REQUEST FOR BID NORTH QUEEN ANNE’S ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Request for Bid Issued: January 02, 2018 Proposal Deadline: February 06, 2018

Issued by:

Queen Anne’s County For information contact: Paige Tilghman (410) 604- 2102 425 Piney Narrows Road Chester, MD 21619

I. INTROUDCTION A. PURPOSE Queen Anne’s County Commissioners approve a Request for Bid concerning the economic impact for the North County due to recent highway construction improvements to US Route 301 Blue Star Memorial Highway by the Department of Transportation; a $470 Million project that the county believes will impact demand for services in the . The Delaware transportation construction project will improve access to the I95 corridor between Wilmington, Delaware and , and provide a southern alternative with the US Route 301 corridor, through the northern area of Queen Anne's County to points south and west. It is expected this road expansion will result in a measurable increase in car and truck traffic that may impact county citizens and those of the Towns of Barclay, Centreville, Church Hill, Millington, Sudlersville and Templeville and the surrounding villages. The county seeks to quantify the impact and receive information for prioritization of infrastructure improvement considerations as the “North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study”.

B. PROJECT ORGANIZATION All firms responding to this RFB shall be experienced in developing feasibility studies and shall demonstrate the possession of sufficient resources to complete all of the tasks, activities, and reports outlined within this document.

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C. PROJECT DIRECTION The primary interface between a selected consulting firm and Queen Anne’s County Commissioners shall be the “Economic Development Commission” (EDC), an advisory committee representative of local organizations that contribute to the county economic base. The EDC will appoint a subcommittee of members and invite town representatives and various segments of the community to participate to ensure a robust avenue for public input is established. The selected firm should plan to meet with the EDC on at least two occasions and should further be prepared to respond to feedback from this committee as recommendations to the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners. The EDC shall be responsible for guiding the completion of the work outlined herein by the selected consulting firm. The Queen Anne’s County Department of Economic & Tourism Development supports the work of the EDC.

D. INTERVIEW Prior to selecting a consulting firm, the EDC will review all proposals submitted prior to the deadline date and may select several of the consulting firms that submit a proposal for interviews before providing their recommendations to the County Commissioners for final selection.

E. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners seek input on the impact of the US 301 improvements in Delaware that will provide direct access to US Route 301 through northern Queen Anne’s County and may impact the Towns of Barclay, Centreville, Church Hill, Millington, Sudlersville and Templeville as traffic expands. The county proposes this Request for Bid to further understand the potential economic impact to the region and determine the following: 1. The value added impact, measured as the gross regional product, based on the total size of the local economy today, and the expected potential increase in local economic activity, over a ten year period, as a result of the US 301 Blue Star Memorial Highway corridor improvements. 2. The study will explore the proposed increase in demand for local goods and services and will outline the existing infrastructure capacities (water and sewer; roads; intersections; power and high speed fiber access) and recommend priorities for proposed enhancements in the county and towns to address the demand. 3. The study will identify the opportunity to develop visitor and tourism related activities that may attract motorists into the towns. An inventory of existing tourism and visitor related venues will be identified and prioritized for future potential development. 4. With an increase in transportation access, the towns may experience demand for commercial and retail trade services, especially as the road systems experience higher volumes of traffic on both the major corridor and local roads. The study will address the current economic activity for the North County towns, identify retail gaps and describe the infrastructure required to prepare for commercial development activity.

