104-24 Evaluation Report - Economic Development Consultant - 2024.pdf

1 104-24 TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE COMPETITIVE CONTRACT REPORT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT Overview The Township of West Orange (the “Township”) is seeking to retain the services of a professional consultant to provide Economic Development Consulting and Support services supporting programs that market and promote the Township as a competitive meeting, and leisure destination, and as a strategic location for business and investment by promoting business retention and expansion, supporting redevelopment, promoting new marketing and research that strengthens and broadens commercial, retail, and tourism sectors. The proposed services also include the assessment of existing business conditions and inventory, environment and challenges, and providing assistance to the appropriate Township partners with implementing recommendations. As the proposed consulting services requires the use of a licensed and nationally certified Planner with expressed educational requirements, the award of a contract for an Economic Development Consultant would otherwise be exempt from public bidding under the Local Public Contracts Law (the “LPCL”) as a professional service. N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i). Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4.1(i) of the LPCL, contracting units are authorized to utilize competitive contracting for the procurement of goods or services that would otherwise be exempt from bidding. On October 24, 2023, the Township Council adopted Resolution #369-23 authorizing the use of competitive contracting pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4.3 in lieu of public bidding for the procurement of a contract for the retention of an Economic Development Consultant. On January 19, 2024, the Township issued a Request for Proposals for to award a Contract for an Economic Development Consultant (the “RFP”). On February 14, 2024, the Township received only one (1) proposal in response to the RFP. The proposals was submitted by: 1. Nishuane Group, LLC (“Nishuane”) 105 Grove Street, Suite 4 Montclair, NJ 07042 Included in the proposals submitted by Nishuane was a listing of municipalities within the State of New Jersey with whom Nishuane provided services, including: (i) the City of Plainfield; (ii) the City of Linden; (iii) the City of Orange; (iv) Bloomfield Township; (v) City of Newark; (vi) the City of East Orange; (vii) the City of Hoboken; and (viii) the City of Irvington.

2 Nishuane’s proposal also included a proposed annual fee of $150,000 to be paid by the Township at a monthly rate of $12,500 wherein Nishuane would provide 96 hours of service per month. Nishaune also included fee schedule of hourly rates to apply when it exceeds the 96 monthly hours of service, as follows: Staff Rate Founding Principal $250 per hour Principal & Managing Partner $200 per hour Senior Associate Planner $175 per hour Associate Planner $150 per hour Economic Development Consultant $90 per hour Junior Associate $70 per hour Project Manager $150 per hour Administrator $40 per hour Intern $35 per hour Based upon the receipt of only a single proposal, the Township’s Qualified Purchasing Agent reviewed and evaluated the proposal in lieu of utilizing an evaluation committee to score proposals submitted in response to the RFP. Per the Qualified Purchasing Agent’s review of the Nishuane proposal there were no material defects that barred the Township from awarding the Contract to Nishuane. Conclusion/Recommendation Based on the receipt of a single proposal from Nishuane and no defects or prior negative history with Nishuane, the Qualified Purchasing Agent recommends that the Contract for Economic Development Consultant be awarded to Nishuane for a one-year term with an option for the Township to extend the Contract for two (2) additional one-year periods.