1-S. 3rd St NEVI.pdf

CITY OF EASTON

PENNSYLVANIA

Department of Public Works

123 South Third Street, 3rd Floor

Easton, PA 18042

Telephone (610) 250-6683

Request for Proposal

For:

South Third Street Parking Lot NEVI

Charging Station Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RFP FOR SOUTH THIRD STREET PARKING LOT NEVI CHAGING

STATION PROJECT

Section 1. BACKGROUND

Section 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Section 3. ORGANIZATION AND REQUIRED SUBMITTALS FOR PROPOSAL

Section 4. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Section 5. FORM OF CONTRACT

Section 6. COST PROPOSAL

Appendix A. NONDISCRIMINATION/SEXUAL HARRASSMENT FORM

Appendix B. NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

Appendix C. SCOPE OF WORK

Appendix D. DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION

NOTE: In this document the term "proposer" shall mean the person or firm making a submission based on this RFP. The term "proposer" and the term "firm" are used interchangeably. Also, the term "you" or "your" shall refer to the proposer.

SECTION 1. BACKGROUND

The South Third Street Parking Lot is a 20-space parking lot open to the public 24/7. The lot is located within a block of Easton’s historic Centre Square that acts as the heart of major community festivals and events like Garlic Fest and Bacon Fest. This lot is also squarely within the City’s historic downtown hub, which acts as the City’s booming economic center, featuring a vibrant mix of restaurants, cafés, boutiques, local businesses, the historic Easton Farmer’s Market, and the Easton Public Market. The City’s downtown has undergone a significant economic and residential renaissance, attracting hundreds of millions in new investment over the past 10 years.

As downtown investment has grown, so has the interest in developing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The City has a Climate Action Plan that explicitly calls for expanding EV charging infrastructure. The City wants to be a site host and is seeking a project partner for the PennDOT East Region distribution of the National Electric Vehicle

Infrastructure (NEVI) Community Chanrging Funding Opportunity. The partner must be willing to own and operate four (4) DC Fast Charging (DCFC) EV chargers at the South

Third Street Parking Lot and therefore be responsible for the totality of matching funds and remaining project cost not covered by NEVI. We expect no City funds to be used in this project. The project partner will provide a revenue share of gross charging revenues or pay a fee for lot use. The specific project is outlined in Appendix C of this RFP.

SECTION 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. General

i. The City reserves the right to reject any or all submissions and to select the proposal that it judges to be in the best interest of the City.

ii. Any contracts will be subject to the approval of City Council and are effective only upon their approval.

iii. All proposers are bound by the deadline and location requirements of this RFQ as previously stated in the Announcement.

iv. All submissions shall remain effective subject to City review and approval for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the deadline for submitting proposals.

v. If only one submission is received by the City, the City may initiate negotiations with the firm submitting the proposal or seek additional submissions on an informal or formal basis during the one hundred twenty (120) day period that proposals must remain effective.

vi. The proposer is encouraged to add to, modify or clarify any of the scope of work items it deems appropriate to obtain a high-quality plan. All changes should be listed and explained. However, the scope of work proposed, at minimum, must accomplish the goals and work outlined below.

B. Work Requirements (Scope of Work)

The Scope of Work is attached as APPENDIX C

SECTION 3. ORGANIZATION AND REQUIRED SUBMITTALS FOR PROPOSAL

A. Letter of Transmittal

This letter should include:

i. a statement indicating your understanding of the work to be performed;

ii. an affirmation of the firm's qualifications for professionally and expertly conducting the work as understood;

iii. the firm's contact person concerning the proposal and a telephone number where that person can be reached; and,

iv. a clear statement of the firm's, and/or the principals of the firm, relationship(s) with, or knowledge of any officials or employees of the City and the nature of this relationship or knowledge.

FAILURE TO CLEARLY STATE AND FULLY DISCLOSE ANY OF THE

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL SHALL BE

GROUNDS FOR THE CITY TO REJECT THE FIRM'S PROPOSALS AND WILL BE

GROUNDS FOR IMMEDIATE CANCELLATION OF ANY CONTRACT ENTERED

INTO BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE FIRM WITHOUT PAYMENT OF WORK

COMPLETED.

