Professional Services.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ #2026-08)

INFORMATION AND SPECIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION OF

RESPONSES TO LEHIGH ACRES FIRE CONTROL AND RESCUE DISTRICT

FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

INFORMATION PACKAGE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSE

INTRODUCTION

The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District (hereinafter “District”) is requesting responses from qualified individuals or companies who are able and interested in performing professional services on a continuing, as needed, basis related to the improvement of the District’s real property

(“projects”) in accordance with the terms, conditions, and requirements contained in this Request for

Qualifications and in a written agreement to be entered into with the District. The general scope of the professional services is the provision of professional services primarily related to professional engineering services, site design, acquiring government approvals, architectural services, inspection services and surveying services for the projects. The selection of an individual or firm to provide professional services to the District pursuant to this Request for Qualifications is intended to comply with the requirements of

Florida law, including Section 287.055, et seq., Florida Statutes. The selected individual or firm must be capable of providing the District with complete professional services. The selected individual or firm should be able to demonstrate adequate experience in dealing with government agency projects similar to the District’s projects, including but not limited to, all aspects of site design, engineering, acquisition of government approvals, acquiring permitting, architectural services, inspection services and surveying services. The selected individual or firm will be required to negotiate the terms of a written agreement with the District for the provision of professional services. The response deadline due date/time is 2:00 p.m. EST on May 22, 2026. All responses (7 hard copies and one electronic copy) shall be placed in a sealed envelope with the following title clearly indicated on the outside: RFQ No. 2026-08 Professional

Services for Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District, with delivery to the District, which must be received by the District at the administrative offices of the District at 11 Homestead Road South, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936, Attn: Deputy Chief Rodolfo Naranjo, no later than the response deadline of 2:00 p.m. EDST on May 22, 2026. Responses received after such time will not be accepted and will be returned unopened. Responses delayed for any reason will not be considered. Faxed and electronically mailed responses will not be accepted. All costs and expenses related to the preparation and submission of a response are the sole responsibility of the responder. All prospective responders are cautioned not to contact any member of the District’s Board of Commissioners or any District employees except Deputy

Chief Rodolfo Naranjo (“Deputy Chief”), or his designee. All questions should be directed to Deputy

Chief Naranjo, or his designee, telephone number (239) 284-0024, email rodolfon@lehighfd.com. The

District reserves the right to reject any or all responses in its sole discretion. The District also reserves the right to waive irregularities and technicalities, to re-advertise for additional responses, and to select the responder who, in the District’s sole opinion is in the best interests of the District. The District does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or marital status.

mailto:rodolfon@lehighfd.com

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS #2026-08 BY LEHIGH ACRES FIRE CONTROL AND

RESCUE DISTRICT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

All Responders shall prepare and submit a response to the District pursuant to the response specification and requirements described herein. The response shall include, but does not have to be limited to, the following information:

SECTION 1

GENERAL INFORMATION & INSTRUCTIONS

1) DEFINITIONS

a. Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District may hereinafter be referred to as “District”.

b. “Responder” shall be any entity or individual submitting a response for the pending solicitation.

c. All references to days in this solicitation mean calendar days, unless otherwise stated.

d. All references to “shall”, “must”, and “will” are to be interpreted as mandatory language.

e. The Request for Qualifications is a competitive selection method selected for this pending solicitation and will be referred to as the “RFQ”.

f. “successful Responder” shall be the successful Responder with whom a professional services agreement (sometimes hereinafter referred to as “Agreement”) is entered into by the District.

2) PURPOSE

a. The District seeks responses from qualified Responders to provide professional services on a continuing, as needed, basis related to the improvement of the District’s real property in accordance with the specifications and conditions contained in this RFQ Package. The overall scope of work is further described in Exhibit A.

b. This RFQ has been compiled for the purpose of providing information, requirements, guidelines, specifications, and other data that can be used by Responders who wish to submit a response for consideration.

3) INSTRUCTIONS

a. Each Responder shall submit seven (7) sealed responses, one clearly marked as “Original”, and six (6) copies, and one (1) electronic format copy, enclosed and secured in an envelope/package.

