HomeMy WebLinkAbout25 - Notice of Awards - 2026 Urban Forest Management Plan (12)RFP – 2026 Urban Forest Management Plan
Scoring Tool
Candidate Name: ___Flaming Tree Solutions, LLC_ Date: ___Nov. 25, 2025___________________
Panelist Name: ___Rebecca Harbage____________________________ POINTS: ____54____/100 IX. SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. Respondent’s approach to the Project
Possible Points: 30
The proposed approach is laid out clearly and is brief and easy to follow. I appreciate that they start
with a review of the 2016 plan and lessons that can be learned from it. Good idea to try to tie into
existing community events/groups and to establish a public comment portal. Monthly project check-
ins with staff. My impression from the proposal is they will be a partner, working with the City to
accomplish the tasks, and there may be more effort required on the part of staff than with other firms.
For example, “we can assist with development…” I would have liked more information about how
they propose to give specific attention to the impacts of climate change. They discuss emerald ash
borer in more detail because they have dealt with it in Missouri. The portion of the proposal that
describes their approach does not provide much detail and leads me to believe a lot would still need
to be worked out with the firm after executing a contract. They did not provide much description of
how they would approach each of the key areas in the scope of services in the RFP.
POINTS__18___/30
2. Qualifications of Firm and Key Personnel to be assigned to this Project
Possible Points: 20
Firm established in 2019 as a family business with three employees, one who is still in college.
Relatively new, very small firm. Multiple certified arborists on the project team. Direct experience
dealing with emerald ash borer would be useful as part of this planning effort. Experience in state
government forestry work in Wyoming (four years) and Missouri, familiar with the government side
of things – managing grants, communicating with stakeholders and the public, providing for public
review of drafts. It appears that experience has been mostly in communities smaller than Bozeman
and proposal states that they have not completed an UFMP at the scale required here. This would be
a first and that may not be what we’re after. Though the proposal mentions involvement at the state
level in larger projects, it’s unclear whether they were leading those efforts. Their experience
developing community wildfire protection plans is relevant to the process, but it would be nice to see
that they had done exactly this type and complexity of work previously.
Being a very small firm, they do not carry a significant workload and state that they are always
looking for larger projects like this one. With only three people to work on the project though, and no
plans to subcontract, it may be challenging for them to be working on any other projects during the
heavier parts of this process (especially public engagement).
POINTS__12___/20
3. Capabilities to meet time schedule
Possible Points: 20
The size of the firm is a concern. Though the proposal explains that they limit their workload to
provide in depth service, they do not have a pool of staff to pull from if the schedule gets tight or
assigned staff have conflicts. One member of the team will be new to full time work after graduating
from college in spring 2026.
The proposal states they completed past projects within deadline or early. The proposed deliverables
timeline seems reasonable and is within the one-year project schedule, though I’d prefer to see
community engagement opportunities spread throughout plan development rather than lumped in
May-August.
POINTS__12___/20
4. Experience creating innovative public engagement methods
Possible Points: 20
Proposal suggests relatively limited experience with large scale, innovative public engagement
efforts. They state that one of the team members has specific communications experience from serving
as a PIO on fire teams, but that is not reflected on the professional resume and this planning project
will be somewhat different from what that type of job entails. I do not see anything on the resumes
that suggests experience with planning, community engagement, or public outreach, nor are specific
examples discussed or provided.
It's not clear why they propose to source community engagement materials from DNRC, Arbor Day
Foundation, and Branch Out Bozeman. It seems like we could do that without hiring an outside
consultant.
POINTS__10___/20
5. Familiarity and/or previous experience with City of Bozeman
Possible Points: 5
No previous experience working with the City.
POINTS__0___/5
6. Urban Forestry planning experience in Northern Rocky Mountain Region
Possible Points: 5
The proposal describes some experience working in Wyoming (Riverton, Cody), which would be
relevant to forestry planning work in Montana, though the proposal does not detail similarities or
knowledge of Northern Rocky Mountain challenges.
POINTS__2___/5