B. Profile of Firm

This should be a brief statement indicating the firm's experience in conducting work of the nature sought by this RFP. Advertising brochures on the firm may be submitted as a part of this profile as long as the brochures specifically address the experience of the firm related to the work to be performed.

Additionally, this profile should include:

i. the location of the firm's office that will provide the proposed services;

ii. resumes of individual vendors or employees proposed to conduct the work and the specific duties of each vendor or employee relative to the proposed work;

iii. a brief reference list of other municipalities served by the firm should be provided with telephone numbers and names of contact persons; and,

iv. any other information describing the office may be included if it relates to the capabilities and expertise of the firm in doing comparable work.

C. Explanation of Work To Be Performed

The proposal must include a detailed description of the procedures and methods you propose to use to complete the work requested by the City. This is important because the methods and procedures proposed will receive primary consideration in evaluating your proposal. Examples of similar work will be helpful and may be included.

D. Work Schedule

A project work schedule should be provided which includes time frames for each major work element, target dates for necessary meetings, and dates for completion of draft and final documents.

E. Other Submittals

Additionally, documents attached as appendices to this RFP shall be fully executed and returned with the proposal as follows:

i Nondiscrimination/Sexual Harassment Certification Form ii Non-Collusion Affidavit

END

SECTION 4. EVALUATION CRITERIA

All proposals will be evaluated based on the technical and professional expertise and the experience of the firm, compliance with NEVI standards and requirements, community charging power level, the equipment quality, equipment uptime, and the proposed method and the procedures for completion of the work. The apparent ability of the firm to be independent and objective in performing the requested work will also be considered. All proposals will be evaluated against the minimum requirements of the National Electric

Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Community Charging Funding Opportunity as well as the following evaluation criteria.

A. Technical Expertise and Experience

The technical expertise and experience of the firm will be determined by the following factors:

i. The overall experience of the firm in conducting similar work that is to be provided to the City - include any experience with City facilities and other municipalities.

ii. The expertise and professional level of the individuals proposed to conduct the work for the City.

iii. The clarity and completeness of the proposal and the apparent general understanding of the work to be performed.

iv. The amount of and brief overview of successful installations through other NEVI or similar opportunities.

v. The number of customers and years in business conducting the type of work to be performed – include references.

B. Compliance with NEVI Standards and Requirements

Your proposal must meet the minimum requirements of NEVI. Compliance with NEVI standards and requirements will be determined by the following factors:

i. The list of previous projects successfully completed and still under operation under other rounds of NEVI funding opportunities.

ii. The amount by which your proposal meets or surpasses the minimum requirements of the PennDOT East Region National Electric Vehicle

Infrastructure (NEVI) Community Chanrging Funding Opportunity.

C. Community Charging Power Level

The project must include a detailed description of power requirements necessary to complete the work requested by the City. The community charging power level you propose will be determined by the following factors:

i. The clarity and completeness of how to provide sufficient power to the four (4)

DCFC Charging EV chargers.

ii. The supported output voltage of each DCFC Charging Port and continuous power delivery rating.

D. Equipment Quality

The equipment quality of this project must meet the minimum requirements of NEVI. The equipment quality will be determined by the following factors:

i. The technical specifications of each DCFC Charging Port.

ii. The energy efficiency rating of the equipment.

iii. The payment options, accepted payments methods, and transparency of pricing display before, during, and at the conclusion of a charging session.

iv. The cable management method to prevent damage and public hazards as well as all built in safety and prevention measures to prevent and mitigate risks.

v. The quality, size, and readability of the electronic display.

vi. The quality, reliability, usability, and updating frequency of the charger software as well as the Charge Point Management System (CMPS).

vii. The network protocols utilized across backend, vehicle-to-charger, and roaming and interoperability protocols.

viii. The listed certifications of the EV charger equipment, including NEVI technical standards, Buy America domestic content certification, safety certifications, and performance certifications.

