Request for qualifications

ECSD owns the property located at 000423 Pine Street, Minturn CO 81645 that historically housed Pooh Corner Preschool, Inc. which recently closed its business. This preschool provided a much-needed service, and the community is interested in getting a new provider in as quickly as possible. ECSD desires to support this request by leasing or selling the property to a new provider that can effectively meet the needs of the community. ECSD is requesting anyone interested in this property to submit a proposal on how best to use the building and is encouraging the proposals to be creative in how these needs would best be met.

Timeline

• October 26, 2023: Post RFQ for Early Childhood Education Provider
• November 1, 2023: Site walk, 10:00 a.m.
• November 17, 2023: Provider Submissions due at 10:00 a.m.
• November 29, 2023: Interviews with selected firms
• December 6, 2023: Contract negotiations with selected firm must be complete by or it will delay final approval.
• December 13, 2023: Recommendation to the Board of Education

General Requirements

1. Responses to this RFQ must submit their proposals in the overall format as outlined.
2. Questions are to be submitted via email to sandra.farrell@eagleschools.net no later than November 9th.
3. Please send an email to sandra.farrell@eagleschools.net by November 13th @ 10:00 am to inform ECSD of intent to submit a proposal so you have access to all the responses to questions. Responses to questions will be submitted throughout the process to anyone that emailed to inform ECSD of the intent to submit a proposal with final responses released no later than November 15th.
4. Proposals will only be accepted via email to sandra.farrell@eagleschools.net. Any proposals submitted later than November 17, 2023, at 10:00 am MST will not be accepted.
5. Proposals must be dated and signed by a duly authorized partner or corporate officer, with that person’s name and title clearly identified.

•  Proposers must respond to the questions in the order presented.
•  Proposers m a y provide additional supporting documentation pertinent to clarification of the proposal.

6. The District reserves the right to:

• Reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFQ.
• Waive or decline to waive any informalities and any irregularities in any proposal or responses received.
• Adopt all or any part of the proposer’s proposal.
• Negotiate changes in the proposal.
• Withhold the award of the contract.
• Select the proposer it deems to be most qualified to fulfill the needs of the District.

7. The District shall not be liable for any costs incurred by the proposer in the preparation and production of the proposal or for any work performed prior to the execution of a contract.
8. All proposals and other materials submitted shall become the property of the District.
9. All changes in the RFQ documents shall be handled through email to sandra.farrell@eagleschools.net . No verbal information will be provided.
10. Questions regarding the proposal will be handled through email to sandra.farrell@eagleschools.net . Questions and responses will be shared with all Proposers.
11. The proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee. The committee may request additional information from proposers or request personal interviews with one or more proposers. Final evaluation and selection may be based on what the District sees as the best fit.

Proposal Format

In order to maintain comparability and consistency in review and evaluation of responses, all proposals shall be organized as specified below. Proposals not meeting the requirements below may be determined to be non-responsive and may not receive further consideration.

A. Table of Contents: Please clearly outline and identify the material and responses by section and page number. Outline in sequential order the major areas of the proposal, including attachments. All pages must be consecutively numbered and correspond to the Table of contents.
B. Section 1 – Cover letter: Provide a cover letter indicating your firm’s understanding of the requirements/scope of services of this specific proposal. The letter must be a brief formal letter from the Proposer that provides information
regarding the firm’s interest in and ability to perform the requirements of this RFQ. A person who is authorized to commit the Proposer’s organization to perform the services included in the proposal must sign the letter.
C. Section 2 – Qualifications: Provide a general description of the firm, together with a specific description of the firm’s experience as an early childhood education provider.
D. Section 3 – Staff: Provide the credentials/resumes of the individual(s) from your firm that will administer the day-to-day operations of the Center.
E. Section 4 – Scope of Services and Approach to Project: Provide detailed information regarding the services or programs you intend to provide at this location. This should include:

• age groups, number of classes, and class sizes

• staff recruitment, training, development, and retention plans

• health and safety measures that will be put in place

• parent and community engagement

• reporting and assessment

• tuition and fees

F. Section 5 – Budget and Schedule: Facility improvements will be necessary to obtain licensing regardless of leasing or purchasing. Describe your understanding of those needed improvements, how they intend to be addressed, and how they will be funded. Provide a schedule of processes necessary to complete with an estimated opening date. ECSD recognizes the timeframes may be different depending on the intent of leasing and/or purchasing.
Section 6 – References: Please provide up to two (2) references from parents and/or organizations where you have been associated with early childhood care and education. Include the name of the customer, address, contact name, telephone numbers, email address, and brief description of related project. The District may contact these references
during the evaluation process.
H. Section 7 – Conflict of Interest/Investigations: Please indicate that to the best of your knowledge there are no circumstances which shall cause a conflict of interest for the District. State clearly whether there are any investigations,
litigation or other Federal, State, or local proceedings which would impede the firm’s ability to work on this project.
I. Appendices: Provide any additional information and materials that will be helpful to the District in understanding your firm and services you are able to provide to the District.

About Minturn, Colorado

The following information is excerpted from Wikipedia. Additional research should be done by the Proposer:
Minturn is located 7 miles west of Vail and east of Avon and covers 7.8 square miles. Minturn is surrounded on three sides by White River National Forest, with the Holy Cross Wilderness bordering the southwest side of the town.

The census of 2020 reported that Minturn had 1,033 people living in 365 households. The racial makeup of the town was 82.00% White, 0.48% African American, 1.74% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 6.10% from other races, and 9.49% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino people of any race made up 21.58% of the population.

Of the 561 housing units, 80.21% were occupied. The homeownership rate was 61%, and the median rent was $1,898. The median household income was $101,950, while the median family income was $109,196. 4.8% of the population was in poverty.

As for education, 13.8% reached high school or equivalent, 21.1% had some college but no degree, 4.1% had an associate degree, 38.9% had a bachelor's degree, and 21.3% had a graduate degree. The average travel time to work was 17 minutes, and the employment rate was 79.2%.

Minturn is served by Eagle County Regional Airport near Gypsum, 30 miles (48 km) to the
west.

Eagle County provides bus service from the Dowd Junction Transit Stop with service to Minturn, Vail, Leadville, Eagle-Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Eagle, Gypsum and Dotsero.

Interstate 70 runs east–west two miles north of Minturn. Highway 24 runs east–west through Minturn, and to the east leading to the towns of Red Cliff and eventually Leadville.

About the property 000423 Pine Street, Minturn CO 81645

.344 Acres houses a +/-3,800 sq ft building that had been licensed to support one infant, one toddler and one preschool classroom based on Colorado Early Childhood Education licensing requirements. Recent renovations to the building include a new roof, flooring, and paint.

Contract and Fee Negotiation

Provide a proposal for monthly rent and/or purchase of the property with the intent to provide early childhood services at this location.

Legal Requirements

A. Verification of Information: Applicants are hereby notified that Eagle County School District will rely on the accuracy and completeness of all information provided in making its selection. As such, applicants are urged to carefully review all information provided to ensure clarity, accuracy and completeness of such information. As Eagle County School District deems necessary and appropriate in its sole discretion, Eagle County School District reserves the right to make any inquiries or other follow up required to verify the information provided.
B. Disclosure of Information: All submissions and other materials provided or produced pursuant to this RFQ may be subject to the Colorado Open Records Law,CRS24-72- 201 et seq. As such, applicants are urged to review these disclosure requirements and any other exceptions for disclosure of information furnished by another party and, prior to submission, appropriately identify materials which are not subject to disclosure. In the event of a request by Eagle County School District or others for disclosure of such information, Eagle County School District shall advise the Applicant of such request in advance of disclosure to give the Applicant an opportunity to object to the disclosure of designated confidential materials
furnished as requested.
C. Qualification Ownership: All materials submitted in response to this RFQ including but not limited to, attachments, supplementary materials, sketches, etc., shall become property of Eagle County School District and will not be returned to the applicant.
D. Addenda: As Eagle County School District may require, addenda may be issued to supplement this RFQ. It shall be conclusively presumed that each Applicant submitting a response has affirmatively registered with Eagle County School District for this project and has received all subsequent communications relating to this project. Applicants will be responsible for all such information issued by this method.