The Responder shall clearly mark and display the Responder’s name and address, the RFQ number and the project identification on the outside of the envelope/package. The District shall not be responsible for unidentified responses. Responses shall be addressed to:

Rodolfo Naranjo, Deputy Chief

Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District

11 Homestead Road South

Lehigh Acres, FL 33936

Hand delivered responses shall be delivered to the same above-referenced address.

b. Each Responder shall submit their response to the Deputy Chief, or his designee, at the District’s administrative offices at the above address no later than May 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EDST at which time all responses will be opened and only the names of the Responders will be announced. Responses received after the deadline will not be considered and will be returned unopened. Responders mailing their response must allow a sufficient mail delivery period to insure timely receipt of their response by the District. The District is not responsible for responses delayed by mail and delivery services. The delivery of the sealed response envelope required from each Responder prior to the time and date of the deadline for submitting responses is solely and strictly the responsibility of the Responder.

c. Responses shall remain firm for not less than ninety (90) calendar days from the response deadline stated above.

d. The District shall not be liable for any costs associated with the preparation of responses to this solicitation; therefore, all costs shall be borne solely by the Responder.

e. There will NOT be a pre-response conference. All prospective Responders should review the

RFQ document and submit all questions and/or requests for additional information to the Deputy

Chief, or his designee, by the response question deadline of May 15, 2026, at 5:00 pm. All questions relating to this RFQ must be submitted via email to the Deputy Chief, or his designee, before the above deadline.

f. Prior to submitting a response, each Responder shall carefully examine the RFQ document, study and thoroughly familiarize himself/herself with the specifications/requirements of the RFQ documents and notify the Deputy Chief, or his designee, of any conflicts, errors, or discrepancies.

Each Responder is solely responsible for reading and completely understanding the requirements and specifications of the RFQ documents.

g. Before submitting responses, interested firms or individuals must make all necessary investigations to inform themselves thoroughly as to all requirements of this Request for

Qualifications/Competitive Selection Process. No plea of ignorance of conditions or difficulties that may hereafter exist, or of conditions or difficulties that may be encountered in the future will be accepted as an excuse for any failure or omission on the part of the successful Responder to fulfill, in every detail, all of the requirements of the RFQ and all of the professional services agreement requirements of the District, nor will they be accepted as a basis for any claims whatsoever for extra compensation.

h. By submission of a response, each Responder guarantees that all professional services shall meet the requirements of the RFQ and the subsequent professional services agreement between the

District and the successful Responder.

i. All Responders are hereby notified that any deviations from the requirements stated in the RFQ documents or any failure to submit all information required by the RFQ documents may result in the rejection of their response by the District, in the District’s sole discretion. All submitted responses must be properly signed and, where applicable, corporate and/or notary seals must be attached. All blanks on all forms must be completed in writing. All names of all individuals executing documents must be typed or printed below their signature.

j. Responses may be withdrawn, in writing, as long as the written withdrawal is actually received by the Deputy Chief, or his designee, at the District address stated above, prior to the deadline fixed for the receipt of responses. Responders cannot withdraw or modify their responses after the response deadline of May 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EST.

k. Responders cannot assign or otherwise transfer their responses to others either prior to or after they are submitted.

l. Faxed responses or emailed responses will not be accepted.

m. Each Responder shall separately describe any specific work or actions that the Responder is NOT including in the response scope or work, including specific professional services that are not included.

n. Each Responder shall follow the below stated directions for response preparation:

i. All responses shall be complete and carefully worded, and must convey all of the information requested by the District. If significant errors are found in the response, or if the response fails to conform to the essential requirements of the RFQ, the District, in its sole discretion, will determine whether to accept or reject the response because of the variance.

ii. Responses are to be prepared simply and in a manner designed to provide the District with a straightforward presentation of the Responder’s capability to satisfy the requirements of this RFQ. The Responder’s response must follow the RFQ format, utilizing the same section titles, schedules, and paragraphs.

iii. The Responder must clearly mark as "Confidential" each part of their response which they consider to be proprietary information that could be exempt from disclosure under

Florida law as set forth in Chapter 286, Florida Statutes. The District reserves the right to determine whether any response information should be exempt from disclosure and no legal action may be brought against the District or its agents for its determination.

iv. The Responder shall make its response in the official name of the entity or individual under which business is conducted (showing official business address).

v. The Responder shall include on the response the Federal Employer Identification Number

(FEIN) and the DUNS number of the entity issuing the response (or in the absence of

FEIN and DUNS numbers, the Social Security Number of the individual issuing the response if requested separately by the District).

vi. The Responder shall include all applicable requested information and is encouraged to include any additional information the Responder wishes to be considered. If the response includes any comments over and above the specific information requested in the

RFQ, the Responder shall include such information as a separate Exhibit B-3 to the response.

vii. The Responder shall clearly write in ink or type-write all information requested in this

RFQ and shall complete all blanks in the RFQ.

viii. A person duly authorized to legally bind the Responder shall execute all required documents in ink.

ix. Each copy of the response should be bound in a single volume where practical.

x. All Responders submitting a response in this competitive selection process are responsible for all errors in their response.

