24-32-KB Geotechnical Engineering Services.pdf

RFP #24-32-KB

Geotechnical Engineering Services

COUNTY OF SPOTSYLVANIA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #24-32-KB

January 22, 2024

Name of Soliciting Public Body / Proposals Shall be Mailed or Hand Delivered To:

County of Spotsylvania, Procurement Division P.O. Box 215, 8800 Courthouse Road, 2nd Floor Room 414 Spotsylvania, VA 22553

PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: Sealed Proposals Will Be Received until February 21, 2023 at 2:00 PM for Furnishing the Services Described Herein. No late proposals will be accepted. Please check for updates prior to submitting a proposal to ensure timely delivery to the Procurement Division.

REFER TO ATTACHMENT A – INFORMATION TO OFFERORS FOR INFORMATION ON

HAND DELIVERY.

QUESTIONS DUE DATE AND TIME: Questions from Offerors must be received by the Spotsylvania County Procurement Division by February 8, 2024 at noon. Questions must be emailed to Katie Baird, Senior Procurement Officer, at kbaird@spotsylvania.va.us. The County is not responsible for verbal clarification of information provided by parties other than staff of the Procurement Division.

All Inquiries for Information Should Be Directed to:

Katie Baird, Senior Procurement Officer Phone: 540-507-7586 E-mail: kbaird@spotsylvania.va.us mailto:kbaird@spotsylvania.va.us mailto:kbaird@spotsylvania.va.us

The party submitting the forgoing Proposal acknowledges the provisions, terms and conditions of this RFP, including all attachments and addenda, and agrees to be bound by those provisions, terms and conditions. Further, the party certifies that all information submitted in response to this RFP is correct and true. The person signing this form shall be an authorized signatory officer of the corporation or an individual authorized by the By-Laws of the Corporation that has been given authoritative responsibility to bind the firm in a contract.

Name and Address of Firm:

Date:

By:

(Signature in Ink by Officer of the Corporation)

Name:

(Please Print) _________________________Zip Code: Title:

Phone: ( ) Fax: ( )

E-mail: State of Incorporation:

UEI # / DUNS #: State Corporation Commission #: _______________

Are you, any member of your immediate family, or any person part of your company that if awarded will provide services for the County of Spotsylvania either employed by the County or a member or part of any County committee, board or commission?

Circle One: YES NO

If yes, please explain:

Receipt of the following Addenda is acknowledged:

Addendum No. dated Addendum No. dated Addendum No. dated Addendum No. dated Addendum No. dated Addendum No. dated

(Please note all addenda)

All updates are posted on the Spotsylvania County website at https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/374/Solicitations.

It is the responsibility of the vendor to check back for updates.

(Return this Form) https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/374/Solicitations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. PURPOSE

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

IV. CONTRACT AWARD, CONTRACT TERM, AND ORDERING PROCEDURES

V. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

VI. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

VII. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

VIII.TERMS AND CONDITIONS: (Effective March 4, 2019)

ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A – INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS

ATTACHMENT B – TRADE SECRETS/PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

IDENTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT C – VENDOR AUTHORIZATION AND SUBSTITUTE W9 FORM

ATTACHMENT D – REFERENCES

I. PURPOSE

The County of Spotsylvania, Virginia, herein after referred to as the “County” invites written proposals from qualified engineering firms to provide professional geotechnical engineering services on an “on-call” basis for task order based contract(s) for multiple projects and may be used by all County Departments. Interested firm(s) must be capable of responding to multiple task orders concurrently during the term of the contract.

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Spotsylvania County is located on the I-95 corridor midway between Richmond, VA and Washington, D.C. and comprises more than 400 square miles.

The Spotsylvania County Utilities Department operates three (3) Wastewater Treatment Plants (9.4, 4.5 and 0.4 MGD), two (2) Water Treatment Plants (15 and 6 MGD), three (3) Dams and Reservoirs, eight (8) water storage tanks and a distribution and collection system with associated pumping stations. The County operates and maintains approximately 550 miles of water lines and 500 miles of sanitary sewer lines.

The County operates under a Board of Supervisors/County Administrator form of government.

