RFP for Conservation Easement Attorney Services

Agency: Buncombe County
State: North Carolina
Type of Government: State & Local
NAICS Category:
  • 541110 - Offices of Lawyers
  • 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Posted Date: Jan 23, 2024
Due Date: Feb 14, 2024
Bid Source: Please Login to View Page
Contact information: Please Login to View Page
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RFP for Conservation Easement Attorney Services

Buncombe County's Farmland Preservation Program is seeking an attorney to provide legal services and guidance for the County Conservation Easement Program. Buncombe County Soil and Water has been holding conservation easements since 2005 and applies for NCDA and USDA grant funds to compensate landowners for the bargain sale of their development rights. The program needs the support of legal services to complete the conservation easement transactions, like deed writing, title searches, and legal advice to help the program complete the easement process to follow the project timelines.

Table: News Item Documents
File Name Size Type Date & Time Added
RFP for Conservation Easement Attorney Services 341 KB 01/23/2024 9:52 AM

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BUNCOMBE COUNTY
Request for Proposal
Conservation Easement Attorney Services
Date of Issue: 01/23/2024
Proposal Submission Deadline: 02/14/2024
At 2:00 PM ET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
2.2 NOTICE REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
2.3 RFP SCHEDULE
2.4 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS
2.5 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
2.6 PROPOSAL CONTENTS
3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND EVALUATION
3.1 METHOD OF AWARD
3.2 EVALUATION CRITERIA
4.0 REQUIREMENTS
4.1 CONTRACT TERM
4.2 PRICING
4.3 VENDOR EXPERIENCE
4.4 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS
5.0 SCOPE OF WORK
6.0 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
Buncombe County's Farmland Preservation Program is seeking an attorney to provide legal services and guidance for
the County Conservation Easement Program. Buncombe County Soil and Water has been holding conservation
easements since 2005 and applies for NCDA and USDA grant funds to compensate landowners for the bargain sale of
their development rights. The program needs the support of legal services to complete the conservation easement
transactions, like deed writing, title searches, and legal advice to help the program complete the easement process to
follow the project timelines.
Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.
2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
The RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award.
All attachments and addenda released for this RFP in advance of any Contract award are incorporated herein by
reference.
2.2 NOTICE REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions, the County’s terms and conditions, all relevant exhibits and
attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications
herein. Vendors also are responsible for obtaining and complying with all addenda and other changes that may be
issued in connection with this RFP.
If Vendors have questions, issues, or exceptions regarding any term, condition, or other component within this RFP,
those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in Section 2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS. If
the County determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be
communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. The County may also elect to leave open the possibility for later
negotiation and amendment of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question and
answer period. Other than through this process, the County rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any
additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal. This applies to any language appearing
in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’
instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall
constitute a firm offer. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or
modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and
will be disregarded. Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute
sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.
2.3 RFP SCHEDULE
The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The County will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.
Event
Issue RFP
Submit Written Questions
Provide Response to Questions
Submit Proposals
Contract Award
Contract Effective Date
Responsibility
County
Vendor
County
Vendor
County
County
Date and Time
01/23/2024
01/30/2024 by 5:00 PM
02/07/2024
02/14/2024 by 2:00 PM
02/21/2024
02/21/2024
2.4 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS
Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the
best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by
the above due date.
Written questions shall be emailed to nina.alexander@buncombecounty.org by the date and time specified above.
Vendors should enter “RFP Conservation Easement Attorney Services Questions” as the subject for the email. Questions
submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section.
Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the County’s response, and any additional terms deemed
necessary by the County will be posted in the form of an addendum. No information, instruction or advice provided orally
or informally by any Buncombe County personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection
with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding.
2.5 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
Proposals will be received until 2:00 PM, 02/21/2024. All proposals may be submitted electronically submitted via
email and properly identified with the title RFP “Conservation Easement Attorney Service Proposal.”
Proposals may b e emailed to:
Nina.alexander@buncombecounty.org
The County’s capacity for email attachments is 9mb. It is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure the proposal is received
prior to the proposal acceptance time. Late proposals will not be accepted. The County reserves the right to accept
or reject all or any part of any proposal, waive informalities and award the contract to best serve the interest of the
County. It is the responsibility of the applicant that their proposal is received. Receipt of proposals can be verified by
calling 828-250-4311.
2.6 PROPOSAL CONTENTS
Vendors shall populate all attachments of this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and include an
authorized signature where requested. Vendor RFP responses shall include the following items and those attachments
should be arranged in the following order:
a) Cover Letter
b) Title Page: Include the company name, address, phone number and authorized representative.
c) Describe the background, experience, and capabilities of your firm as it relates to the Scope of Work outlined in
the RFP.
d) Identify all subcontractors you intend to use for the proposed scope of work. For each subcontractor listed,
proposers shall indicate 1.) What products and/or services are to be supplied by that subcontractor and; 2.) What
percentage of the overall scope of work that subcontractor will perform.
e) List at least 3 client references public and private of similar size for whom you have provided services in the past
three years. Provide telephone numbers and contact names for references.
f) Provide specific costs for services.
g) Each Vendor shall submit with its proposal the name, address, and telephone number of the person(s) with
authority to bind the firm and answer questions or provide clarification concerning the firm's proposal.
3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS
3.1 METHOD OF AWARD
All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to the Vendor(s) meeting the RFP requirements and
best fits the needs of the County.
Buncombe County reserves the right to reject any and/or all submittals, and to waive defects, technicalities and/or
irregularities in any submittal. The County reserves the right to finalize a contract with one or more firms based on all
factors involved in the written qualification submittal without further discussion or interviews.
Proposals will generally be evaluated according to completeness, content, and experience with similar projects, ability
of the Vendor and its staff, and cost.
Vendors are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract, and the County reserves the
unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of the County.
3.2 EVALUATION CRITERIA
Following the deadline for submittals, a selection committee will review the submitted proposals. The selection
committee will review, analyze, and rank all submittals based on their response to the information requested. The
selection process will include the following criteria in the evaluation of proposals. These criteria are not necessarily listed
in order of importance.
Selection will be based on qualifications and demonstration of experience with conservation easement deed writing and
real estate transactions, title work, provider availability, specific technical approach, etc.
4.0 REQUIREMENTS
4.1 CONTRACT TERM
The Contract shall have an initial term of one year, beginning on the date of contract award (the “Effective Date”).
4.2 PRICING
Proposal price shall constitute the total cost to Buyer for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and
specifications herein, including all applicable charges handling, administrative and other similar fees. Vendor shall not
invoice for any amounts not specifically allowed for in this RFP.
4.3 VENDOR EXPERIENCE
In its Proposal, Vendor shall demonstrate experience with public and/or private sector clients with similar or greater size
and complexity to Buncombe County. Vendor shall provide information as to the qualifications and experience of all
executive, managerial, legal, and professional personnel to be assigned to this project, including citing experience with
similar projects and the responsibilities to be assigned to each person.
4.4 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS
a) Vendor warrants that qualified personnel shall provide Services under this Contract in a professional manner.
“Professional manner” means that the personnel performing the Services will possess the skill and competence
consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry. Vendor agrees that it will not enter any agreement
with a third party that may abridge any rights of the County under this Contract. Vendor will serve as the prime
contractor under this Contract and shall be responsible for the performance and payment of all subcontractor(s) that
may be approved by the County. Names of any third party Vendors or subcontractors of Vendor may appear for

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