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5. With the expansion of the US 301 Corridor, and new potential improved commute patterns, there may be additional pressure on the towns, now located in sparsely populated rural areas of the county, for expanded housing units. The demand may come from workers in the metropolitan employment centers to the north and west that would migrate to the less populated region for housing opportunities. The study will qualify the potential for future demand and investigate: where the demand for housing units may be best accommodated; the potential property value impact; the infrastructure priorities (water and sewer capacity; high speed fiber availability) and costs; road access; projected school capacities; and emergency service responses, to accommodate growth. 6. The local economy today is largely dependent on agriculture production of grain, poultry and nursery stock and a few large manufacturers, who both produce goods and transport them out of the region. The study will examine the ability to expand the transport of goods out of the region, identify an increase in economic activity, and determine the availability of the local labor market to meet the demand in terms of number of increased jobs and wages. The study will illustrate the potential for increased economic wealth with the generation of tax revenues as a result of increased activity and demand. 7. Based on potential expected increase in freight transport and volumes (recent expansion activity at the Port of Baltimore, the Port of Wilmington/ and airports), the study will address what percent of freight traffic might be selecting a shorter, and perhaps cheaper route with the Route 301 corridor through Queen Anne’s County. 8. Finally, the improved access to US Route 301 opens up North County as a connector between the Philadelphia/Wilmington/Baltimore Interstate 95 Corridor and the Annapolis/Washington DC/Richmond corridor that may impact a regionally significant thoroughfare, as increased traffic is directed to US Route 301 and merged in Hickory Ridge with US Route 50 to the William Preston Lane Jr Memorial Bridge and beyond. The study will estimate the impact of increased traffic through the US 301 Corridor as it empties into the Maryland Bay Bridge Corridor and a prioritization for infrastructure investment consideration.

II. Project Background: Background The North County is referred to all that area of land north of Centreville, Maryland to the Queen Anne’s County border with the state of Delaware; an area largely agriculture in use and sparsely populated. Centreville, located at the headwaters of the Corsica River, is the county’s largest incorporated town, with an estimated population of nearly 5,000 residents. Centreville serves as the of government and is pivotal as a commercial center between the rural agriculture economy of the north and the commercially developed area to the south. The North County includes the incorporated towns of Barclay, Centreville, Church Hill, Millington, Sudlersville and Templeville and, the town of Queen Anne, located to the east on US Route 404. The towns are communities of fewer than 500 residents, surrounded by agriculture uses in grain production, poultry houses and landscape growers.

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Queen Anne’s County, reports a population of approximately 50,000 residents and is 400 square miles of land located on the Delmarva Peninsula, on the Eastern Shore of the Bay, midway between the metropolitan cities of Baltimore and Washington DC. Queen Anne’s County includes , the largest island in the , and the east landing for the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, a 4.5 mile double span bridge connecting Maryland and the region with the Delmarva Peninsula. The majority of the county population and its commercial and industrial activity is located on Kent Island, a 31.2 square mile land mass with a population of 38,000 residents. Kent Island serves as a land bridge between the Chesapeake Bay and the Kent Narrows. “The Narrows” is a navigable marine channel connecting the with the Chesapeake Bay. The Chester River provides the western and northern border for Queen Anne’s County; the state of Delaware to the north; Caroline County, Maryland to the north and east; and Talbot County and the Chesapeake Bay to the west and south.

The Bay Bridge is owned and operated by the Maryland Transport Authority, with a three lane westbound span and a two lane eastbound span that can be adjusted to compensate for traffic demands associated with periods of congestion. The Bay Bridge has the longest section of contra flow used in the state and the only toll facility using contra flow. A $4.00 toll per passenger car is collected at the entrance to the eastbound bridge and no toll is collected west bound. In 2016, the traffic volumes across the Bay Bridge were over 26 million trips.

The Maryland Bay Bridge Corridor is a vitally important regional system providing the Delmarva Peninsula with access to Annapolis and the Washington DC/Baltimore metropolitan area and points west. Maryland’s freight network, interstate commerce, employment, business, medical services and millions of tourists heading to and from recreational destinations throughout Maryland, Delaware and rely on this thoroughfare.

Queen Anne’s County is included in the Baltimore Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and participates as a member of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, which provides regional transportation and infrastructure resources to ensure future growth and development objectives. The Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport and the recently expanded Port of Baltimore are global transportation hubs, easily accessible to county residents and businesses for international travel and freight export/import. The Maryland US Route 50/301 and US Route 301 corridor has been identified as an extension of the Baltimore Foreign Trade Zone No.74 (pending) from the Bay Bridge (including business parks on Route 8) to the Delaware state line and supports manufacturers and importers who may benefit from a location in the county.

