CM-2024-038 - 2/2/20244869-2730-0255/ss2
CITY OF ROUND ROCK AGREEMENT FOR
CONSULTING SERVICES FOR
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PLANS
WITH
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, INC.
D/B/A “GROW AMERICA”
THIS AGREEMENT for consulting services related to the completion of a Community
Block Grant (CDBG) Five-Year Consolidated Plan and A One-Year Annual Action Plan (the
“Agreement”) is entered into on the _____ day of _______________, 2024, and is made by and
between the CITY OF ROUND ROCK, a Texas home-rule municipal corporation with offices
located at 221 East Main Street, Round Rock, Texas 78664-5299 (hereinafter referred to as
“City”), and NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, INC. d/b/a
“GROW AMERICA,” with offices at 633 3rd Avenue, 19th Floor, Suite J, New York, New York
10017 (hereinafter referred to as “Consultant”).
RECITALS:
WHEREAS, City desires to contract for Consultant’s professional consulting services
related to the completion of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan and a One-Year Annual
Action Plan; and
WHEREAS, City has determined there is a need for the delineated services; and
WHEREAS, City issued a Request for Proposals to solicit proposals for said services;
and
WHEREAS, City has determined that Consultant provides the best value to City for said
services; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth in writing their
respective rights, duties and obligations hereunder;
NOW, THEREFORE, WITNESSETH:
That for and in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and other good and
valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which are hereby acknowledged, it is
mutually agreed between the parties as follows:
1.0 DEFINITIONS
A. Agreement means the binding legal contract between City and Consultant
whereby City agrees to contract for specified services and Consultant is obligated to sell the
same. The Agreement includes the following: (a) City’s Request for Proposals, designated
Solicitation Number 23-023 dated October 2023 (“RFP”); (b) Consultant’s Proposal; and (c) any
5th February
CM-2024-038
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exhibits and/or addenda thereto. Any inconsistencies or conflicts in the contract documents shall
be resolved by giving preference in the following order:
(1) This Agreement;
(2) Consultant’s Proposal;
(3) City’s RFP, Addenda, exhibits, and attachments.
B. City means City of Round Rock, Williamson and Travis Counties, Texas.
C. Effective Date means the date upon which the binding signatures of both parties
to this Agreement are affixed.
D. Force Majeure means acts of God, strikes, lockouts, or other industrial
disturbances, acts of the public enemy, orders of any kind from the government of the United
States or the State of Texas or any civil or military authority, insurrections, riots, epidemics,
landslides, lightning, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, storms, floods, restraint of the government
and the people, civil disturbances, explosions, or other causes not reasonably within the control
of the party claiming such inability.
E. Goods and services mean the specified services, supplies, materials,
commodities, or equipment.
2.0 EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERM
A. This Agreement shall be effective on the date this Agreement has been signed by
each party hereto and shall remain in full force and effect unless and until it expires by operation
of the term indicated herein or is terminated.
B. The term of this Agreement shall be for twenty-four (24) months from the
effective date hereof.
C. City reserves the right to review the relationship at any time, and may elect to
terminate this Agreement with or without cause or may elect to continue
3.0 SCOPE OF WORK
A. For the purposes of this Agreement, Consultant has issued its Proposal for
services for the tasks delineated therein, such Proposal being attached to this Agreement as a part
of Exhibit “A,” which document is incorporated herein for all purposes.
B. Consultant shall satisfactorily provide consulting services as described in the
attached Exhibit “A.” Consultant shall satisfactorily provide all services and deliverables in a
professional and workmanlike manner. Consultant’s undertakings shall be limited to performing
services for City and/or advising City concerning those matters on which Consultant has been
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specifically engaged.
4.0 CONSULTING FEE
In consideration for the consulting services to be performed by Consultant, City agrees to
pay Consultant an amount not to exceed Forty-Nine Thousand and No/100 Dollars
($49,000.00). This amount represents the absolute limit of City’s liability to Consultant
hereunder unless modified by Supplemental Agreement as set forth by Section 6.0 below.
5.0 TERMS OF PAYMENT
Invoices: To receive payment, Consultant shall prepare and submit detailed monthly
invoices to City, in accordance with the delineation contained herein, for services rendered. Such
invoices shall detail the services performed, along with documentation for each service
performed. Payment to Consultant shall be made on the basis of the invoices submitted by
Consultant and approved by City. Such invoices shall conform to the schedule of services and
costs in connection therewith.
Should additional backup material be requested by City relative to service deliverables,
Consultant shall comply promptly. In this regard, should City determine it necessary,
Consultant shall make all records and books relating to this Agreement available to City for
inspection and auditing purposes.
Payment of Invoices: City reserves the right to correct any error that may be discovered
in any invoice that may have been paid to Consultant and to adjust same to meet the
requirements of this Agreement. Following approval of an invoice, City shall endeavor to pay
Consultant promptly, but no later than the time period required under the Texas Prompt Payment
Act described in Section 1.06 herein. Under no circumstances shall Consultant be entitled to
receive interest on payments which are late because of a good faith dispute between Consultant
and City or because of amounts which City has a right to withhold under this Agreement or state
law.
6.0 SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT
The terms of this Agreement may be modified by written Supplemental Agreement
hereto, duly authorized by City Council or by the City Manager, if City determines that there has
been a significant change in (1) the scope, complexity, or character of the services to be
performed; or (2) the duration of the work. Any such Supplemental Agreement must be
executed by both parties within the period specified as the term of this Agreement. Consultant
shall not perform any work or incur any additional costs prior to the execution, by both parties,
of such Supplemental Agreement. Consultant shall make no claim for extra work done or
materials furnished unless and until there is full execution of any Supplemental Agreement, and
City shall not be responsible for actions by Consultant nor for any costs incurred by Consultant
relating to additional work not directly authorized by Supplemental Agreement.
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7.0 PROMPT PAYMENT POLICY
In accordance with Chapter 2251, V.T.C.A., Texas Government Code, any payment to be
made by City to Consultant will be made within thirty (30) days of the date City receives goods
under this Agreement, the date the performance of the services under this Agreement are
completed, or the date City receives a correct invoice for the goods or services, whichever is
later. Consultant may charge interest on an overdue payment at the “rate in effect” on September
1 of the fiscal year in which the payment becomes overdue, in accordance with V.T.C.A., Texas
Government Code, Section 2251.025(b). This Prompt Payment Policy does not apply to
payments made by City in the event:
(a) There is a bona fide dispute between City and Consultant, a contractor,
subcontractor, or supplier about the goods delivered or the service performed
that cause the payment to be late; or
(b) There is a bona fide dispute between Consultant and a subcontractor or
between a subcontractor and its supplier about the goods delivered or the
service performed that causes the payment to be late; or
(c) The terms of a federal contract, grant, regulation, or statute prevent City from
making a timely payment with federal funds; or
(d) The invoice is not mailed to City in strict accordance with any instruction on
the purchase order relating to the payment.
8.0 NON-APPROPRIATION AND FISCAL FUNDING
This Agreement is a commitment of City’s current revenues only. It is understood and
agreed that City shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at the end of any City fiscal year
if the governing body of City does not appropriate funds sufficient to purchase the services as
determined by City’s budget for the fiscal year in question. City may effect such termination by
giving Consultant a written notice of termination at the end of its then-current fiscal year.
9.0 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS
Consultant is an independent contractor and is not City’s employee. Consultant’s
employees or subcontractors are not City’s employees. This Agreement does not create a
partnership, employer-employee, or joint venture relationship. No party has authority to enter
into contracts as agent for the other party. Consultant and City agree to the following rights
consistent with an independent contractor relationship:
(1) Consultant has the right to perform services for others during the term hereof.
(2) Consultant has the sole right to control and direct the means, manner and method
by which it performs its services required by this Agreement.
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(3) Consultant has the right to hire assistants as subcontractors, or to use employees
to provide the services required by this Agreement.
(4) Consultant or its employees or subcontractors shall perform services required
hereunder, and City shall not hire, supervise, or pay assistants to help Consultant.
(5) Neither Consultant nor its employees or subcontractors shall receive training from
City in skills necessary to perform services required by this Agreement.
(6) City shall not require Consultant or its employees or subcontractors to devote full
time to performing the services required by this Agreement.
(7) Neither Consultant nor its employees or subcontractors are eligible to participate
in any employee pension, health, vacation pay, sick pay, or other fringe benefit
plan of City.
10.0 CONFIDENTIALITY; AND MATERIALS OWNERSHIP
Any and all programs, data, or other materials furnished by City for use by Consultant in
connection with services to be performed under this Agreement, and any and all data and
information gathered by Consultant, shall be held in confidence by Consultant as set forth
hereunder. Each party agrees to take reasonable measures to preserve the confidentiality of any
proprietary or confidential information relative to this Agreement, and to not make any use
thereof other than for the performance of this Agreement, provided that no claim may be made
for any failure to protect information that occurs more than three (3) years after the end of this
Agreement.
The parties recognize and understand that City is subject to the Texas Public
Information Act and its duties run in accordance therewith.
All data relating specifically to City’s business and any other information which
reasonably should be understood to be confidential City is confidential information of City. If
applicable, Consultant’s proprietary software, tools, methodologies, techniques, ideas,
discoveries, inventions, know-how, and any other information which reasonably should be
understood to be confidential to Consultant is confidential information of Consultant. City’s
confidential information and Consultant’s confidential information is collectively referred to as
“Confidential Information.” Each party shall use Confidential Information of the other party
only in furtherance of the purposes of this Agreement and shall not disclose such Confidential
Information to any third party without the other party’s prior written consent, which consent
shall not be unreasonably withheld. Each party agrees to take reasonable measures to protect the
confidentiality of the other party’s Confidential Information and to advise their employees of the
confidential nature of the Confidential Information and of the prohibitions herein.
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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, neither party shall be
obligated to treat as confidential any information disclosed by the other party (the “Disclosing
Party”) which: (1) is rightfully known to the recipient prior to its disclosure by the Disclosing
Party; (2) is released by the Disclosing Party to any other person or entity (including
governmental agencies) without restriction; (3) is independently developed by the recipient
without any reliance on Confidential Information; or (4) is or later becomes publicly available
without violation of this Agreement or may be lawfully obtained by a party from any non-party.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party will be entitled to disclose Confidential Information
of the other to a third party as may be required by law, statute, rule or regulation, including
subpoena or other similar form of process, provided that (without breaching any legal or
regulatory requirement) the party to whom the request is made provides the other with prompt
written notice and allows the other party to seek a restraining order or other appropriate relief.
Subject to Consultant’s confidentiality obligations under this Agreement, nothing herein
shall preclude or limit Consultant from providing similar services for other clients.
Neither City nor Consultant will be liable to the other for inadvertent or accidental
disclosure of Confidential Information if the disclosure occurs notwithstanding the party’s
exercise of the same level of protection and care that such party customarily uses in safeguarding
its own proprietary and confidential information.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, City will own as its sole
property all written materials created, developed, gathered, or originally prepared expressly for
City and delivered to City under the terms of this Agreement; and if applicable, Consultant shall
own any general skills, know-how, expertise, ideas, concepts, methods, techniques, processes,
software, or other similar information which may have been discovered, created, developed or
derived by Consultant either prior to or as a result of its provision of services under this
Agreement.
11.0 TERMINATION; DEFAULT
Termination: It is agreed and understood by Consultant that City may terminate this
Agreement for the convenience of City, upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to Consultant, with
the understanding that immediately upon receipt of said notice all work being performed under
this Agreement shall cease. Consultant shall invoice City for work satisfactorily completed and
shall be compensated in accordance with the terms hereof for work accomplished prior to the
receipt of said notice of termination. Consultant shall not be entitled to any lost or anticipated
profits for work terminated under this Agreement. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement,
all data, information, and work product related to this project shall become the property of City
upon termination of this Agreement and shall be promptly delivered to City in a reasonably
organized form without restriction on future use. Should City subsequently contract with a new
consultant for continuation of service on the project, Consultant shall cooperate in providing
information.
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Termination of this Agreement shall extinguish all rights, duties, and obligations of City
and the terminated party to fulfill contractual obligations. Termination under this section shall
not relieve the terminated party of any obligations or liabilities which occurred prior to
termination.
Nothing contained in this section shall require City to pay for any work which it deems
unsatisfactory or which is not performed in compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
Default: Either party may terminate this Agreement, in whole or in part, for default if
the non-defaulting party provides the defaulting party with written notice of such default and the
defaulting party fails to satisfactorily cure such default within ten (10) business days of receipt of
such notice (or a greater time if agreed upon between the parties).
