Request for Proposals
High-Density Mobile Shelving – Phase I: Storage Area
Roseau County Historical Society & Museum
121 Center St. E. Suite #101
Roseau, MN 56751
Statement of Purpose
In order to increase the storage capacity for the collections at the Roseau County Museum, the Roseau County Historical Society is seeking bids for the installation of high-density mobile shelving (HDMS) within the museum’s storage room.
This project is being financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society. As such, it must go through a formal bidding process and Minnesota prevailing wage rules apply.
Responses to this RFP are due: April 13, 2022
For more info on submissions, see section on How to Submit a Proposal later in this document.
Background Information
The Roseau County Historical Society (RCHS) is a public, non-profit 501(c)3 educational and cultural institution. It was established in 1927 to collect, preserve and disseminate Roseau County history. The Society educates the public on Roseau County history mainly through appealing museum exhibits. It has an extensive research center as well as educational programs.
RCHS has been taking in collection items for over ninety-four years and continue to build the collection. After a recent remodel of the gallery area RCHS staff found a shortage of storage when rehousing collection and archival items. The current arrangements of the storage rooms hinders RCHSs continued collecting. In order to increase the collections storage capacity in these rooms without increasing the size of the building, we would like to install high-density mobile shelving. RCHS will also entertain other shelving options that will best suit our needs and the space available.
To give museum staff and volunteers time to remove artifacts from each rooms of storage, this will be a phased project, with the installation of shelving to be done in a separate stage for each room. Each phase of the project will be contingent upon available funding.
Installing shelving in the Storage Room is Phase I of this larger project. The future phases will consist of the Collection and Archival Room and the Isolation and Storage Bay Rooms.
Phase I: Storage Room
The Storage Room is on the ground level with a cement floor covered with an epoxy high traffic floor coating. The west wall is on the exterior of the building the remaining have metal stud walls. The entire room is sheet rocked and painted. It contains freestanding metal shelves throughout that houses our 3-dimensional collection of artifacts.
Entry into the Storage Room can be accessed through three different accesses, a single walk through door in the northeast corner of the room, large double doors in the southeast corner, and large double doors in the southwest corner. The southwest doors connect to the Storage Bay that opens to the alley way via a large overhead door.
Additional notes, all the large double door are approximately 8’ wide by 10’ high. The HVAC unit for the Gallery is the only item that is fixed with the Storage Room. The location would be on the east wall with a footprint of 10’width x 6’ depth. In the graphic it would be located starting where the horizontal line (40’.10 1/2”) runs across in the diagram.
The rough interior dimensions of the main Storage area are 56 feet long, 40 feet – 10.5 inches wide, and 30 feet high. There is also the smaller area in the north end that has a shorter ceiling height and is approximately 20 feet square. There are no windows in the room and all heating ducts are on the ceiling.
Objectives and Requirements:
- The storage capacity of the Storage Room will increase by a minimum of 50%. Currently, the room contain approximately 840 linear feet of material. (RFP responses should note the expected increase in storage capacity the proposed HDMS system will provide.)
- HDMS systems and designs will enable safe, efficient usage and management of the 3-dimensional artifacts by RCHS staff, and will support historic preservation requirements for a variety of materials sensitive to moisture, humidity, temperature, and irradiance.
- Contractors responding to this RFP must visit the project site to assess requirements before providing a Proposal. (Please contact RCHS at 218-463-1918 or rchsroseau@gmail.com to arrange a site visit.)
- The HDMS will meet fire and other building codes and will be safe to operate. RCHS staff will be given training by HDMS contractor on the appropriate use of the HDMS system.
- The HDMS contractor will provide options for warranty and/or servicing of the system.
Project Timeline: April 1, 2022 – December 1, 2023
Project Scope of Work
(blue text indicates RCHS staff obligation)
- Management and Administration
RCHS Staff and Board of Directors are in charge of management and administration of this project. They shall:
- Review submitted proposals
- Interview short-listed candidates
- Select the winning proposal & notify all contractors of decision
- Oversee the installation and potential project changes
- Issue payment for project based on payment schedule & completion of project in regards to Terms & Conditions (see below)
Note: The primary RCHS staff contact for management & administration is Executive Director Britt Dahl.