o. To maintain the integrity of the competitive selection process, all contacts and discussions shall be directed to the Deputy Chief, or his designee.

p. Verbal comments or discussions with District Elected Officials or employees relative to this RFQ shall not be binding on the District.

q. The successful Responder may be required to provide a performance bond and a payment bond if such is required to satisfy the requirements of Florida law for public agency projects. A bid bond shall not be required for this RFQ.

r. All responses must include the following information for the Responder and all named subcontractors, if any. The following information shall be described in Exhibit B-1 except for the credit report described in subsection i.d. below.

i. QUALIFICATIONS (Exhibit B-1)

a. An overview of the Responder and all named subcontractors, if any, including, if applicable, the number of business officers, partners, members, shareholders and professionals employed by the Responder.

b. The number and type of governmental clients served and the number and type of private sector clients served that are similar to the District.

c. A description of any disciplinary actions or lawsuits that have been instituted or proposed against the Responder and any named subcontractors during the last three (3) years, which includes a final or expected outcome, and any pending disciplinary matters or lawsuits of which the Responder is aware (these disclosure requirements pertain to all officers, directors, shareholders, partners, members and other licensed individuals employed by the responder or by any named subcontractors).

d. If requested by the District, a credit report prepared within sixty (60) days of the request by the District demonstrating the financial viability of the Responder. Such report may be provided by a reputable, independent credit reporting agency and will have to be submitted to the District upon the District’s request for same.

e. The selected Responder will be required to agree to acquire general commercial liability insurance coverage, workers’ compensation coverage as required by Florida law, vehicle insurance coverage, professional liability coverage, and other insurance coverages in coverage amounts that are required by the District.

f. Evidence of whether the Responder, or any named subcontractors, has ever failed to provide similar professional services to a contracting party that is a government agency or otherwise similar to the District.

g. Evidence of whether the Responder, or any named subcontractors, has ever been refused approval by any Federal, State, or other government agency as a responder on a similar

RFQ.

h. Description of experience and familiarity with work of a similar nature to the District’s work, including specifics in connection with work performed.

ii. STAFFING (Exhibit B-1 continued)

a. Description of the Responders’ current and projected workloads and the management structure or organization proposed for the provision of the services necessary to meet the

District’s needs for the professional services required for the District.

b. To reiterate, if named subcontractors or subconsultants will be used for any services, this arrangement must be adequately explained and the qualifications of the participating named subcontractor(s) or subconsultant(s) should be disclosed.

c. Indication of the business office of the Responder that will staff the upcoming engagement with the District and the name of the principal responsible representative of the Responder for the District.

d. Provide brief resumes of the individuals that will be involved with the upcoming engagement, including but not limited to:

(1) formal and any supplemental education;

(2) a list of governmental/private clients served by each staff member;

(3) length of time with the responder;

(4) qualifications/abilities to be utilized for the District.

e. Provide a statement of whether the Responder has a Drug Free Workplace Policy.

(1) The Responder shall be required to execute Exhibit C attached hereto concerning the Responder’s Drug-Free Workplace Program.

f. The Responder should indicate whether it or any of its named subcontractors are a certified minority business enterprise as defined by the Florida Small and Minority

Business Assistance Act of 1985.

iii. APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (Exhibit B-1 continued)

a. Describe the Responder’s expectations for administrative assistance and dialogue between the Responder, the District and others (i.e. anticipated meetings, conferences, interviews).

b. Please provide a list of the last three (3) professional services contracts entered into with government agencies under similar factual circumstances. The list must include the following information:

(1) names of contracting parties;

(2) name, address, telephone number and email address of contact person for the contracting government agency;

(3) date of contract;

(4) general scope of work provided;

(5) any other relevant information concerning the project scope of work for the professional services provided.

c. Please provide a list of no less than three (3) and preferably five (5) references. Each reference must include the following information:

(1) name of reference;

(2) name of contact person for the reference;

(3) telephone number of the contact person for the reference;

(4) address of the contact person for the reference;

(5) electronic mail address of the contact person for the reference;

(6) facsimile number of the contact person for the reference.

d. Please provide the name, address, telephone number, and electronic mail address of the party to whom the most comparable professional services have been provided for a comparable scope of work.

s. NARRATIVE RESPONSE STATEMENT (Exhibit B-2)

Every Responder must provide a narrative statement as Exhibit B-2 of the response which provides the District with an overview of the basic professional services that will be provided to the District to satisfy the requirements of the RFQ documents and the professional services that will NOT be provided to the District. Further, the narrative statement must include a description of the Responder’s past experiences in providing similar types of professional services to other similarly situated government agencies. In particular, the following topics shall be addressed in the narrative statement.

