request for Proposals (RFP). The plan is intended to inform decision-making and guide the county's development over the next 10 to 20 years.

Community Background

Richland County is located in Southwest Wisconsin between Madison and La Crosse with a population of 17,304 (2020 census). The area is rural and scenic, with a high senior population and a gradual transition from agricultural to recreational land use. It was founded in 1842 and named for the high quality of its soil. Richland County is known for its history of dairy farming and beautiful steep hills and deep valleys, as well as numerous high-quality trout streams and excellent deer hunting opportunities.

Tourism is growing in the county. Rural, small-town attractions such as the Galaxie Skate Center, Eagle Cave, the Starlite 14 drive-in movie theater, orchards, and a winery are complemented with the nationally renowned A.D. German Warehouse. Richland Center is the birthplace of Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed the Warehouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The outdoor Woodman Aquatic Center opened in 2020, and Richland Center is home to Symons Recreation Complex, which has an indoor pool, fitness classes, an exercise room, and racquetball courts. The Richland Center Auditorium is operated by the Richland County Performing Arts Council, which is restoring the first municipal auditorium built in Wisconsin.

Some of the largest employers include Schreiber, Rockwell, S & S Cycle, Richland County, the Richland Hospital, and the Richland School District. Nearby Cardinal Glass is also a large source of employment. Immigrants from other countries recruited by some employers have recently begun arriving in the county. Richland Center is also home to the UW-Richland campus, which is owned by the County and operated by the UW-System. The campus was opened in 1967 and has featured an active international student program. The county has two nursing homes – Pine Valley Community Village (owned and operated by Richland County) and Schmitt Woodland Hills. The Wisconsin State Riverway borders the southern edge of the county, with five additional County-owned public park lands throughout (i.e., Ash Creek Community Forest, Pier County Park, Pine River Recreational Trail, Rifle Range, Viola County Park). Housing development has recently begun in Richland Center and Viola.

Richland Center is the county's largest and only city, as well as the seat of county government. The County is governed by a 21-member Board of Supervisors with a full-time Administrator and approximately 300 employees. Richland County also has 5 incorporated villages (Boaz, Cazenovia, Lone Rock, Viola, and Yuba) and 16 townships (Akan, Bloom, Buena Vista, Dayton, Eagle, Forest, Henrietta, Ithaca, Marshall, Orion, Richland, Richwood, Rockbridge, Sylvan, Westford, and Willow), each with its own elected board and comprehensive plan.

Scope of Work

Working with the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee as the reviewing body, a vendor is sought to provide the following services to Richland County:

1. Managing the project
2. Summarizing existing plans
3. Updating data
4. Engaging the community
5. Developing an updated comprehensive plan

If applicable, interested vendors should note any proposed deviations or additional services in their scope of work.

Managing the Project

Project management is sought to keep plan's development on schedule for completion by March 19, 2024. Potential vendors should describe how they propose to manage the project with Richland County's 9-member Rules & Strategic Planning Committee. This committee meets on the first Thursday of each month at 10am with a remote attendance option, and is expected to be the managing/reviewing body for the development of the updated plan. The Richland County Board of Supervisors will be the adopting body for the updated plan.

Summarizing Existing Plans

Richland County has several existing plans that guide the work of the organization. Potential vendors should describe how they propose to summarize existing plans, and how those plans will be tied to the development of the updated comprehensive plan. Potential plans may include:

• A.D. German Warehouse visioning report
• Capital improvement plan
• City of Richland Center comprehensive plan
• County comprehensive plan
• Five-year financial plan
• Hazard mitigation plan
• Housing and workforce study
• Land and water resource management plan
• Outdoor recreation plan (see image below)
• Strategic plan
• UW-Richland Campus plan

A vendor should also be prepared to summarize existing zoning related ordinances .

Updating Data

The biggest strength of the existing plan was found to be its data. Potential vendors should describe how they propose to select data to update (with input from the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee), and how that data will be tied to the development of the updated comprehensive plan. The updated plan should review or analyze data in the past plan, to be used to improve the accuracy of the new plan. New data sets to evaluate may also be proposed. While County staff will be available to assist the selected vendor by sharing and updating relevant data, analysis of the data, including any mapping in GIS, will be a responsibility of the selected vendor.

Engaging the Community

The biggest opportunity for updating the plan was found to be outside community groups. Potential vendors should describe how they propose to engage the community, using methods such as workshops, meetings, tabling at community events, and online surveys. A written public participation plan will be required to fulfill Comprehensive Planning Law 66.1001, and this plan will be proposed for adoption by the Richland County Board of Supervisors before community engagement begins. After community engagement is completed, a report should be written to describe the key themes and results.

Developing an Updated Comprehensive Plan

The biggest weaknesses of the existing comprehensive plan were found to be implementation followed by usability. Potential vendors should describe how they will develop an updated comprehensive plan that is both implementation-focused and usable. The County desires a more public friendly, modern, brief, and graphically rich plan. Measureable goals, strategies, and actions should be clearly stated throughout the plan and summarized in an easy-to-reference chart/s. Priority levels and responsible parties for actions are desired.

Potential vendors should also describe how they propose to develop goals, strategies, and actions in a manner that is directly connected to the results of community engagement. Vendors are encouraged to bring their own expertise and identify any topics that were not revealed in the community engagement process.

The County also desires to use goals, strategies, and actions to facilitate a more robust, proactive capital improvement program.

Comprehensive Planning Law 66.1001 details nine required elements for a comprehensive plan. Potential vendors should describe how they propose to include all nine elements in an updated plan (i.e., separate or combined chapters).

Potential vendors should be prepared to present draft and final plans to the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee and County Board of Supervisors for review and adoption. Remote attendance at some meetings is a possibility.

Proposal Requirements

Potential vendors should limit their proposal to 40 pages (or 20 pages front and back) including cover pages, cover letters, section breaks, and all required elements including the following:

• Firm/organization profile
• Project understanding and scope of work with deliverables
• Resumes of individuals proposed to work on the project, including relevant experience
• Descriptions of similar projects, including references and links to final project documents
• Schedule (schedule for project completion is 12 months – see Timeline section of this RFP)
• Budget, including fully loaded rates and number of hours by task for each individual, and a “not to exceed” dollar amount.

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Criteria — Possible Points

40-page limit — 5

Relevance of firm/organization profile to the project — 10

Project understanding and scope of work — 25

Resumes of individuals — 5

Other relevant projects, including references and links to documents — 20

Schedule — 10

Budget — 25

Total — 100

Timeline

RFP Distribution — January 5, 2023

Written Questions Due — January 26, 2023

County Responses Due— February 2, 2023

Proposal Submittal Deadline — February 16, 2023 (4pm, CST)

County Review of Proposals by Rules & Strategic Planning Committee — March 2, 2023

Interviews by Rules & Strategic Planning Committee (if necessary) — March 9, 2023

Approval of Vendor Selection by County Board — March 21, 2023

Notice to Proceed — March 22, 2023

Adoption of the Updated Comprehensive Plan by the County Board — March 19, 2024

Submittal of Questions

All questions or desired clarifications must be submitted in writing to the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee using the contact information provided below. Phone calls are not allowed. All questions and answers will be posted to the County's website and sent to those who submitted questions.

Rules & Strategic Planning Committee

Attn: Cheryl Dull, Administrative Assistant

181 West Seminary Street

Richland Center, WI 53581
cheryl.dull@co.richland.wi.us

Submittal of Proposals

Five hard copies and one electronic copy of the proposal shall be submitted to the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee using the contact information provided below. Proposals are due Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 4pm CST. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered.

Rules & Strategic Planning Committee

Attn: Cheryl Dull, Administrative Assistant

181 West Seminary Street

Richland Center, WI 53581
cheryl.dull@co.richland.wi.us

Budget

Budget control is of utmost concern with this project. The selected vendor should be prepared to submit monthly invoices showing time and expenses incurred to the Rules & Strategic Planning Committee for review and approval. While the County has not set a budget for this project, vendors should be prepared to propose a competitive budget compared with recently completed comprehensive plans in communities similar to Richland County.

Terms and Conditions

1. Richland County does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, marital or veterans' status, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status in the selection of vendors.
2. The County will enter into negotiations with a vendor based on the County's selection team recommendations. Negotiations will be conducted beginning with the vendor ranked first. If a contract that is satisfactory and advantageous to the County can be negotiated at a price considered fair and reasonable, the award will be made to that vendor. Otherwise, negotiations with the vendor ranked first will be formally terminated and negotiations conducted with the vendor ranked second, and so on until a contract can be negotiated at a fair and reasonable price.
3. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to divide responsibilities among one or more applicants or firms, to waive formalities, and to select the individual or firm which, in the County's sole judgment, can best perform the scope of services required.
4. Ownership of all data, material, and documentation originated and prepared for the County pursuant to the RFP shall belong to the County and be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by potential vendors shall not be subject to public disclosure under (FOIA) unless otherwise required by law or a court. Potential vendors may label staff rates as proprietary information.
5. The County is not liable for any costs incurred by any potential vendor in connection with this RFP or any response by any potential vendor to this RFP. The expenses incurred by a potential vendor in the preparation, submission, and presentation of the proposal are the sole responsibility of the potential vendor and may not be charged to the County, regardless of whether or not a potential vendor's proposal is ultimately selected by the County for completion of the work detailed in this RFP.
6. The final description of the services and/or specifications to be provided to the County under this RFP is subject to negotiations with the successful vendor, and final approval of the County.
7. The vendor shall maintain, during the life of the negotiated contract, public liability and property damage insurance to cover claims for injuries, including accidental death, as well as from claims for property damages that may arise from the performance of work under the contract.

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