If default results in termination of this Agreement, then City shall give consideration to
the actual costs incurred by Consultant in performing the work to the date of default. The cost of
the work that is useable to City, the cost to City of employing another firm to complete the
useable work, and other factors will affect the value to City of the work performed at the time of
default. Neither party shall be entitled to any lost or anticipated profits for work terminated for
default hereunder.
The termination of this Agreement for default shall extinguish all rights, duties, and
obligations of the terminating party and the terminated party to fulfill contractual obligations.
Termination under this section shall not relieve the terminated party of any obligations or
liabilities which occurred prior to termination.
Nothing contained in this section shall require City to pay for any work which it deems
unsatisfactory, or which is not performed in compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
12.0 GRATUITIES AND BRIBES
City may, by written notice to Services Provider, cancel this Agreement without liability
to Services Provider if it is determined by City that gratuities or bribes in the form of
entertainment, gifts, or otherwise were offered or given by Services Provider or its agents or
representatives to any City officer, employee or elected representative with respect to the
performance of this Agreement. In addition, Services Provider may be subject to penalties stated
in Title 8 of the Texas Penal Code.
13.0 TAXES
City is exempt from Federal Excise and State Sales Tax; therefore, tax shall not be
included in Services Provider’s charges.
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14.0 INDEMNIFICATION
Consultant shall comply with the requirements of all applicable laws, rules and
regulations, and shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless City and its agents employees from
and against any and all claims, costs, suits and damages, including attorney’s fees, arising out of
the Consultant’s performance or nonperformance of the activities or services provided for in
connection with this Agreement.
15.0 ASSIGNMENT AND DELEGATION
The parties each hereby bind themselves, their successors, assigns and legal
representatives to each other with respect to the terms of this Agreement. Neither party may
assign any rights or delegate any duties under this Agreement without the other party’s prior
written approval, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
16.0 DESIGNATION OF REPRESENTATIVE
City hereby designates the following representative authorized to act on its behalf with
regard to this Agreement:
Elizabeth Alvarado
Community Development Block Grant Coordinator
City of Round Rock
221 East Main Street
Round Rock, TX 78664
(512) 341-3328
17.0 NOTICES
All notices and other communications in connection with this Agreement shall be in
writing and shall be considered given as follows:
(1) When delivered personally to recipient’s address as stated herein; or
(2) Three (3) days after being deposited in the United States mail, with postage
prepaid to the recipient’s address as stated in this Agreement.
Notice to Consultant:
National Council for Community Development, Inc.
633 3rd Avenue
19th Floor, Suite J
New York, New York 10017
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Notice to City:
City Manager, City of Round Rock
221 East Main Street
Round Rock, TX 78664
AND TO:
Stephanie L. Sandre, City Attorney
309 East Main Street
Round Rock, TX 78664
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to restrict the transmission of routine
communications between representatives of City and Consultant.
18.0 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS, CHARTER, AND ORDINANCES
A. Consultant, its consultants, agents, employees and subcontractors shall use best
efforts to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, the Charter and Ordinances of the
City of Round Rock, as amended, and with all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by
local, state and national boards, bureaus and agencies. Consultant shall further obtain all permits,
licenses, trademarks, or copyrights required in the performance of the services contracted for
herein, and same shall belong solely to City at the expiration of the term of this Agreement.
B. In accordance with Chapter 2271, Texas Government Code, a governmental entity
may not enter into a contract with a company for goods and services unless the contract contains
written verification from the company that it: (1) does not boycott Israel; and (2) will not boycott
Israel during the term of the contract. The signatory executing this Agreement on behalf of
Consultant verifies Consultant does not boycott Israel.
C. The parties acknowledge and agree that if this Agreement is made under a Federal
Award as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), City will adhere to the provisions
described in §200.326 of the CFR as set forth in Appendix II to Part 200 – Contract Provisions
for non-Federal Entity Contracts under Federal Rewards. In addition, City acknowledges and
agrees that if 2 CFR part 180 regarding suspension and debarment applies to this Agreement, the
City is prohibited from contracting with or making prime or sub-awards to vendors that are
suspended or debarred or whose principles are suspended or debarred from doing business with
the Federal Government, State of Texas, of the City of Round Rock.
19.0 APPLICABLE LAW, ENFORCEMENT, AND VENUE
This Agreement shall be enforceable in Round Rock, Texas, and if legal action is
necessary by either party with respect to the enforcement of any or all of the terms or conditions
herein, exclusive venue for same shall lie in Williamson County, Texas. This Agreement shall
be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws and court decisions of Texas.
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20.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION
City and Consultant hereby expressly agree that no claims or disputes between the parties
arising out of or relating to this Agreement or a breach thereof shall be decided by any arbitration
proceeding, including without limitation, any proceeding under the Federal Arbitration Act (9
USC Section 1-14) or any applicable state arbitration statute.
21.0 FORCE MAJEURE
Notwithstanding any other provisions hereof to the contrary, no failure, delay or default
in performance of any obligation hereunder shall constitute an event of default or breach of this
Agreement, only to the extent that such failure to perform, delay or default arises out of causes
beyond control and without the fault or negligence of the party otherwise chargeable with failure,
delay or default; including but not limited to acts of God, acts of public enemy, civil war,
insurrection, riots, fires, floods, explosion, theft, earthquakes, natural disasters or other
casualties, strikes or other labor troubles, which in any way restrict the performance under this
Agreement by the parties.
Consultant shall not be deemed to be in default of its obligations to City if its failure to
perform or its substantial delay in performance is due to City’s failure to timely provide
requested information, data, documentation, or other material necessary for Consultant to
perform its obligations hereunder.
22.0 SEVERABILITY
The invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement or the
occurrence of any event rendering any portion of provision of this Agreement void shall in no
way affect the validity or enforceability of any other portion or provision of this Agreement.
Any void provision shall be deemed severed from this Agreement, and the balance of this
Agreement shall be construed and enforced as if this Agreement did not contain the particular
portion of provision held to be void. The parties further agree to amend this Agreement to
replace any stricken provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the intent
of the stricken provision. The provisions of this Article shall not prevent this entire Agreement
from being void should a provision which is of the essence of this Agreement be determined
void.
23.0 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
Consultant shall comply with Section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Projection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) and amended Section 15B of the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).
Consultant is not a Registered Municipal Advisor as defined in Dodd-Frank and the
Exchange Act and therefore cannot provide advice to a municipal entity or obligated person with
respect to municipal financial products or the issuance of municipal securities, including
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structure, timing, terms, or other similar matters concerning such financial products or issues.
The general information contained in this Agreement is factual in nature and consistent
with current market or conditions and does not contain or express subjective assumptions,
opinions, or views, or constitute a recommendation, either express or implied, upon which a
municipality entity or obligated person may rely with respect to municipal products or the
issuance of municipal securities.
In connection with these matters, it is expressly understood by all parties that Consultant
is not acting as City’s agent, advisor, municipal advisor or fiduciary. Consultant may have
financial and other interests that differ from City’s. City shall discuss information contained
herein with its municipal, financial, legal, accounting, tax, and/or other advisors, as applicable, to
the extent City deems appropriate.
Consultant’s six (6) member project team for the services set forth herein includes five
(5) women and four (4) minority staff members. Consultant shall made a good faith effort to
meet the M/WBE participation goals through Contractor Support Services.
Consultant’s ten (10) member governing board is made up of sixty percent (60%) women
and fifty percent (50%) minority.
The section numbers and headings contained herein are provided for convenience only
and shall have no substantive effect on construction of this Agreement.
No delay or omission by either party in exercising any right or power shall impair such
right or power or be construed to be a waiver. A waiver by either party of any of the covenants
to be performed by the other or any breach thereof shall not be construed to be a waiver of any
succeeding breach or of any other covenant. No waiver of discharge shall be valid unless in
writing and signed by an authorized representative of the party against whom such waiver or
discharge is sought to be enforced.
This Agreement shall evidence the entire understanding and agreement between the
parties and shall supersede any prior proposals, correspondence or discussions.
This Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts, which taken together shall be
considered one original. City agrees to provide Consultant with one fully executed original.
[Signatures on the following page.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the dates
hereafter indicated.
City of Round Rock, Texas National Council for Community Development,
Inc.
By: _________________________ By: _______________________________
Printed Name: ___________________ Printed Name: ______________________
Title: _________________________ Title: ______________________________
Date Signed: ____________________ Date Signed: ________________________
For City, Attest:
By: _____________________________
Meagan Spinks, City Clerk
For City, Approved as to Form:
By: _____________________________
Stephanie L. Sandre, City Attorney
Daniel Marsh III
Daniel Marsh III
President & CEO
01/29/2024
Laurie Hadley
City Manager
02/05/2024
City of Round Rock, Texas
Purchasing Division
221 East Main Street
Round Rock, Texas 78664-5299
www.roundrocktexas.gov
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
CONSULTING SERVICES FOR
THE PREPARATION OF A CDBG FIVE-YEAR
CONSOLIDATED PLAN & ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
SOLICITATION NUMBER 23-023
OCTOBER 2023
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 2 of 13
CONSULTING SERVICES FOR
THE PREPARATION OF A CDBG FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN & ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
PART I
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1.PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND: The City of Round Rock, herein after “the City” seeks a proposal from
Consultants or Consulting firms experienced in the development of a Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) five (5) Year Consolidated Report and a one (1) Year Annual Action Plan required by the City of
Round Rock for submission to The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2.SOLICITATION PACKET: This solicitation packet is comprised of the following:
Description Index
Part I – General Requirements Page(s)
Part II – Definitions, Standard Terms and Conditions,
and Insurance Requirements Page
Part III – Supplemental Terms and Conditions Page(s)
Part IV – Scope of Work Page(s)
Part V – Proposal Preparation Instructions and Evaluation Factors Page(s)
Attachment A – Reference Sheet Separate Attachment
Attachment B- CDBG Federal Requirements Separate Attachment
Attachment C - SAM Registration Separate Attachment
Attachment D - Debarment Certification Separate Attachment
Attachment E- W-9 Form 2023 Separate Attachment
Attachment F - Conflict of Interest Affidavit and Info Separate Attachment
Attachment G - Equal Employment Certification Separate Attachment
Attachment H- Clean Air and Water Certification Separate Attachment
Attachment I - Certification of Non-Lobbying Separate Attachment
Attachement J - Non-Collusion Affidavit Separate Attachment
Attachment K- MBE WBE Information and Worksheet Separate Attachment
Attachment L - Section 3 FAQ and Certification Separate Attachment
Attachment M- Proposal Submittal Form Separate Attachment
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 3 of 13
3. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: It is the City’s intention to follow the solicitation timeline below.
EVENT DATE
Solicitation released October 20th, 2023
Deadline for submission of questions November 3rd, 2023 @ 5:00 PM, CST
City responses to questions or addendums Approximately, November 8th ,2023 @ 5:00
PM, CST
Deadline for submission of responses November 22nd, 2023 @ 3:00 PM, CST
All questions regarding the solicitation shall be submitted through Bonfire in writing by 5:00 PM, CST on the
due date noted above. A copy of all questions submitted and the City’s response to the questions shall be
posted on the City’s webpage in the form of an addendum at:
https://roundrocktexas.bonfirehub.com
The City reserves the right to modify these dates. Notice of date change will be posted to the City’s website:
https://roundrocktexas.bonfirehub.com
4. SOLICITATION UPDATES: Respondents shall be responsible for monitoring the City’s website at
https://roundrocktexas.bonfirehub.com for any updates pertaining to the solicitation described herein. Various
updates may include addendums, cancellations, notifications, and any other pertinent information necessary
for the submission of a correct and accurate response. The City will not be held responsible for any further
communication beyond updating the website.
5. RESPONSE DUE DATE: Appropriately submitted responses are due at or before 3:00 PM, on the due date
noted in PART I, Section 3 – Schedule of Events. The Offeror shall respond via the City’s electronic bidding
platform, Bonfire: https://roundrocktexas.bonfirehub.com
A. This request for proposal (RFP) does not commit the City to contract for any supply or service.
B. No paper or submittals outside of Bonfire will be accepted by the City.
C. Responses cannot be altered or amended after digital opening.
D. No response can be withdrawn after opening without written approval from the City for an acceptable
reason.
E. The City will not be bound by any oral statement or offer made contrary to the written specifications.
F. Samples and/or copies shall be provided at the Respondent’s expense and shall become the property of
the City.