The Delaware Transportation Department improvements to US 301 have the potential to accelerate transport and vehicular traffic traveling on I 95 by providing improved patters around Middletown, Delaware and access through northern Queen Anne’s County to the Maryland Bay Bridge Corridor, as a potentially shorter and cheaper alternative. The majority of the US Route 301 corridor through Maryland provides limited infrastructure to accommodate development for services for travelers from Middletown, Delaware to Queenstown, Maryland. The towns located off the main thoroughfare are connected to the highway system with at grade intersections and offer limited areas for services to motorists and truck transporters at this time.

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The towns report small population centers with a limited infrastructure for retail, commercial or residential development. Most of the residents in this area shop in neighboring Delaware where no sales tax is collected. The towns have few surpluses to respond to a demand for rapid growth and few services to support an increase in through freight and travelers. In their ability to partner with the towns, and to contribute to the future planning process, the county is interested in collecting economic data to determine how they may plan for future infrastructure investments to accommodate a proposed increase in transport and travel traffic, and possibly pressure for commercial, retail and residential development.

III. SCOPE OF WORK

Schedule of Work The Scope of Work for the North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study was approved by the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners at their regularly scheduled November 14th meeting and will be guided, with input, from a subcommittee created by the Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission (EDC) a their November 15th meeting. The EDC will administer the RFB process with the support of the Queen Anne’s County Economic & Tourism Development Department. The EDC will review the bids, interview selected candidates and make their recommendations to the County Commissioners for a selection in January 2018. The County Commissioners will select, and may interview the candidates, based on the recommendations for the EDC and make an award for the project in mid-March 2018. A schedule of work will be detailed with the award and the study will be completed, with scheduled reviews and benchmarks. A completed document will be delivered July 10, 2018 with a presentation to the County Commissioners and the EDC at their regularly scheduled public meeting.

Budget The RFB will include estimates for obtaining and evaluating data pertinent to the questions identified in the request, visits, interviews and compiling a report on the findings. Funds to support the North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study are to be identified from already existing sources with the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners and the Department of Economic & Tourism Development.

Public Engagement/Communication The selected consulting firm, as detailed above, shall attend at least two meetings of the EDC (which will be held in a town hall format) and shall be available, to discuss the completion of the North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study with state, county, town and community representatives. The selected consulting firm shall provide a quote for its attendance at any additional meetings and/or public functions on a per occasion basis, over the required number of meetings. Two meetings will also be required to the County Commissioner’s at their regularly scheduled meetings open to the public to provide a draft report and final report on the North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study prior to its completion and acceptance.

Supporting Analysis: The selected consulting firm shall identify data and information from states, county, towns and other sources (Baltimore Metropolitan Council) to verify the proposed

5 demand and quantify the existing infrastructure capacities in order to make recommendations for future investments to meet the proposed demands. The source of grants or funds to support future infrastructure buildout should be identified.

IV. PREPARING A RESPONSE By submitting a response, respondents represent that they have thoroughly examined and become familiar with the scope of work outlined in this RFB and are capable of performing the work to achieve the objectives. The submittal must demonstrate that the respondent has sufficient and appropriate resources to complete the project. Consultants must designate the project lead and report where his/her primary office is located. Any proposed sub-consultants must be identified.

V. CONTENTS OF RESPONSE Respondents shall organize their responses in accordance with the following format:

A. Cover letter: Provide a letter of introduction with a brief description of your firm, indicating the primary office location for the performance of this project, the type of firm, areas of specialization, the project lead, and any other staff members that would be involved in the completion of the study. Include a company name and address, a contact name and title, appropriate phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses and website addresses. Identify any and all sub-consultants that would be involved.

B. Timeline: Provide a proposed detailed timeline outlining how and when the study would be completed in accordance with the time line provided.

C. Key Personnel: Include the biographies of personnel to be assigned to the project during the specified project timeline and indicate what role these individuals will assume in the completion of the study. Directly outlined how the experience and skills of these individuals and/or sub-consultants would be employed to complete the scope of work outlined herein.

