Town of Hampstead, New Hampshire
Request for Qualifications
For
Asset Management Services
Due: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
No later than 10:00 AM
Deliver by USPS/UPS/FedEx/Other to:
Town of Hampstead
RFQ: Asset Management Services
11 Main Street
Hampstead, NH 03841
Questions to
Mike Carrier, Town Administrator
(603)329-4100
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)
Asset Management Services
Introduction:
The Hampstead Select Board is requesting submittals of a Statement of Qualifications from qualified engineering consulting firms forAsset Management services forthe CWSRFAsset Management Grant Program. The Town of Hampstead will provide staff for assistance in the asset development as well as for implementation training of the Asset Management program and other related services. This RFQ is a qualifications-based selection, and you should not include cost in this submission. Submissions shall be due to the Hampstead Town Hall, 11 Main Street, Hampstead, NH 03841 in a sealed envelope clearly labeled “RFQ: Asset ManagementServices”, on or before10:00 AM, Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
The Town of Hampstead reserves the right to negotiate a final fee and scope of services with any of the firms or individuals that submit a proposal. This solicitation is not a low bid process. The Hampstead Select Board shall ultimately select an individual or firm that best meets the funding criteria and the needs of the Town based upon qualifications, references, scope of services offered, and quality of submittal.
The Town of Hampstead reserves the right to develop a short-list of firms who will then be given an opportunity to provide additional information and/or clarify aspects of their submittal as part of the selection process.
After the mostqualified consulting firm or individual has been identified, the Town of Hampstead and the consulting firm will negotiate a fair and reasonable price for the services provided. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Town of Hampstead will move to the next most qualified consulting firm(s) until an agreement can be reached.
The Town of Hampstead will expect the firm to work with other Town of Hampstead consultants relative to the Asset Management services as directed by the Town and staff as necessary. All engineering deliverables under this selection shall be completed by a Professional Engineer registered in the State of New Hampshire. Submitting firms shall be on the NH DES Roster of Prequalified Consulting Engineers.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
Hampstead Information:
The Town of Hampstead is a community of approximately 9,000 residents located in Rockingham county with a total assessed value of $2,079,240,709. The Town uses Town Meeting(s) which are governed by a five-member Select Board. The Town has an annual operating budget of $10,456,740 not counting capital expenditures. Municipal functions include: Police, Fire, Public Works, Transfer Station, Recreation, Library, Planning, Building Inspection/Code Enforcement, Tax, Town Clerk, Finance, and Administration.
Project Information:
In 2024, The DPW Director approached the BOS with an opportunity to acquire funding from the State of New Hampshire to build the Town’s asset management program for stormwater. The BOS supported the opportunity and supported the DPW director to pursue this grant opportunity. This evaluation process will be used to contract with a qualified engineering consultant to support those needs.
Scope of Work - Stormwater Asset Management Program:
Submitting firms must demonstrate their qualifications and experience with successful completion of CWSRF funded asset management programs for other New Hampshire communities. For the Town of Hampstead to qualify for the grant, the following core elements of asset management listed below must be addressed and fulfilled to result in a complete community-specific “decision making tool”. When these core elements are developed and well maintained, they will provide effective tools for the Town of Hampstead to communicate with its stakeholders. A more complete description of the core elements and full scope of work is provided in Attachment A.
• Vision Statement
• Asset Inventory
• Level of Service (LOS) Workshop
• Prioritization of Assets
• Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA)
• Funding Strategy
• Implementation Plan
• Communication Plan
- Staff Training
- Wrap-up Presentation
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
Review Process:
It is the intention of the Town of Hampstead to award the contract to the most qualified firm that best meets the needs and interests of the Town of Hampstead. The selection criteria to be used in awarding a contract for the services described herein shall include the following:
• Firm's history and resource capability to perform required asset management services
• Qualifications of the project team members
• Experience with similar communities on asset management projects implemented by the team
• List of project experience demonstrating state and federal agency processes and funding programs
• Quality of five references.
