Terms of Reference – Economic Development Master Plan ppt

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Terms of Reference – Economic Development Master Plan

Purpose and Objectives
Introduction
These Terms of Reference provide the information required to invite proposals from qualified firms to assist the Municipality of Clare with the
preparation of an Economic Development Master Plan. The document also provides the information to help qualified firms prepare and submit
high-quality proposals in an efficient manner. This in turn will support sound decision-making by the Municipality in awarding and managing the
ensuing project.

Background to the Terms of Reference
The Municipality of Clare is a Nova Scotia municipality located north of Yarmouth along the coast of the Bay of Fundy. It is the largest Acadian
region in Nova Scotia and business is mostly conducted in both of Canada’s official languages. Clare’s attributes include its skilled and bilingual
labour pool; competitive labour costs; specialized training to meet specific needs; proximity to deep sea ports and an unrivalled quality of life.
The unrivalled quality of life includes superior health care, rich French and English traditions, bilingual population, low cost housing, a virtually
crime and pollution free environment, fabulous sunsets and ocean panoramas, excellent schools and a local university. Université Sainte-Anne,
the local university, is the only Francophone university in the province of Nova Scotia. They offer a quality education to their Acadian, French and
English students.



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With approximately 8,300 residents (2011 Census data)

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in an 850 square kilometre area, Clare’s population decreased by roughly 5.6 per cent in
the 2006-2011 period.
Population and dwelling counts
Clare, MD


Digby, CTY
Population in 2011 1 8,319 18,036
Population in 2006 1 8,813 18,992
2006 to 2011 population change (%) -5.6 -5.0
Total private dwellings 2 4,478 10,015
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents 3 3,641 7,990
Population density per square kilometre 9.8 7.2
Land area (square km) 852.82 2,515.23

Like many rural areas, the Municipality of Clare’ population decrease can be attributed to youth out-migration coupled with an aging population.
This reduction magnifies the economic challenges facing the municipality including job creation and economic diversification.


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Statistics Canada. 2012. Clare, Nova Scotia (Code 1203001) and Digby, Nova Scotia (Code 1203) (table). Census Profile.
2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-XWE. Ottawa. Released February 8, 2012.

(accessed March 6, 2012).



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Despite these challenges, the Municipality of Clare strives to be a proactive municipality. Its community infrastructure is varied and plentiful for
a small rural municipality. Dozens of community centres/halls exist for use by community members. La Villa Acadienne offers long term care to
persons in need of nursing care, and the Clare Health Centre houses several family physicians and specialists as well as community health
services; all of these services are important to attract and retain residents and businesses alike. The Municipality’s current (fiscal 2011-12)
operating budget is $8.1 million a year, with capital expenditures (includes gas tax funded capital projects) totaling over $1 million over the
2011-2012 period.


The location of the Municipality of Clare (located half way between the Town of Digby and the Town of Yarmouth) makes it an attractive hub for
services in a rural setting with close proximity to town offering as well as to transportation-related products and services. For employment
purposes, Resource-based industries (18 per cent), Manufacturing (15 per cent), Retail trade (13 per cent), Health care and social services (11
per cent) and Educational services (11 per cent) are the five largest sectors. The Municipality has many home-based businesses and in the
Municipality of Clare alone, there are more than 150 small and medium-sized enterprises. The largest private sector employers are Comeau’s
Sea Foods, A.F. Theriault & Son, Université Sainte-Anne and La Villa Acadienne. Historically, the economy of Clare has been based in fisheries and
forestry. Now, there are more residents working in health care and social services than in most resource-based industries (including forestry).
Booming and emerging industries include mink, education and culture, and health-based industries. As part of its Economic Development Master
Plan, Council wishes to explore ways to support these kinds of transitions and use local government assets and investments to spur innovative
development in sectors with the greatest potential for Clare.

The Municipality has a number of economic development initiatives under way. For instance, the development of newly acquired land and
assets into an industrial park in the Meteghan area is a priority for the Municipality. The Municipality of Clare recently invested a portion of its
Federal Gas Tax Funds in a combined heat and power plant located on the site of the former Comeau Lumber Ltd. Lumber mill in Meteghan. The


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Municipality then gained ownership of Comeau Lumber Ltd.'s remaining assets at a Municipal Tax Sale. By means of these two separate
agreements, the Municipality has secured the site in an effort to safeguard its economic development potential by taking control of the

infrastructure needed to eventually produce heat and power through the power plant and motivate new businesses to consider Clare as a
location.