E. Equipment Uptime

Your equipment must meet the NEVI minimum 97% uptime per charging port. Uptime per individual charging port must be calculated using the Federal Highway Administration’s NEVI formula: μ = (525,600 – (Toutage – Texcluded )/525,600) ✕ 100. Equipment uptime will be determined by the following factors:

i. The ability to provide detailed calculations of equipment per individual charging port.

ii. The estimation of scheduled downtime per year and clear definitions of downtime and excluded downtime.

iii. The reliability and maintainability of each individual charger port, provided as

Mean Time Between Failures and Mean Time to Repair respectively.

iv. The proposed operational and maintenance timeframe for the project while meeting the NEVI required minimum of five (5)-years.

F. Procedures and Methods

The methods and procedures proposed to be utilized to conduct the work requested as they relate to thoroughness and objectiveness will be of primary importance in evaluating proposals. This includes evaluation of the soundness of the approach relative to the techniques for collecting and analyzing data, sequence and relationships of major steps, and methods for managing the work to ensure timely and orderly completion.

All, or selected, firms submitting proposals may be invited to give an oral presentation explaining their proposal.

APPENDIX A

Request for Proposals

RFP FOR SOUTH THIRD STREET PARKING LOT NEVI CHAGING STATION

PROJECT

NONDISCRIMINATION/SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAUSE

The Vendor agrees:

1. In the hiring of any employee(s) for the manufacture of supplies, performance of work, or any other activity required under the grant agreement or any subgrant agreement, contract, or subcontract, the Grantee, a subgrantee, a contractor, a subcontractor, or any person acting on behalf of the Grantee shall not discriminate by reason of race, gender, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or in violation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) and applicable federal laws, against any citizen of this commonwealth who is qualified and available to perform the work to which the employment relates.

2. The Grantee, any subgrantee, contractor or any subcontractor or any person on their behalf shall not in any manner discriminate by reason of race, gender, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or in violation of the PHRA and applicable federal laws, against or intimidate any of its employees.

3. Neither the Grantee nor any subgrantee nor any contractor nor any subcontractor nor any person on their behalf shall in any manner discriminate by reason of race, gender, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or in violation of the

PHRA and applicable federal laws, in the provision of services under the grant agreement, subgrant agreement, contract or subcontract.

4. Neither the Grantee nor any subgrantee nor any contractor nor any subcontractor nor any person on their behalf shall in any manner discriminate against employees by reason of participation in or decision to refrain from participating in labor activities protected under the Public Employee Relations Act, Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act or

National Labor Relations Act, as applicable and to the extent determined by entities charged with such Acts’ enforcement, and shall comply with any provision of law establishing organizations as employees’ exclusive representatives.

5. The Grantee, any subgrantee, contractor or any subcontractor shall establish and maintain a written nondiscrimination and sexual harassment policy and shall inform their employees in writing of the policy. The policy must contain a provision that sexual harassment will not be tolerated and employees who practice it will be disciplined.

Posting this Nondiscrimination/Sexual Harassment Clause conspicuously in easily-accessible and well-lighted places customarily frequented by employees and at or near where the grant services are performed shall satisfy this requirement for employees with an established work site.

6. The Grantee, any subgrantee, contractor or any subcontractor shall not discriminate by reason of race, gender, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or in violation of the PHRA and applicable federal laws, against any subgrantee, contractor, subcontractor or supplier who is qualified to perform the work to which the grant relates.

7. The Grantee and each subgrantee, contractor and subcontractor represents that it is presently in compliance with and will maintain compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to nondiscrimination and sexual harassment. The Grantee and each subgrantee, contractor and subcontractor further represents that it has filed a Standard Form 100 Employer Information Report

(“EEO-1”) with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and shall file an annual EEO-1 report with the EEOC as required for employers’ subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, that have 100 or more employees and employers that have federal government contracts or first-tier subcontracts and have 50 or more employees. The Grantee, any subgrantee, any contractor or any subcontractor shall, upon request and within the time periods requested by the Commonwealth, furnish all necessary employment documents and records, including EEO-1 reports, and permit access to their books, records, and accounts by the granting agency and the Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small

Business Opportunities for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with the provisions of this Nondiscrimination/Sexual Harassment Clause.