G. Late responses will not be considered.
6. CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PARTIES: Section 2252.908 of the Texas Government Code requires the
successful offeror to complete a Form 1295 “Certificate of Interested Parties” that is signed for a contract
award requiring council authorization. The “Certificate of Interested Parties” form must be completed on the
Texas Ethics Commission website, printed, signed, and submitted to the City by the authorized agent of the
Business Entity with acknowledgment that disclosure is made under oath and under penalty of perjury prior to
final contract execution. Link to Texas Ethics Commission Webpage:
https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/whatsnew/elf_info_form1295.htm
7. EX PARTE COMMUNICATION: Please note that to insure the proper and fair evaluation of an offer, the City
of Round Rock prohibits ex parte communication (e.g., unsolicited) initiated by the Offeror to the City Official,
Employee, City Consultant, or Evaluation Team member evaluating or considering the offers prior to the time
an award decision has been confirmed. Communication between an Offeror and the City will be initiated by
the appropriate City Official or Employee in order to obtain information or clarification needed to develop a
proper and accurate evaluation of the offer. Ex parte communication may be grounds for disqualifying the
offending Offeror from consideration of award in evaluation or any future bid.
8. OPPORTUNITY TO PROTEST: The Purchasing Manager for the City of Round Rock (“City”), in consultation
with the City Attorney, shall have the authority to settle or resolve any dispute concerning the solicitation or
award of a contract. The Purchasing Manager may solicit written responses to the protest from other
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 4 of 13
interested parties. The aggrieved person must prepare his or her complaint in writing and send it by
electronic mail to the City’s Purchasing Department at protest@roundrocktexas.gov.
In the event of a timely protest, the City shall not proceed further with the solicitation or award of a contract
unless it is determined that the award must take place without delay, to protect the best interests of the City.
The procedures for notifying the City of an alleged deficiency or filing a protest are listed below. If you fail to
comply with any of these requirements, the Purchasing Office may dismiss your complaint or protest.
A. Prior to Offer Due Date: If you are a prospective offeror for the award of a contract (“Offeror”) and you
become aware of the facts regarding what you believe is a deficiency in the solicitation process before the
due date for receipt of offers in response to a solicitation (“Offers”), you must notify the City in writing of
the alleged deficiency before that date, giving the City an opportunity to resolve the situation prior to the
Offer due date.
B. After Offer Due Date: If you submit an Offer to the City and you believe that there has been a deficiency
in the solicitation process or the award, you have the opportunity to protest the solicitation process, or the
recommended award as follows:
i. You must file a written notice of your intent to protest within four (4) working days of the date that you
know or should have known of the facts relating to the protest. If you do not file a written notice of
intent within this time, you have waived all rights to protest the solicitation process or the award.
ii. You must file your formal written protest within ten (10) working days of the date that you know or
should have known of the facts relating to the protest unless you know of the facts before the Offer
has been closed. If you know of the facts before those dates, you must notify the City as stated in
section (A) above.
iii. You must submit your protest in writing and must include the following information:
a. your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
b. the solicitation number.
c. a specific identification of the statutory or regulatory provision that you are alleging has been
violated.
d. a detailed statement of the factual grounds for your protest, including copies of any relevant
documents.
e. a statement of any issues of law or fact that you contend must be resolved; and
f. a statement of the argument and authority that you offer in support of your protest.
iv. Your protest must be concise and presented logically and factually to help with the City’s review.
C. Receipt of Timely Protest: When the City receives a timely and complete written protest, the Purchasing
Manager, with assistance from the City Attorney, shall make one of the following determinations:
i. Determine that a violation of rules and statutes has occurred prior to the award of the contract and
inform you and other interested parties of the determination. The City will prepare updated solicitation
documents and will re-solicit.
ii. Determine that no violation of rules or statutes has occurred and inform you and other interested
parties of the decision by letter. The reasons for the determination will be presented in the letter.
iii. Determine that a violation of rules and statutes has occurred after the award of the contract and
inform you and other interested parties of the determination. However, the awarded contract will not
be canceled. As needed, corrective actions may be taken with purchasing or any other pertinent City
staff.
iv. A determination will usually be made within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of the formal
protest.
v. Any written decisions by the Purchasing Manager shall be the final administrative action for
the City.
All documentation pertaining to a protest will be kept on file at the City and are subject to open records
requests.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 5 of 13
PART II
DEFINITIONS, STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS,
AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
1. DEFINITIONS, STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS: By submitting a response to this solicitation, the
Respondent agrees that the City’s Definitions and Standard Terms and Conditions, in effect at the time of
release of the solicitation, shall govern unless specifically provided otherwise in a separate agreement or on
the face of a purchase order. These can be obtained from the City’s website at:
https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/city-departments/purchasing/. In addition, the Supplemental Terms and
Conditions listed in Section III, shall also be enforced as part of the contract.
2. INSURANCE: The Respondent shall meet or exceed all insurance requirements set forth in Standard
Insurance Requirements. The City’s Standard Insurance Requirements document can be viewed and
downloaded from the City’s website at: https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/city-departments/purchasing/
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 6 of 13
PART III
SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. AGREEMENT TERM: The terms of the awarded agreement shall include but not be limited to the following:
A. The term of the Agreement shall begin from date of award and shall remain in full force for twenty four
(24) months.
2. RESPONDENT QUALIFICATIONS: The City has established the following minimum qualifications.
Respondents who do not meet the minimum qualifications will not be considered for award. The Res pondent
shall:
A. Be firms, corporations, individuals, or partnerships normally engaged in providing CDBG consulting
services as specified herein and have adequate organization, facilities, equipment, financial capability,
and personnel to ensure prompt and efficient service to the City.
B. In order to confirm financial stability, the City may choose to review audited financial statements at any
time throughout the RFP evaluation process. Upon request, the Respondent shall provide two years
audited financial statements, including any notes or supplemental schedules within 2 business days of the
original request.
C. The Respondent shall include in the proposal a list of all litigation the company or its principals have been
involved in within the last three (3) years.
D. Be domiciled in or have a home office inside the United States. Respondents domiciled outside the
United States, or not having a home office inside the United States will not be included for consideration
in this RFP process.
3. SAFETY: The City reserves the right to remove any employee from City property for violation of federal,
state, and local health, safety and environmental laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations. The Respondent
shall:
A. Ensure that all employees comply with all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), State
and City safety and occupational health standards and other applicable federal, state, and local health,
safety, and environmental laws ordinances, rules, and regulations in the performance of these services.
B. Be held responsible for the safety of their employees and unsafe acts or conditions that may cause injury
or damage to any persons or property within and around the work site. In case of conflict, the most
stringent safety requirement shall govern.
C. Indemnify and hold the City harmless from and against all claims, demands, suits, actions, judgments,
fines penalties and liability of every kind arising from the breach of the Contractor’s obligations under this
paragraph.
4. PRICING: The Respondent shall determine and submit a fixed cost for the work and shall include all
incidental costs, labor, overhead charges, travel, payroll expenses, freight, equipment acquisition and
maintenance, demurrage, fuel surcharges, delivery charges, costs associated with obtaining permits,
insurance, bonds, and risk management. No separate line-item charges shall be permitted for either
response or invoice purposes.
5. PRICE INCREASE: Contract prices for CDBG consulting services shall remain firm throughout the term of the
contract.
6. SUBCONTRACTORS: Respondent shall not subcontract or otherwise engage subcontractors to perform
required services. The City seeks to do business directly with a company experienced in CDBG consulting
services.
7. PERFORMANCE REVIEW: The City reserves the right to review the awarded Contractor’s performance
anytime during the contract term.
8. ORDER QUANTITY: The quantities shown on the solicitation are estimates only. No guarantee of any
minimum or maximum purchase is made or implied. The City will only order the services/goods needed to
satisfy requirements within budgetary constraints, which may be more or less than indicated.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 7 of 13
9. AWARD: The City reserves the right to enter into an Agreement or a Purchase Order with a single award,
split award, primary and secondary award, non-award, or use any combination that best serves the interest
and at the sole discretion of the City. Respondents to the solicitation will be notified when City staff
recommendation of award has been made. The award announcement will be posted to the City’s website at
https://roundrocktexas.bonfirehub.com once City Council or City Manager has approved the recommendation
of award and the agreement has been executed.
10. POINT OF CONTACT / DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE:
A. Contractor’s point of contact: In order to maintain consistent standards of quality work performed
across the City, the City shall be provided with a designated and identified point of contact upon award of
the contract to include contact information. The City’s designated representative shall be notified by the
Respondent immediately should the point of contact change.
B. The City’s designated representative: The City’s designated representative shall be:
Elizabeth Alvarado
Coordinator – Community and Neighborhood Services Department
Phone: 512-341-3328
E-mail: ealvarado@roundrocktexas.gov
C. Do not contact the individual listed above with questions or comments during the course of the
solicitation.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 8 of 13
PART IV
SCOPE OF WORK
1. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND: The City seeks a proposal from Consultants or Consulting firms
experienced in the development of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) five (5) Year
Consolidated Report and a one (1) Year Annual Action Plan required by the City of Round Rock for
submission to The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. SERVICE REQUIREMENTS: The Contractor shall ensure that both plans meet the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements, encourage citizen involvement, and be an effective
tool for a multitude of interested community partners.
3. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES: The Contractor shall meet the following tasks listed below:
A. Obtain authorization and passwords for use of HUD’s IDIS online reporting system.
B. Review current HUD Consolidated Plan regulations and guidance, particularly changes made since 2010.
The specific requirements for the Consolidated Plan can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations,
Title 24, Section 91, et. seq. (24 CFR 91). Regulations, notices and guidance for preparing a
Consolidated Plan submission can be found at (but not limited to):
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/consolidated-plan/.
Note: Contractor is responsible for being up-to-date and adhering to all HUD requirements for complete
submission of the 5-Year Consolidated Plan and one-year Action Plan.
C. Review the City of Round Rock’s existing Citizens Participation Plan.
https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/city-departments/community-and-neighborhood-services/community-
development-block-grant-cdbg/ . All consultation and the scope of work shall be undertaken as provided
in the Citizens Participation Plans.
D. Review the requirements for using the Consolidated Plan template in IDIS and discuss the format of the
plan with the appropriate City Staff. Discuss how the plan may differ from the format of the 2019-2023
Consolidated Plan, also taking into consideration any federal regulation changes, and the most recent
HUD notices and guidance, Office of Fair Housing requirements and OMB requirements.
E. Review HUD’s most recent Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan Completeness Checklist for
Entitlement Grantees
F. Prepare a timeline for project milestones including proposed community meetings and stakeholder
interviews and including deadlines for posting of legal notices and advertisements. This timeline will be
made available to the public to explain the process.
G. Strategy Sessions- The Contractor shall:
i. Participate in planning sessions with key City staff to:
a) Finalize the work schedule of the consulting firm.
b) Provide an overview of the HUD programs the City administers.
c) Set dates for any public hearings, community meetings, stakeholder meetings, and resident
meetings
d) Begin data gathering process.
H. Public Participation- The Contractor shall:
i. Conduct a review of available data, reports and documents including, but not limited to, Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act, State Unemployment Insurance, property assessments, building permits,
National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual Out of Reach report, Dun and Bradstreet, real estate
transactions, City of Round Rock (Analysis to Impediments, Continuum of Care and any available
Consolidated Plan data), HUD Office of Policy Development and Research Market at a Glace Report,
the Warren Group data, foreclosures, comdata and the U.S. Census data. Develop maps of key data
elements such as income, housing, and racial characteristics.
ii. Analyze the data tables provided by the IDIS ConPlan template, which has been pre-populated with
default data from the US census, CHAS and American Community Survey, and provide additional
data collection as necessary.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 9 of 13
iii. Using data, reports, documents and information collected develop a written Needs Assessment and
Market Analysis in the format required by HUD.
iv. Adjust Needs Assessment and Market Analysis from HUD eCon Planning Suite submission
document to one suitable for public distribution and comment.
v. Provide a methodology to improve and encourage citizen participation in the consolidated planning
process.
vi. Presentations at community and public meetings and moderating discussions (including preparing,
copying and distributing bilingual handouts/guidebooks and preparation of meeting minutes) to gather
community input on the community needs.
vii. Develop and circulate one (1) community survey in English and Spanish.