Evaluation of proposals shall be made by the Town Administrator and the Select Board. The Town reserves the right to direct select or interview one or more responding firms, reject any and all submittals, to re-advertise, or to otherwise proceed in the best interest of the Town. The Town will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the firm in preparing, submitting or presenting its response to this solicitation. This RFQ does not commit the Town to award a contract. All responses will be treated as confidential unless otherwise required by law.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
Submission Limitations and Deadline:
Submissions shall be limited to 12 pages and must be received by 10:00 am on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. All responses will be opened publicly in the Town Administrator’s office at that time and taken under advisement. Responses received after the time stipulated will not be accepted. Submissions must be in a sealed envelope clearly marked “RFQ: Asset Management Services.”
Please send or hand deliver six (6) copies to:
Town of Hampstead
RFQ: Asset Management Services
11 Main Street
Hampstead, NH 03841
Questions concerning this request may be submitted to Mike Carrier, Town Administrator at: (603)329-4100 or mcarrier@hampsteadnh.us
[All questions must be submitted 10 days before the solicitation due date].
General Information:
The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals in the best interest of the Town. Any person or firm who provides a submittal shall assume all costs and expenses associated with the preparation and submission of that submittal. The Town of Hampstead shall not be liable for any costs associated with the submission of a qualifications statement.
Additional Information/Attachment:
See attached NHDES CWSRF Asset Management Loan Forgiveness Guidance Document. Please note that all of the requirements need to be fulfilled in order for the Town to receive Loan/Principal Forgiveness.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
ATTACHMENT A:
Stormwater Asset Management Programs Scope of Work
The Town of Hampstead is requesting qualifications for Asset Management services for CWSRF Asset Management Loan Forgiveness Program. The Town will provide staff for assistants and for training in the implementation of the Asset Management program and other related services. Demonstrated experience working with municipalities on asset management projects meeting the criteria outlined below is required, along with the ability to accommodate a flexible and scalable working relationship with the Town. The Town will accept qualifications from firms, qualified individuals, and teams of qualified individuals. However, the Town’s preference is to establish a relationship with a single firm.
All asset management programs, while having the same elements from one community to the next, are community-specific. For an asset management program development loan to qualify for loan forgiveness, all of the following core elements of asset management must be addressed and fulfilled to result in a complete community-specific “decision making tool”. If well developed and maintained up-to-date, these core elements are effective tools for communicating with stakeholders.
For an Asset Management Plan (AMP) to qualify for the grant funding, the development of the following core elements of an AMP needs to be clearly defined in the work scope and clearly described in the resulting community user manual. Additional information and examples for each core element are included in the NHDES AMP Handbook and Toolkit.
- VISION STATEMENT and STAKEHOLDER GROUP IDENTIFICATION: Define a vision that describes what the
community wishes to achieve through development and use of an AMP. The vision statement should identify and define all community stakeholder groups (both internal and external). When properly crafted, this community-specific vision statement will help communicate the purpose and overarching goals of what the AMP will do for the community and its various stakeholder groups. This should be accomplished as one of the first steps in the AMP development process. The community-specific vision statement and stakeholder group identification must be included in the community user manual.
- ASSET INVENTORY: Create an asset inventory, including a naming convention that makes sense for the specific community. The asset inventory should include each asset name, location and all pertinent information known about each asset.
- In the community user manual include, at a minimum:
- A summary of software selection process (what factors were included in the QBS), or a statement to why software was determined to be unnecessary at this time.
- Key notes relative to asset inventory, such as summarizing the thought process for determining the naming convention for assets.
- A specific list of assets not yet included in the asset inventory, such as manholes that have not yet been located and a plan and schedule to add those missing assets.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
- LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) WORKSHOP: Using a workshop approach, develop a defined LOS. The workshop
should include input from stakeholder groups as identified during the vision statement development process,
and supporting input from the consultant (if applicable). Participation in the workshop by outside stakeholders
is strongly encouraged. Many communities have found that a balanced scorecard type matrix is helpful in
developing and using LOS, as well as evaluating progress. LOS goals need to be specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
- In the community user manual include, at a minimum:
- The LOS goals identified by the community.
- Identification and description of all stakeholder groups.
- The review frequency for the LOS goal attainment.