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

Spotsylvania County is seeking written proposals from qualified professional engineering firms to provide geotechnical and special inspection professional engineering services. The services being requested may include, but are not limited to geotechnical engineering such as geotechnical site and subsurface reconnaissance, exploration and investigation, geophysical investigations, geotechnical instrumentation, laboratory testing services, materials testing and geotechnical analysis, design, or review work in both soil and rock terrain. Work also includes report preparation or review, review of geotechnical construction plans, and specialty inspections including concrete and steel placements as well as pavement and foundation design, soil boring (deep and shallow), boring logs, road subgrade stabilization recommendations, utility trench excavation, dewatering and backfill requirements and any other related geotechnical services deemed necessary by the County for the design and construction phases of specific projects.

All work shall be completed within the required timeframes. The Engineer(s) will also be responsible for the contract administration, management, inspection and coordination of any sub-consultants or sub-consultants’ work, obtaining right of entry, and completing utility clearance, if needed.

In the case of a developmental project using the Utilities Under the Pavement program for parallel installation of water and sewer line under a VDOT road, the same geotechnical engineer cannot inspect backfill over the utility lines and the general road backfill. If the primary contractor is the Developer’s geotechnical engineer, the secondary contractor will be chosen as the County’s engineer for the project.

IV. CONTRACT AWARD, CONTRACT TERM, AND ORDERING PROCEDURES

A. Contract Award. Once negotiations have been conducted with each Offeror(s) so selected, the County shall select the Offeror(s) which has made the best proposal, and shall award the Contract(s) to that Offeror. The County may issue term contracts to up to three (3) fully qualified and best suited firm in which negotiations were conducted. If there is more than one Contract awarded, the Contracts would be awarded based on evaluation and scoring and the contracts would be primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. Primary vendor would get the first chance to work on a project that came up. If the primary vendor was not able to do the project, then the secondary vendor would be asked to do the work. Should the County determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one Offeror is fully qualified, or that one Offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that Offeror.

B. Contract Term. Any contract resulting from this RFP shall have a term limit of one (1) year and may be renewable for three (3) additional one (1) year terms at the option of Spotsylvania County. Prices shall remain fixed during the initial term of the contract. Any adjustment to pricing for future years will be agreed upon in writing prior to each renewal.

C. Task Orders. A/E services will be ordered under the specified Term Contract(s) as task orders and shall authorize the Contractor to perform the services for a lump sum amount and/or based on the hourly rates agreed to and set forth in the Contract. The County reserves the right to ask for a breakdown of a lump sum amount if hourly rates are not broken out separately. All Tasks Orders will incorporate the terms and conditions of the Term Contract and include the A/E Contractor’s proposal. Task Orders may be issued at any time during the Contract Term. No Task Order shall guarantee work beyond the scope stated in the Task Order without an amendment signed by both parties; however, the County may reduce the scope of services at any time. The County may, but is not required to, use the same A/E Contractor used for preliminary work, such as feasibility studies, programming, or bridging documents, throughout an entire project. Firms awarded a contract must be capable of responding to multiple task orders concurrently during the term of the contract.

D. Fees. The Contract will document the negotiated acceptable labor rates for the A/E categories and shall be attached to and be made part of the contract documents. These rates shall be used by the A/E Contractor in arriving at lump sum fees and any hourly rate work authorized proposed for each Task Orders issued under the Term Contract resulting from this solicitation. The project fee of any single project or Task Order and the annual sum of all projects in a contract term shall not exceed the amounts set forth in the Spotsylvania

County Procurement Policy (https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/DocumentCenter/View/579/Procurement-Policy-PDF).

Any unused amounts from the first contract term shall not be carried forward to any additional contract term. Individual scope of work will be established for each project/task order assigned. The County may elect to solicit individual requests for proposals for projects at the County’s sole discretion.

E. Subconsultants. The County reserves the right to provide input on the final selection of subconsultants and has ultimate discretion on whether a sub-consultant may be included in the A/E Contractor’s design team on any Task Order. Notwithstanding the above, the County intends to give broad discretion to the A/E Contractor to assemble a design team that will result in the best possible execution of the Task Order.

V. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

A. This procurement shall be conducted in accordance with the competitive negotiation procedures of the Spotsylvania County Procurement Policy. The Procurement Policy is available at: http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/377/Spotsylvania-County-Policies.

B. Questions or requests for clarification shall be emailed. All responses to inquires will be in writing in the form of a written addendum and will be posted on the Spotsylvania County website at http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/374/Solicitations. Questions from Offerors must be received by the Spotsylvania County Procurement Division by the date identified on the front of this solicitation in order to ensure that the answers can be sent and received by the prospective Offerors for their consideration prior to the date proposal are due.