I. General Responsibilities:
i. Prepare a summary of comments, conduct analysis and assess data gathered, and develop 5-year
priority recommendations incorporating factual data and public input collected to support those
recommendations.
ii. Assess the need for broadband and natural hazards analysis.
iii. Provide notice to other required organizations.
iv. Provide guidance and models regarding letters to all local community, housing, and social service
agencies, alerting them to the grant process and seeking input on community needs.
v. Provide guidance on timetables and templates for advertisements in the local newspaper on the
same subject.
vi. Attend all City Council meetings as required.
vii. Provide a resource binder to include, at minimum, a list of data sources, a copy of data collected,
consultations, records, and any other supporting documentation used to develop a 5-Year Con Plan
for the City.
viii. Assist City staff in responding to HUD questions or issues throughout the HUD approval process.
ix. Prepare last draft of both the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan, incorporating information
received at the public meeting, public comments, and comments from the City. The last draft is to be
reviewed by the City prior to finalization.
x. Prepare HUD’s Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan Completeness Checklist for Entitlement
Grantees
xi. Provide all final work products to the City.
J. Project Selection, Application Evaluation and Recommendations of Best Practice- The Contractor
shall:
i. Evaluate the current procedure, application, and scoring process for selecting eligible projects for
Federal Funding
ii. Recommend any improvements to be made to the current process, including informing non-profit
organizations, citizens, social service agencies, department heads, and other interested parties
iii. Recommend institutional modifications regarding the evaluation of project eligibility, financial
feasibility, environmental impact, and organizational capacity to meet local demand and satisfy
national objectives.
K. Annual Action Plan- The Contractor shall develop a draft Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan that
includes proposed activities, proposed accomplishments, and performance measurements. The Annual
Action Plan will be submitted in the final form accompanying the Five (5) Year Consolidated Plan.
L. Five-Year Consolidated Plan: The Contractor shall:
i. Review of the accomplishments of the previous 5-year Consolidated Plan.
ii. Develop a draft Consolidated Plan that includes 5-year (FY’24-FY’28) strategic and funding goals,
priorities, and strategies, along with proposed accomplishments and performance measurements for
the City, that include:
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 10 of 13
a) Mapping of census tracts
b) Demographic profile
c) Housing needs and market analysis
d) Public housing needs
e) Strengths and gaps of the City’s delivery system
f) Review of City policies
g) Review of private sector policies
h) Community development goals and objectives
i) Special needs population needs and objectives
iii. Develop a draft FY’24 Annual Action Plan that includes proposed activities, proposed
accomplishments and performance measurements using the format of the FY’24 Action Plan.
iv. Prepare submission of the 5-year Consolidated Plan and the FY24 Annual Action Plan through the
templates in IDIS
v. Prepare maps to include in the plans (using HUD’s CPD maps, as applicable).
vi. Prepare tables, charts, illustrations and photographs to include in plans.
vii. Provide interval electronic copies of plan sections to City staff for review and comment before the
public draft of the plan is finalized.
viii. Coordinate the advertisement of the thirty-day public comment period as well as the City Council public
hearings required on the proposed use of funds.
ix. Direct and assist the City staff in documenting the close of the comment period and responses to any
comments received.
x. Gain approval for the finalized consolidated plan and submit to HUD before the deadline of 8/16/2024
4. CITY RESPONSIBILITIES: The City will-
A. Participate in planning sessions with the Contractor to:
i. Assist in finalizing the work schedule of the consulting firm.
ii. Assist in providing an overview of the HUD programs the City administers.
iii. Assist in setting dates for any public hearings, community meetings, stakeholder meetings, and
resident meetings.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 11 of 13
PART V
PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS
AND EVALUATION FACTORS
1. PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: All proposals are valid for a period of one hundred and twenty (120)
calendar days subsequent to the RFP closing date unless a longer acceptance period is offered in the
proposal.
2. PROPOSAL RESPONSE: Responses shall be clear and concise while appropriately responding to the
evaluation criteria listed below in Section 3. In order to do business with the City of Round Rock you must be
registered with the City’s Vendor Database. To register, go to:
https://roundrocktxvendors.munisselfservice.com/Vendors/default.aspx
Proposal Submittal Instructions: The Respondent shall include all of the following documents in their
response-
Attachment A- Reference Sheet
Attachment B- Cost Proposal Sheet
Acknowledged Addenda (if applicable)
All other applicable attachments as listed in the solicitation.
Company Information- which gives in brief, concise terms, a summation of the proposal. Include the
following-
Business Organization: State the full name and address of your organization and identify the parent
company if you are a subsidiary. Specify the branch office or other subordinate element that will perform,
or assist in performing, work herein. Indicate whether you operate as a partnership, corporation, or
individual. Include the State in which it was incorporated or licensed to operate.
Project Management Structure: Provide a general explanation and chart which specifies project
leadership and reporting responsibilities, and interface the team with City project management and team
personnel. If use of subcontractors is proposed, identify their placement in the primary management
structure, and provide internal management description for each subcontractor.
Authorized Negotiator: Include the name, email address, and telephone number of the person(s) in your
organization authorized to negotiate Contract terms and render binding decisions on Contract matters.
Segment requirements listed below.
A statement of your compliance with all applicable rules and regulations of Federal, State and Local
governing entities.
List of Exceptions (if any)- Be advised that exceptions to any portion of the Solicitation may jeopardize
acceptance of the Proposal by the City. Exceptions to this solicitation if any, shall be submitted on a
separate sheet labeled “Exceptions” with the Respondent’s proposal.
3. EVALUATION CRITERIA:
A. Segment 1 – Respondent’s Solution, Approach, & Timeline
i. System Concept and Solution: Define in detail your understanding of the requirement presented in
the Scope of Work of this request for proposal and your solution. Provide all details as required in the
Scope of Work and any additional information you deem necessary to evaluate your proposal.
Provide a narrative of your prior experience in preparing HUD-approved Consolidated Plans,
knowledge of HUD regulations and guidelines, knowledge of access to community planning tools
such as software developed specifically for community planning and HUD’s eCon Planning Suite
ii. Program Approach and Timeline: Describe your technical plan for accomplishing required work and
the estimated timeline for a project. Include such time-related displays, graphs, and charts as
necessary to show tasks, sub-tasks, milestones, and decision points related to the Scope of Work
and your plan for accomplishment. Specifically indicate:
1) A description of your work program by tasks. Detail the steps you will take in proceeding from
Task 1 to the final tasks.
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 12 of 13
2) Approach to effectively implementing community involvement, including types of information,
materials and media used, charts, graphs, models, presentation formats, public meeting process,
meeting formats, community education events, etc, as applicable. Characterize the effectiveness
of the community involvement on previous projects.
3) Innovative ideas for maximizing the value and amount of work that can be completed within the
budget available for this contract. Provide rationale and evidence of the value and effectiveness
of the proposed approach to the scope of work.
4) Additional recommendations not identified in the scope of services.
B. Segment 2 – Company Work Experience and Personnel
i. Prior Experience: State the number of years the Respondent company has been providing the
services requested in the solicitation. Describe only relevant municipal, corporate, and individual
experience for the company and personnel who will be actively engaged in the project. Do not
include corporate experience unless personnel assigned to this project actively participated. Do not
include experience prior to 2015. Supply the:
a) project title,
b) year,
c) reference name,
d) title, present address, and phone number of principal persons for whom prior projects were
accomplished.
ii. Personnel: Include names, qualifications, and resumes of all key personnel who will be assigned to
the account. State the primary work assigned to each person and the percentage of time each
person will devote to this work. Identify key persons by name and title.
iii. Provide a copy of a recent CDBG plan project.
iv. Describe other similar projects you have completed in similar size to the City of Round Rock.
C. Segment 3 – Cost Proposal: Information described in the following subsections is required from each
Proposer. Your method of costing may or may not be used but should be described. A firm fixed price
or not-to-exceed Contract is contemplated.
i. Manpower. Itemize to show the following for each category of personnel with separate hourly
rate.
1) Manager, senior consultant, analyst, subcontractor etc.
2) Estimated hours for each category of personnel.
3) Rate applied for each category of personnel
ii. Itemized Cost of Supplies and Materials
iii. Other itemized costs
iv. Travel Expenses- Travel expenses shall be in compliance with City travel policy.
v. Total (not to exceed) Cost
4. EVALUATION CRITERIA: The intent of the City is to award to one Respondent in accordance with the
evaluation criteria below. The purpose of this evaluation criteria is to determine which proposal best meets
the requirements and provides the best overall value to the City.
A. Evaluation Criteria: Weights:
• Respondent’s Solution, Approach, & Timeline (Segment 1) 50 pts
• Company Work Experience and Personnel (Segment 2) 30 pts
• Cost Proposal (Segment 3) 20 pts
Maximum Weight: 100 pts
B. An evaluation committee will be established to evaluate the proposal. The committee will include
employees of the City and may include other impartial individuals who are not City employees. The
evaluation committee will determine if discussions and/or Best and Final Offers (BAFO) are necessary.
Award of a contract may be made without discussions or BAFO, if in the best interest of the City. The
Exhibit "A"
City of Round Rock
Consultant Services for the Preparation of a CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan & Annual Action Plan
RFP No. 23-023
Commodity Code: 918-27
October 2023
Page 13 of 13
evaluation committee may determine that discussions are necessary to clarify or verify a written proposal
response. The City may, at its discretion, elect to have respondents provide oral presentations of their
proposal. The City reserves the right to rescore an offer based on provided demonstrations. A request
for a BAFO is at the sole discretion of the City and will be requested in writing. The evaluation committee
will evaluate the finalists and make a recommendation for award.
C. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted, or to award to the respondent who in
the City’s opinion, offers the best value to the City. The City also reserves the right to cancel the RFP
process and pursue alternate methods for providing the requirements.
D. The City reserves the right to conduct studies and other investigations as necessary to evaluate any
proposal.
E. The City reserves the right to waive any minor technicality, irregularities, or informalities noted
in the submission process. Submission of proposal confers no legal rights upon any
Respondent.
F. The City reserves the right to request further documentation or information and to discuss proposal
response with any Respondent in order to answer questions or to clarify any aspects of the proposal.
G. The City may develop a “short list” of qualified proposal and may determine that the
Respondent(s) should submit a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Each “short listed” Respondent will be
given a reasonable opportunity for discussion and revision of their proposal.
5. AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS AND AWARD PROCESS:
A. A proposal presented in response to this RFP is subject to negotiation concerning any issues deemed
relevant by the City. The City reserves the right to negotiate any issue with any party. Any unsolicited
communication by the Respondent to a City official, undesignated employee, or an evaluation team
member evaluating or considering the offers may be grounds for disqualifying the offending Offeror from
consideration of award.
B. Submission of proposal indicates the Respondent’s acceptance of the evaluation process and recognition
that the City may make subjective judgments in evaluating the proposal to determine the best value for
the City.
C. If negotiations are successful, the City and Respondent may enter into an agreement. If negotiations are
unsuccessful, the City may formally end negotiations with that Respondent.
D. The City also reserves the right to reject any or all submittals, or to accept any submittal deemed most
advantageous, or to waive any irregularities or informalities in the submittal received.
E. An independent signed authorized Contract will be sent to the successful Respondent(s). Execution of a
City of Round Rock contract is required prior to starting work and processing any payments to the
Contractor.
6. POST AWARD MEETING: The City and the Respondent may schedule a post award meeting to discuss, but
not be limited to the following:
A. The method to provide a smooth and orderly transition of services performed from the current Contractor.
B. Provide City contact(s) information for implementation of the Agreement.
C. Identify specific milestones, goals, and strategies to meet objectives.
Exhibit "A"
Round Rock,
Texas
PROPOSED FOR
Solicitation No. 23-023
Consulting
Services for the
Preparation of a
CDBG Five-Year
Consolidated
Plan & Annual
Action Plan
request for PROPOSALS
Proposed ByGrow America
November 17, 2023
Proposal Contact
Patricia Santa Cruz
Field Director
Technical Advisory Services
(281) 772-0733
psantacruz@growamerica.org
Headquarters
633 3rd Avenue
19th Floor Suite J
New York, NY 10017
(800) 501-7489
www.growamerica.org
Exhibit "A"
Grow America directs capital to
support the development and
preservation of affordable
housing, creates jobs through
small business lending, advances
livable communities with social
infrastructure investment, and
builds capacity with hands-on
technical assistance to local
governments.
Mission since 1969
Exhibit "A"
0
Table of Contents
Company Information ............................................................................................................................... 1
Segment 1. Respondent’s Solution, Approach & Timeline ........................................................................ 9
Segment 2. Company Work Experience and Personnel .......................................................................... 16
Segment 3. Cost Proposal (Separate Cover)
Exceptions (Separate Cover)
Appendix A. Project Team Resumes
Appendix B. City of San Antonio’s 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan Executive Summary
Exhibit "A"
1
Company Information
Business Organization
Established in 1969 at the beginning of the community development movement, the National Council
for Community Development, Inc. dba Grow America (formerly National Development Council) has
played an integral role in shaping the strategies and methodologies that have set the standards of
excellence in the practice of local economic development, affordable housing, and community
development. Grow America's staff has worked with nonprofit and public sector practitioners in every
one of the 50 states, more than 100 entitlement cities and counties, and hundreds of small cities to help
leverage public funds in exchange for community development projects that generate long-term and
sustainable community wealth. Grow America is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation headquartered in New
York, NY, with regional offices across the country, including one on Dallas, TX. Grow America has 75
employees, with six employees based in Texas.