- The process to evaluate attainment with LOS goals and to set new goals.
The LOS workshop should be conducted within the first quarter of the AMP timeline. The LOS goals should
also be reviewed and revised by the community during the review of the draft community user manual based
on knowledge and understanding gained during the AMP development process.
- PRIORITIZATION OF ASSETS: Prioritize assets based on condition assessment and criticality. Many communities have found that a risk assessment type matrix comparing likelihood of failure vs. consequence of failure is an effective and useful tool for helping to prioritize assets and to visualize the state of the community’s assets.
- In the community user manual, include:
- Prioritization method used.
- The checklists and SOPs for determining and updating condition assessments of
inventoried assets.
- Criteria and SOPs needed for the community to update the prioritization and condition assessments going forward.
- A graphical representation of the results for staff to use in reporting to management.
- An SOP for staff updating of the graphical representation.
- LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS (LCCA): Analyze life cycle costs of each critical asset including capital costs,
operating costs (including energy costs for all vertical assets), maintenance costs for the life of the assets, and final disposal costs for the assets.
- In the community user manual, include a description of:
- How realistic useful lives were determined for each critical asset and howremaining useful lives were estimated.
- The LCCA completed to date.
- How the LCCA will be updated as additional information becomes available going forward.
- How the LCCA will be used for cost effective equipment selection in the future.
- An SOP should be included with training for staff on how to conduct LCCA for other equipment in the future.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
- FUNDING STRATEGY: Identify a funding strategy for asset maintenance and replacement, showing the need for increased revenue, or justification of adequate revenue, for the long-term management of the assets. This funding strategy needs to move the community toward being able to identify the true cost of providing the services of collecting and treating Storm water and/or the cost of properly managing stormwater.
• In the community user manual include a description of:
- The funding strategy.
- The revenue needed for long-term sustainable management and operation of the wastewater and/or stormwater system.
- Additional data that is needed to fully understand the cost of providing the wastewater and/or stormwater services.
- Recommendations, including examples, for collecting the additional data needed.
- IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: Develop an implementation plan that explains how the community will continue to maintain and use the AMP. The implementation plan also needs to include a description of how the community will incorporate energy and water conservation into day-to-day operations. This implementation plan is critical to the continuation of using and adapting the AMP to meet the stakeholder’s needs.
• In the community user manual include:
- A detailed description of the implementation plan.
- Standard operating procedures for reference by staff.
- A description of staff positions and responsibilities relative to implementing and usingthe AMP on an ongoing basis.
- COMMUNICATION PLAN: Prepare a communication plan with a time frame for completion of deliverables to inform stakeholders about the AMP and its capabilities. This communication plan will identify the most effective methods of communicating with each stakeholder group identified during the development of the community’s vision statement.
• In the community user manual include:
- A detailed description of the communication plan with timelines for deliverables.
- A description of the recommended communication method for each stakeholder group.
- A proposed frequency for communication with each stakeholder group.
- An example communication format for each stakeholder group.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841
- STAFF TRAINING: Conduct hands-on training for all staff who will be responsible for collecting and using data associated with the AMP. The AMP development schedule must allow for adequate and reasonable time for the utility operators to use the AMP and return to the consultant with questions, changes, or clarification.
• In the community user manual include:
- A detailed description of training conducted as part of the AMP development to enable the utility operators to successfully continue using the AMP.
- A list of training tools available to the community for additional/continued training.
- Videos/written SOPs for key tasks for staff reference/training updates as needed as part of the operator training.
- A detailed description of the training completed during the AMP development, including staff attendance.
- WRAP UP PRESENTATION: The wrap up meeting must include a final presentation of the AMP development to the utility and community management at a meeting open to the public. NHDES strongly encourages the utility staff responsible for implementing and continuing the AMP work to be the co-presenter with the consultant to demonstrate their understanding and buy-in to the AMP. Co-presenting with the consultant and utility staff also helps to confirm that an adequate level of training has been provided by the consultant. Prior to the wrap up presentation, submit an electronic copy of the presentation to NHDES.
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11 Main Street, Hampstead, New Hampshire 03841