10-Special Requirements.pdf

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS

Should this contract apply to other governmental entities, references to “Harris County” and the “Harris County Commissioners Court” may apply to one or more of the following:

--“Harris County Flood Control District” governed by “Harris County Commissioners Court” --“Harris Health” governed by its “Board of Trustees” --“Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department --“Community Health Choice, Inc.” wholly owned subsidiary of the Harris County Hospital District

VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS

Responses to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) shall be formatted and organized in the following order for consistency and easy screening:

Preferred submission is via Bonfire.

Vendors may submit electronically through Bonfire or via hardcopy to 1111 Fannin, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77002 no later than the due date and time as stated on the Bonfire Opportunity. All proposals must be typed, single spaced, and printed single-sided on 8 ½” by 11” paper.

If submitting via hardcopy, the proposal must be typed, single spaced, and printed single-sided on 8 ½” by 11” paper.

Sections I-III below must be uploaded under Bonfire’s Requested Information section

Section I Transmittal Letter – The transmittal letter should include:

Company name and address; name, title, email, telephone, and fax number of person(s) to be contacted for clarifications or additional information regarding response, Name, title, email, telephone and fax number of person authorized to contractually obligate vendor’s company and any future negotiations, A brief statement summarizing the vendor’s understanding of the project and relevant experience.

Section II Questionnaire

Vendor must complete and return all answers as detailed in the attachment titled Questionnaire, in the order in which they are listed. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. Responses should be as thorough and definitive as possible. Indicate if there are certain conditions or circumstances that may change vendor’s response.

Section III Exceptions and Miscellaneous – State exceptions to any of the requirements in this RFQ, if any.

This RFQ is governed by the procedures as contained in the Texas Government Code §2254.004. Therefore, award of contract(s) shall be made to the provider of the required services that is evaluated to be the most qualified on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications, and, after negotiations, whose pricing is considered to be fair and reasonable. Harris County does not accept any financial responsibility incurred in order to respond to this RFQ. In addition, Harris County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Statement of Qualifications (SOQ), or waive any and all formalities not considered advantageous to Harris County.

In the first phase of the RFQ process, Harris County is soliciting SOQs from sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, or other legal entities with the experience, capabilities, and qualified available staff that can fulfill the efforts described in this document. After ranking of the SOQs in the first phase, firms will be notified, in writing, of their status in the selection process.

No information regarding fees or prices is to be included with submitted SOQs.

EVALUATION/SELECTION

An evaluation committee comprised of Harris County will review and evaluate the SOQs and will select the most highly qualified provider(s) of the services requested on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications. Thereafter, Harris County will attempt to negotiate a contract at a fair and reasonable price with the provider(s). If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated with qualified provider(s), Harris County will formally end negotiations select the next most highly

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS-(CONTINUED)

qualified provider(s), and attempt to negotiate a contract with that provider at a fair and reasonable price. It is Harris County’s intent to continue the process described above until a contract is entered into.

Once particular firm(s) are chosen to complete a project Harris County will request a fee proposal to complete the tasks as described by Harris County. If a fair and reasonable price can be negotiated, Harris County will request an agreement be prepared by the County Attorney and request approval from the Harris County Commissioners Court.

The following considerations will be utilized accordingly in evaluating the qualifications (Maximum of 100 points):

a) Experience, Team Organization, Background and Qualifications, Key Personnel, Key Sub-Consultant

...……………………………………………………………………………………...(40 points) (As indicated in attachment Questionnaire, Section A, Items 1 through 5 (maximum 40 points)).

b) Understanding of the Project and Proposed Management Plan…………………………….(35 Points) (As indicated in attachment Questionnaire, Section B, Items 1 and 2 (maximum 35 points)).

c) Experience with the Harris County / Greater Houston Region & Past Performance or Experience with other Geographical Regions with similar infrastructure as Harris County / Greater Houston Region & Past Performance …………………………………………………………………………....(25 Points) (As indicated in attachment Questionnaire, Section C, Items 1 through 2 (maximum 25 points)).

The above referenced selection criteria totals a maximum of one hundred (100) points, which will be utilized during the initial evaluation process.

Firms shall not contact any members or employees of Harris County regarding this RFQ, evaluation, or selection process from the time the RFQ is issued until the time a notification of intent to award is announced, except if such contact is in writing, with a copy of any written communication being forwarded to the Office of the Purchasing Agent. Contact discovered in any such manner, other than in writing and copied to the Office of the Purchasing Agent, would be considered as grounds for elimination.

Any submitted qualification and subsequent proposal shall remain valid for six (6) months after the RFQ due date or until Harris County executes a contract, whichever is sooner. Harris County may, in the event the selected firm fails to perform and/or the contract is terminated within forty-five (45) days of its initiation, request the firm submitting the next acceptable proposal to honor its proposal.

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PARTIES (FORM 1295)

Texas law requires all parties who enter into any contract with the County which must be approved by Commissioners Court to disclose all interested parties. Form 1295 must be completed in its entirety at the following website:

ht tps : / /www.ethics .s tate . tx .us/ f i l inginfo/1295/ prior to submitting your response. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of your response.

CHANGES TO CONTRACT

Due to the nature and scope of the work required, it may be necessary to increase, decrease, or otherwise modify the scope of the effort or terms of the agreement. Therefore, Harris County may, from time to time, request revisions in order to adjust to its needs. Modifications require approval by Harris County.

TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

Harris County reserves the right to terminate any agreement based upon failure to comply with usual and customary practices of the industry, breach of any laws, rules or regulations, or failure to significantly comply or meet the performance expectations as established in a subsequent contract, if any, between Harris County and a respondent.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS-(CONTINUED)

VENDORS OWING TAXES OR OTHER DEBTS

Pursuant to TX Local Government Code 262.0276, Harris County Commissioners Court has adopted a policy which requires that vendors’ taxes and other Harris County debts be current as of the date bids/proposals are due. Proposers with delinquent county taxes or other county debts on the due date will not be eligible for award. Whether or not a vendor’s taxes are delinquent will be determined by an independent review of the Tax Office records. Prior to submitting an offer, vendors are encouraged to visit the Tax Office website at www.hctax.net, set up a portfolio of their accounts and make their own initial determination of the status of their tax accounts. Vendors who believe a delinquency is reflected in error must contact the Tax Office to correct any errors or discrepancies prior to submitting their offer in order to ensure that their offer will be considered. Furthermore, if, during the performance of this contract, a vendor’s taxes become delinquent or a vendor becomes otherwise indebted to Harris County, Harris County reserves the right to provide notice to the Auditor or Treasurer pursuant to Texas Local Government Code §154.045. This policy is effective for all bids/proposals due on or after November 1, 2009.

Revised 1/18