Grow America’s mission focuses on increasing the flow of capital for homes, jobs, and community as
described below.
Grow America acts as a teacher, advisor, investor, developer, and lender all in one, working tirelessly to
increase the flow of investment capital, spur job creation and bring community development to
America’s economically challenged areas. Grow America’s core expertise is in assisting its client
communities in strategic uses of public resources and incentives to leverage private investment in
economic and community development efforts. Grow America has excelled at delivering effective public-
private partnerships that demonstrate these principles by providing direct technical assistance, building
the capacity of our client staff, applying extensive knowledge of public sector financing with direct
development experience, and helping our clients negotiate the best possible development outcomes.
Grow America’s technical assistance is deeper and broader than consulting. We design and structure
economic development and public facility finance programs, identify sources for funding, secure
Exhibit "A"
2
capitalization, and train and work alongside our clients’ staff in program operations. Grow America’s
mission is skills-transfer to build local capacity.
Grow America undertakes its work through two areas of activity focus: capacity building and financing
& development, as shown below.
Grow America’s founding and continuing mission is to direct capital to support the development and
preservation of affordable housing, create jobs through small business lending, advance livable
communities with social infrastructure investment, and build capacity with hands-on technical
assistance to local governments and community development organizations. For more than five
decades, this has been the foundation of the Grow America services listed below:
Training: Recognizing that local capacity means local empowerment, over 40 years ago Grow
America created the first professional education and certification program for community-based
economic, housing and community development practitioners. Since then, Grow America has
trained more than 81,000 individuals from a range of communities - urban and rural, large, and
small - in the art and science of community development and finance. This work continues in
every course with up-to-date curricula that reflect the changing finance and policy landscapes,
with innovations in remote and in-person classroom technologies, and with practical, hands-on
problem-solving experience in actual development projects.
Technical Assistance: Grow America is one of the nation's leading not-for-profit providers of
technical assistance in the areas of economic development and housing development finance
and underwriting, including small business underwriting. For over 50 years, Grow America's staff
has worked with nonprofit and public practitioners in every one of the 50 states, in hundreds of
Exhibit "A"
3
large and small cities and rural areas, to help plan and execute development strategies, and to
access, leverage, and deploy financing from public and private sources. We work side-by-side
with our local partners, and with each project completed and program created, these local
practitioners gain experience and knowledge for their continuing work in creating long-term and
sustainable community wealth. Technical assistance is provided by field directors with a
minimum of ten years progressively responsible experience in the field of housing and economic
development. They are subject matter experts in federal programs and achieve required
certifications to provide clients guidance on their most difficult community development
projects, policies, and strategies.
Affordable Housing: Affordable housing, a critical element in creating equitable communities,
has been a Grow America focus from the beginning. Our technical assistance has helped the
hundreds of communities we serve plan and finance housing throughout the 50 years of changing
federal and state policies. When the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit became the primary source
of financing, we created Grow America’s Housing & Economic Development Corporation (HEDC)
Corporate Equity Fund (CEF). CEF’s syndicated multi-investor funds provide equity capital for the
construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing using Low Income Housing, Historic
Preservation and Renewable Energy Tax Credits. Grow America’s CEF works with local housing
sponsors and developers from project inception, guiding the financial structuring and, again,
building local technical capacity. CEF has financed nearly 13,000 housing units.
Small Business Lending: Access to capital for small businesses is another cornerstone of equitable
community development. Grow America first entered this field of work with a service that helped
minority business owners access credit from conventional banks through SBA and other loan
programs.
Grow America Fund: Over 30 years ago, we began our own small business lending
activities with Grow America’s Grow America Fund (GAF), the nation's first and only U.S.
SBA-licensed Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) owned and operated by a nonprofit
organization. GAF, which became certified as a Community Development Financial
Institution (CDFI) in 1997, is a small business loan fund whose mission is to create jobs,
stimulate investment, and build the strength of the entrepreneurial and small business
sector in low-income communities. GAF’s loans range from $150,000 to $2,000,000, with
over 60% or more of its loans made to businesses in CDFI eligible areas. GAF has loaned
almost one half billion dollars to more than 3,200 small businesses, creating and retaining
over 50,000 jobs, including thousands of construction jobs. Additionally, Grow America
has considerable experience operating non-SBA loan funds capitalized with both public
and private funds that offer a range of loan sizes, including loans under $50,000.
Community Impact Loan Fund: Recognizing another unmet need in equitable community
development – better access to credit for smaller, younger, minority-owned businesses,
Grow America created its Community Impact Loan Fund (CILF) in 2014. A CDFI since 2016,
CILF works through community networks and engages with local partners to conduct
outreach, connect businesses to networks of support, and build local capacity, similar to
the vision and purpose of the SBA Community Navigator Pilot Program. CILF provides
Exhibit "A"
4
guidance to businesses before the loan application is even formally initiated and
continues working with the businesses to loan closing and throughout the period of the
loan. During this relationship, we help businesses anticipate problems, help solve them
when they arise, and, at the end of the loan period, position businesses to emerge with
greater equity and greater wealth. Close to 95% of CILF’s lending activities have assisted
low-income and minority/woman-owned entrepreneurs or non-profits that serve low-
income communities or communities of color. In 2020, CILF made 131 loans totaling more
than $20 million and in the first half of 2021, CILF has loaned more than $12 million to
201 businesses.
Multicultural Community Investment (MCI) Initiative: In 2019, Grow America created its
Multicultural Community Investment (MCI) Initiative to engage with local community
development ecosystems more deeply in delivering capital and technical assistance to
BIPOC businesses and their communities. MCI debuted in Broward County, FL; Cleveland
and Cuyahoga County, OH; and the Greater St. Louis Region, MO. MCI collaborates and
creates partnerships with members of those ecosystems to engage in outreach and to
identify businesses that need capital or technical assistance. These outreach partners
include business support organizations; neighborhood, social, civic, and religious
organizations; local outposts of public agencies; and other community stakeholders.
These partners are not only culturally integrated into their neighborhoods and social
infrastructure, but they are also skilled in providing technical assistance, business
counseling, capacity building, and training in various aspects of small business operations.
MCI connects businesses with GAF, CILF, and other Grow America affordable housing and
community development resources.
Exhibit "A"
5
Pandemic-Related Small Business Assistance and Housing Assistance: Shortly after the COVID-
19 pandemic began its march across the nation, Grow America’s existing client communities
called upon Grow America to aid them in redesigning and redeploying their existing programs to
respond to the crisis faced by local small businesses and low-income households. Additionally,
Grow America began serving as a third-party administrator and/or lender for many statewide
entities, counties, and cities across the nation and helped to deploy over $715 million in COVID-
19 financial assistance to 33,272 businesses and 2,541 low-income households. As a result of our
participation in these initiatives, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data on the
current (and evolving) state of small businesses and community needs.
Project Management Structure
Grow America staff is a talented group of former bankers, government employees, developers,
entrepreneurs, economic development leaders, and affordable housing and community development
professionals. This diverse mix of backgrounds gives Grow America a special understanding of both
private and public sector financing/funding sources and their respective community planning and
compliance requirements. Patricia Santa Cruz, Field Director, and Laura Salinas-Martinez, Operations
Support Director, with the Training & Technical Advisory Services Group, will serve as the Project Co-
Leads and the primary points of contact for the City.
PROJECT TEAM
Patricia Santa Cruz joined Grow America in November 2021 as a Field Director in the Technical Advisory
Services Division (Central Team). In this role, Ms. Santa Cruz assists local organizations in achieving a
wide variety of community development goals. Patricia has 20 years of federal grant experience in
management, administration, and implementation of federal programs. She has more than 12 years of
experience in management and administration of HUD CDBG and HOME Program funds with various
types of community development and housing projects. Her recent experience at the City of San Antonio
Exhibit "A"
6
includes overseeing $21 million in CDBG and HOME budgets and activities and $17 million in CDBG
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, ensuring the City met applicable
funding commitment and expenditure deadlines, completing the Five-Year Consolidated Plan, as well as
Annual Action Plans, Substantial Amendments, and Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation
Reports. She has extensive experience in other operational aspects of CDBG and HOME programs
including IDIS, environmental reviews, Section 3, program compliance, eligibility determination, and
contract administration. She also assisted with the implementation, policy development and monitoring
of the City’s $140 million COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance Program funded with CARES Act
and other federal and local funds and led the development of the department’s Equity Action Plan,
which outlines two-year goals and strategies for advancing racial and economic equity in their programs
and policies. Ms. Santa Cruz is fluent in English and Spanish and resides in San Antonio, Texas.
Laura Salinas-Martinez is Operations Support Director at Grow America and a certified Housing
Development Finance Professional (HDFP). Ms. Salinas-Martinez is an experienced community
development professional working in this field since 2000. She significant work experience in operations,
federal grants administration, the Community Development Block Grant (24 CFR Part 570), the HOME
Investment Partnerships Program (24 CFR Part 92), the Neighborhood Stabilization Program,
Consolidated Plan Revisions and Updates Final Rule (24 CFR Part 91), the Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200), Environmental
Review Requirements (24 CFR Part 58), planning and policy development, programmatic
implementation, contract negotiations, and organizational leadership. Before joining Grow America, Ms.
Salinas-Martinez served as the Grants Administrator (and in several other management roles) for the
City of San Antonio where she had full management responsibility of annual HUD entitlement funding
of over $20 million to include ensuring timely draws and commitment deadlines, compliance and
performance reporting, action plan development, grant reconciliations, IDIS activity set up and
reporting, consolidated annual performance and evaluation reporting and serving as the primary point
of contact with HUD. In addition, during the pandemic, she developed policies/procedures and led the
processing teams for the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance Program that subsequently
deployed tens of millions of dollars. In addition, Ms. Salinas-Martinez has worked in several key roles
organizations to include the City of Yakima’s Office of Neighborhood Development Services
(Washington), San Antonio Housing Authority, Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio, and the
Brooks Development Authority. She attended the University of Texas-Pan American (now UT-RGV); she
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Heritage University (Toppenish, WA) and a
Master’s degree in Business Administration from St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX). Ms. Salinas-
Martinez is fluent in English and Spanish and resides in San Antonio, Texas.
To ensure that we meet the needs of this project, Grow America will draw upon its vast resources of
staff expertise with the following Project Team Members below (alphabetically listed by first name) and
whose complete resumes are provided in Appendix A.
Maureen Milligan is a Field Director in Grow America’s Training & Technical Advisory Services
Group. She has been a licensed attorney for over 15 years and has drafted state legislation, local
ordinances, municipal court manuals, multi-departmental standard operating procedures, HUD
Consolidated Plans, and local housing strategies. Immediately prior to joining Grow America in
January 2020, she served as an Assistant Director in the Dallas Department of Housing and
Exhibit "A"
7
Neighborhood Revitalization where she managed a team of community development
professionals who facilitated home repair, mortgage assistance, housing development and land
bank programs that used funding sources including CDBG and HOME grants, general obligation
bonds, and municipal general funds. During her tenure as an Assistant Director, Ms. Milligan led
the implementation of the City of Dallas’s first comprehensive housing policy, including drafting
ordinances, program statements, and procedures related to incentive zoning, housing tax credits,
community land trusts, tangled titles, neighborhood empowerment zones and strategic land
acquisition/disposition. She established and managed the Housing Policy Taskforce where she
engaged industry professionals, neighborhood leaders, and city staff in policy development at
both the local and state level. Ms. Milligan prepared and presented City Council committee
briefings and agenda items and worked closely with elected officials and city staff.
Monifa Watson is Assistant Field Director on the Technical Advisory Services Team where she
assists with the servicing of contracts to local municipalities and client organizations with a
concentration on community engagement efforts. She also lends support to other community
development planning and implementation processes and strategies. Ms. Watson previously
worked in Small Business Lending, marketing Grow America’s loan products and servicing closed
loans. She managed a portfolio of over 100 loans, developing professional relationships with
borrowers and assisting them with post-closing compliance and capital needs. With over 20 years
of non-profit management experience, Ms. Watson has managed a transitional housing facility,
served as the Program Director for a national housing organization and conducted financial
literacy and first-time homebuyer seminars.
