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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Municipality of the District of Clare
Concept and Detailed Design for Grosses Coques Interpretive Signage
Issued: Thursday, December 4, 2025
Closing: Friday, January 16, 2026
Notice is hereby given that the Municipality of Clare will accept Proposals for Concept and Detailed Design for Grosses Coques Interpretive Signage
All Proposals shall be clearly identified as “Concept and Detailed Design for Grosses Coques Interpretive Signage”
Electronic copies of your Proposal should be forwarded to the following email:
Attn: Larry Peach, Cette adresse courriel est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
Please note that no formal opening of the proposals will take place.
Proposals will be evaluated and the successful bidder, if any, will be determined by the Municipality of Clare. The Municipality reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. The lowest or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted. The proposal deemed the best value may be the proposal accepted taking into account price and life cycle cost considerations, environmental and social considerations, delivery, servicing and the capacity of the supplier to meet other criteria as stated in the proposal documents.
Inquiries or clarification should be directed by telephone or e-mail to the following municipal contact:
Larry Peach
Tourism Manager
Municipality of Clare
1185 Highway 1
Little Brook, NS
B0W 1M0
902-769-8555
Cette adresse courriel est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
1. BACKGROUND AND SITE LOCATION
The Municipality of Clare has a community called Grosses Coques (“Big Clams”) that is loved for its colourful name by both locals and tourists, and by francophones and anglophones alike. Vehicles regularly stop in front of the community sign to take selfies. In fact, every few years, one of the blue community signs goes missing, likely taken as a souvenir for a dorm room or camp.
There is a unique tourism opportunity for the municipality to slow down visitors in the village of Grosses-Coques to entertain and educate them by developing an Interpretive Pull-off. Pull-offs are commonly found along scenic travelways such as the Cabot Trail, popular with touring visitors while also enriching their appreciation of the local culture.
The Grosses Coques interpretive pull-off signage would be complementary to the municipality’s Clare Acadian Tourism Experiences project and a new multi-day “Festival de Coques” set to launch in mid-June 2026. The vision is to position clam digging as a “Must-Do” authentic Acadian and Nova Scotia experience that will be family friendly, outdoor, activity based, educational and accessible. People are mostly familiar with small soft-shelled clams, but few know about ‘les grosses coques’ – the big clams found along the shores of St. Mary’s Bay at low tide. The large bar clams found on the tidal flats were credited with keeping the first small community of Acadians from starvation during their first winter in 1768 – and for decades that followed.
While the location of the actual Grosses Coques village sign (see cover page) would be an ideal location for a pull-off, there are many constraints with this site, making it an expensive and unrealistic option. In-house research identified a municipally owned site with significant potential for several reasons.
The proposed site is at the end of Bourneuf Wharf Road in the community of Grosses Coques, located on the coast approximately 300 metres from Highway 1. The Grosses Coques Cross is located on Hwy 1 across the road where vehicles turn on Bourneuf Wharf Road.
The Bourneuf Wharf Road property is owned by the Municipality of Clare. The site includes a parking area (approximately 30’ x 60’) and restrooms which are maintained by the municipality. Locals regularly go clamming at this location due to its accessibility to the beach with large sand flats exposed at low tide. Beach glass is also plentiful at this location. The proposed site is labeled on the above map.
2. PROJECT DELIVERABLES
The Municipality of Clare will tender and hire professional services to design interpretive signage in the village of Grosses Coques at the end of Bourneuf Wharf Road in the parking lot at an accessible, safe and visible location (see photos, Appendix 1). The project deliverables include the following elements:
- Conceptualize a fun, interactive outdoor sign display(s) for Grosses Coques for selfie photos
- Design a bilingual interpretive panel(s) including QR codes to direct visitors to festival info etc.
- Research, writing and translation of interpretive content in both English and French. This includes developing content about the history of clamdigging, Bourneuf Wharf, types of clams and “les grosses coques” (giant bar clams”).
- Selection and creation of illustrations, diagrams, maps, photographs and other visual content for the interpretive displays.
- Design wayfinding signage for Highway 1 to direct traffic to visit the site. Create custom graphics complementary to the interpretive signage visuals. Minimum 2 signs.