8. The Grantee, any subgrantee, contractor or any subcontractor shall include the provisions of this Nondiscrimination/Sexual Harassment Clause in every subgrant agreement, contract or subcontract so that those provisions applicable to subgrantees, contractors or subcontractors will be binding upon each subgrantee, contractor or subcontractor.

9. The Granter’s and each subgrantee’s, contractor’s and subcontractor’s obligations pursuant to these provisions are ongoing from and after the effective date of the grant agreement through the termination date thereof. Accordingly, the Grantee and each subgrantee, contractor and subcontractor shall have an obligation to inform the commonwealth if, at any time during the term of the grant agreement, it becomes aware of any actions or occurrences that would result in violation of these provisions.

10. The commonwealth may cancel or terminate the grant agreement and all money due or to become due under the grant agreement may be forfeited for a violation of the terms and conditions of this Nondiscrimination/Sexual Harassment Clause. In addition, the granting agency may proceed with debarment or suspension and may place the

Grantee, subgrantee, contractor, or subcontractor in the Contractor Responsibility File.

ATTEST:

Officer or Principal Date

Print Name

APPENDIX B:

RFP FOR SOUTH THIRD STREET/MESA PARKING LOT NEVI CHAGING STATION

NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

State of:___________________________ Contract:________________________

County of:__________________________

I state that I am_________________________of________________________and that

(Title) (Name of Firm)

I am authorized to make this AFFIDAVIT on behalf of my firm, and its owners, directors, and officers. I am the person responsible in my firm for the price(s) and the amount of this bid.

I state that:

1. No attempt has been made or will be made to induce any firm or person to refrain from bidding on this contract, or to submit a bid higher than this bid, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive bid or other form of complementary bid.

2. The submission of my firm is made in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with or inducement from any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive.

3. ____________________, it’s affiliated, subsidiaries, officers, directors and (Name of Firm) employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four years been convicted or found liability of any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidder on any public contract except as follows:

I state that ____________________understands and acknowledges that the above

(Name of Firm)

Representatives are material and important, and will be relied on by the City of Easton in awarding the contract(s) for which this bid is submitted. I understand and my firm understands that any misstatement in this Affidavit is and shall be treated as fraudulent concealment from the City of Easton of the true facts relating to the submission of bids for this contract.

(Name and Title)

Sworn to a Subscribed before me this ______ day of _________________, 20____.

___________________________ My Commission Expires:__________________.

Notary Public

APPENDIX C:

SCOPE OF WORK:

I. Purpose:

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit project proposals for the South Third Street Parking Lot charging station project utilizing the PennDOT East Region distribution of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Community Chanrging Funding Opportunity. The City desires to be a site host for this opportunity. The following list includes, but may not be limited to, the required tasks that the successful vendor will be expected to complete:

1. Environmental - Complete the NEVI environmental documentation required under NEPA. Conduct any additional environmental studies that may potentially be required (ex: environmental review, CE exception, etc.).

2. Utility- Utility coordination and required forms (commercial interconnection application form, single-line diagram, load schedule, etc.) as required.

3. Design – Any survey work/Federal Highway Administration NEVI requirements.

4. Reviews - Constructability, Contract Management, NEPA Compliance, NEVI reporting.

5. Permitting- Obtain any required permits (ex: electrical, zoning, etc.).

6. Bidding- Project will be bid via PennBid. All RFI’s and correspondence will be through the PennBid platform.

7. Meetings - Attend periodic virtual project status meetings with the City

II. Proposed Schedule:

• Questions pertaining to the proposal process will be due by Thursday, October 8th at 4:30 p.m. and must be submitted electronically via the PennBid platform. The

City will endeavor to respond to all questions as soon as possible

• Proposals will be due to the City by Tuesday, October 27th at 1:00 p.m. Proposals must be submitted electronically via the PennBid platform.

APPENDIX D:

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION OF PROPOSED EV CHARGING HUB:

The South Third Street Parking Lot is located on S 3rd St between Pine St and Ferry St.

The City would like to collaborate with a vendor to become a site host for four (4) DCFC chargers. Four (4) Level 2 EV chargers compliant with NEVI should be evaluated in case of lacking power availability from the utility.