The City of Middletown Department of Development Services is seeking well-qualified individuals, firms, or teams to develop a Community-wide Neighborhood Plan for the City's thirty-eight (38) neighborhoods that works in concert with the City's newly adopted Comprehensive Plan. This Plan will transform the ideas and vision from the Comprehensive Plan along with the results of community input engagement into action items that will positively impact the citizens of Middletown.

This contract will require ongoing engagement with the City neighborhood stakeholders including, but not limited to, residents, businesses, workers, area commissions, faith-institutions and other organizations in order to develop a comprehensive community plan to guide future development. The engagement process should incorporate strategies for engaging communities that are most often underrepresented in decision-making processes, including Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), people with limited English language proficiency, youth, people with limited access to technology, and those who have experienced housing and/or food instability.

Additionally, the selected team will build partnerships, develop and distribute project communications. This work will be conducted in collaboration with a technical team that will be conducting analysis for the comprehensive community plan. The results of the technical studies will allow for an informed engagement process. A broad range of engagement activities/communications will be expected and may include in person meetings, mailings, advertisements through City social media, etc.

BACKGROUND:

The City of Middletown is located in northeast Butler County and northwest Warren County in Southwest Ohio. Middletown is centrally located between Cincinnati and Dayton along the I-75 corridor. Neighboring communities include: The City of Franklin, Franklin Township, Warren County to the north; Franklin Township, Warren County to the east; City of Monroe to the south; and Lemon and Madison Townships, Butler County to the west. The Great Miami River is conterminous with a portion of the Middletown's western and northern municipal boundaries.

Middletown is a fast expanding and happening city. It is the goal of the City of Middletown that its streets, alleys, and sidewalks are lighted and safe to walk down; that all residents have convenient access to healthy foods within walking distance; that residents have access to the medical care that they need; and they can receive a good education from the public-school system. By investing in these items, the city will work together to improve the high school graduation rate; reduce the number of families receiving federal assistance; reduce crime rates; lower the number of individuals claiming disability status; and decrease the current unemployment rate. As the city moves forward with transformational changes, it is vital to assess the current context and discuss with the community to determine how the future is shaped. To this end, the city initiated the Destination Middletown process.

Destination Middletown is the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Middletown. It is intended as a guiding document that exemplifies the community's vision and goals for the city in the coming decade. The plan presents this vision with strategic guidelines and recommendations for improvement that incorporates and builds upon existing conditions and emerging trends in key areas, such as land use, economic development, parks and open space, transportation and infrastructure management, and housing.

The Comprehensive plan is meant to aid Middletown with improving its standing as a premier community through improving quality of life and opportunities for residents, workers, and visitors. From the community's vision, the plan identifies five aspirational goals/themes to focus Middletown's growth around: creating and fostering Resilient Neighborhoods, a Thriving Economy, Strong Infrastructure, Health and Safe Living, and Pride in Community. These umbrella themes resonate throughout the Comprehensive Plan and are supplemented by focused objectives and an Implementation Guide. The Guide provides a series of recommended action items categorized by the five major goals. The Comprehensive Plan and Implementation Guide will serve as policy framework documents that will help direct the city in prioritizing developmental growth and regulating policy changes to best achieve Middletown's vision for the future.

Destination Middletown – Adopted May 2022:

https://www.cityofmiddletown.org/DocumentCenter/View/4857/Destination-Middletown---2022-Comprehensive-Plan

Projected Timeline:

• Request for Proposal Submittal Deadline: May 19, 2023
• Selection Process/Interviews: May 22 – June 5, 2023
• Anticipated Work Start Date: TBD

CONTENT OF PROPOSAL:

1. Cover Letter
   1. Include a cover letter introducing the responding company or team of companies and briefly describe your proposal. Include contact person's name, email address, mailing address, and phone number.
2. Project Understanding
   1. Briefly describe your understanding of the project and the City's goals.
3. Development Team and Management Structure
   1. Proposed project team and qualifications, including an organization chart identifying all key project team members and demonstration that each team member is qualified to perform the assigned role and tasks.
4. Qualifications/Similar Project Examples
   1. Provide information on similar or relevant projects that the each of the responding firms have executed. Include graphic representation of the work. Links to project examples are encouraged.
5. References
   1. Provide a minimum of three client references that may be contacted for verification of the respondent's work history and qualifications. Provide names, telephone numbers, and email addresses for each reference.
6. Estimated Project Timeline
   1. Describe the timeframe required to complete all work described in your proposal.
7. Estimated Project Cost
   1. A work plan with cost schedule (including an hourly fee schedule) which will clearly show costs of the various elements/tasks of the project during the contract period resulting in a total lump sum fixed fee for the services during the contract period.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS:

An original proposal and three (3) copies shall be submitted.

Documents must be in a clear legible 12-point font and 8.5x11 inch format. Incomplete submittals may not be considered. Late Responses will not be considered. Respondents must adhere to the Submittal Requirements. Failure to comply with the instructions of this RFP will be cause for rejection of submittals. Respondents will not be considered if they have an unsatisfactory prior performance record with the City of Middletown or other agencies. Further, respondents that are not in good financial standing with any City department at the time of submittal will not be considered.

QUALIFICATION PROCESS:

A Selection Committee consisting of City staff will review proposals based on the City's objectives and goals for the project. Once a proposal has been accepted City staff will make a recommendation to the Middletown City Council.

The City of Middletown reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive technicalities, informalities, or irregularities, to request clarification, and to accept any proposal deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Middletown.

In addition, the City reserves the right to request additional information from respondents to this RFP; to make any change necessary to ensure that this RFP is consistent with local, Federal, and State procurement procedures; and to elect to negotiate fees or other contract issues with the selected firm before recommending execution of a contract(s). If a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached within 10 business days, the City may elect to enter negotiations with another qualified respondent to this RFP.

All proposals must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. EST May 19, 2023. Proposals may be submitted to Attention: Ashley Combs, Development Services Department, 1 Donham Plaza Third Floor, Middletown, OH, 45042. No electronic submissions will be accepted.

For inquiries:

Ashley Combs, Development Services Director, ashleyc@cityofmiddletown.org or 513-425-7950

THE CITY OF MIDDLETOWN DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, RELIGION, AGE, HANDICAPPED STATUS, GENDER OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES.