Committee moves to issue in‑house operational‑study RFP with flexibility for later additions

The New Castle County Fire Service Strategic Planning Committee on May 6 agreed to develop and issue an in‑house request for proposals (RFP) for an operational study of county fire services rather than adopt another agency's procurement, Committee member Robin Allen told the group. Allen said an in‑house RFP would allow greater flexibility, including an "additions clause" to add supplemental scope later without restarting the procurement process.

The additions clause aims to allow supplemental scope items to be added if needed, avoid delays from issuing a new RFP, and help maintain pricing consistency for additional services, Allen said. Committee members cautioned that added scope could increase overall costs, and Allen clarified that any additions would likely carry additional expenses.

Allen outlined the anticipated procurement timeline steps: placement on the County Council agenda, two consecutive weeks of public advertisement, a vendor question‑and‑answer period, issuance of written addenda, proposal submission deadlines, evaluation and selection procedures, potential vendor interviews, and contract review and approval. Based on current estimates, the Committee noted the earliest likely timeframe for final vendor selection and delivery of the operational study report would be late summer or early fall.

The Committee assigned Robin Allen and Mike Emmell to continue reviewing and finalizing scope‑of‑work documents before presenting a final draft to the Committee for approval.

The Committee approved the April 8 minutes earlier in the meeting and maintained its meeting schedule to continue work on the RFP and related funding discussions.