Project Information

Bid Title

Request for Proposals - Priority Docking

Issuing Agency

City of Paducah

Location

Kentucky

Published Date

Nov 7, 2025

Closing Date

Dec 10, 2025

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Request for Proposals - Priority Docking

The City of Paducah Parks and Recreation Department is seeking proposals from River Cruise companies for priority docking agreements, utilizing the City of Paducah’s docking facilities located along the Ohio River.

The City of Paducah is accepting responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) from organizations that are

a) Licensed/certified to operate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; and

b) Regulated, permitted, and experienced in operations of river cruise excursions on the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers.

Organizations responding to this RFP must be prepared to comply with all federal, state, and local law related to river industry, and tourism. Respondents to this RFP will be expected to meet or exceed the minimum qualifications set forth in this RFP. The intent of this RFP is to identify those entities that are qualified and capable of providing this service for the City of Paducah.

Organizations are invited to submit a proposal by the submission deadline of 10 a.m. CST on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.

Priority Docking RFP Packet

Attachment Preview

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PRIORITY DOCKING

Paducah, Kentucky

ISSUE DATE: November 8, 2025

DUE DATE: December 10, 2025

Contract Manager: Amie Clark, Director of Parks & Recreation

Contact Information: aclark@paducahky.gov

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CITY OF PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PRIORITY DOCKING

INVITATION

The City of Paducah Parks and Recreation Department is seeking proposals from River Cruise companies

for priority docking agreements, utilizing the City of Paducah’s docking facilities located along the Ohio

River.

The City of Paducah is accepting responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) from organizations that

are:

a) licensed/certified to operate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;

b) regulated, permitted, and experienced in operations of river cruise excursions on the Ohio,

Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers.

Organizations responding to this RFP must be prepared to comply with all federal, state, and local law

related to river industry, and tourism.

Respondents to this RFP will be expected to meet or exceed the minimum qualifications set forth in this

RFP. The intent of this RFP is to identify those entities that are qualified and capable of providing this

service for the City of Paducah. Organizations are invited to submit a proposal as described herein by the

submission deadline set for 10:00 am, Wednesday, December 10, 2025.

BACKGROUND

Locally known as the Foot of Broadway, the City of Paducah maintains approximately 2600 linear feet of

riverfront with docking facilities located at the end of Broadway Street, and adjacent to North Water

Street, South Water Street, and the Foot of Broadway. Docking facilities available include an excursion

pier on the lower landing, and deadman anchors located at the upper landing. The new excursion pier

being constructed is tentatively scheduled to open in 2026.

SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA The Selection Committee, comprised of representatives from

the City of Paducah, will review and evaluate all responses to this RFP and will identify qualified entities

according to the evaluation criteria.

Respondents must meet or exceed the following criteria:

1. The entity must be legally capable of operating within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

2. The entity must, at its own expense, procure all permits, certificates, and licenses required by law

for the execution of any and all agreements.

3. The entity must comply with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations

relating to the execution of any and all agreements.

4. The entity must provide no fewer than three references.

5. The entity must be able to provide insurance in accordance with the City’s requirements.

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6. The entity will be required to obtain a Paducah Business License to perform the work and the

business license will need to be kept current throughout the duration of the contract.

7. The entity will be required to withhold and submit payroll tax to the City of Paducah.

8. The entity may be asked to provide a roster of employees and/or subcontractors used for any

contracted services provided while visiting the City of Paducah.

9. The entity will be required to comply with all Maritime and Coast Guard regulations as it relates to

river industry, tourism, and river cruise ships.

10. The entity must be in good standing with the City of Paducah.

The City of Paducah reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals. All proposals become the

property of the City of Paducah. The City of Paducah has the right to waive any irregularities in the Request

for Proposals process. The City of Paducah reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to terminate this process

at any time or reject any or all proposals without penalty prior to the execution of an agreement with the

selected agency. Any agreement resulting from this process shall be done so as deemed in the best interests

of the City.

The City has a variety of ordinances and policies which may or may not apply to a subsequent agreement

including, but not limited to background checks of employees, licensing requirements, and others.

Application of these requirements will be determined based on the structure of any subsequent agreement.

REVIEW AND SELECTION

The City’s selection committee will review all proposals after the RFP deadline has expired. The City

reserves the right to contact the responding agency(ies) with request(s) for additional clarification. The

selection committee will evaluate the proposals based upon the specifications and scoring criteria

specified herein, and make a determination as to which bid is in the best interest of and/or provides the

best value to the City of Paducah. It should be noted that the lowest bid is not always deemed to be the

“best” bid, as is illustrated by the scoring criteria below.

SCORING CRITERIA

Proposals will be scored according to the following criteria and associated weight:

Qualifications and Experience – 25 points

Proposed Contract Terms – 20 points

Proposed Docking Schedule – 20 points

Proposed Docking Fees and Compensation Package – 25 points

References – 10 points

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

The City will enter into contract negotiations with the preferred agency soon after the completion of the

selection process. The finalists not selected will be placed on standby pending the successful completion

of contract negotiations and ratification of the contractual agreement by all parties.

