Addendum

Addendum # 2

8/9/2024

Question: Is the use of KPIs a "shall" or a "should" for this project?

Response: Yes, we are providing recommendations for actions to be funded. No Board direction yet exists to fulfill these goals we would be setting.

Question: Would the county take the lead in establishing MOU's with communities in Lake County to get their tree data (if it exists) so there will be a more complete dataset to establish existing diversity in the area?

Response: I do not believe we need new data sets, rather than relying on the ones we receive through the CRTI. We COULD, but I question the need to do this.

Question: When the RFP mentions workforce development, would the county be willing to go as far as registering an apprenticeship program with the state, or would the bar for workforce development be a little lower than that? Some clarity in goals would be helpful.

Response:  Registering an apprenticeship should be a recommendation, yes. It may be something the County would do, but that is not expected to be an outcome from the development of this plan.

 Question: Are you interested in a Storm Damage Response Plan specific to Urban Forestry in the County as part of this?

Response: Perhaps an analysis of our current natural disaster planning to see if there is a gap in preparation for the urban forest?

Addendum#1

8/6/2024

Questions: An urban and community forestry plan, particularly at a County level, is an ambitious and important undertaking. Could the County host a pre-proposal conference for open conversation and questions to help facilitate a deeper understanding of the County’s goals, purpose, objective, and expected outcomes for this project? I think it would help us best respond to the County’s RFP with a compelling approach.

Response: Pre-Proposal Q & A meeting Thursday August 8, 2024, at 10:00am CST. See events tab for Zoom Link.

Question: Invasive species are frequently mentioned in the RFP. Could you clarify if the County's primary concern is invasive plant species, insects, or pathogens? If the focus is on plants, are you particularly interested in invasive woody plants, or do you want to address all invasive terrestrial plant species?

Response: Primary concern is woody invasive plants in addition to requesting specific strategies regarding other invasive terrestrial plant, insect, and pathogen concerns.

Question: Given the extensive area and diverse population of the county, what specific criteria should we use to prioritize and focus our community engagement efforts for this RFP? Are there particular demographics, geographic areas, or community needs that should take precedence? Additionally, how does the county define successful engagement for this project, and what are the key outcomes you expect from these efforts?

Response: Areas which have been historically overburdened will be a priority for targeting urban and community forest solutions. This includes areas with low tree canopy cover, high flood risks, low-income census tracts, and elevated summer temperatures as recorded and defined by the Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative and US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The three municipalities in lake County which typically meet all these criteria are Waukegan, North Chicago, and Park City. It is not only these locations that will need to be engaged with. Private landowners and HOAs are of particular interest as a difficult-to-reach group.

Expected outcomes include:

• Designs or methods for community surveying addressing public opinions on urban forest benefits and priorities, invasive species management, tree maintenance, establishment, planting, and preservation of trees on privately-owned property.
• Survey Distribution and response collection methodology report
• Stakeholder analysis of LC urban and community forestry.
• Public Committee Meeting presentation on strategic plan development

Successful engagement will depend on:

• Whether communication tactics are truthful, clear, consistent, relevant, timely, and accessible.
• Stakeholders are granted the opportunity to provide feedback to developed goals and strategies.
• The feedback received during the development process from stakeholders was meaningfully included.
• Whether a sample size for the survey was collected where statistically significant results may be derived.
• Whether Lake County’s current and future experiences with climate change is centered.

Question: Demographic data for Lake County indicates a significant Hispanic or Latino population. For multilingual outreach, are there other languages besides Spanish that should be included to effectively engage the diverse communities within the County?

Response: Only Spanish language accommodations are required, though a proposal including other Indo-European or Asian languages are welcome.

Question: The evaluation criteria contained in the RFP (page 20) appears to be for a tree planting project. Can you confirm these are the correct evaluation criteria?

Evaluation Criteria:

1. A demonstrated understanding of workforce development and volunteer training programs for urban and community forestry.
2. A demonstrated capacity to work with diverse stakeholder groups of different economic, cultural, and institutional backgrounds.
3. A demonstrated ability to perform engagement with community stakeholders within nine months to a year of awarded contract.
4. Integration of regional plans and initiatives into a plan for the County.
5. Ability to estimate financial costs and funding opportunities for plan implementation.

Question: Can you define your meaning of “Continuum of Care”? This term has differing meanings across industries (e.g. housing, healthcare, etc.).

Response.: Number#7 is no longer required to provide examples for similar work with Continuum Care.

UPDATED RFP: /assets/1/6/Final_RFP_24351_Urban_and_Community_Forestry_Planning_Consultation.pdf

Question: Does the County have an anticipated budget for this project?

Response: $150,000

Question: Is there an expected timeline or deadline by which this plan must be substantially completed?

 Response: Expected timeline is nine months to one year after awarding contract.