Situated on Highway 1 in Meteghan, the site covers approximately fifty acres, has access to three-phase power and is already connected to the
municipal sewer system.

In March 2011, after much discussion and pursuant to its « Clare Energy Master Plan », the Municipality of Clare council decided to purchase the
idle one megawatt combined heat and power biomass plant and all associated equipment located on the site of the now bankrupt Comeau
Lumber Ltd. In Meteghan. The "Clare Energy Master Plan" focuses on energy reduction for the community and project development suggestions
for the innovative use of renewable and green energy solutions. The $ 225,000 purchase was paid for completely with Federal Gas Tax Funds.
The acquisition by the Municipality of Clare prevented an auction by the Bankruptcy Trustees.

The remaining assets of Comeau Lumber Ltd., which could not be purchased with Federal Gas Tax Funds, including all lands, buildings and
equipment became the property of the Municipality of Clare on May 6th via a Municipal Tax Sale where the Municipality of Clare exercised its
right to proceed to the recovery of unpaid property taxes through a tax sale, acquiring title to all the assets.

The Municipality of Clare is now prepared to make ready the site in order to be able to accommodate tenants. Negotiations can be entertained
with any company interested in modernizing and operating the lumber mill on site as well as with other prospective businesses looking to locate
on site.



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The creation of a plan for the site and power plant is also a priority for the Municipality of Clare. The Municipality ultimately envisions the on-site
production of heat and power that could benefit the tenants of this future location aimed at industrial development.


As mentioned above, the Municipality of Clare has been working towards a vision of becoming a more sustainable community. In 2006 the

Municipality of Clare had a comprehensive plan completed that includes an energy audit of the Municipality and identifies possible renewable
energy projects and outlines an implementation plan. It will be important to link the Clare Energy Concept Master Plan with the new Economic
Development Master Plan.
The same consideration will also have to be given to the Municipality of Clare’s Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS); the result of the need for a
fair and efficient means to manage land-use in the Municipality of Clare. Clare was also required by Provincial and Federal governments to
develop an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) to access the Gas Tax Transfer funds from the Federal government. The Municipality
has integrated the ICSP sustainability requirements with its MPS. The integration of sustainability principles into the MPS has allowed the MPS to
act as the ICSP for the Municipality. The Economic Development Master Plan must consider these documents as it aims to add value to the
existing plans.
In 2012, the Municipality of Clare confirmed its support for the development of an Economic Development Master Plan to guide development
across the entire Municipality as well as to serve as the umbrella plan under which specific opportunities and decisions could be assessed. For
instance, Council currently has the opportunity to pursue a number of initiatives at its newly acquired industrial park site; decisions about these
opportunities (whether to proceed with these initiatives, in what way, in what order and at what cost to the municipality) should be made with
due consideration to a broader vision of how the entire Municipality will develop. As a result, Council sees the development of the Plan as the


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first step in making these decisions, many of which could be made within the next 12-18 months. The Master Plan must therefore speak to both
long-term and short-term development considerations in the Municipality.
In addition to outlining possible projects/initiatives it will also be necessary for the consultants to present a process by which the Municipality
can move forward and take ownership of its economic development future. A governance model should be suggested with examples of how the
structure would benefit the Municipality. The Plan must include a recommendation detailing how the Municipality will organize its economic
development activities and provide particulars on a possible enduring structure that will lead sustainable development, engage partners and
earn results. All recommendations must take into account the rural perspective as well as the linguistic minority context.
Several economic and community economic development organization exist in the community and offer up a multitude of resources and
services. These entities are often successful at managing projects, providing project support and partnering on project development. A detailed
look at how the Municipality can benefit from these organizations’ efforts is important to assist in determining how we can best take advantage
of what is already being done as we plan for the future. An inventory of “who does what” would be useful in project planning and resource

allocation.
Partnership engagement and furthering these partnerships in the interest of community growth is paramount in the Plan development as it has
proven in the past to be one of the strongest drivers of economic development in our Municipality. The consultants will review the existing
partnerships between the Municipality and its key community partners. One such great collaboration is that of the Municipality and Université
Sainte-Anne. The consultants will examine how this very effective affiliation can be made stronger. Areas to examine will include the
development of strategies leading to the retention of students in our community past graduation as a way to counter our decreasing population
and to stimulate business development with young entrepreneurs, the identification of possible strategies to ensure these young educated
individuals are made to feel as they are part of the entire community.