Raquel Favela is a recognized expert in economic development and housing with 28 years of
experience. Ms. Favela joined Grow America in 2007 and has been instrumental in the design,
scaling and implementation of the flex-staff system which has allowed Grow America to scale
efficiently and deploy more than $900 million in Covid-response resources in Grow America client
communities around the country. As Executive Managing Director, she leads the Training and
Technical Advisory Services Group in helping public sector clients understand their markets and
develop customized strategic plans and policy solutions that build eco-systems critical to
equitable job creation and diverse housing options. Ms. Favela’s unique brand combines practical
experience with her long-range planning and policy acumen to bring balanced problem solving
to communities. A thought leader and authority, she has walked in the shoes of most of the major
participants in real estate development: owner, investor, developer, consultant, governmental
entity, lender, and landlord. Known for delivering results, while at the City of San Antonio, Ms.
Favela is credited with producing San Antonio’s first Strategic Community Development Plan in
2007. Ten years later while serving as the City of Dallas’ Chief of Economic Development and
Neighborhood Services, Ms. Favela was lauded for delivering the city’s first Comprehensive
Housing Policy that addressed longstanding fair housing issues and disparate impact. In her role
with Grow America, Ms. Favela has been the trusted advisor to clients across the country to
include East Chicago, Indiana, Rockford, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Los Angeles County,
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the State of Illinois and in Texas, San Antonio, Irving, and Temple.
Ms. Favela has guided clients on financing structures for challenging redevelopment projects, a
role that garnered her extensive transactional experience with federal, state, and local tools
Exhibit "A"
8
available to maximize public benefits. Ms. Favela resides in San Antonio, Texas and is fluent in
English and Spanish.
Tom Jackson is a Managing Director with Technical Advisory Services and joined the Grow
America, one of the oldest national not-for-profit full-service community and economic
development organizations in the country, in 2007 as a Field Director with the Central Team. In
2011, Mr. Jackson assumed the leadership of Grow America’s Training Division, while maintaining
his roles as a technical assistance expert and trainer in development finance. In addition to
leading a Training team that builds capacity in over 3,500 government and nonprofit
professionals each year, he provides technical assistance, training, financing and development
assistance to municipal and not-for-profit clients as needed by Grow America’s regional teams.
Mr. Jackson has also worked extensively with project’s utilizing Grow America’s New Markets Tax
Credit Program, the recipient of several of the largest tax credit allocations in the country since
the federal program’s inception. Mr. Jackson previously served as a senior economic
development officer and special projects manager with the City of Cincinnati where he managed
comprehensive community redevelopment efforts in struggling inner-city neighborhoods. He
currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife and daughter.
Fellowship Program gives graduate students an opportunity to gain valuable applied experience
in the fields of affordable housing, community development and economic development. Grow
America recruits graduate students from the University of Texas’ (at Austin) LBJ School of Public
Affairs, University of California-Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs and the University of
Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Graduate Fellows provide a wide
range of support to include research, data analytics, stakeholder outreach and community
engagement.
Contractor Support Services - Grow America has a pool of over 75 highly skilled and experienced
independent contractors for various professional services to include but not limited to GIS and
Data Analysis; Small Business Loan and Grant Processing and Underwriting; Housing Assistance
Program Processing and Quality Assurance; and Development Underwriting. Independent
Contractors for this initiative have not been selected by Grow America but are procured utilizing
HUD-approved subcontracting (RFQ) methods and verification requirements utilizing the System
for Award Management (www.sam.gov).
Authorized Negotiator
Laura Salinas-Martinez, Operations Support Director, is authorized to negotiate contract terms and
render binding decisions on contract matters. Daniel Marsh III, President & CEO, is authorized to
negotiate and execute agreements on behalf of Grow America.
Laura Salinas-Martinez
Operations Support Director
lsalinas@growamerica.org
(210) 314-9860
Daniel Marsh III
President & CEO
dmarsh@growamerica.org
800-501-7489
Exhibit "A"
9
Segment 1. Respondent’s Solution, Approach & Timeline
System Concept and Solution
During the late 1960s, Grow America was among the key organizations involved in advocating for flexible
funding for community development efforts following the lessons learned from programs like Urban
Development Action and Model Cities Block Grants. At the program’s outset, Grow America developed
and delivered educational programs, workshops, and resources to help communities effectively utilize
CDBG funds and comply with program requirements. As the CDBG program grew, Grow America
continued to be actively involved in supporting impactful community development outcomes
nationwide by providing technical assistance to grantees, offering guidance on program administration,
financial management, project planning, and evaluation.
Grow America approached this work by following HUD’s guidance and best practices for the
Consolidated Planning Process. For these engagements, Grow America was responsible for completing
the following tasks:
Data Gathering and
Analysis
Housing and Community
Needs Assessment
Housing Market Analysis
Determining Strategic
Plan Goals
Stakeholder
Consultation
Citizen Participation
Focus Groups/Town
Halls
Community Engagement
Survey
Drafting Consolidated
Plan and Annual Action
Plan Documents
IDIS E-Con Planning
Suite Entry and
Submission
Coordination with
Grantee Staff
Grow America’s most recent and relevant experience includes successful development, completion, and
acceptance of HUD plans for the following entitlement communities:
1. Hamilton County, OH
a. 2023 Annual Action Plan: www.hamilton-
co.org/common/pages/DownloadFileByUrl.aspx?key=mKK70XxX7p3mCyjfsrEDiW9hs7Y
wFukOMJN4qe2L3eds2gPA%2Fmu3quRZG1yfjqvyt1ZiCOkQVpCILQdRXW6MUPCA3lNAL
T31FRlae2dPY%2FVtXztzd34YTUdd8Ir5jfFOYPgGvVtF%2BpfqTJCfjju8RMkokM5AfQtDI9gJ
Ke8zVr7dW2YGArNYmBz1tUa6ci4HDOvZAQ%3D%3D
2. City of San Antonio, TX
a. 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan:
www.sa.gov/files/assets/main/v/1/nhsd/documents/fy-2022-2026-consolidated-plan-
and-fy2022-actionplan.pdf
3. City of Lewisville, TX
a. 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan:
www.cityoflewisville.com/home/showpublisheddocument/24426/63796236396737000
0
b. 2022-2026 Assessment of Fair Housing:
https://cityoflewisville.prod.govaccess.org/home/showdocument?id=26058&t=6381863
26612614089
Exhibit "A"
10
4. Hidalgo County, TX
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://cms5.revize.com/revize/alton/departments/planning/Hidalgo%20County%2020
23-27%20Consolidated%20Plan-2023%20AAP%20Summary.pdf
5. City of Irving, TX:
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://www.cityofirving.org/DocumentCenter/View/59637/2024-2028-Irving-
Consolidated-Plan
b. 2023-2027 Assessment of Fair Housing:
https://www.cityofirving.org/DocumentCenter/View/58643
6. Los Angeles County Development Authority, CA
a. 2023-2028 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
www.lacda.org/docs/librariesprovider25/community-development-programs/2023-
2028-consolidated-plan-draft.pdf?sfvrsn=e986ca80_1
7. City of Los Angeles, CA
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://communityinvestment.lacity.gov/consolidated-plan/consolidated-plan-five-year-
plan#:~:text=The%202023%2D27%20Five%2DYear,the%20next%20five%20years%20to
Proposed Approach and Timeline
In this section, Grow America provides a summary of its work plan, which includes a description of the
project along with details regarding the different phases of the project. This summary also includes Grow
America’s suggested responsibility assignments.
Grow America understands the project to include two deliverables:
1. 2024-2028 Consolidated Plan
2. 2024 Action Plan
Overview of Approach
Grow America will follow HUD’s recommended six stage Consolidated Planning process and focus our
work on numbers 1-4 of the process: (1) determining needs, (2) setting priorities, (3) determining
resources, (4) setting goals, (5) administering the programs, and (6) evaluating performance.
Consolidated Plan/Annual Action Plan: Stakeholder Consultation and Citizen Participation
Determining needs and setting priorities requires a robust Citizen Participation Plan. Grow America will
ensure that the Consolidated Plan is the result of an effective citizen participation process that follows a
revised Citizen Participation Plan that both complies with HUD requirements and incorporates best
practices in a COVID-recovery era. Grow America encourages the use of a mix of in-person and virtual
meetings and tools to help identify priorities for program areas from a broad range of the public and
local stakeholders. This proposed work plan includes development of an online, mobile-friendly survey
to be distributed via email, social media platforms, community kiosks, libraries, and at other public
venues. Grow America also proposes to consult with members of housing and human services
Exhibit "A"
11
organizations to assist with the deployment of the survey to maximize outreach to citizens, non-profit
organizations, and other interested parties.
Prior to engaging stakeholders, Grow America will conduct a high-level analysis of local data and the
existing regulatory environment to preliminarily scope the most pressing community needs and
constraints. Grow America has found that local stakeholders are more willing to support housing and
other non-housing community development investments throughout a community when they
understand how existing market forces, coupled with local regulations, impact the costs to develop
housing and provide public services, the existing capacity of local government and non-profits to provide
public services, and the current public investments in streets, parks, community facilities and other
community assets. Grow America will produce easy-to-understand materials for community and
stakeholder meetings outlining the City’s current challenges and opportunities. Grow America will use
these materials in conversation with community members and stakeholders in virtual and in-person
meetings. Grow America will use a mix of both in-person and virtual meetings, at various times of day,
and on different days of the week to get feedback from a broader cross-section of the public.
Grow America will pursue five approaches to engage key stakeholder groups and the broader community
throughout the study.
1. Grow America will design and deploy the citizen survey as described above, and the City’s survey
tool if desired.
2. Grow America will facilitate in-person and virtual community meetings as outlined in the City’s
Citizen Participation Plan that cover topics designed to both educate and organize input from key
stakeholder groups specifically involved in community development, public services, fair housing,
and neighborhood leadership.
3. Grow America will conduct virtual one-on-one consultations with local stakeholders.
4. After reviewing the survey results, conducting the community meetings, and consulting with
stakeholders, Grow America will work with City staff to identify groups who may have specific
insight on key priorities for the City or groups who may have been underrepresented during the
outreach – these groups may include persons with limited Englis h proficiency. Grow America will
hold up to four virtual focus group meetings with these stakeholder groups.
5. Following the community outreach and necessary data analysis, Grow America will develop a
summary report of consultation and citizen participation for inclusion in the Consolidated Plan
and present it to the appropriate City staff, boards, and City elected leaders for feedback.
Consolidated Plan: Needs Assessment
Grow America will provide an estimate of housing needs projected for the next five-year period. This
includes: (1) an estimate of the number and type of families in need of housing assistance for extremely
low-income, low-income, moderate-income, and middle-income families, for renters and owners, and
(2) the specification of such needs for different categories of persons, including elderly persons; single
persons; large families; public housing residents; families on the public housing and section 8 tenant-
based waiting list; persons with HIV/AIDS and their families; victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual abuse and stalking; persons with disabilities; and formerly homeless families and
individuals who are receiving rapid re-housing assistance and nearing the termination of that assistance.
The description of housing needs will include a concise summary of specific housing problems, including
Exhibit "A"
12
cost-burden, severe cost- burden, substandard housing, and overcrowding (especially large families)
experienced by extremely low-income, low-income, and moderate-income renters and owners
compared to the jurisdiction as a whole. The terms “standard co ndition” and “substandard condition but
suitable for rehabilitation” will be defined in the plan.
Grow America will utilize the public datasets provided by HUD along with proprietary datasets, including
Moody’s Analytics, which provides current market rents, construction pipeline, vacancy rates and other
data related to multifamily properties located in the City. Grow America will also obtain local sales and
rental data related to the single-family home market. Grow America will also examine the extent to
which any racial or ethnic group has a disproportionately greater housing need in any particular income
category in comparison to the needs of that category as a whole.
Grow America will also examine the Continuum of Care’s latest Point-in-Time count data, and review
other relevant data, to provide the required narratives on the City’s unhoused population, trends, and
projected needs. Grow America will engage special needs services providers/agencies and community
development agencies to gather information on these needs to develop strategies to alleviate chronic
homelessness.
Grow America will supplement maps provided by HUD with GIS-created maps specific to the City’s
geography for inclusion in the Needs Assessment.
Grow America will complete all questions related to Public Housing and Assisted Housing Needs,
Homeless Needs, Special Population Needs and Non-Housing Community Development Needs (including
but not limited to Neighborhood Development, Economic Development, Behavioral Needs, Broadband
Needs and Anti-poverty measures).
