RFP Utility Rate Study 2025

Fri, 02/28/2025 04:30 PM PST

Request Response Information:
Notice is hereby given that the City of Willamina will open proposals from qualified consultants for the creation of the Utility Rate Study Project at 04:30 PM local time on Friday February 28, 2025 via hard copy submission.

Request DescriptionRequest Category Code:
Water Meters/Utilities, Water Resources Infrastructure, Stormwater Improvements, Rate Study

Description:
Proposals are due to the City by Friday, February 28, 2025, 4:30 p.m. The City of Willamina is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to conduct a comprehensive utility study for rates and System Development Charges (SDCs). The goal of the study is to independently assess and evaluate the City’s existing water delivery and sewer service cost structure and provide a new 10-year plan with rates and guidelines. The broad objective of the study is to adequately fund water and sewer utility operations and infrastructure costs and promote conservation, while minimizing rates to the greatest degree possible. The study will be based on a comprehensive review of the City of Willamina’s water and sewer funds and budgets, customer classes, current usage data, future planned growth of the City pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan, and Water and Sewer planning documents. These services shall also include recommendations for funding the operation and maintenance of the Storm Drainage System and a review of existing Systems Development Charges (SDC’s) for the Storm Drainage system. Proposals are due no later than 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 28, 2025, and must be received by that time and date. Proposal postmark dates and times will not be considered as meeting that deadline. Proposers must send six (6) bound copies of their proposal, one (1) unbound copy, and one (1) separately sealed fee proposal envelope to: City of Willamina 411 NE C Street Willamina, OR, 97396 Attn: Christine Talley Proposals shall be clearly marked: “Utility Rate & SDC Study — City of Willamina.” The City is not responsible for proposals that are delinquent, lost, mismarked, and sent to an address other than that given above, or sent by mail or courier service. The City reserves the right, after opening the proposals, to reject any or all proposals, or to accept the proposal(s) that in its sole judgment is (are) in the best interest of the City. DESCRIPTION The city has a population of 2,200 and is located in both Yamhill and Polk Counties, 28 miles west of Salem, Oregon. The water and sewer utility serves all areas within the city limits as well as a lumber mill just outside City limits. Service is provided to approximately 900 water and sewer accounts, including 20 commercial accounts. All residences are charged for sewer by means of a flat rate schedule. Water meters have been installed on all residential and commercial accounts. The City’s total budgeted revenues/expenditures for fiscal year 2024/2025 are $2.8M/$2.8M for the sewer fund and $5.8M/$5.8M for the water fund. The City uses Caselle accounting software on a Windows based server. BACKGROUND The current utility rate structure was adopted in June 2018 after a rate study was conducted in 2015. The water rate study recommended two potential actions. The council adopted a third option that included a portion of the recommendations by the rate study. The Council resolution no.17-18-011 with the new rates and a scheduled 5% annual increase to each of the water base rate, usage rate, and sewer flat rate to occur every January unless amended by the City Council. Funding for operation and maintenance of the City’s storm drainage system have been historically included in the sewer fund. The City is currently developing a wastewater facilities planning study that includes an upgrade to the sewer lift stations in the capital improvement plan (CIP). The City has Systems Development Charges (SDC’s) for Sewer, Water, and Storm Drainage. Sewer and water SDC’s were established in the mid 1990’s. Storm Drainage SDC’s were established in 2003. SCOPE OF WORK STUDY OBJECTIVES 1. Propose a rate schedule that is fair and objective that reflects the costs of service and promotes conservation. 2. Propose a fee schedule for new service connections that is fair and objective and fully recovers the cost of construction, engineering and planning. 3. Develop a sound financial rate structure for ten years of operation, maintenance, rainy day savings, capital replacement and future regulatory requirements. 4. Provide guidelines for rate definitions of customer classes, including non-standard connections, i.e. multi-family properties on one-meter, mixed use, and commercial customers without pretreatment devices (e.g. a Food Service Establishment (FSE) without a grease interceptor) 5. Provide guidelines for funding the operation and maintenance of the Storm Drainage System. 