i. The Responder’s familiarity with the professional services required for the District’s projects, including but not limited to: engineering services, surveying services, preparing government approval applications, preparing permit applications, acquiring government approvals, acquiring permitting, architectural services, inspection services and providing other miscellaneous professional services as defined in Section 287.055, Florida Statutes.

ii. How the subject professional services will be provided.

iii. The Responder’s familiarity with Federal, State and local environmental regulations, including the Federal Clean Water Act, the Federal Endangered Species Act, and

Florida’s Water Resources Act, and with other government regulations, including land development regulations and building code regulations, which may be applicable to the

District’s projects.

iv. The Responder’s familiarity with regulatory staff of Federal, State and local governmental agencies from whom the District will be expected to acquire all necessary permits and authorizations for the District’s projects.

v. The Responder’s ability and willingness to perform routine recurring coordination with the Deputy Chief, or his designee, in order to ensure that the Responder’s work product is consistent with the required needs of the District and with the scope of the District’s projects.

vi. The Responder’s ability and willingness to provide periodic reports to the Deputy Chief, or his designee, on the status of the District’s projects and their progress.

vii. The Responder’s willingness to agree that the completion of the various phases of the

District’s projects is conditioned upon the pre-approval of the District, in the District’s sole discretion, and that the District has the authority to terminate the agreement with the selected Responder and to pay for services rendered by the Responder through the date of termination.

4) EVALUATION, AWARD CRITERIA, AND SELECTION PROCESS

a) By submitting a response, each Responder recognizes and agrees that the District may reject its response based upon the District’s exercise of its sole discretion. Every Responder waives any claims it may have for damages or other relief resulting directly or indirectly from the rejection of its response based on any ground whatsoever, including the District’s exercise of its sole discretion and the District’s disclosure of or refusal to disclose any pertinent information related to the reasons for the District’s rejection of said response.

b) The District may conduct such investigations as the District deems necessary and appropriate to assist in the evaluation of any response and to establish the responsibility, qualifications, and financial ability of any Responder.

c) The Deputy Chief, or his designee, shall conduct response evaluations and present recommendations to the District’s Fire Chief and the Board of Commissioners, for their consideration in selecting a Responder.

d) As a first step in the evaluation process, a Review Committee, which may be the Deputy Chief, or his designee, if a Review Committee is used, or the Board of Commissioners, if a Review

Committee is not used, shall determine which responders are “qualified” to perform the requested professional services. As a part of the determination of which Responders are qualified, the

Review Committee, or the Board of Commissioners, shall consider factors that include, but are not limited to, each Responder’s: capabilities, adequacy of personnel, past record, and experience of the Responder and the Responder’s named subcontractors, if any.

e) Upon determining which Responders are qualified to perform the professional services requested in this RFQ, the District, through the Board of Commissioners, will evaluate each qualified response and select and rank no fewer than three (3) of the qualified Responders, if there are at least three (3) qualified Responders, using factors that include, but are not limited to:

i. Completeness and accuracy of the response;

ii. Compliance with the specifications requirements;

iii. Abilities of each Responder’s personnel;

iv. Who is being proposed as subcontractors, if any;

v. Past performance and relevant experience;

vi. Willingness to meet time and budget requirements;

vii. Location of designated business office;

viii. Current and projected workloads;

ix. Whether a Responder is a certified minority business enterprise;

x. Whether a Responder has a Drug Free Workplace Policy; and,

xi. The volume of work previously awarded to each Responder.

f) The District may invite the Responders to make public presentations regarding their responses at a public meeting of the Review Committee or before the Board of Commissioners prior to the

Review Committee or the Board of Commissioners taking official action to determine which

Responders are qualified Responders or prior to the Board of Commissioners taking official action to select and/or rank the qualified Responders. At this time the District does NOT anticipate receiving public presentations from Responders as a part of the competitive selection process.

g) The District anticipates evaluating each response using the above referenced factors and evaluation process outlined above. In the alternative, the District may unilaterally select different selection factors or a different selection process which satisfies the requirements of Florida law.

h) The District reserves the right to waive any and all deficiencies in any response, in its sole discretion. Further, the District reserves the right to accept the response that, in its judgment, will be in the best interest of the District or to reject any or all responses, in its sole discretion, and to take such other and further action as the District deems appropriate and in the best interest of the

District, in its sole discretion. The District reserves the right to re-advertise for additional responses to the Request for Qualifications, in its sole discretion.

