Preservation Maryland is currently accepting proposals to complete a preservation project at the Falling Waters Battlefield in Washington County, Maryland. The project is funded by the American Battlefield Protection Program.
Request for Proposals: Land Protection and Public Consensus Building Plan for the Falling Waters Battlefield
ABPP Grant: P19AP00438
1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Preservation Maryland is seeking Proposals from a consulting firm or practice with demonstrated expertise in the preparation of historic preservation and planning reports as applied to land protection, historic preservation and battlefield sites.
The Battle of Falling Waters, also known as the Battle of Williamsport and Battle of Hagerstown, occurred between July 6-16, 1863. The battlefield spans a large area between Hagerstown, Williamsport and the Potomac River crossing, but the primary focus of this project will be on the core battlefield land adjacent to the Potomac River crossing and the approach from Williamsport. A full review of the battlefield’s status and size can be found at: http://npshistory.com/publications/battlefield/cwsac/updates/md.pdf
This proposed project will prepare a strategic vision and plan for the protection of the battlefield while also considering the preservation of the Donnelly House as a resource for potential public or public/private use. The Donnelly house served as a makeshift Confederate headquarters and hospital during the prolonged battle and is located on a critical portion of the battlefield.
The project will assess local interest in protecting sites on private property and develop a detailed plan based on this input and findings. This will be accomplished through a series of public meetings, consultation with landowners, American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), National Park Service, Maryland Park Service, Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, local government, and other stakeholders. The final product will be a report on the consensus-building process, conclusions, recommendations, and protection strategies for the Battle of Falling Waters and the Donnelly House. Funding for the project is provided by the American Battlefield Protection Program, a division of the National Park Service. The ABPP will have continual involvement and consultation throughout the project.
Details of the project are shown in the scope of work. The project will be developed and deliverables produced during the period of January 2020 through February 2021.
2.0 SERVICES AND SCOPE OF WORK
The contractor, who must document their ability to meet the Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualification Standards (36 CFR Part 61), shall provide the following services:
2.1 Research, identify, inventory, and map cultural and natural resources associated with the Battle of Falling Waters and the site of Donnelly House. The field inventory shall include property boundaries, land uses, zoning information, hydrographic data, battlefield movement, past archeological research data, structures, roads, railroad rights-of-way, and 3D topographic representation (including sections) of the area. This data shall be expressed in GIS and paper formats. All GIS data files shall be in a shapefile (*.shp) or GeoDatabase format, preferably a GeoDatabase format. Federal Geographic Data Committee compliant data set level metadata shall be submitted for each shapefile or feature class included. All cultural resources delineated with GIS data (points, lines or polygons) should further be submitted in compliance with the NPS Cultural Resource Spatial Data Transfer Standards with complete feature-level metadata. Template GeoDatabases and guidelines for creating and submitting GIS data in the NPS cultural resource spatial data transfer standards can be found at the NPS Cultural Resource GIS Facility webpage.
2.2 Deliver to Preservation Maryland upon the beginning of the project a detailed work plan. This plan shall include all tasks planned to accomplish the scope of the grant, projected timelines, and an outline of the proposed final report. The final report should be a plan that outlines the vision of future preservation efforts at Falling Waters, including use of historic structures at the Donelly House. The report shall examine current planning endeavors executed by various agencies and organizations, and shall make recommendations for landscape preservation, site access, and appropriate use of the Donelly House. The report should have alternatives, tasks, costs and steps broken down for implementation within a reasonable period of time. The report will also include a brief historic context of the battlefield and its significance.
2.3 Coordinate a public planning process which shall include three public meetings. The first meeting will assist in determining the local property owners’ vision for the Falling Waters Battlefield. The second meeting will assist in determining the Washington County community’s vision for the Falling Waters Battlefield. The third meeting shall be near the completion of the project to allow community review of the research and draft document. The ABPP must approve of any proposed alternatives prior to the final meeting. Meetings will be advertised in advance in local media outlets and postcards will be sent to landowners in the project area. Cost for these advertisements and mailings will be paid separately from the consultancy fee, but will be arranged by the consultant.
2.4 Coordinate two additional key stakeholder meetings (kickoff and conclusion) and a tour of existing resources to inform discussion.
2.5 Work with specific agencies as appropriate to ensure that the work performed meets requirements.
2.6 Following approval of the final report document, the consultant shall provide Preservation Maryland with a final PDF copy of the plan and one CD copy for the ABPP. All materials and rights belong to Preservation Maryland and the ABPP.
3.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT
All submitted proposals shall be complete and prepared in a straightforward and concise manner, including:
- A letter of interest and explanation of consultant capabilities in successfully preparing the work detailed in 2.0 SERVICES and SCOPE OF WORK.
- Resume of primary researcher(s) and their demonstrated expertise in battlefield preservation and planning history or other equally qualifying experience.
- A list of similar projects and qualifying experiences.
- Work plan outline and proposed timeline.
- A proposed budget and cost of services.
4.0 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SUBMISSION DATE
4.1 Proposals submitted against this Request for Proposals must be received by 6:00PM EST, on December 15, 2019. Proposals that arrive after this date and time will not be considered and will be returned to the sender. Notification of final selection and award of the project will occur on or about January 10, 2020.
4.2 Proposals for this RFP may be submitted via mail to:
Attn: Falling Waters
Nicholas Redding
Preservation Maryland
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 248
Baltimore, MD 21211
Or proposals can be submitted as a PDF electronically to: submit@presmd.org.
4.3 Any questions regarding this RFP are to be directed to: submit@presmd.org. Please no calls.