- Specify and procure HDMS systems sufficient to meet RCHS objectives
Working with RCHS staff, HDMS Contractor shall:
- Review requirements and assess options for HDMS design and installation
- Determine final design of HDMS systems
- Specify all components, materials, and other requirements
- Schedule HDMS installation
- Procure HDMS components and materials
- Prepare Storage Room for HDMS installation
RCHS Staff/Volunteers shall
- Remove collection material from Storage Room
- Remove shelving that will no longer be used
- Clean/prepare space for installation
- Schedule work to minimize disruption to Museum usag
- Deliver and install HDMS in the Storage room
HDMS Contractor shall:
- Deliver and install HDMS
- Teach staff how to use and maintain it
- Provide warranty and servicing options
- Return materials to Storage Room
RCHS staff/volunteers shall sort materials to determine what needs to be deaccessioned or removed from the collection before returning materials to the Storage Room.
HDMS Contractor shall follow up with RCHS staff within 30 days of installation to verify safe and efficient functionality or to address any need for slight alternations to the system.
Selection Process Schedule: (dependent on grant funds awarded)
March 29, 2022 – Release of the RFP
April 13, 2022 – Responses due from RFP
April 1 – May 6, 2022 – Vendor Site Visits & RFP Questions Due
NOTE: Site visits are mandatory for all contractors responding to this RFP. In order to measure the room for your proposal, please schedule a site visit between April 1 – May 6, 2022, by calling RCHS at 218-463-1918 or email rchsroseau@gmail.com.
May 13, 2022 – Contractor Proposals Due
May 16, 2022 – Notification of Selection Results
May 20 – July 15, 2022 – RCHS works with MN Grants Office to procure funding
December 1, 2022 – Notification to Proceed
Approximate Contract Period upon funding: November 1 – December 1, 2023
Evaluation Process and Criteria
The Roseau County Historical Society (RCHS) is looking for one company to install high-density mobile shelving in its Storage Room. Following receipt and review of the proposals by RCHS, selected firm(s) may be invited to an interview via Zoom and make a presentation of their proposed installation. The decision to interview the respondents will be at RCHS’s sole discretion based on the evaluation of each respondent’s proposal. RCHS reserves the right to reject any and all responses and to waive any irregularities of information in the evaluation process. The final decision is the sole decision of RCHS and the respondents to the RFP have no appeal rights or procedures guaranteed to them. The selected firm(s) will be given an opportunity to present their proposal in detail. Those directly responsible for the design of this project will be expected to present.
Although RCHS may conduct interviews to select among the final candidates, it is not RCHS’s intent to seek extensive clarification of the proposals received. Therefore, it is to the benefit of the respondent to provide an explicit, detailed, and complete discussion of the HDMS installation in the proposal.
The successful firm will be chosen through a qualitative review of these factors, using the following criteria to evaluate proposals received:
Criterion
- Knowledge, expertise and experience installing high-density mobile shelving within a museum environment, including planning, project management and execution.
- Sensitivity to installation within a historic preservation framework.
- The amount of space that will be gained in the Storage area, both for current collections and future expansion
- Safety, ease of use & ease of access to collections.
- Cost proposal.
- Quality of construction of the system. RCHS will be reviewing the performance of contractors’ systems in other applications.
- Guarantee/warranty.
- Customer service and service to be provided if there are issues with the system.
Cost of Preparing RFP Response
All costs associated with responding to this RFP are the sole responsibility of the responding company.
How to Submit a Proposal
The proposal shall clearly address all of the information requested herein. Since the written proposal will weigh heavily in the evaluation process, information submitted should be complete and provide a convincing case that the vendor can perform high quality work within schedule and budget constraints. Proposals should be thorough yet concise. Proposals are to be prepared at your own expense.
