Eastern Delaware County JRD releases RFQ for community needs assessment, names review committee

The Eastern Delaware County Joint Recreation District voted unanimously Thursday to release a request for qualifications seeking a consultant to conduct a community needs assessment and a market analysis to evaluate whether a community center is the right approach for the region and how it could be financed and operated.

Darren, the district staff member who presented the draft RFQ, said the document is intended only to identify qualified consultants and “is not asking for a price at this point.” He told the board the proposed timetable includes a period for consultant questions through June 27 and a due date for responses of July 7, after which a review committee will evaluate submissions and return a recommendation to the board.

The RFQ asks proposers to design and implement a community engagement plan, collect and analyze resident preferences and demographics, evaluate regional market capacity and demand, estimate the community’s willingness to support financing, and develop a sustainable framework for programming and operation. The district requested that proposers submit three comparable projects, identify project-team members and estimated hours, and provide a proposed timeline; the RFQ asks for monthly written progress reports and suggests a six‑month target timeline for completing the work, while allowing proposers to propose shorter schedules.

Darren emphasized that the RFQ is intended to determine qualifications and approach: “what we're trying to do is identify a consultant who we believe is qualified to do the work, and then there's a process after that to determine price.” He also told the board the RFQ prohibits proposers from contacting board members about the substance of the work while the RFQ is “on the street.”

Legal counsel Mike Ringle recommended the board take a motion to release the RFQ. Ringle said, “I would recommend taking making a motion to release the RFQ.” Chair Watson moved to release the RFQ; the motion was seconded and carried 4‑0.

Board members also appointed a three‑person review committee to evaluate submissions and make a recommendation to the full board. The board named Member Musacchio and Member Sabata to serve on the review committee along with the presenting staff member. That motion passed 4‑0. During discussion the board and staff outlined how the review committee would score proposals using the RFQ’s stated criteria — past performance, understanding/approach, local market knowledge and references, and the proposed project team — and said the review committee would select finalists and may invite selected proposers to present to the committee before a full‑board recommendation.

Board members discussed scheduling for review and presentations; staff suggested late July for committee consideration of proposals and late July or August for any finalist presentations to the board, acknowledging summer vacations could affect availability.

Other administrative notes in the discussion: staff said a public depository account application had been submitted to First Commonwealth Bank and that the district was awaiting additional insurance quotes; no formal action was taken on banking or insurance at the meeting.