Objectives of the Economic Development Master Plan Process and Outcomes
The Economic Development Master Plan process and the outcomes from it are expected to:


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• Engage communities of interest in economic development planning process and outcomes.
• Help the Municipality, its residents and business operators understand distinctive and unique features and opportunities in Clare and how to
capitalize on those features and opportunities for economic development purposes.
• Provide a formal long-term (5-10 year) plan for Council and staff to consider, approve and use as a reference for informed, strategic
decision-making as issues and opportunities arise.
• Provide a plan for the establishment of a structure to lead economic development efforts.
• Within the context of the overall plan, provide Council and staff with specific advice and recommendations related to the designated core
development area and the role(s)/contribution(s) of specific properties owned by the Municipality.


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Plan Area/ Geographic boundaries (include maps)

Proponents will be expected to consider the entire Municipality as well as its newly acquired lands (former Comeau Lumber lands) in the Master
Plan development process:
• Municipality-wide: focused primarily on identification of broad opportunities and constraints, and the strategies by which these can be
achieved. This scale considers the Municipality’s geographic location in the region and in relation to neighboring centres, as well as the
Municipality’s physical, human, financial and economic attributes and characteristics.
• Industrial park land in Meteghan: within the context of the Municipality-wide perspective, the main focus of the Master Plan process will be
on specific studies, plans and recommendations outlined in this Request for Proposal. Specifically the target area is 7662 Highway 1
Meteghan NS

Scope of the Assignment
• A High-level Plan at the Municipality-wide Level: Consideration must be given to both existing and emerging sectors, examples of which are
shown in the chart below. These examples are not meant to be prescriptive or to limit consultants’ thinking on what might be possible for
the Municipality of Clare.
Existing Emerging
Fishery Value-added manufacturing/processing
Forestry Biomass/Bioenergy
Value-added Wood Products
Energy


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Retail Hospitality and Accommodation
Personal services Health and Wellness (includes
physician/medical services)
Retreat and Relaxation Services
Community-focused Recreation
Tourism – Resource-based Cultural Tourism, Eco-Tourism, Low-Impact
Tourism

Camping Experiences for Specific Groups
Business Services Knowledge Based Industries
Agriculture Value-added manufacturing/processing



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Mandatory Standards of Work
• The consultants must have the capacity to conduct the work in both official languages (French and English) and the ability to produce the
final document in both official languages (French and English)
• The consultants will be expected to work from but not be limited to existing plans and information to be provided for their assistance. The
consultants will be expected to go beyond traditional forms of economic development (business attraction, business retention and
expansion) to reflect contemporary best practices in economic development in the recommended strategies. The ability to do so should be
reflected in any submissions.
• Where specific components of work so require, the successful bidder will ensure that these components are undertaken or reviewed/signed
off by one or more members of the consulting team with appropriate professional credentials and qualifications. Bidders are encouraged to
identify these components in their proposals along with the standards which will be applied in each case.

Deliverables Expected from the Economic Development Master Plan
This project will have multiple deliverables:
• An Economic Development Strategy/Plan detailing:
• Inventory of Municipality’s major assets viewed from an economic development perspective (may be human, physical, geographic,
financial etc.) (ex: transportation infrastructure such as airport in Yarmouth)
• Identification of distinctive/unique features and competitive advantages which could be utilized in both product development and
marketing strategies on behalf of the Municipality.
• Discussion of external trends affecting economic development and implications for the Municipality of Clare.

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• Opportunities and constraints, including but not limited to 1) strategies for extracting greater economic benefit for the community
from existing assets (physical, human, financial etc.) ,and 2) strategies for capitalizing on demographic changes such as aging of
communities (possible development of age-friendly community marketing)
• Desired outcomes from implementation of an economic development strategy (e.g. employment growth, assessment growth,
increased revenues to local government, increased awareness of Clare in target markets).
• Roles/actions for local government, the private sector, public institutions or NFPs, and any opportunities for effective use of public-
private partnerships. An emphasis on partnership development between the Municipality of Clare and Université Sainte-Anne shall
be examined in the economic development context.
• Recommendation outlining how the Municipality will organize its economic development activities by means of an enduring
structure that will lead sustainable development, engage partners and earn results
• Multi-Year Implementation Plan (assuming a 5 to 10 year timeframe) with major initiatives/projects, key decision points and
milestones identified. This implementation plan would provide Council with guidance on which initiatives to act on, in what order,
and over what timeframe.
• Order-of-magnitude cost estimates for implementing major components of the plan (e.g. identified infrastructure investments).