The proposal shall be submitted to the official contact listed below, to be received no later than Friday, May 13, 2022 at 5 p.m. CST. Proposals may be submitted by mail or email to:
Britt Dahl, Executive Director
Roseau County Historical Society
121 Center St. E., Suite #101
Email: rchsroseau@gmail.com
Drop off proposals at Roseau County Historical Society & Museum, Roseau, MN.
Any questions regarding this RFP must be submitted by email to RCHS by 5:00 p.m. May 6, 2022. All questions will be answered promptly. Responses to inquiries that substantially or materially change the RFP will be made available to all prospective vendors that have indicated an interest in providing a bid for this project.
All site visits by HDMS firms to measure the Storage Room need to be scheduled between April 1 – May 6, 2022. Call 218-463-1918 and speak to Britt Dahl or email rchsroseau@gmail.com.
Proposal Contents and FormatThe Proposal shall be submitted in electronic format (PDF) or hard copy.
The proposal shall be organized in the following manner with the subject headings and sequence indicated. (Page length recommendations in parentheses)
- Introduction (1 page)
- Experience and Past Performance – Include 3 references to past HDMS projects (1-2 pages)
- Organization and Personnel (1 page)
- Proposed Solution(s) – Based on requirements of this RFP (2 pages)
- Lump Sum Cost Proposal – (1-2 pages)
Upon request by RCHS, the HDMS contractor shall furnish a detailed breakdown of materials, supplies, labor, and other associated fees and expenses of this project.
The HDMS contractor agrees to hold this bid open for 65 (sixty-five) days following the submission due date of May 13, 2022.
Contractual Terms & Conditions
Insurance: HDMS Contractor/Company is required to be insured and provide a certificate of insurance that lists the Roseau County Historical Society as additionally insured.
Building Permit: If a building permit is required for this project, the HDMS Contractor/Company shall be responsible for acquiring the permit.
Health & Safety: HDMS Contractor/Company must comply with all safety and health regulations in connection with their work.
Use of Site: HDMS Contractor/Company will provide storage of mobile shelving materials during the installation. The contractor needs to make arrangements with the Roseau County Historical Society for the placement of a trailer or other storage container on-site if one is needed.
Measurements & Layout: HDMS Contractor/Company shall be responsible for taking field measurements of the Storage room, along with laying out the work. Refer to the Selection Process Schedule above for the timeline of Vendor/Contractor site visits.
Cutting & Patching: HDMS Contractor/Company will be responsible for any cutting and patching required for the installation. They will also be responsible for clean-up and removal of any debris related to the mobile shelving installation.
Schedule & Work Hours: Upon acceptance of the bid, the HDMS Contractor/Company shall arrange a work schedule with the Roseau County Historical Society in regards to installation. The work schedule shall also include work days and hours to coincide with staff availability.
Functionality Follow-up and Warranty: HDMS Contractor shall follow up with RCHS staff within 30 days of installation to verify safe and efficient functionality or to address any need for slight alternations to the system. The date the warranty begins to take effect is the date the Roseau County Historical Society accepts the work as completed in full.
Payment Schedule: Because this project is being financed with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society, grant funds are released to the Roseau County Historical Society in phases over the course of the project. RCHS must meet specific milestones during the project, with “a total of twenty percent (20%) of the grant funds [being] released as the final payment after work is complete and fiscal documentation and the project completion report have been reviewed and accepted by the [Minnesota Historical] Society.”
Once 70% of the work is completed, RCHS is required to have a site visit by the Minnesota Historical Society as one of the milestones of the project.
Due to the requirements of the grant and the timeline for the release of grant monies, RCHS will provide 80% of the invoiced cost of installation within 60 days of receiving the final invoice, with the final 20% being paid within 60 days of satisfactory project completion and acceptance of the work by the Minnesota Historical Society.
Job Position Open:
We currently have no positions available.
Applications available at the museum located in the Roseau City Center or follow he link below.
Download and Print the Application (PDF)We are always looking for volunteers to help with our day-to-day operations.
It all helps, whether you can come in on a regular basis or for only an hour, a day, a week. What could be better than having a “job” that you can pick your own hours?