- Create detailed design plans (schematic design and design development) for the concepts
- Provide cost-to-build budgets and building specifications for the durable construction and installation of all interpretive materials by a reputable outdoor signage company. Recommended construction budget = $50,000 to $75,000.
- Background information including a vignette about the village of Grosses Coques, the nearby cross site and the clamdigging experience can be found on the municipality’s tourism website:
https://baiesaintemarie.com/en/see-and-do/communities-of-clare/grosses-coques
https://baiesaintemarie.com/en/see-and-do/arts-culture-and-heritage/grosses-coques-cross
https://baiesaintemarie.com/en/festivals-events/clam-digging
3. Submission Details
Proposals must be submitted electronically by email to Cette adresse courriel est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. in a PDF format marked “Concept and Detailed Design for Grosses Coques Interpretive Signage” no later than 12:00 pm (AST) on Friday, January 16, 2026.
The Municipality of Clare reserves the right not to respond to inquiries received after the deadline for inquiries of 12:00pm (AST) on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Please note: the municipal contact will not be available to respond to inquiries from December 18, 2025, to January 4, 2026.
Amendments may be submitted electronically prior to the closing time, marked with the proponent’s name and the RFP title and number. Proposals already delivered may be withdrawn by written notice only, provided such notice is received at the office prior to closing time.
Any and all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the proposal, including any costs incurred by the proponent after closing time, will be borne solely by the proponent.
By submitting a proposal, the proponent acknowledges and agrees that the Municipality will not be responsible for any costs, expenses, losses, damages (including damages for loss of anticipated profit) or liabilities incurred by the proponent as a result of or arising out of submitting a proposal.
4. REPORTING
The Municipality will be the contracting agency for this project and expects to be kept apprised of its progress. It is expected that in person or virtual meetings will be required. To that end, the firm will liaise regularly with the Municipality’s Tourism Manager throughout this engagement.
5. Key Dates
- Thursday, December 4, 2025 - RFP issued
- Thursday, January 15, 2026 - Deadline for Inquiries received
- Friday, January 16, 2026 - Closing date for proposals
- Late January 2026 - Award of Proposal
- Late January 2026 - Project startup
- February-March 2026 - Conceptual phase
- March-May 2026 - Detail Design phase
- May 15, 2026 - Project completion date.
6. Budget
The proponent must indicate a detailed breakdown of costs associated with fulfilling the objectives of the Project Deliverables.
7. Proponent Qualifications
The successful proponent will be qualified individuals or incorporated bodies legally permitted to enter any proposed agreement with the Municipality.
8. Inquiries and Addenda
Clarification of terms and conditions of the RFP document and process and all other inquiries shall be directed by email or by phone to: Larry Peach, Tourism Manager, 902-769-8555, Cette adresse courriel est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
It is the sole responsibility of potential Proponents to check the following website to ensure that all available information, including any addenda issued, has been received prior to submitting a proposal: https://www.clarenovascotia.com/en/business-and-economy/request-for-proposals
The decision to issue or not issue an addendum is entirely at the sole discretion of the Municipality. Any addendum will be incorporated into and become part of the RFP document. No amendment of any kind to the RFP is effective unless it is contained in a written addendum issued by the Municipality.
The deadline for inquiries for this RFP is 12:00pm (AST) on Thursday, January 15, 2026. The Municipality of Clare reserves the right not to respond to inquiries received after this deadline.
Please note: the municipal contact will not be available to respond to inquiries from December 18, 2025, to January 4, 2026.
9. Proposal Evaluation
Submitted proposals must provide the following information for evaluation. These will be weighed in the following manner:
- 35% - Company Profile and Project Team (Curriculum vitaes, highlights of relevant projects) and Relevant Knowledge and Experience with Tourism Product
- 35% - Demonstrated Understanding of Project Deliverables. Methodology and Work Plan (work plan, approach, level of analysis, etc.)
- 30% - Budget (professional fees including per diems and number of days, Expenses and Timing (start up, key milestones, invoicing schedule and completion dates)
Proponents may be contacted during the evaluation stage for clarification or further inquiries.
APPENDIX 1 : PHOTOS OF PROPOSED SITE AT BOURNEUF WHARF ROAD, GROSSES COQUES
Photos can be found in the PDF.