Benton County, Oregon Request for Information for Security Assessment Consultant

Benton County, Oregon is soliciting statements of qualifications and information from Physical Security Consultants wishing to assist Benton County in performing a full assessment of the County’s physical building security, security policies, employee training, and emergency alert systems. The Benton County Security Workgroup will provide required information and access to County locations to assist the Consultant in the development of an assessment and recommendations report. Locations to be assessed will not include law enforcement facilities.

Benton County is a mixed rural and urban county in the Western Oregon Willamette Valley region with a population of just over 92,000. County operations are based in Corvallis, Oregon, a small city of approximately 57,000 people and home to Oregon State University. Benton County’s economy is driven by the tech and health industries and regional agriculture. Traditionally, county Ag has focused on grass seed, Christmas trees, wine grapes, seed crops, organic produce, lumber, sheep, cattle and dairy, but recent years have seen a large upswing in hazelnuts and marijuana.

Benton County Employees represent a diverse group of individuals from many backgrounds. Benton County is home to six Community Health Clinics, the local Elections Department, Community Development and Assessment departments, a Natural Areas and Events department that hosts the annual county fair as well as a number of smaller events throughout the year, Public Works department, the District Attorney, and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Current staffing is approximately 600 employees spread over 16 physical locations.

The Consultant will conduct a comprehensive security assessment of Benton County buildings, policies, and training. It is the County’s expectation that the firm would produce a report detailing the firm’s findings and recommendations for physical security improvements, to include emergency alerting system recommendations. Ideal start date for the assessment process is February/March 2023.

The County Safety Officer, HR Director, or other Benton County representative may follow up with further questions if necessary. This request does not commit Benton County to award a contract or pay any incurred costs in association with the preparation of a response to this Request for Information. Benton County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all
responses received as a result of this request, if it is considered in the best interest of Benton
County. Benton County will require the vendor selected to participate in project scope and
cost negotiations.

Interested parties should submit their responses to this solicitation via email no later than
2:00 p.m., Wednesday January 6, 2023. Response should include qualifications and resume(s)
of security project lead, local references (Oregon-PNW), fee structure, and options for menu
of services for post assessment support.

Direct responses to: rick.pasley@co.benton.or.us

Scope of Work:
Assist the County to assess the physical security of select locations, review the policies that
impact security at those locations, review employee training regarding physical security and
threat response, assess county emergency communications capability, and make
recommendations in those areas to improve county security performance and employee
safety. County locations in question will not include law enforcement facilities or personnel.

The County Safety Officer or Security Workgroup team members will be available to assist in
scheduling meetings, facilitating site visits, providing documents, and arranging for review of
training materials.

Upon contract, the County would like to begin on-site work as soon as is possible. There is a
2 month timeline from conclusion of on-site assessments to report/recommendation
delivery.

The County anticipates the need for security support in the future, and is likely to use a
consulting firm for those needs.

Please respond to the following questions:

1.  Briefly, introduce your firm, indicating whether the firm is local, regional, national or international. Provide a profile of the firm including, but not limited to, the approximate number of professional staff employed. Indicate the name of the person(s) who will be authorized to make representation for and to bind the firm, their titles, and telephone numbers.

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2.  Briefly state your understanding of the work to be performed. Include, but do not limit your statement to, the specific items requested in Scope of Work.

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3.  Describe your proposed strategy to complete the security assessment, including a general statement of the philosophy of the firm.

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4.  Describe the experience of the firm in the past thirty-six (36) months in performing similar services. Particular emphasis should be placed on recruitments performed for similar-sized local government organizations.

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5.  Describe the firm’s experience successfully completing a similar security assessment.

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6.  Describe what, if any, availability the firm will provide to the County after the delivery of a final report.

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7.  Can you provide references from similar organizations that you have provided this type of service to in the past?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Office: (541) 766-6082
Fax: (541) 766-6893
205 NW 5th St.
Corvallis, OR 97330
co.benton.or.us