Consolidated Plan: Market Analysis
Based on information available to the City, Grow America will describe the significant characteristics of
the housing market in terms of supply, demand, condition, and the cost of housing; the housing stock
available to serve persons with disabilities; and to serve persons with HIV/AIDS and their families. Data
on the housing market will include, to the extent information is available, an estimate of the number of
vacant or abandoned buildings and whether units in these buildings are suitable for rehabilitation.
The plan will identify and describe any area(s) where low-income families are concentrated and any
area(s) of where racial or ethnic minority households are concentrated either in a narrative or one or
more maps, stating how it defines the terms “area of low-income concentration” and “area of minority
concentration.” The plan will also provide an estimate of the number of housing units that contain lead-
based paint hazards, as defined in section 1004 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction
Act of 1992, and are occupied by extremely low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families.
Grow America will supplement maps provided by HUD with GIS-created maps specific to the City’s
geography for inclusion in the Market Analysis.
Grow America will also engage stakeholder groups and public agency partners to gather information and
draft narratives related to Public Housing, Assisted Housing, Homeless Facilities, Special Need Facilities
Exhibit "A"
13
and Services, Barriers to Affordable Housing, Non-Housing Community Development Assets, Needs and
Market Analysis Discussion, Broadband Needs, and Hazard Mitigation.
Strategic Plan
Priority Needs Analysis and Geographic Distribution
As required, the plan will include the priorities for allocating investment geographically and among
different activities and needs in accordance with the tables prescribed by HUD. Grow America will lead
City staff through conversations to determine Consolidated Plan priority needs, goals, and the
appropriate goal outcome indicators.
Determining Resources & Setting Goals
The plan will set goals and allocate resources for those areas identified by the citizens participation that
fall in the following categories: Housing (including Public Housing), Homelessness, Special Needs
Populations, Community Development.
As a result of the process, the City will be able to determine how the Consolidated Plan strategies fit into
its broader strategic plans and vision. It will also help identify barriers to affordable housing in the City.
Exhibit "A"
14
Annual Action Plan
The Annual Action Plan Section will include a concise summary of the actions, activities, and programs
that will take place during the next year to address the priority needs and specific objectives identified
by the strategic plan.
Summary of Work Plan
Grow America will conduct all data analysis and planning necessary to engage in a meaningful
community participation process that ultimately leads to the development of the five-year Consolidated
Plan and Annual Action Plan. As detailed in the timeline below, Grow America's work will occur in four
phases: (Grow America will be responsible for all work items unless specifically noted as a "Responsibility
of City”).
1. Phase I: December 2023-January 2024
Kickoff & Planning
Grow America will facilitate an in-person meeting that allows Grow America team members to
meet with the City to discuss existing data/plans, review deliverables and timelines, and discuss
IDIS access for Grow America staff. By the end of January 2024, Grow America will produce and
receive City approval on a timeline for the proposed work and itemizing deliverable deadlines,
City review periods, public comment periods, and all other major milestones.
Grow America will review key data and recommendations included in existing City planning
documents and a review of existing data related to economic conditions and the rental and
homeownership housing market. Grow America will also review the current regulatory and
funding environment and the market forces that affect housing production and non-housing
community development. Grow America will also review and revise the Citizen Participation Plan
to comply with HUD requirements and incorporate best practices. Using this revised CPP, Grow
America will develop a robust community engagement strategy.
Grow America will seek out and convene interested individuals and organizations to hear about
their housing and economic development needs, and proposed strategies for gathering public
input for their Consolidated Plans to identify potential areas of alignment with the broader City
Consolidated Plan work.
Responsibility of City: Identify a key staff member who will serve as the client contact for Grow
America. Obtain IDIS access for key Grow America personnel. Provide copies (or weblinks) to all
plans, data, and other documents that the City desires for Grow America to review and
incorporate into any of the deliverables, including an editable version of the current Citizen
Participation Plan. Provide selected GIS mapping layers of City jurisdictions, as well as information
such as specific locations of job training centers, employment centers, public transit routes, etc.
Identify key stakeholders who should or could be consulted during the development of the survey
and public meetings.
2. Phase II: January - March 2024
Community Survey, Community Meetings, Stakeholder Consultations, Focus Groups
Exhibit "A"
15
Grow America will design and deploy the SurveyMonkey-based survey(s), facilitate the
community participation process, and facilitate required public hearings in accordance with the
City’s Citizen Participation Plan. Together with the City, Grow America will create marketing
materials for this engagement for dissemination through City communication channels.
Responsibility of City: Review and approve the survey and community engagement materials.
Translate materials into appropriate languages. Market the survey and stakeholder meetings
through City communication channels. Work with Grow America to identify meeting locations,
dates for both the in-person and virtual meetings, as well as dates for the required public
hearing(s). Provide audio/visual equipment and interpretation services at selected locations.
Ensure that notification for all meetings, public comment periods and public hearings comply with
the Citizen Participation Plan.
3. Phase III: May – June 2024
Draft Deliverables and Public Comment
Grow America will submit draft versions of the draft Consolidated Plan (including the Community
Needs Assessment, Needs Assessment, Market Analysis, Fair Housing Research Strategic Plan)
and Annual Action Plan. Grow America will review feedback received from staff and the public
and will incorporate the feedback into draft versions of the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action
Plan that can be published for public comment.
Responsibility of City: Review Grow America draft(s) of deliverables and provide feedback.
Confirm Consolidated Plan budget amounts, priority needs, and projects. Manage public
comment period and share comments received with Grow America for inclusion in final Plan.
Obtain City Council approval of Plan.
4. Phase IV: June – July 2024; Submission to HUD on August 15, 2024
Final Deliverables and Submission to HUD
Grow America will review feedback received from staff and the public and will incorporate the
feedback into final versions of the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan for submission to
HUD.
Responsibility of City: Confirm City Council approval of Plan. Obtain Approve all data and budget
amounts entered into IDIS prior to final submission to HUD.
Once the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan are submitted to HUD via IDIS eCon Planning Suite,
Grow America will also be available to provide support in responding to HUD through the formal
acceptance of these plans.
Exhibit "A"
16
Segment 2. Company Work Experience and Personnel
Prior Experience
Grow America has been providing Consolidated Plan consulting services since 2018.
Reference #1: Los Angeles County Development Authority, California
Contact Name: Carolina Romo
Address: 700 W. Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801
Phone No.: (626) 296-6298
E-mail: Carolina.romo@lacda.org
Service Dates: July 2022 to July 2023
Project Name: 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan
Reference #2: City of Irving, Texas
Contact Name: Imelda Speck, Senior Manager
Address: 825 W Irving Boulevard, Irving, TX 75060
Phone No.: (972) 721-2398
E-mail: ispeck@cityofirving.org
Service Dates: December 2022 to August 2023
Project Name: 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan
Reference #3: Hidalgo County, Texas - Urban County Program
Contact Name: Steve De La Garza, Director
Address: 1916 Tesoro St., Pharr, TX 78577
Phone No.: (956) 787-8127
E-mail: steven.delagarza@co.hidalgo.tx.us
Service Dates: December 2022 to present
Project Name: 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan
Reference #4: City of Lewisville, Texas
Contact Name: Ashleigh Feryan, Neighborhood Services Manager
Address: 151 W. Church Street, Lewisville, Texas 75057
Phone No.: (972) 219-3736
E-mail: aferyan@cityoflewisville.com
Service Dates: January 2022 to August 2022
Project Name: 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan
Reference #5: Hamilton County, Ohio - Planning & Development
Contact Name: Maria Collins, Community Development Administrator
Address: Todd B. Portune Center for County Government
138 E. Court Street, Rm 1002, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone No.: (513) 946-8234
E-mail: Maria.collins@hamilton-co.org
Service Dates: January 2022 to present
Project Name: Management and Administration of CDBG, HOME and ESG Entitlement Programs
Exhibit "A"
17
Personnel
Grow America staff is a talented group of former bankers, government employees, developers,
entrepreneurs, economic development leaders, and affordable housing and community development
professionals. This diverse mix of backgrounds gives Grow America a special understanding of both
private and public sector financing/funding sources and their respective community planning and
compliance requirements. Patricia Santa Cruz, Field Director, and Laura Salinas-Martinez, Operations
Support Director, with the Training & Technical Advisory Services Group, will serve as the Project Co-
Leads and the primary points of contact for the City. Project Team Co-Leads will focus 25% of their time
to this project and prioritize tasks to meet project and statutory deadlines. Project Team Support
members will focus 10% of their time as needed for the different components/deliverables of the
project.
PROJECT TEAM
Patricia Santa Cruz joined Grow America in November 2021 as a Field Director in the Technical Advisory
Services Division (Central Team). In this role, Ms. Santa Cruz assists local organizations in achieving a
wide variety of community development goals. Patricia has 20 years of federal grant experience in
management, administration, and implementation of federal programs. She has more than 12 years of
experience in management and administration of HUD CDBG and HOME Program funds with various
types of community development and housing projects. Her recent experience at the City of San Antonio
includes overseeing $21 million in CDBG and HOME budgets and activities and $17 million in CDBG
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, ensuring the City met applicable
funding commitment and expenditure deadlines, completing the Five-Year Consolidated Plan, as well as
Annual Action Plans, Substantial Amendments, and Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation
Reports. She has extensive experience in other operational aspects of CDBG and HOME programs
including IDIS, environmental reviews, Section 3, program compliance, eligibility determination, and
contract administration. She also assisted with the implementation, policy development and monitoring
of the City’s $140 million COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance Program funded with CARES Act
and other federal and local funds and led the development of the department’s Equity Action Plan,
Exhibit "A"
18
which outlines two-year goals and strategies for advancing racial and economic equity in their programs
and policies. Ms. Santa Cruz is fluent in English and Spanish and resides in San Antonio, Texas.
Laura Salinas-Martinez is Operations Support Director at Grow America and a certified Housing
Development Finance Professional (HDFP). Ms. Salinas-Martinez is an experienced community
development professional working in this field since 2000. She significant work experience in operations,
federal grants administration, the Community Development Block Grant (24 CFR Part 570), the HOME
Investment Partnerships Program (24 CFR Part 92), the Neighborhood Stabilization Program,
Consolidated Plan Revisions and Updates Final Rule (24 CFR Part 91), the Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200), Environmental
Review Requirements (24 CFR Part 58), planning and policy development, programmatic
implementation, contract negotiations, and organizational leadership. Before joining Grow America, Ms.
Salinas-Martinez served as the Grants Administrator (and in several other management roles) for the
City of San Antonio where she had full management responsibility of annual HUD entitlement funding
of over $20 million to include ensuring timely draws and commitment deadlines, compliance and
performance reporting, action plan development, grant reconciliations, IDIS activity set up and
reporting, consolidated annual performance and evaluation reporting and serving as the primary point
of contact with HUD. In addition, during the pandemic, she developed policies/procedures and led the
processing teams for the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance Program that subsequently
deployed tens of millions of dollars. In addition, Ms. Salinas-Martinez has worked in several key roles
organizations to include the City of Yakima’s Office of Neighborhood Development Services
(Washington), San Antonio Housing Authority, Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio, and the
Brooks Development Authority. She attended the University of Texas-Pan American (now UT-RGV); she
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Heritage University (Toppenish, WA) and a
Master’s degree in Business Administration from St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX). Ms. Salinas-
Martinez is fluent in English and Spanish and resides in San Antonio, Texas.
To ensure that we meet the needs of this project, Grow America will draw upon its vast resources of
staff expertise with the following Project Team Members below (alphabetically listed by first name) and
whose complete resumes are provided in Appendix A.
Maureen Milligan is a Field Director in Grow America’s Training & Technical Advisory Services
Group. She has been a licensed attorney for over 15 years and has drafted state legislation, local
ordinances, municipal court manuals, multi-departmental standard operating procedures, HUD
Consolidated Plans, and local housing strategies. Immediately prior to joining Grow America in
January 2020, she served as an Assistant Director in the Dallas Department of Housing and
Neighborhood Revitalization where she managed a team of community development
professionals who facilitated home repair, mortgage assistance, housing development and land
bank programs that used funding sources including CDBG and HOME grants, general obligation
bonds, and municipal general funds. During her tenure as an Assistant Director, Ms. Milligan led
the implementation of the City of Dallas’s first comprehensive housing policy, including drafting
ordinances, program statements, and procedures related to incentive zoning, housing tax credits,
community land trusts, tangled titles, neighborhood empowerment zones and strategic land
acquisition/disposition. She established and managed the Housing Policy Taskforce where she
engaged industry professionals, neighborhood leaders, and city staff in policy development at
Exhibit "A"
19
both the local and state level. Ms. Milligan prepared and presented City Council committee
briefings and agenda items and worked closely with elected officials and city staff.