Note that the recommended roles/actions, multi-year implementation plan and order-of-magnitude cost estimates must cover the
overall Strategy/Plan including the specific studies, plans and recommendations described below.

Because Council will want to pursue external funding to support implementation of various initiatives identified in the Plan, the
successful consultants will be encouraged to write the Plan so that sections could be extracted to support funding applications for each


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initiative. For instance, this might be done through a one page summary of each major initiative, covering the description, timeline, costs

and benefits/rationale. Bidders are encouraged to reflect this approach in their submissions in response to this RFP.

• Specific Studies and Plans linked to the Overall Strategy/Plan including:
• Inventory of the Municipality of Clare’s businesses, economic sectors, economic development agencies/groups, profile of economic
activity in Clare region.
• Recommendations on strategies to maximize the economic development potential of the Municipality’s investment in Comeau
Lumber Ltd. as an industrial park
• Recommendations on strategies to explore innovative economic development opportunities (diversification) ex: IT, immigration,
immigrant investment, environmental ventures/business including a strategy for business recruitment.
• Recommendations on the location and type of commercial development to be permitted and encouraged within the industrial park.
This would include recommendations on the best infrastructure investments to make in this area and associated order-of-magnitude
cost estimates. It would also include identification of possible tenants that could benefit from waste heat created from a combined
heat and power biomass plant located on site.
• Site plan for the industrial park (including maps)
• Suggestions on potential funding sources to assist with underwriting the costs of any initiatives recommended by the consultants
would be helpful; it is not anticipated that any funding applications would be prepared as part of the Economic Development Master
Plan project.


Process Requirements Associated with the Project


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The successful proposal must address the following process requirements:
• Review of existing background reports/documents (See list in Appendix A)
• Presentation of draft Plan to Council
• Two (2) public meetings to be held during the project period, one of which will be held to allow public input on economic development
planning generally (i.e. before the draft plan is presented to Council) and a presentation of approved and adopted Plan. [See Timelines

section for preferred timing of these meetings.] At their own discretion, consultants may choose to recommend use of meeting formats
other than a traditional public meeting (for example, workshops, breakout groups etc.) For any public meeting related to the project, the
successful bidders will be expected to lead the organization and execution of these meetings (with possible support to be provided by
municipal staff).
• Bi-monthly progress reports to the Municipality’s designate to allow updating of Council on the status of various project activities.
• Final report for ongoing use by Council and staff as well as by the public.



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Notations Related to Project Budget
• The Municipality of Clare is not obligated to accept the lowest price bid and is not obligated to award any contract as a result of this Request
for Proposal call.
• All prices shall include any applicable taxes.
• Bids will be viewed by the Municipality as fixed price; it is the responsibility of the bidder to inspect all material or make sufficient enquiries
to satisfy him/herself that the work described in the bid can be performed within the proposed project budget. Any project costs which
bidders expect to be financed from other Municipality resources must be specified in the bid proposal. Otherwise, the Municipality will
assume that any and all costs will be covered from the bidder’s proposed budget.
• Additional work (beyond that specified in an agreement between the Municipality and the consultants) will only be performed upon written
authorization of the Municipality of Clare or it’s designate.

Contact
• The primary contact will be Pam Doucet,(902-769-3655 extension 237) (email )who will provide assistance to
the consultants on identification of key stakeholders to be included in any consultation as well as support in promoting awareness of and
attendance at any public consultation meetings. All enquiries related to this RFP should be directed to Mrs. Doucet.
In Mrs. Doucet’s absence, the consultants will liaise with Mrs. Connie Saulnier, CAO (902-769-2031 extension 225).

Project Timelines, Milestones and Schedule Parameters

• September 5th , 2012: Request for Proposals based on approved Terms of Reference issued
• September 5
th
to September 26
th
, 2012: Timeframe for electronic submissions of questions; all questions and answers will be shared (on an
unattributed basis) with any potential bidder requesting this service.