6. Review Systems Development Charges (SDC’s) for Sewer, Water and Storm Drainage and make recommendations, if needed, in order to fully fund future improvements to the utility systems that are needed as a result of new development and regulatory requirements. STUDY REQUIREMENTS 1. The recommended rate structure shall be based on cost of service and shall be sufficient to meet the short and long-term revenue requirements of the City of Willamina utilities (water, sewer, and storm). 2. The study shall recommend rate structures that consider and make provision for the following factors: a) Current and future cost of providing utility service in accordance with established and anticipated standards and regulations. b) Projected demands. c) Availability of supply -- seasonal fluctuations and potential draught. d) Age and condition of the system and the need to fund long-term capital improvement and replacement for the supply, treatment, and distribution infrastructure. e) Impact of current and future environmental regulations. f) A base rate and usage rate to encourage water conservation. 3. The recommended rate structures shall provide identification of revenues appropriated to major funded activities and infrastructure. 4. The recommended rate structures shall be consistent with industry practice for utility rates in the State of Oregon. 5. The study shall provide at least two recommended alternatives for commercial sewer rates based upon high BOD or FOG. 6. Rates shall include provision for an emergency rate structure to address drought conditions or other interruptions in supply. 7. The recommended rate structure shall result in no decrease in stability of the revenue stream to the utility, as compared to the current structure. 8. The recommended rate structure shall be easy to administer and understand. 9. The proposed rate structure must work with the City’s automated billing system. 10. The recommended rate structure shall be planned for at least ten years. 11. The study shall provide recommendations for funding of storm drainage operations, maintenance and improvements, both within the existing rate structure or as a separate utility. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY CONSULTANT Draft Report: 1. Conduct a detailed review of the existing utility rates and status of the utility, and develop a general familiarity with the City’s billing system. 2. Confer with staff as needed. 3. Prepare a preliminary proposal and attend one meeting (evening) with the City Council for a working session to present the proposal and obtain their input. 4. Hold a public meeting during one evening to obtain comments on the proposal. 5. One additional public meeting may be required. Final Report: a) Incorporate changes based on comments received at the first presentations. b) Submit 10 copies, plus one reproducible copy. c) Provide a disc or drive with the report in MS Word format, with spreadsheets in Excel format. d) Present the final report and recommended rate structure to the City Council and members of the public at a regular Council meeting. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CITY The services to be provided by the City include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: 1. Furnish all reasonably available records and information, including financial reports, budgets, and consumption data. 2. Provide a loaner copy of the Water and Sewer Plans. 3. Provide staff support as required and agreed to in advance of study. Proposal Content The City of Willamina requires the proposer to submit a concise proposal clearly addressing all of the requirements outlined in this RFP. Proposal must include, at a minimum, the following sections in the order indicated: 1) Information Page – Include project name, name of firm submitting the proposal, contact information for the person that will act as project leader including name, title, address, telephone and fax numbers and email address. 2) Description of Study Understanding - Outline of the proposer's understanding of the study and summarizing the basic approach to the rate study and revenue program. 3) Methodology - Descriptions which enable the City of Willamina to assess the proposer's capability to conduct this study in a structured and efficient fashion. 4) Scope of Work - Details with specific task descriptions to demonstrate that the proposer has considered all aspects of the study and that the proposer will cover them thoroughly. 5) Timetable – A timetable which identifies the main elements of the project, according to the Scope of Work, and projected completion dates throughout the project period. This timetable will be used to pre-notify City staff of their required involvement and the timing of same. The complete draft report shall be submitted to the City within 90 days after award of contract. The City recognizes that performance by consultant is dependent upon performance by City. The City shall make schedule adjustments to reflect any delays caused by City. The final report, in hard copy and in Microsoft Word format on a disk, shall be submitted to City within 30 days of receipt of City comments. 