Monifa Watson is Assistant Field Director on the Technical Advisory Services Team where she
assists with the servicing of contracts to local municipalities and client organizations with a
concentration on community engagement efforts. She also lends support to other community
development planning and implementation processes and strategies. Ms. Watson previously
worked in Small Business Lending, marketing Grow America’s loan products and servicing closed
loans. She managed a portfolio of over 100 loans, developing professional relationships with
borrowers and assisting them with post-closing compliance and capital needs. With over 20 years
of non-profit management experience, Ms. Watson has managed a transitional housing facility,
served as the Program Director for a national housing organization and conducted financial
literacy and first-time homebuyer seminars.
Raquel Favela is a recognized expert in economic development and housing with 28 years of
experience. Ms. Favela joined Grow America in 2007 and has been instrumental in the design,
scaling and implementation of the flex-staff system which has allowed Grow America to scale
efficiently and deploy more than $900 million in Covid-response resources in Grow America client
communities around the country. As Executive Managing Director, she leads the Training and
Technical Advisory Services Group in helping public sector clients understand their markets and
develop customized strategic plans and policy solutions that build eco-systems critical to
equitable job creation and diverse housing options. Ms. Favela’s unique brand combines practical
experience with her long-range planning and policy acumen to bring balanced problem solving
to communities. A thought leader and authority, she has walked in the shoes of most of the major
participants in real estate development: owner, investor, developer, consultant, governmental
entity, lender, and landlord. Known for delivering results, while at the City of San Antonio, Ms.
Favela is credited with producing San Antonio’s first Strategic Community Development Plan in
2007. Ten years later while serving as the City of Dallas’ Chief of Economic Development and
Neighborhood Services, Ms. Favela was lauded for delivering the city’s first Comprehensive
Housing Policy that addressed longstanding fair housing issues and disparate impact. In her role
with Grow America, Ms. Favela has been the trusted advisor to clients across the country to
include East Chicago, Indiana, Rockford, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Los Angeles County,
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the State of Illinois and in Texas, San Antonio, Irving, and Temple.
Ms. Favela has guided clients on financing structures for challenging redevelopment projects, a
role that garnered her extensive transactional experience with federal, state, and local tools
available to maximize public benefits. Ms. Favela resides in San Antonio, Texas and is fluent in
English and Spanish.
Tom Jackson is a Managing Director with Technical Advisory Services and joined the Grow
America, one of the oldest national not-for-profit full-service community and economic
development organizations in the country, in 2007 as a Field Director with the Central Team. In
2011, Mr. Jackson assumed the leadership of Grow America’s Training Division, while maintaining
his roles as a technical assistance expert and trainer in development finance. In addition to
leading a Training team that builds capacity in over 3,500 government and nonprofit
professionals each year, he provides technical assistance, training, financing and development
Exhibit "A"
20
assistance to municipal and not-for-profit clients as needed by Grow America’s regional teams.
Mr. Jackson has also worked extensively with project’s utilizing Grow America’s New Markets Tax
Credit Program, the recipient of several of the largest tax credit allocations in the country since
the federal program’s inception. Mr. Jackson previously served as a senior economic
development officer and special projects manager with the City of Cincinnati where he managed
comprehensive community redevelopment efforts in struggling inner-city neighborhoods. He
currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife and daughter.
Fellowship Program gives graduate students an opportunity to gain valuable applied experience
in the fields of affordable housing, community development and economic development. Grow
America recruits graduate students from the University of Texas’ (at Austin) LBJ School of Public
Affairs, University of California-Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs and the University of
Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Graduate Fellows provide a wide
range of support to include research, data analytics, stakeholder outreach and community
engagement.
Contractor Support Services - Grow America has a pool of over 75 highly skilled and experienced
independent contractors for various professional services to include but not limited to GIS and
Data Analysis; Small Business Loan and Grant Processing and Underwriting; Housing Assistance
Program Processing and Quality Assurance; and Development Underwriting. Independent
Contractors for this initiative have not been selected by Grow America but are procured utilizing
HUD-approved subcontracting (RFQ) methods and verification requirements utilizing the System
for Award Management (www.sam.gov).
Recent CDBG Plan Projects
Grow America developed the City of San Antonio’s 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action
Plan. The Executive Summary is provided in Appendix B. Due to the size of complete plan, below is a
link to the plan:
www.sa.gov/files/assets/main/v/1/nhsd/documents/fy-2022-2026-consolidated-plan-and-fy2022-
actionplan.pdf
Exhibit "A"
21
Similar Projects Completed
Grow America’s most recent and relevant experience includes successful development, completion, and
acceptance of HUD plans for the following entitlement communities:
1. Hamilton County, OH
a. 2023 Annual Action Plan: www.hamilton-
co.org/common/pages/DownloadFileByUrl.aspx?key=mKK70XxX7p3mCyjfsrEDiW9hs7Y
wFukOMJN4qe2L3eds2gPA%2Fmu3quRZG1yfjqvyt1ZiCOkQVpCILQdRXW6MUPCA3lNAL
T31FRlae2dPY%2FVtXztzd34YTUdd8Ir5jfFOYPgGvVtF%2BpfqTJCfjju8RMkokM5AfQtDI9gJ
Ke8zVr7dW2YGArNYmBz1tUa6ci4HDOvZAQ%3D%3D
2. City of Lewisville, TX
a. 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan:
www.cityoflewisville.com/home/showpublisheddocument/24426/63796236396737000
0
b. 2022-2026 Assessment of Fair Housing:
https://cityoflewisville.prod.govaccess.org/home/showdocument?id=26058&t=6381863
26612614089
3. Hidalgo County, TX
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://cms5.revize.com/revize/alton/departments/planning/Hidalgo%20County%2020
23-27%20Consolidated%20Plan-2023%20AAP%20Summary.pdf
4. City of Irving, TX:
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://www.cityofirving.org/DocumentCenter/View/59637/2024-2028-Irving-
Consolidated-Plan
b. 2023-2027 Assessment of Fair Housing:
https://www.cityofirving.org/DocumentCenter/View/58643
5. Los Angeles County Development Authority, CA
a. 2023-2028 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
www.lacda.org/docs/librariesprovider25/community-development-programs/2023-
2028-consolidated-plan-draft.pdf?sfvrsn=e986ca80_1
6. City of Los Angeles, CA
a. 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan:
https://communityinvestment.lacity.gov/consolidated-plan/consolidated-plan-five-year-
plan#:~:text=The%202023%2D27%20Five%2DYear,the%20next%20five%20years%20to
Compliance Statement
Grow America is compliant and agrees to be compliant with all applicable rules and regulations of
Federal, State and Local governing entities.
Exhibit "A"
Segment 3. Cost Proposal
These pricing quoted is inclusive of Grow America’s travel, time, supplies, postage, telephone, and other
similar expenses. As an independent contractor, Grow America’s is responsible for all taxes and other
benefits of the employees of Grow America’s and nothing contained herein shall be interpreted as
creating a relationship of servant, employee, partnership, or agency between the Client and the Grow
America’s. Payment by the Client for services rendered under this Agreement evidences the Client’s
acceptance of such services in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Phase Person Performing Task
Hourly
Rate Hours Total Cost
Phase
Totals
Managing Director $300.00 2 $600.00
Field/Operations Director $250.00 36 $9,000.00
Assistant Director $225.00 2 $450.00
Fellow $75.00 10 $750.00
Managing Director $300.00 2 $600.00
Field/Operations Director $250.00 50 $12,500.00
Assistant Director $225.00 10 $2,250.00
GIS/Data Analysis (Contractor) $150.00 40 $6,000.00
Fellow $75.00 10 $750.00
Managing Director $300.00 5 $1,500.00
Field/Operations Director $250.00 30 $7,500.00
Assistant Director $225.00 5 $1,125.00
Fellow $75.00 5 $375.00
Managing Director $300.00 2 $600.00
Field/Operations Director $250.00 20 $5,000.00
Assistant Director $225.00 0 $0.00
Fellow $75.00 0 $0.00
Total 229 $49,000.00
$10,800.00
$22,100.00
$10,500.00
$5,600.00
1
2
3
4
Exhibit "A"
ATTACHMENT A
REFERENCE SHEET
PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THIS FORM WITH THE SOLICITATION RESPONSE
SOLICITATION NUMBER: 23-023 RFP for Consulting Services for the Preparation of A CDBG Five-
Year Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan
RESPONDENT’S NAME: Grow America DATE: 11/17/2023
Provide the name, address, telephone number and E-MAIL of at least three (3) valid Municipal,
Government agencies or firms of comparable size that have utilized services that are similar in type and
capacity within the last two (2) years. City of Round Rock references are not applicable. References may
be checked prior to award. If references cannot be confirmed or if any negative responses are received it
may result in the disqualification of submittal.
1. Company’s Name City of San Antonio, TX
Name of Contact Edward Gonzales
Title of Contact Assistant Director, Neighborhood and Housing Services, City of San Antonio (Retired)
E-Mail Address Edward.gonzales@hfcommunitas.org
Present Address P.O. Box 831728
City, State, Zip Code San Antonio, TX 78283
Telephone Number (210) 862-6897 Fax Number: ( )
Project Name City of San Antonio 2022-2026 Five-Year Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan
2. Company’s Name City of Lewisville, TX
Name of Contact Ashleigh Feryan
Title of Contact Neighborhood Services Manager
E-Mail Address aferyan@cityoflewisville.com
Present Address 151 W. Church Street
City, State, Zip Code Lewisville, TX 75057
Telephone Number (972) 219-3736 Fax Number: ( )
Project Name 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan & 2022 Annual Action Plan
3. Company’s Name Hidalgo County, TX – Urban County Program
Name of Contact Steve De La Garza
Title of Contact Director
E-Mail Address steven.delagarza@co.hidalgo.tx.us
Present Address 1916 Tesoro St.
City, State, Zip Code Pharr, TX 78577
Telephone Number (956) 787-8127 Fax Number: ( )
Project Name 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan & 2023 Annual Action Plan
FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED INFORMATION WITH THE SOLICITATION RESPONSE MAY
AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFY THE RESPONSE FROM CONSIDERATION FOR AWARD.
Exhibit "A"
Exhibit "A"
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Grow America 633 3rd Avenue, Suite 19J, New York, NY 10017 Daniel Marsh III 800-501-7489Exhibit "A"
Exhibit "A"
Exhibit "A"
Grow America
633 3rd Avenue, Suite 19J, New York, NY 10017
*Section 3 is not applicable as this solicitation is
for professional services and under $200,000
and Grow America is a nonprofit corporation.
Exhibit "A"
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Exhibit "A"
ATTACHMENT A
SOLCITATION SUBMITTAL FORM AND EXECUTION
NOTE: RESPONDENTS SHALL COMPLETE, SIGN, AND UPLOAD THIS ATTACHMENT WITH
THEIR SUBMITTAL IN BONFIRE. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF
THE SUBMITTAL.
By signature hereon, the Respondent certifies that:
All statements, pricing and information prepared and submitted to the City’s Bonfire portal in response to
this solicitation are current, complete, and accurate.
He/she has not given, offered to give, nor intends to give at any time hereafter, any economic opportunity,
future employment, gift, loan gratuity, special discount, trip, favor, or service to a City employee, evaluator,
or evaluating entity in connection with the submitted response. Signing the Execution of Solicitation
Submittal Form with a false statement shall void the submitted offer or any resulting contracts.
Respondent represents and warrants that the individual signing this Execution of Solicitation Submittal
Form is authorized to sign this document, represent the Respondent and to bind the Respondent under
any contract resulting from this submittal.
RESPONDENT (COMPANY):
National Council for Community Development, Inc. dba Grow
America (formerly National Development Council)
SIGNATURE (INK/DIGITAL):
NAME (TYPED/PRINTED): Daniel Marsh III
TITLE: President & CEO DATE:
STREET: 633 3rd Avenue, Suite 19J
CITY/STATE/ZIP: New York, NY 10017
TELEPHONE & FAX NO.: (800) 501-7489
E-MAIL ADDRESS: dmarsh@growamerica.org
FEDERAL TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (FIN): 13-6532871
By submitting a response to this solicitation, the Respondent agrees that the City’s Definitions and Standard
Terms and Conditions, in effect at the time of release of the solicitation, shall govern unless specifically
provided otherwise in a separate agreement or on the face of a purchase order. In addition, the
Supplemental Terms and Conditions listed in Section III, shall also be enforced as part of the contract, and
can be obtained from the City’s website at: https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/city-businesses/solicitations/
Exhibit "A"