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• October 1, 2012: RFP deadline at 4:00 pm ; Bids opened immediately thereafter at the Municipality office in Little Brook
• October 3-5, 2012: Three-person bid evaluation committee reviews and recommends the successful bid
• October 10, 2012: (Council Meeting) to award successful bid
• October 11, 2012: Successful bidder notified
• October 15, 2012: Consultant hired; project work commences
• October 15- December 14, 2012: Timeframe for research, public consultation and input for the Economic Development Master Plan
• Feb 6, 2013 : Master Plan draft available for Council , set date for public presentation
• Feb 20, 2013: Master Plan presented for approval at Council meeting
• Feb 20- March 3, 2013: Timeframe for public presentation of final Master Plan.

Process for any Modifications to the Project
• Modifications to the proposed plan of work may be negotiated with the successful bidder, culminating in a written agreement between the
Municipality of Clare and the selected consultants.
• Additional work (beyond that specified in an agreement between the Municipality and the consultants) will only be performed upon written
authorization of the Municipality of Clare or its designate.

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Summary of Proposal Requirements
In a maximum of 25 pages (not including appendices), bidders are invited to address the following proposal requirements:
• Description of the approach to the assignment (how the consultants will ensure completion of project deliverables see preceding section).
• Proposed project timeline identifying bi-monthly reports to the Municipality’s designate, public consultation(s), milestones and key decision
points
• Budget and proposed payment schedule to consultants
• Statement of insurance coverage (professional liability and commercial liability $2 million minimum)
• Principals to be assigned to the project with bios (one page maximum for each principal with relevant experience and professional
qualifications/designations highlighted)
• Consulting commitment (number of days of work anticipated for any/all human resources to be assigned to the project; identification of
project manager and any individuals to be designated as leads for particular aspects of the project)
• References for similar projects (3 minimum). A maximum of six project profiles may be included as an appendix to the proposal.
• Proposals may be submitted in English only or in a bilingual document (max 25 pages per language)

Bidders are strongly encouraged to present the proposal content so that the Municipality can identify the relative resources dedicated to the
overall strategy/plan and each of the specific studies/ recommendations described in the deliverables section of this Request for Proposal.

Format of Submission
In addition to meeting the 25 page maximum (not including appendices), submissions must use body text no smaller than 12 pt Times Roman or
Arial 10.


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Proposal Submission Deadline
All submissions (complete sealed tenders) must be received at the Municipality of Clare no later than 4:00 pm Monday October 1,2012.

Submissions should be addressed to:

Mrs. Connie Saulnier, CAO
Municipality of Clare
1185 Highway 1
PO Box 458
Little Brook, NS B0W 1Z0

Bidders must provide three (3) hard copies and an electronic version of the proposal (on CD or USB flash drive). Email and fax submissions will
not be accepted. Hard copies must be signed by an officer of the company with the authority to bind the corporation.

Because bidding on this Request for Proposals would constitute a conflict of interest, members of Council are not permitted to participate in this
RFP.

Submissions will be opened on Monday October 1, 2012 immediately following the tender closing at the Municipality of Clare administration
office in Little Brook



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Proposal Evaluation Criteria
The submissions will be reviewed by a three-person committee based on the following criteria.
Criteria Points
Previous experience with projects of similar scale 20
Demonstrated creativity and innovation in economic development
planning (including responsiveness to specific requirements in this
Terms of Reference)
20

Previous experience/demonstrated ability to work with smaller rural
communities
20
Professional qualifications of principals in key areas (e.g economic
development, land use and infrastructure planning, engineering,
marketing)
10
Work Plan 10
Budget (absolute amount and allocations to project components) 20
Total 100




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Appendix A: Available Background Documents (most can be available on-line or in pdf format)

• List of available background documents :
Key documents –
o Clare Energy Concept Master Plan- pdf available or available on line at :

o The Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) for the Municipality of Clare- pdf available or available on-line:


o Municipality of Clare – Report: Community Recreation Planning session (session results ) (April 2009) pdf copy available

o Municipality of Clare – Report: Clare Tourism Planning Session 2012 (session results) (Jan 2012) pdf copy available

o Transport de Clare Study (March 2011) pdf available or available on-line:


o Profil communautaire 2008 Communauté acadienne et francophone de la région de Clare (*French only) pdf available or
available on-line:

o Le développement économique des communautés francophones en situation minoritaire- Étude de cas du Réseau de
développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE) Rapport de recherche préparé par Éric Forgues Juin 2008
(*French only)









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Appendix B: Maps



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