i) Once the District has selected/ranked the Responders, the individual(s) designated by the District as the District’s negotiating team may schedule a meeting to negotiate a satisfactory Agreement between the District and the highest ranked Responder selected by the District. If an Agreement cannot be reached within a reasonable period of time, in the District’s sole discretion, the negotiations with said Responder shall be formally terminated through the declaration of an impasse and no further action may be taken to enter into an Agreement with said Responder. If the Responders are ranked and if an impasse is declared with the highest ranked Responder, the

Agreement negotiating process described above may occur with the second ranked Responder, and thereafter the same Agreement negotiation process may be used with each of the next ranked

Responders until an Agreement is successfully negotiated with a Responder who has been determined to be qualified by the District.

j) Upon successful negotiation of an Agreement with one of the selected/ranked Responders, the

District’s negotiating team shall present the proposed Agreement that has been successfully negotiated with the Selected Responder to Chief Dilallo, as the authorized designee of the Board of Commissioners, for consideration and possible approval. Chief Dilallo may accept or reject the proposed Agreement, in Chief Dilallo’s sole discretion, and thereafter authorize the execution of the accepted proposed Agreement or the continuation of negotiations or the termination of negotiations accordingly.

k) The District anticipates entering into an Agreement with a qualified Responder who is selected/ranked by the District using the selection process described above. In the event the

District is not successful in negotiating an Agreement with any of the Responders selected/ranked by the District, the District may reopen and/or terminate continued formal negotiations with any one of the qualified Responders, in the District’s sole discretion; however, the negotiating team shall not negotiate with more than one Responder at a time. Further, if the negotiating team designated by the District is unable to negotiate a satisfactory Agreement with one of the selected/ranked Responders, the District may select/rank additional qualified Responders and continue negotiations in accordance with the process outlined herein until an Agreement is reached with a qualified Responder, or the District may terminate all negotiations and re-advertise for additional responses, in the District’s sole discretion.

l) All Responders will be notified of the District’s decision on the selecting/ranking of the

Responders within fourteen (14) calendar days after the date of the said action.

m) Interested parties are advised to contact the Deputy Chief, or his designee, for the date, time, and agenda of any public meeting of the District where the District will be evaluating and possibly selecting/ranking Responders.

n) In all cases, the District reserves the authority, in its sole discretion, to take such official action that it deems to be in the best interest of the District in a manner which satisfies the requirements of Florida law.

o) By submitting a response, each Responder recognizes and agrees that the District may reject its response based upon the District’s exercise of its sole discretion. Every Responder waives any claims it may have for damages or other relief resulting directly or indirectly from the rejection of its response based upon any ground whatsoever including the District’s exercise of its sole discretion and the District’s disclosure of, or refusal to disclose, any pertinent information related to the reasons for the District’s rejection of said response.

5) POST AWARD REQUIREMENTS

a) EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT

The successful Responder shall sign and deliver the negotiated Agreement with the District and such other required Agreement Documents to the District within fourteen (14) calendar days after the Agreement has been approved by the District. This RFQ and the successful Responder’s response shall be incorporated into, and made a part of, the Agreement.

b) DELIVERY OF CERTIFICATES OF INSURANCE AND BONDS

When the successful Responder delivers the executed Agreement, or an appropriate amendment thereto, to the District, the successful Responder shall also deliver to the District such Payment

Bonds, Performance Bonds, and Certificates of Insurance as may be required.

6) GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUIREMENTS

a) AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

The successful Responder, upon entering into an Agreement with the District, shall take affirmative action to comply with all Federal, State and District requirements concerning fair employment, employment of the handicapped, and treatment of all employees, without regard to, or discrimination by reasons of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or marital status.

b) DRUG FREE WORKPLACE

Each Responder shall provide a statement of whether the Responder has a Drug Free Workplace

Policy. Each Responder shall be required to execute Exhibit C attached hereto concerning the

Responder’s Drug-Free Workplace Program.

c) AFFIRMATIONS

Each Responder shall be required to include signed and notarized written Affirmations with their response. The form of the Affirmations that must be signed, notarized and submitted with each response is attached hereto as Exhibit D.

d) AMBIGUOUS OFFERS

Responses that are uncertain as to terms, delivery, compliance requirements, and/or specifications, may be rejected or otherwise disregarded by the District, in the District’s sole discretion.

e) EXPLANATION TO PROSPECTIVE RESPONDERS

Every effort has been made to ensure that all information needed to prepare a response is included in this RFQ. If a Responder finds the Responder cannot complete their response without additional information, the Responder may submit written questions to the Deputy Chief, or his designee, before the deadline set forth herein. No further questions will be accepted after the deadline set forth herein of 5:00 p.m. EDST on May 15, 2026.

f) AMENDMENTS

All amendments to and interpretations of this RFQ shall be in writing and signed by the District.