D. References: For the prime consultant and any sub-consultants, provide reference information and brief project descriptions for at least three (3) recent or current clients. Reference projects should be recently completed within the last two (2) years and be similar in nature to the project described in this RFP. Please include the following information for references: 1) The name of client; 2) The name and title of the client’s primary contact; 3) The telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and mailing address of the Client’s primary contact; 4) And a brief description of the types of services provided during the overall scope of the project, the duration of the project and the current status of the project.

E. Budget: Included a detailed budget for services required for the completion of this study, including a detailed listing of the cost for each activity/task referenced herein,

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and any other costs (such as travel costs and materials) that may be required to complete the study.

F. Number of Copies and Length of Proposal: All submissions should be clearly marked “North Queen Anne’s County Economic Impact Study.” Please include eight (8) hard copies of your proposal along with an original plus one electronic copy. No partial submissions will be accepted.

VI. SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES All responses must be submitted by no later than 3:00 p.m. on February 06, 2018. Mail packages to the attention: Paige Tilghman, Director, Queen Anne’s County Government, Department of Economic & Tourism Development, 425 Piney Narrows Road, Chester, MD 21619. All responses will be opened on February 06, 2018 immediately following 3 p.m.

VII. SELECTION CRITERIA Responses to this solicitation will be evaluated on the following criteria:

 The qualification and experience of the prime consultant and any sub-consultants with projects of a similar scope and size;  Demonstrated knowledge of economic impact studies;  Demonstrated staffing and/or capacity and resources for all required work;  A history of successful performance on similar projects;  Cost will be a factor, but not the sole factor, considered and the County Commissioners reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to award the contract to the responding bidder whose proposal is in the best interests of the County;  And, a demonstration of commitment for meeting the proposed timeline.

The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners will make a final determination regarding the award of this project by (March 13, 2018) this date is subject to change.

VIII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS The successful bidder will be required to enter into a contract, the terms and conditions of which must be acceptable to the County.

A. Incurred Costs: This RFB does not commit Queen Anne’s County Commissioners to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this request. Neither will Queen Anne’s County Commissioners be liable in any way for any costs incurred by respondents in replying to this RFP.

B. Right to Cancel: The Queen Queen’s County Commissioners reserve the right to cancel this RFB at any time and to decide not to consider any or all of the respondents submitting information in response to this request.

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C. Severability: If any terms or provisions of this Request for Bid are found to be illegal or unenforceable, then such term or provision shall be deemed stricken and the remaining portions of this document shall remain in full force and effect.

D. Collusion: By responding, the firm implicitly states that its proposal has not been made in connection with any other competing firm submitting a separate response to this RFB; is in all respects fair; and has been submitted without collusion or fraud.

E. Oral Presentation/Interview: Oral presentations may or may not be conducted. If presentations are requested, it should be noted that they will be for fact finding purposes, not negotiations.

F. Scope of Work: The final scope of work may be negotiated between the bidder and the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners depending upon any optional services proposed.

G. Required Insurances: The selected consultant shall maintain and furnish proofs of required liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance that are satisfactory to Queen Anne’s County Commissioners.

H. Disclaimer: Queen Anne’s County Commissioners reserve the right to reject any and all bids, or portions thereof, for any reason. Additionally, the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners reserve the right to adjust the scope of work as needed for the completion of a high-quality economic impact study.

Assignment/Transference of Agreement: The selected firm is prohibited from assigning, transferring, conveying, subletting or otherwise disposing of the resulting agreement or its rights, title, or interest therein or its power to execute such an agreement to any other person, company or corporation without prior consent and approval in writing from Queen Anne’s County Commissioners.

IX. RFB DEADLINE: Proposals, including all required information, shall be submitted on or before 3:00 p.m. February 06, 2018. Timetable Summary:

Release of RFB January 02, 2018 Proposal Deadline February 06, 2018 Proposals Review and Ranked February 14, 2018 Respondent Interviews (optional) February 21, 28, 2018 Recommendation to EDC February 28, 2018 Recommendation to Commissioners March 13, 2018 And Request for Award Draft Review with EDC May 23, 2018 Final Report Review June 27, 2018 Presentation to Commissioners July 10, 2018

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