2024-2025 Invitation to Bid - Neighborhood Tree Planting Projects in the City of Oregon City

City Contact: Pete Walter, Manager (503) 496-1562, pwalter@orcity.org

Planning Division

695 Warner Parrott Rd

Oregon City, OR 97045

Submittal Deadline: March 1, 2024 - Friday, 5:00 p.m.

The City of Oregon City is seeking a qualified organization to provide proposals, scopes of work, and corresponding cost estimates to the City of Oregon City (the City) to conduct community tree planting and tree pruning education workshops in Oregon City neighborhoods during the 2024-2025 planting season.

The focus of the planting projects is to maintain and increase tree canopy cover throughout the city, by planting appropriate trees within public rights-of-way as well as in residential yards across neighborhoods within the Oregon City limits. Urban tree canopy is a valuable resource to communities for a multitude of reasons, some of the most notable being: stormwater retention, shade and its associated cooling effects, improved air quality, enhanced neighborhood aesthetics, improved wildlife habitat, and increased property values.

The successful candidate will work with the City to conduct preliminary neighborhood outreach and planting location details, but will take the lead on: coordinating public outreach and education within Oregon City, publicizing events, recruiting volunteers, organizing and facilitating planting and pruning events, procuring and delivering good quality trees.

The qualified organization will have a proven track record of public outreach with residents to plant and steward trees in an urban forest which sets it apart from other contractors or tree planting organizations. The qualified organization’s planting events shall bring local community members together to learn how to plant and care for trees properly and to make their neighborhoods, healthier places together. The qualified organization will identify property owners interested in planting, and then assist property owners in selecting and obtaining trees suitable to their conditions. To accomplish this, the qualified organization will have developed a sophisticated online ordering system to make the process of planting as information rich and as easy to use as possible. The qualified organization will also continue to work with “customers” after their trees have been planted to provide establishment mentoring and assistance. Further, the qualified organization’s planting model will be founded on employing professional staff to recruit and organize community volunteers, thus ensuring high quality, well-attended events. To this end, the qualified organization will provide all of the trees, tools and materials, and guidance necessary for the project.

2024-2025 Planting Project Overview

The qualified organization will organize and lead the planting of up to 200 street and yard trees in Oregon City with the help of community volunteers during the 2024 and 2025 planting seasons, or approximately 100 trees per year. Typically, there will be two planting events held each year, one in late-fall/winter, and another event within the month of April, preferably during Oregon Arbor Week (1st week of April).

Project Awareness /Planting Site Identification:

• The qualified organization will attend neighborhood and business association meetings to inform the neighborhood residents of the project.
• The qualified organization will coordinate with City staff to send informative mailings to all residential properties in both neighborhoods before canvassing efforts begin.
• The qualified organization will additionally raise awareness of the opportunity to plant through the program through hanging posters and making promotional yard signs available to property owners.
• The qualified organization will take the lead on identifying properties and locations for street trees and in front yards through canvassing targeted neighborhoods. The highest priority will be to secure locations for street trees in planting strips.
• The qualified organization will keep and make available detailed records of the planting and pruning events.
• The qualified organization will coordinate all tree planting locations with the Oregon City Public Works Department and or Parks Department in a timely manner to ensure that prospective tree planting locations are appropriate.
• If conducting inspections, the qualified organization will provide the list of inspected properties and details to the City who may perform quality control inspections as desired.
• The qualified organization will offer residents street tree choices based on their property’s inspection data. However, all customers will receive a wide list of yard tree options, as well as tree selection and placement assistance.
• The qualified organization will serve as the main point of contact for interested participants throughout the project.

Volunteer Recruitment / Project Promotion:

• The qualified organization will work with the City, but take the lead on the recruitment of volunteers for planting days.
• The qualified organization and the City will work with Willamette Falls Media Center to publicize the project through videos, public service announcements, etc.
• The qualified organization will promote all planting events through a variety of means that may include: listing events on printed and online calendars, using online recruitment tools, online newsletters, and by featuring a story on the qualified organization’s website blog about the partnership with the City.
• The qualified organization will use the Oregon City logo on all outreach materials.
• The qualified organization will work with the City to provide any information / draft story ideas for local earned media opportunities and for the City’s website, newsletters, and events calendar.
• The City agrees to promote these events in conjunction with the qualified organization to the City’s volunteer base and the public.
• The qualified organization will pursue additional project support and partnerships within the Oregon City business community.

Safe, Fun, High Quality Planting Events:

• The qualified organization will organize the event space, refreshments, and logistics for the plantings, and will provide all tools, materials, and direction necessary for a successful event.
• The qualified organization will provide well-informed guidance to ensure all participants safely and properly install plant material.
• All trees will be will be staked with two wooden stakes for stability and visibility.
• Watering of trees will be the responsibility of adjacent property owners.
• City staff and elected officials are invited to participate in the planting.

Monitoring & Establishment Care:

• The qualified organization will send a postcard to all new tree purchasers reminding them to start watering in late spring/early summer (and a second reminder post card one year later.)
• The qualified organization will replace any tree that dies within the first summer if it is determined to have been improperly planted or the planting stock was damaged. We will not replace trees due to negligence on the part of the property owner, vandalism or act of God.
• Data from this monitoring effort will be made available to the City as part of the final project reporting. The qualified organization will additionally provide volunteer numbers, hours, and their projected value, as well as any in-kind donations received as part of our reporting to the City.

Pruning Workshops:

• The qualified organization will provide at least one pruning workshop a year to teach residents proper tree pruning techniques.
• The pruning workshops shall be led by an experienced arborist in locations determined through coordination with the City.
• If pruning trees in private yards, the qualified organization shall have a clear process for outreach to the property owner well in advance of the event and shall clearly mark all trees intended for pruning prior to the event.

Measures of success:

• Community Involvement – to have at least 50 volunteers contribute 200 volunteer hours toward the volunteer planting event.
• Tree Plantings – to plant up to 100 large stock trees (1.25” – 2” caliper) along rights-of-way or on private property within Oregon City neighborhoods, each year. Highest priority will be given to public right-of-way provided adequate planting area is provided and adequate spacing from utilities and other trees can be achieved.
• Tree Survival Rate – to achieve a minimum 90% survival rate for newly installed street trees by the end of summer of 2025.

Budget

The qualified organization shall submit a detail project budget with separate expense estimates for the City and the qualified organization. The cost estimate shall be broken out for the following items:

• City Expenses
• Event management (cost to city)
• Tree purchase (cost to city) – covers tree and tree-dependent costs
• Funds leveraged by the qualified organization:
• Cost to Home Owner ($ / tree)
• Sponsorship Funds
• Value of Volunteer Hours
• Please provide cost estimates by unit, as well as total project value.

The project will plant up to 200 street and yard trees in Oregon City neighborhoods in the 2024-25 planting season for a project fee not to exceed $64,000.00.

Please direct questions to:

Pete Walter, Manager

City of Oregon City

pwalter@orcity.org

503-496-1562

Status

Due Date

Planholder List