Any amendments or interpretations that are not signed and in writing shall not legally bind the

District or its agents. It is the Responder’s responsibility to acknowledge receipt of amendments by signing and returning one (1) copy of the amendment with their response submittal. All addenda to the RFQ shall be issued by the District in writing and, to the greatest extent possible, the District will provide a copy of the written addenda to firms and individuals who have indicated an interest in responding to the RFQ; however, it is the sole responsibility of each interested firm or individual to inquire of the District as to whether any addenda have been issued and the District shall incur no liability for failing to provide a copy of any addenda to any firm or individual.

g) LIMITATIONS ON DISCUSSIONS

By a submission of a response to this solicitation, each Responder agrees that during the time following issuance of the RFQ and prior to final award of an Agreement, each Responder shall not discuss this competitive selection process with any party except the Deputy Chief, or his designee, and the Agreement negotiation team designated by the District. No Responder shall attempt to negotiate with any other parties, and no Responder shall discuss any aspects of the competitive selection process with any other parties without the prior written approval of the

Deputy Chief, or his designee.

h) REJECTION OR ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSES; WAIVER OF TECHNICALITIES AND

IRREGULARITIES

i. The District reserves the unqualified right, in the District’s sole discretion, to reject any and all responses or accept such responses, as appears in the District’s own best interest.

ii. The District reserves the unqualified right, in the District’s sole discretion, to waive technicalities or irregularities of any kind in responses made pursuant to this RFQ.

iii. In all cases, the District shall be the sole judge, in the District’s sole discretion, as to whether a Responder’s response has or has not satisfactorily met the requirements of a response made pursuant to this RFQ.

iv. The District, in the District’s sole discretion, may reject any response that fails to conform to the requirements of the RFQ.

v. The District, in the District’s sole discretion, may reject any response that does not conform to the applicable specifications unless the RFQ authorized the submission of alternate responses and the services offered as alternates meet the requirements specified in the RFQ.

vi. The District, in the District’s sole discretion, may reject any response that fails to conform to any delivery schedule or permissible alternates stated in the RFQ.

vii. The District, in the District’s sole discretion, may reject a response when the Responder imposes conditions that would modify requirements of the RFQ or limit the Responder’s liability to the District.

viii. A Responder may be required to delete objectionable conditions from a response by the

District, in the District’s sole discretion.

ix. Responses received from any person or entity that is suspended, debarred, proposed for debarment or declared ineligible as of the response opening date shall be rejected unless a compelling reason is made by the Responder and accepted by the District.

x. The District may reject responses received from Responders where the response is determined by the District, in its sole discretion, to be non-responsive.

xi. The originals of all rejected responses, and any written findings with respect to such rejections, shall be preserved with the papers relating to the RFQ.

i) COMPLETE DOCUMENTS

All supplementary documents and attachments are essential parts of this RFQ and the requirements occurring in one are as binding as though occurring in all.

j) RFQ ADMINISTRATION

Questions or problems arising during the RFQ award process shall be directed to the Deputy

Chief, or his designee.

k) PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES

Section 287.133 (3) (a), Florida Statutes requires submission of a sworn statement regarding

Public Entity Crimes which must be signed and notarized and submitted with the response for the

Responder and all named subcontractors, if any. A form for this purpose is attached hereto as

Exhibit E.

l) WITHDRAWAL OF RESPONSES

Responses may be withdrawn either in writing or in person through an authorized representative at any time prior to the RFQ submission deadline. After the RFQ submission deadline, responses may not be withdrawn or modified except to the extent agreed to by the District during subsequent Agreement negotiations.

m) RESPONSES AS PROPERTY OF THE DISTRICT

Once a response is received, it becomes the property of the District and may not be returned to

Responders even when they are withdrawn from consideration.

n) PUBLIC INSPECTION OF RESPONSES

Responses may be made available for public inspection at the time described in Section 119.071, Florida Statutes.

o) RIGHT OF REJECTION

To reiterate, in all instances, the District shall have the unilateral right to reject any and all responses and waive any and all deficiencies or irregularities in any responses submitted by any

Responder in the District’s sole discretion, and in a manner which satisfies Florida law. In particular, the failure of any Responder to satisfy all requirements of this Request for

Qualifications may result in the rejection of the Responder’s response by the District, in the

District’s sole discretion.

p) NON-DISCRIMINATION

The District does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability or marital status.

q) UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN WORKERS.