RECOMMENDATION

The selection committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners for approval of a

negotiated contract with the selected agency.

APPROVAL

The Contractual Agreement must be considered for approval by the Board of Commissioners prior to

execution of the contract. Once approved, the City will provide notification to the selected agency. The

agency will have 10 days from the time of the notification to secure all associated licenses and permitting

required for the execution of a contractual agreement.

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SCOPE OF PROPOSAL

The Scope of Proposal, should include:

1. Boat Specifications

a) Include specifications for all vessels that may or may not travel into port at Paducah,

KY.

2. Docking Rights

a) Include all proposed terms and conditions related to access and use of the docking

facilities located in Paducah, KY;

b) Expectations related to what the City can expect from the river cruise company;

c) Expectations related to what the river cruise can expect from the City during their

stay in port at Paducah, KY.

3. Contract Term

a) Include provisions related to contract terms to include duration, options for renewals,

and termination.

4. Proposed Docking Schedule for the first 24 months of the contract term

a) Agency may offer a certain number of guaranteed docking days each calendar year in

lieu of a scheduled calendar of docking dates.

b) Include proposed docking for City of Paducah’s Independence Day Celebration.

5. Docking Fees, Service Provisions, and Compensation Package

a) Proposed docking fees to be paid to the City for priority docking;

b) Expectations related to services needed and provided by the City including time

required after hours by city staff to provide services, ie water hook up, refuse, etc;

c) Include billing/invoicing language with net 30 terms;

d) Include cancellation terms.

6. Maintenance, Upkeep, and Repair Fees

a) Include language related to responsibility for damage to the docking facilities

incurred by the river cruise company;

b) Include language related to what the river cruise company expects from the City in

regards to maintenance and repairs to the docking facilities;

c) Include language related to liability, indemnity, and responsibility for the river cruise

company.

7. Insurance

a) Include insurance as specified herein.

It is understood that except as otherwise specifically stated in the proposal, all agencies responding to this

RFP do so solely at their own expense, and the City is not responsible for any of the expense associated

with responding to this RFP.

It is understood that except as otherwise specifically stated in the contract, the selected agency shall

provide and pay for all materials, labor, tools, equipment, and transportation of every item, necessary to

execute, complete and deliver the work within the specified time.

Permits and licenses (including the City of Paducah) necessary for the execution of work shall be secured

by the selected agency but no fees will be charged to the City.

All supplies and materials shall be new.

Any work necessary to be performed after regular working hours, such as work performed on Sundays or

legal holidays shall be performed without additional expense to the City of Paducah.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS

The agency is responsible for having reviewed the site and to have taken into consideration all conditions

which might affect the submitted proposal. No consideration will be given to any claims based on lack of

knowledge of existing conditions.

PROPOSAL TIMELINE

1. RFP Issued

This RFP is officially issued on Saturday, November 8, 2025.

2. Proposals Due

Your completed proposals are due back to the City Clerk’s Office by 10:00 am Wednesday,

December 10, 2025. Please submit four (4) hardcopies by mail or hand deliver to the address below.

Digital copies will not be accepted.

City Clerk’s Office

City of Paducah

Attn: Priority Docking Agreement

300 S. 5th Street

Paducah, Kentucky 42003

CONTENT OF PROPOSAL

At a minimum, the following information should be included in the response to this RFP. This outline is

not all-inclusive, and respondents can provide additional information as deemed appropriate. To ensure a

uniform review process and to obtain the maximum degree of comparability, the submissions in response

to this RFP must be organized in the following manner:

1. General Information

a) Provide a transmittal letter that specifically states the respondent’s understanding of the

work to be accomplished and briefly outlines the respondent’s strengths in providing the

required services. The letter should also state that the respondent meets or exceeds the

minimum qualification criteria outlined previously. The letter should also clearly express

any specific competitive advantage the responding agency brings to the project. This letter

should be signed by an authorized corporate officer of the responding agency. For projects

with multiple agencies, a signature from an authorized corporate office for each agency

should be included. Provide confirmation that the respondent is authorized to make the

proposal.

b) Include the name of respondent’s agency/entity, address, telephone number, name of

contact person, and the title of the RFP.

c) Provide a description of the proposing agency’s current legal status (i.e. Corporation,

Partnership, Sole Proprietor, Joint Venture, etc.)

d) Provide the proposing agency’s current Federal Identification Numbers.

2. Background and Qualifications

a) Provide a profile of the responding agency and describe its legal and organizational

structure. The respondent must identify and distinguish between its own experience and

qualifications and that of any parent entity, predecessor and/or wholly-owned or partially-

owned subsidiary of the respondent. If the respondent is a newly formed entity comprised

of multiple individuals or entities that is compiling projects from prior experience,

respondent must state this clearly.

b) Provide a copy of any organizational profile, sales brochure, or other documentary

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 336611Ship Building and Repairing

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