Background

The Cattaraugus County Economic Sustainability and Growth Corporation (CCESGC)  anticipates receiving Community Development Block Grant funding from Cattaraugus County originating from the following grant awarded to the County by the New York State Office of Community Renewal (OCR) through its Microenterprise Program for the purpose of implementing the County of Cattaraugus Microenterprise Grant Program.

CCESGC is seeking the services of a firm(s) or individual(s) to assist in the administration, management, and implementation of Grant; assist with administration, management, and implementation of existing programming; and provide general economic development services to the CCESGC.

The OCR grant of $300,000 will be provided by Cattaraugus County as a grant to the CCESGC, a not-for-profit local development corporation, which in turn will provide grant funds to microenterprises using OCR grant funds. An amount of up to $45,000 will be retained for Administration and Program Delivery.

Scope of Services

The firm or individual will be required to provide the following services:

1. Economic Development Grants
   1. The provision of technical assistance necessary for the administration of the OCR grants including, but not limited to assisting the CCESGC and Cattaraugus County in the establishment and maintenance of books of account, developing and implementing management systems to provide appropriate recordkeeping, assistance in the procurement, selection, and award of contracts as necessary, preparation of required environmental review records, assurance of consistency with all Federal requirements regarding procurement, labor standards, fair housing, etc., preparation of required reports, oversight of audit activities, preparation of grant closeout materials, and all other activities of a general administrative nature.
   2. Assistance regarding the financing of the economic development projects including assistance in the preparation of grant documents as applicable, procurement of project cost documentation, review of grant or loan disbursement documentation, assistance to grant recipients regarding employment requirements and documentation, monitoring of employment and financial information, and other related assistance as required.

   The selected contractor will work in coordination with Cattaraugus County and CCESGC staff in completing the grant administration and implementation activities.  All services will be expected to be completed July 14, 2023.

2. General Services
   Technical assistance regarding commercial and industrial project development, economic development program planning and implementation, and other community and economic development activities as required.

Proposals

Proposals should include the following:

1. Background information that describes the nature and history of the firm or individual, including client listings and references.
2. Specific information regarding the firm or individual's experience and technical expertise respecting the scope of services including specific experience with OCR/CDBG funding and commercial financing.
3. Identification and resumes of the persons who will provide the services.
4. A schedule of costs for the services to be provided, including hourly rates for labor and the method for calculating all other costs.  The elements of each hourly rate must be broken out to include labor, overhead and profit.  The CCESGC will award a cost reimbursement rather than a fixed price contract.

Selection

The CCESGC will rank the proposals received based on an evaluation of technical skills, experience, and cost.  The CCESGC will select, at its option, one or more contractors with which to enter into an agreement for services, subject to the negotiation of fair and reasonable profit.  The selection of a contractor or contractors will be made in rank order.

Submission Procedures

1. One copy of the proposal should be addressed to:

CCESGC

C/O- Christine Urf- EDPT Development Specialist

303 Court Street

Little Valley, NY  14755

Or via Electronic copy to:             CMUrf@cattco.org

2. Proposals should be received by the CCESGC no later than September 10, 2021

Miscellaneous

1.         It is contemplated that the remuneration for contracted services will be funded in whole or in part by Federal funds made available through the OCR program.  Contracts will therefore be subject to all applicable provisions of the OCR program.

2.         The CCESGC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals; to negotiate any elements of a proposal; to conduct interviews at its sole discretion; and to solicit and/or select contractors for the program outside the scope of this RFP.

3.         The CCESGC assumes no responsibility or liability for costs incurred by respondents to this RFP, including any requests for additional information, interviews, or negotiations.

4.         Minority- and Woman-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) are encouraged to respond to the RFP, either as prime or subcontractors.

5.         Additional information regarding this RFP may be obtained at the address shown above, or by email to CMUrf@cattco.org.