The District will not accept responses from responders who knowingly employ unauthorized alien workers in violation of the employment provisions contained in federal law or Florida law, including 8 U.S. Code § 1324a(e) (Section 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

“INA”). The District shall consider a responder’s intentional employment of unauthorized aliens as grounds for immediate termination of any awarded proposal. All parties who perform work/services for the District will be required to utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security’s E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the responder during the term of their Agreement with the District and shall expressly require any subcontractors performing work or providing services pursuant to the Agreement with the District to likewise utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employers hired by the subcontractor during the term of the

Agreement with the District. Each Responder shall be required to include signed and notarized written Affirmations with their response. The form of the E-Verify Compliance Form that must be signed, notarized and submitted with each response is attached hereto as Exhibit F.

r) SWORN RESPONSE

All responses must be executed and dated on Page 15 by an authorized representative of the

Responder who must also print the name, title, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address, and occupational license number of the Responder. Each Responder must execute their response under oath in the presence of a notary public who must complete a notarization paragraph.

s) POSSIBLE AGREEMENT TERMS

The following Agreement concepts/terms may be included in the Agreement, verbatim or in a modified form, between the District and the selected Responder in addition to other Agreement concepts/terms negotiated by the parties. By including the following Agreement concepts/terms in this RFQ, the District is not bound to agree to the Agreement concepts/terms as specifically written herein and all terms of the final Agreement are subject to the final approval of the District in the sole discretion of the District.

i. Default

In case of default by the successful Responder, the District reserves the right to purchase any or all services in open market, charging said Responder with any excess costs.

Should such charges be assessed, no subsequent Responses of the defaulting Responder shall be considered until the assessed charges have been satisfied.

ii. Subcontracts

The Responder shall not subcontract work without the prior written consent of the

District, and any such subcontract entered without consent of the District shall be null and void. If the Responder proposes to subcontract any of the work hereunder, it shall submit to the District the name of each proposed subcontractor, with the proposed scope of work which its subcontractor is to undertake. The District shall have the right to reject any subcontractor which it considers unable or unsuitable to satisfactorily perform its duties. The Responder shall not enter into any cost reimbursable agreements with any proposed subcontractor without the District’s prior written authorization.

Notwithstanding any consent by the District to a proposed subcontract, the Responder shall remain responsible for all subcontracted work and services. The Responder agrees it shall be as fully responsible to the District for the acts and omission of its subcontractors, their agents, representatives, and persons either directly or indirectly employed by them as it is for the acts and omissions of persons directly employed by the Responder. Neither this provision, the Agreement, the District’s authorization of the Responder’s agreement with a subcontractor, the District’s inspection of a subcontractor’s facilities or work, or any other action taken by the District in relation to a subcontractor shall create any contractual relationship between any subcontractor and the District. The Responder shall include in each of its subcontracts a provision embodying the substance of this provision and shall exhibit a copy thereof to the District before commencement of any work by a subcontractor. The Responder’s violation of this provision shall be grounds for the

District’s termination of the Responder’s Agreement for default, without notice or opportunity for cure. In addition, the Responder shall indemnify and hold the District harmless from and against any claims (threatened, alleged, or actual) made by any subcontractor of the Responder (of any tier) for compensation, damages, or otherwise, including any cost incurred by the District to investigate, defend, or settle any such claim.

iii. Florida Sales Tax

The District is not subject to sales taxes on purchases of goods and services; therefore, the District may, in its sole discretion, procure certain goods or services for the purpose of saving the cost of sales taxes and all of said cost savings shall be for the sole benefit and credit of the District.

iv. Indemnification

The Responder shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the District, its employees, elected officials, agents, attorneys, and officers, each from and against all loss, damage, claims, and actions, and all expenses, including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees and costs, incidental to such claims or actions, including but not limited to liability as a result of injury to or death of any person, based upon or arising out of damage to property or injuries to persons or other tortious acts caused or contributed to by the Responder or anyone acting under its direction or control or in its behalf in the course of its performance under the Agreement to be entered hereunder, and directly or indirectly caused, in whole or in part, by acts or omissions, negligence or otherwise, of the

Responder or an agent of the Responder or an employee of any one of them, regardless of the negligence of the District or its employees, be it active or passive, except where such loss, cost, damage, claim, expense, or liability arises from the sole gross negligence or willful misconduct of the District. Upon request of the District, Responder shall, at no cost or expense to the District, defend any suit asserting a claim for any loss, damage or liability specified above, and Responder shall pay any cost and attorneys’ fees that may be incurred by the District in connection with any such claim or suit or in enforcing the indemnity granted above. The terms of the indemnification of the District in the

Agreement shall survive the termination of the Agreement.

v. Severability

If any term or provision of any Agreement shall be found to be illegal or unenforceable, notwithstanding any such illegality or unenforceability, the remainder of said Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and such term or provision shall be deemed to be deleted and severable therefrom.

vi. E-Verify

The successful Responder shall, unless specifically waived by the District, utilize the

U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired during the term of the Agreement and shall expressly require any subcontractors performing work or providing services pursuant to the Agreement to likewise utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the subcontractor during the Agreement term.

vii. In particular, and not by way of limitation, the successful Responder understands and agrees to comply with Section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes.