6) Personnel - Resumes of the individual(s) assigned to the study and other staff personnel available to support the study. Particular attention should be given to the proposer's organization which provides internal service for supporting the study team and facilitates quality assurance auditing of the study work. 7) Qualifications - Description of the organization, covering background experience connected with wastewater rate studies, as well as other rate studies and revenue programs. 8) Representative Study Descriptions and Client References -Submit descriptions of similar assignments which were conducted by the proposer, including other agency’s contact name and telephone number. 9) A copy of a proposed contract may be attached. Proposers shall provide evidence of professional liability insurance. Submittal Date & Information Proposals are due no later than 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 28, 2025, and must be received by that time and date. Proposal postmark dates and times will not be considered as meeting that deadline. Proposers must send six (6) bound copies of their proposal, one (1) unbound copy, and one (1) separately sealed fee proposal envelope to: City of Willamina 411 NE C Street Willamina, OR, 97396 Attn: Christine Talley Proposals shall be clearly marked: “Utility Rate & SDC Study — City of Willamina.” The City is not responsible for proposals that are delinquent, lost, mismarked, and sent to an address other than that given above, or sent by mail or courier service. The City reserves the right, after opening the proposals, to reject any or all proposals, or to accept the proposal(s) that in its sole judgment is (are) in the best interest of the City. Proposers are encouraged to register by email at the address below. The city will create a list to disseminate changes, amendments and deletions to the RFP. Those registered by email will receive all questions presented by proposers and responses by the City. Sign up by email with: [email protected] Selection Process The following is an outline of the procedures the City will use in the selection process: 1) Organize the Selection Committee. 2) Selection Committee sends out request for proposals to interested parties. 3) Selection Committee reviews the proposals submitted by the prospective consultants. 4) Selection Committee selects proposals which qualify based on the following factors: a) Experience of the firm and project manager and assigned team in preparing wastewater rate studies, development of rate structures, development of financing scenarios, preparation of revenue programs. b) Record of the firm, and project manager and assigned team in preparing rate studies within required time frames. c) Record of the firm and project manager in being responsive to the clients’ requests. d) Quality of work previously performed by the firm for the City and other agencies. e) Community relations, including evidence of sensitivity to citizen concerns. f) Ability to communicate effectively with citizens, elected officials, and staff professionals. g) Ability to tailor a rate study and revenue program to meet the requirements and needs of the City. h) Geographic location of the principal offices of the firm and proximity of staff working on the study to the City. 5) Negotiations will take place with the primary firm on the final scope of work, the final contract proposal, and the proposal price. If a contract cannot be negotiated for this study, the negotiations with the designated consultant shall be terminated in writing and negotiations shall be started with the next highest rated consultant. 6) The selected firm will be notified of the final approval of the contract by the City Council. 7) Firms not selected will be notified following the approval of the contract by the City Council. Evaluation Criteria The City intends to engage the most qualified consultant available for this assignment. It is imperative the consultant's proposal fully address all aspects of the RFP. It must provide the City's staff with clearly expressed information concerning the consultant's understanding of the City’s specific requirements which would result in the conduct of this study in a thorough and efficient manner. The following criteria shall be used in evaluation of the proposer's offer of services: 1) Consultant experience in providing financial consulting services on studies of similar scope for water and wastewater rate studies. 2) Project manager and his/her team's experience in conducting assignments of similar scope. 3) Methodology to be employed in conducting the study. 4) Proposer's support organization and in-house quality control and quality assurance methods. 5) Proposal clarity in expressing the understanding of the City needs and in defining a work plan for satisfying these needs. 6) Schedule compatibility with City needs. 7) Availability to work with City staff.

Owner Details
Owner Name: City of Willamina
Address: 411 NE C St, Willamina, OR - 97396
Phone: 5038762242
Contact: Bridget Meneley
Email: [email protected]

Solicitor Details
Solicitor Name: Keller Associates - Salem
Design Discipline: City Engineer
Address: 245 Commercial Street SE, Suite 210, Salem, OR - 97301
Phone: 503-364-2002
Contact: Austin Emerick
Email: [email protected]