Canada - County of St. Paul No. 19 - Request for Proposal - Waterbodies Access, Health and Feasibility Assessment

Description

Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay (the “SVHB”) seeks innovative proposals from interested parties for the following:

The Waterbodies Access, Health and Feasibility Assessment project is in direct response to work lead by the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay, through the region’s economic development agency, STEP Economic Development Alliance (STEP) on the Regional Tourism Opportunity Identification and Destination Development Study. The study was done to identify and develop tourism assets, destinations and experiences across the region for the benefit of the regional partners and in response to the Province of Alberta and Travel Alberta’s mandate to increase tourism across the province.

Within that work lake access, health and other impacting factors were identified as critical to the continued growth of the region ranging from tourism, quality of life and investment.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate key waterbodies (lakes and rivers) across the region to include an analysis and a process to compile information and data into a decision-making matrix that focuses on waterbody access, health and feasibility. This information will then be used by the stakeholders, including the partner municipalities, to further implement tangible projects that will result in increased tourism and rural economic opportunities that are attributable to healthy waterbodies.

The purpose of this project is to evaluate key waterbodies (lakes and rivers) across the region to include an analysis and a process to compile information and data into a decision-making matrix that focuses on waterbody access, health and feasibility. This information will then be used by the stakeholders, including the partner municipalities, to further implement tangible projects that will result in increased tourism and rural economic opportunities that are attributable to healthy waterbodies.

Goals
• Protect and enhance waterbody health in the region.
• Understand the capacity of healthy waterbodies to support increased access, development, and tourism in the region.
• Enable sound decision-making about development near waterbodies, informed by a clear understanding of the impacts of development on waterbody health.

Deliverable
Deliver a robust decision-making toolkit and process that can be deployed throughout the region, that includes direction on:
• Baseline measurements required to assess existing waterbody health.
• Characterization of types of waterbodies and their varied capacities and sensitivities to disturbance.
• Anticipated types and scales of development, access, recreation, and tourism near waterbodies.
• The impact of these development types on waterbody health.
• The impact of these development types on the local economy and quality of life.
• Guidance on two key lines of questions:
1. (Economic Development) For a given waterbody or area: what untapped opportunities exist for increased development, access, recreation, and tourism near existing waterbodies? How can these types of investments help the region thrive without threatening the long-term health of the waterbodies?
2. (Planning) For a given proposal that increases development or access near a waterbody: what are the anticipated impacts of this development type and scale on the health of the waterbody? Can these impacts be effectively mitigated? How can cumulative impacts be measured to inform sound decision-making over time?

Tasks (and deliverables)
The successful proponent will develop and test a toolkit that enables informed decision-making on increased development and access near waterbodies. For a complete description of the Tasks, see the RFP.

Team
The team should have expertise and experience in:
• Waterbody assessment, including desktop and field measurement.
• Knowledge of the region’s particular waterbody ecologies and systems.
• Rural economic development, including experience with lakeside development, access, and recreation projects.
• Knowledge of the region’s development dynamics.
• Construction of decision-making frameworks and information models.
• Clear communication and document design.

Opportunity closing date

30 September 2024

Value of contract

to be confirmed