The undersigned Responder has read and understands the provisions contained in the RFQ and agrees to be bound by same.

RESPONDER

(Name of Corporation or Entity)________________________________________________________

By: ___________________________________

Signature

Name: _________________________________

Title: __________________________________

Mailing Address:_____________________________________________________________________

Telephone Number:_______________________

Facsimile Number:________________________

Email Address:___________________________

FEIN/Number:___________________________

Occupational/Professional License Number (or equivalent)____________________________________

Date: ___________________________________

THIS PAGE AND NOTARY PAGE MUST BE RETURNED WITH RESPONSE

NOTARY ON NEXT PAGE

STATE OF FLORIDA

COUNTY OF ___________

The foregoing instrument was subscribed and acknowledged before me by [_] physical presence or [_] online notarization this ___ day of _________________, 2026, by _________________________, _________________(title) of ______________________ (responder), a _________________entity, on behalf of ______________________(responder), who is personally known or produced

_________________ as identification ______________________________________

Notary Public

Print Name

NOTARY SEAL

EXHIBIT A

DESCRIPTION OF SCOPE OF WORK

The general scope of the work is the provision of professional services related to the improvement of the District’s real property on a continuing, as needed, basis. The selected individual or firm must be capable of providing the District with “professional services” for the District as defined in

Section 287.055(2)(a), Florida Statutes, including, but not limited to, all aspects of engineering services, site design, acquiring government approvals, acquiring permitting, architectural services, inspection services, surveying services, and other miscellaneous professional services.

The District currently has a design/build construction services agreement with Wright

Construction Group, Inc. that covers the professional services work of the District for projects of the

District performed by Wright Construction Group, Inc. The scope of work of this RFQ is a supplement to the professional services provided pursuant to the design/build construction agreement with Wright

Construction, Inc. that will primarily come into effect when Wright Construction Group, Inc. does not provide design/build services for the District.

EXHIBIT B

BASIC RESPONSE SUBMITTALS

The completion of Exhibit B-1, Exhibit B-2, and Exhibit B-3, referenced below, will provide basic information about the Responder and the Responder’s basic professional services that will be provided to the District. If there are separate entities which are providing the professional services, and if there are any known subcontractors who will be providing any part of the professional services, the information required in this RFQ must be provided for each of the separate entities.

1. The Responder shall submit, as Exhibit B-1 of the response, a description of qualifications and relevant experience of the Responder. Exhibit B-1 must include separate descriptions of qualifications and relevant experience of the Responder and any named subcontractors, if they are separate entities. At a minimum, Exhibit B-1 must include a description of the following qualifications and relevant experience items:

a. An overview of the Responder and all named subcontractors, if any, including, if applicable, the number of business officers, partners, members, shareholders and professionals employed by the Responder.

b. The number and type of governmental clients served and the number and type of private sector clients served that are similar to the District.

c. A description of any disciplinary actions or lawsuits that have been instituted or proposed against the Responder and any named subcontractors during the last three (3) years, which includes a final or expected outcome, and any pending disciplinary matters or lawsuits of which the Responder is aware (these disclosure requirements pertain to all officers, directors, shareholders, partners, members and other licensed individuals employed by the responder or by any named subcontractors).

d. If requested by the District, a credit report prepared within sixty (60) days of the request by the District demonstrating the financial viability of the Responder. Such report may be provided by a reputable, independent credit reporting agency and will have to be submitted to the District upon the District’s request for same.

e. The selected Responder will be required to agree to acquire general commercial liability insurance coverage, workers’ compensation coverage as required by Florida law, vehicle insurance coverage, professional liability coverage, and other insurance coverages in coverage amounts that are required by the District.

f. Evidence of whether the Responder, or any named subcontractors, has ever failed to provide similar professional services to a contracting party that is a government agency or otherwise similar to the District.

g. Evidence of whether the Responder, or any named subcontractors, has ever been refused approval by any Federal, State, or other government agency as a responder on a similar

RFQ.

h. Description of experience and familiarity with work of a similar nature to the District’s work, including specifics in connection with work performed.

i. Description of the Responders’ current and projected workloads and the management structure or organization proposed for the provision of the services necessary to meet the

District’s needs for the professional services required for the District.

j. To reiterate, if named subcontractors or…