PUBLIC NOTICE
CHARLES TOWN UTILITY BOARD
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
The City of Charles Town, West Virginia, by and through its Utility Board is seeking proposals for professional services from qualified firms to provide Public Relations and Communications Services.
CTUB is seeking a firm that has the capabilities to work in collaboration with the CTUB Board of Directors and Staff to develop proactive public relations programs that strategically help maintain and/or improve opinions and communications with the public. The firm should have proven capabilities in local media relations, customer relations, organizational marketing, website and social media management, and issues/crisis communications. Experience specifically related to Municipal Utilities and environmental issues such as PFAS, EPA and West Virginia Department of Environmental regulations is preferred but not required.
The contract is anticipated to begin on March 1, 2025, for a period of one (1) year with the potential for extension thereafter.
The accompanying RFP with its terms, conditions, attachments and all other forms in this RFP package are due by or before 4:00 pm on Friday, January 17, 2025. RFP’s received after the due date and time will not be accepted.
Please submit three (3) copies of all requested information to:
Charles Town Utility Board
661 S. George Street, Suite 101
Charles Town, WV 25414
Copies of the Public Relations and Communications Services Request for Proposal Document are available at the Charles Town Utility Board office as listed at the address above or email Ashley Stottlemyer at astottlemyer@ctubwv.com.
The City of Charles Town, by and through its Utility Board will afford full opportunity for minority business enterprise to submit a show of interest in response to this invitation and will not discriminate against any interested firm or individual on the grounds of race, creed, color, sex, age handicap or national origin in the contract award and reserves the right to accept or reject any/or all proposals.
CTUB reserves the right to modify or cancel this Request for Proposals (RFP) and/or the project; to reject any or all proposals; and to waive any or all irregularities. This RFP does not obligate CTUB to award a contract for the project or to reimburse any costs associated with the preparation of any proposal.
Proposal Requirements
Responses are to be concise, specific and straightforward. All pertinent information is to be contained in the response. Each response is to include the following:
Item 1 – Qualifications of the Organization: How long in business, location(s), size of staff, qualifications or current personnel.
Item 2- Information pertinent to the respondent’s background and experience relative to this project, public relations experience with a utility provider and/or public entity.
Item 3- List of current clients.
Item 4- Three (3) references.
Item 5 – Submit a case study of a public relations program the firm has completed for a comparable client, including challenge presented, a description of the program implemented and any subsequent results. Please include contact information for the client.
Item 6- Firm Name, Address and Telephone number and email addresses.
Item 7 – Main Contact person.
Item 8 – Respondent’s size and organizational structure.
Item 9- Resumes of personnel to be assigned to the project.
Item 10 – Fee proposal, include a breakdown of all fees for each task. The fee breakdown should be summarized with a total monthly cost to CTUB.
Information Requests
All questions and requests for information are to be directed to the designated CTUB Contact Person, Ashley Stottlemyer at (304) 885-0010 or astottlemyer@ctubwv.com.
Proposals will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2025. Three (3) copies of each proposal are to be delivered to 661 South George Street, Suite 101, Charles Town, West Virginia, 25414 to the attention of Kristen Stolipher, Utility Manager. Proposals received after this time will not be considered and will be returned unopened. All proposals being mailed (including Federal Express, UPS, Priority Mail, etc.) or hand-delivered shall be directed to the attention of Kristen Stolipher, Utility Manager, in a sealed envelope and be clearly marked on the outside of the mailing or hand delivered envelope as follows: “RFP Proposal – Public Relations and Communication Services.”
Evaluation and Selection
All proposals will be evaluated by a small in-house committee made up of at least two (2) CTUB Directors and two (2) CTUB staff members familiar with the project. Interviews and/or presentations of the proposals will be requested if needed. The proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria listed above.
The final scope of work and fee will be negotiated with the selected vendor. All firms submitting proposals will be notified of the selection results.