Targeted Gas Line Decommissioning Community Outreach Services. The City of Albany is requesting qualifications from consulting firms to assist with the community outreach and engagement phase of this pilot project. Starting in 2020, the City of Albany has been developing a pilot project with the goal of electrifying all buildings on one city block and decommissioning the corresponding section of the gas pipeline. Recently, the City has received a grant from the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program to pursue this ongoing effort. The engagement work will be focused on the residents and building owners on the 12 potential project sites staff has identified. The City is seeking to do deep, targeted, and diversified engagement that connects with all stakeholders on the blocks selected in order to achieve the ultimate goal of achieving 100% community approval for at least one location. In order to decommission gas infrastructure, 100% of customers in the designated service area need to sign on. Otherwise, the project is in violation of section 451 of the Public Utilities Code (in California) which prohibits utility companies from denying any property owner of natural gas service unless they have expressly stated that they do not want the service. This aspect of the project presents a unique and interesting challenge for community engagement. The engagement work will be small scale, intensive, and diverse. It will provide a close-up view of how different individuals and neighborhoods react to various engagement strategies. This pilot is also intended to be a guide for other jurisdictions as well as state and federal governments to pave the way for zonal electrification and gas line decommissioning. The City is seeking a consultant to assist with the community outreach and engagement aspect of the project. The consultant will work with the City to assess up to 12 blocks and decide where and how to conduct outreach and engage with owners and residents. The consultant's approach can take a variety of forms and the City is open to any strategies that aid the goal of 100% acceptance from an entire block. Tasks will include The City reserves the right to:
1. Waive any informalities or minor irregularities;
2. Accept or reject any and all qualifications, or any items or part thereof;
3. Withdraw or cancel this RFQ at any time without prior notice and the City makes no representations that any contract will be awarded to any firms responding to this RFQ;
4. Reject all qualifications and seek new qualifications when it is in the best interest of the City to do so.
5. Modify the RFQ as it deems necessary;
6. Any information submitted to the City becomes public records and are subject to the Public Records Act
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