C. Four (4) copies and one (1) original indicated as “Original” of proposals, along with an electronic copy of the proposal and attachments on a virus free flash drive, shall be submitted to:

Spotsylvania County Procurement Department P.O. Box 215, 8800 Courthouse Road, 2nd Floor Room 414

Spotsylvania, Virginia 22553

D. Should the proposal contain proprietary information, Offeror shall provide one (1) electronic, redacted copy of the proposal and attachments with proprietary portions removed or blacked out, on the flash drive. This copy shall be clearly marked “Redacted Copy”. The classification of an entire proposal document, line item prices and/or total proposal prices as proprietary or trade secrets is not acceptable. The County of Spotsylvania shall not be responsible for the Contractor’s failure to exclude proprietary information from this redacted copy. No other distribution of the proposal shall be made by the Offeror.

E. Proposal Checklist https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/DocumentCenter/View/579/Procurement-Policy-PDF http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/377/Spotsylvania-County-Policies http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/374/Solicitations http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/374/Solicitations

Submission Requirement RFP Section Signed Cover Sheet Page 1 & 2 of RFP Statement of Understanding Offeror Provided Employee Resumes Offeror Provided Trade Secret/Proprietary Information Attachment B Vendor Authorization Form Attachment C References Attachment D State Corporation Commission Certificate Offeror Provided

F. All Proposals must be in a sealed envelope or box and clearly marked with the following information: "Sealed Proposal, RFP #24-32-KB, Geotechnical Engineering Services” and company name and address. Proposals not so marked or sealed shall be returned to the offeror and will not be considered. Proposals shall clearly indicate the legal name, address and telephone number of the offeror (company, firm, partnership, individual). Proposals shall be signed above the typed or printed name and include the title of the individual signing on behalf of the offeror. All expenses for making Proposals to Spotsylvania County shall be borne by the offeror. All Proposals shall be received by the time and date identified on the front of this solicitation. The time of receipt shall be determined by the time clock stamp in the Procurement Division, Room 414. Any Proposal received after this time and date will not be considered.

G. The offeror has the sole responsibility to have the proposal received by the Spotsylvania

County Procurement Division at the above address and by the above stated time and date.

Please note that Federal Express and other overnight delivery services do not guarantee morning delivery to Spotsylvania, VA. Next day delivery usually arrives in mid-to-late afternoon. Also, please note the USPS deliveries require additional days from the post office to the procurement office. If you will be using one of these services for delivery of your proposal, please take this information into consideration.

H. Inclement Weather: In the event that Spotsylvania County is closed during the scheduled times for a pre-bid (pre-proposal) conference or bid opening, the pre-bid conference or bid opening will occur on the next business day that Spotsylvania County is open at the appropriate times as stated in the IFB/RFP. No exceptions will be made in this situation.

Please contact the procurement officer as stated in the IFB/RFP for information pertaining to this procurement.

I. The Offeror shall submit a proposal that demonstrates and provides evidence that the

Offeror is able to provide suitable services and has the capabilities, professional expertise and experience to provide professional engineering services for Spotsylvania County.

J. Offerors are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the Geotechnical Engineering

Services requirements, objectives and terms and conditions of the services described herein.

K. Any vendor transacting business with Spotsylvania County requires a bidder or offeror organized or authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth pursuant to Title 13.1 or Title 50 to include in its bid or proposal the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission. Any bidder or offeror that is not required to be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth as a foreign business entity under Title 13.1 or Title 50 or as otherwise required by law shall include in its bid or proposal a statement describing why the bidder or offeror is not required to be so authorized. Include a copy of your State Corporation Commission Certificate and a list of Officers with your proposal response.

VI. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

A. The proposal shall provide information necessary for Spotsylvania County to evaluate the qualifications, experience, and expertise of the proposing firm to perform Geotechnical Engineering Services for multiple projects, on an as-needed basis. Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

B. The written proposal shall contain concise information which presents an understanding of the work to be performed. The Offeror is asked to address each evaluation criteria contained in Section VII, Proposal Evaluation Criteria and to be specific in presenting their qualifications. Responses should be as thorough and detailed as possible so that the County may properly evaluate the firm’s capabilities to provide the required services.

C. The proposal shall clearly indicate primary contact and assigned personnel. Offeror shall provide the name of the Offeror and firm, if any, the address, telephone number and email address, and the name and title of the primary and secondary individuals who would be responsible for providing these services to the County. Proposals shall be signed by an authorized representative of the Offeror. All information requested should be submitted.

Failure to submit all information requested may result in the County of Spotsylvania requiring prompt submission of missing information and/or giving a lowered evaluation of the proposal. Proposals which are substantially incomplete, or lack of key information may be considered nonresponsive by the County. Mandatory requirements are those required by law or regulation or are such that they cannot be waived and are not subject to negotiation.

D. Offerors shall fill out and clearly identify any proprietary information on Attachment B and return with proposal response. Identify the specificity of the data or other materials for which protection is sought, indicate the section and page number where it can be found in the Offerors RFP response and state the reasons why protection is necessary in accordance with the Code of Virginia, Chapter 43, § 2.2-4342. For more details see Section

VIII Terms and Conditions paragraph Q, Freedom of Information Act.

E. Offeror shall include a copy of their State Corporation Commission Certificate of Good Standing and a list of officers with their proposal response, as identified in Section V, subdivision K above.

F. Proposals should be organized in the order in which the requirements are presented in the

RFP. All pages of the proposal should be numbered. Each paragraph in the proposal should reference the paragraph number of the corresponding section of the RFP. It is also helpful to cite the paragraph number, subletter, and repeat the text of the requirement as it appears in the RFP. If a response covers more than one page, the paragraph number and subletter should be repeated at the top of the next page. The proposal should contain a table of contents which cross-references the RFP requirements. Information which the Offeror desires to present that does not fall within any of the requirements of the RFP should be inserted at an appropriate place or be attached at the end of the proposal and designated as additional material. Proposals that are not organized in this manner risk elimination from consideration if the evaluators are unable to find where the RFP requirements are specifically addressed.

G. Each copy of the proposal should be bound or contained in a single volume where practical.

All documentation submitted with the proposal should be contained in that single volume.

Offerors shall provide a table of contents, an introduction/cover letter/executive summary on company letterhead and number all pages of their proposal response and shall fill out and return the cover page of this RFP signed by a person with corporate authority to enter into any contract which may result from the RFP.

H. Technical Proposal: The proposals submitted by the Offeror shall include at a minimum, the following:

1. The Offeror shall address each requirement of the Scope of Services or the area(s) of expertise proposed to be provided.

2. The Offeror shall provide evidence that demonstrates their ability to provide the services within reasonable completion dates and within budget.

3. The Offeror shall provide its current workload with particular reference to personnel and other resources being proposed.

4. Proposed approach to provide the requested services.

5. The Offeror shall provide information on the corporate structure of its firm as well as any proposed subcontractors required to perform the required work.

6. Include as appendices the following information:

i. A list of completed projects and a resume of personnel expected to be assigned to this contract including the name(s) of the partner in charge;

ii. The Offeror shall provide a minimum of three references of other similar size organizations utilizing solid waste engineering services that they have provided on Attachment D. The references shall include names, phone numbers and email addresses of key contact personnel. Spotsylvania County cannot be listed as a reference. The County reserves the right to check undisclosed references.

7. Cost estimates shall not be submitted with the proposal response. The cost estimate will be requested by the Procurement Division at the completion of the evaluation from firms selected for further consideration. Cost estimates shall be delivered in a separate sealed envelope if requested by the County. This element of the Offeror’s proposal must be bound separately and contain the total cost of the proposed services. Costs must include all items such as professional time, travel, data processing, forms, printing, or other expenses included in the proposed cost. Job classifications and the fixed billable rates shall also be included. Offerors shall be aware that throughout the duration of any awarded contract, Spotsylvania County will not allow the awarded vendor to exceed the Federal Government’s (GSA) prescribed rates for mileage, travel, meals and any other travel/reimbursable related accommodations.GSA per diem rates can be located at: http://www.gsa.gov/perdiem.

VII. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. Selection of the successful Offeror will be based upon submission of proposals meeting the selection criteria. The minimum selection criteria will include:

EVALUATION CRITERIA WEIGHT

1. Specific experience, technical capabilities, professional competence, and qualifications of the proposing firm and project personnel especially those assigned to provide the services in accordance with the Scope of Services.

2. Clearly demonstrated understanding of the work to be performed and completeness and reasonableness of the Offeror’s plan for accomplishing the Scope of Services.

3. Past performance, project scheduling performance and general overall completion of past projects on time and on budget for governmental entities for selected categories indicated in the RFP response.

4. Interview/Oral Presentation 25

Total 100

B. The Selection Committee will evaluate the most responsive proposals as deemed by staff and may also ask questions of a clarifying nature from offerors as required. Each committee member will complete a proposal evaluation matrix form for each submission received. A composite rating will be developed which indicates the group’s collective ranking of the written proposals in a descending order. If deemed necessary by the selection committee, the County shall engage in individual discussions with two or more Offerors deemed the most fully qualified, responsible and suitable on the basis of the Selection Committee's evaluations. These Offerors will be requested to make an oral http://www.gsa.gov/perdiem presentation to the Selection Committee to explain their proposal and answer questions.

C. At the conclusion of discussion, on the basis of evaluation factors as set at the time of issuance of this proposal and all information developed in the selection process to this point, the County shall select in the order of preference two or more Offerors whose professional qualifications and proposed services are deemed most meritorious.

Negotiations shall then be conducted; beginning with the Offeror ranked first. If a contract satisfactory and advantageous to the County can be negotiated at a price considered fair and reasonable, the award shall be made to that Offeror. Otherwise, negotiations with the Offeror ranked first shall be formally terminated and negotiations conducted with the Offeror ranked second, and so on until such a contract can be negotiated at a fair and reasonable price. Should the County determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one Offeror is fully qualified or that one Offeror is clearly more highly qualified and suitable than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that Offeror. Spotsylvania County reserves the right to award a contract to more than one Offeror, if it is in the Owner’s best interest.

Selection shall be made of two or more firms deemed to be the most qualified and best suited to perform the requested services for each of the categories identified in the Scope of Services. Spotsylvania County reserves the right to award contracts to more than one Contractor, if it is in the County’s best interest in order to provide adequate services.

Spotsylvania County has the right to award the contract in the aggregate, by the individual service, or any combination, whichever is in the best interest of the County. The County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP, to negotiate with any qualified firm or to modify or cancel in part or in its entirety the Request for Proposal if it is in the best interest of Spotsylvania County.

VIII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS: (Effective March 4, 2019)

A. Acceptance, Invoicing and Payment

Spotsylvania County will make payment to the Consultant, Net 30 days or in accordance with discount terms, if offered, after receipt of an acceptable invoice for work resulting from this

RFP.

Nothing herein, or in the process, shall be construed as having obligated the County to pay for any expenses incurred by respondents to this RFP, or to the selected consultant prior to the Board of Supervisors’ approval of a consultant services contract.

Pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-4354, (1950, as amended), the Consultant covenants and agrees to:

1. Within seven (7) days after receipt of any amounts paid to the Consultant under the Agreement, (i) pay any subconsultant for its proportionate share of the total payment received from the County attributable to the work under the Contract performed by such subconsultant, or (ii) notify the County and the subconsultant, in writing, of its intention to withheld all or part of the subconsultant’s payment and the reason therefore;

2. Provide its federal employer identification number or social security number, as applicable, before any payment is made to the Consultant under the Agreement;

3. Pay interest at the legal rate or such other rate as may be agreed to in writing by the subconsultant and the Consultant on all amounts owed by the Consultant that remain unpaid after seven (7) days following receipt by the Consultant of payment from the County for work performed by the subconsultant under the Agreement; and

4. Include in its contracts with any and all subconsultants the requirements of 1, 2, and 3 above.

B. Attorney's Fees

In the event of any action brought by either party against the other to enforce any of the obligations hereunder or arising out of any dispute concerning the terms and conditions hereby created, each party shall pay their own attorney’s fees, costs and expenses, except in a case of default by the Consultant, the Consultant shall be responsible for any resulting additional purchase and administrative costs including, but not limited to fees and charges of engineers, architects, attorneys, and other professionals and all court or other dispute resolution costs.

C. Audit

Consultant shall keep and require each of its subconsultant, if any, to keep, at no additional cost to County, full and detailed accounts of costs chargeable to County, during the project, and for five (5) years following completion. County shall be afforded full access to accounts, records, and supporting documents for review, audit, copy (such copies will be the property of County), and verification of costs. Audit access to Consultant’s records in lump sum or unit price areas when applicable shall be sufficient to satisfy County that all quantities meet the payments to its subconsultant and suppliers, Consultant shall remit promptly to County the amount of any adjustment resulting from audit.

D. Availability of Funds

It is understood and agreed between the parties herein that the County shall be bound hereunder only to the extent of the funds available or which may hereafter become available for the purpose of this agreement.

E. Binding Effect

The terms, provisions, covenants and conditions contained in any resulting Contract shall apply to, insure to the benefit of, and be binding upon the parties hereto and upon their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors, and permitted assigns except as otherwise expressly provided.

F. Compliance of Law

The Consultant providing materials and services to the County under any contract resulting from this RFP represents and warrants to the County that it is:

1. Conforming to the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, as well as the Virginians with Disabilities Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 2.2-4311 of the Virginia Public Procurement Act, and where applicable, to the Virginia Fair Employment Contracting Act of 1975, as amended, and the Virginia Human Rights Act, as amended.

2. Not employing illegal alien workers or otherwise violating the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and Virginia Code§ 2.2-4311.1;

3. Not requiring, and shall not require, any employee or subcontractor to sign an internal confidentiality agreement or statement prohibiting or otherwise restricting, or purporting to prohibit or restrict, the reporting (in accordance with law) of waste, fraud, or abuse to an investigative or law enforcement representative of a department or agency authorized to receive such information, or otherwise violate any federal and state laws and regulations protecting employees for reprisal against whistleblowing;

4. Complying with federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to the performance of the goods and services procured, the work performed pursuant to the Agreement shall conform to all professional principles generally accepted as standards of the industry in the Commonwealth, the CONTRACTOR’S work performed shall be free of defects, and any new materials and equipment furnished under this Agreement shall be of good quality and in working condition; and

5. Complying fully with the Virginia Conflict of Interest Act.

6. Authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth of Virginia, pursuant to

Section 2.2-4311.2 of the Code of Virginia.

G. Contract Award

Spotsylvania County has the right to award a contract to more than one Offeror, if it is in the County’s best interest to provide adequate services in accordance with the criteria found in the Scope of Services. Should Spotsylvania County determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one Offeror is fully qualified, or that one Offeror is clearly more highly qualified and suitable than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that Offeror. Spotsylvania County reserves the right to award the contract to the most qualified, responsible, and responsive Offeror(s), resulting in a negotiated agreement, which is most advantageous to and in the best interest of Spotsylvania County. Spotsylvania County shall be the sole judge of the Proposal and the resulting negotiated agreement that is in the public interest, and Spotsylvania County’s decision shall be final.

H. Contract Changes

No verbal agreement or conversation with any officer, agent or employee of Spotsylvania County either before or after execution of the contract resulting from this Request for Proposal (RFP), RFP Addendum or follow-on negotiations, shall effect or modify any of the terms or obligations contained in the contract. No alterations to the terms and conditions of the contract shall be valid or binding upon Spotsylvania County unless made in writing and where Board approval is not required, by the County Administrator or his designee.

I. Contract Documents

The contract entered into by Spotsylvania County and the Consultant shall consist of this Request for Proposal, any addendum issued, the proposal submitted by the Consultant, Spotsylvania County’s Standard Form of Agreement, and any approved change orders issued, all of which shall be referred to collectively as the Contract Documents. Additional documents which the parties agree to include as contract documents may be set forth in the final contract.

J. Definitions:

1. Consultant:

The Consultant who enters into a contract with Spotsylvania County to provide the services herein for Spotsylvania County.

2. County:

Wherever the word "County" appears, it shall be understood to mean Spotsylvania County Government.

3. Offeror:

A person who makes an offer in response to a Request for Proposals.

4. Informality:

A minor defect or variation in a bid or proposal from the exact requirements of the Invitation for Bid, or the Request for Proposal, which does not affect the price, quality, quantity, or delivery schedule for the goods, services or construction being procured.

K. Design Errors and/or Omissions and A/E Professional Liability Insurance

The A/E shall carry professional liability insurance covering negligent act, errors, and omissions in an amount not less than 5% of the estimated cost of construction of all County projects designed by the A/E which are currently under construction, but in no event shall the amount of professional liability insurance be less than $100,000. As an alternative to the calculated amount indicated above the A/E may work with the County to procure a “Project Insurance” package for that project which is satisfactory to the County or the A/E may provide a Certificate of insurance indication coverage in the amount of $2,000,000 per claim and $6,000,000 in the aggregate.

The A/E shall maintain this insurance in force after completion of the services under the Contract for a period of five years after completion of construction.

The County’s review, approval or acceptance of, nor payment for any of the services required shall be construed to operate as a waiver by the County of any rights or any cause of action arising out to the contraction. The A/E shall be and remain liable to the County for all costs of any kind which are incurred by the County as a result of negligent acts, errors, or omissions on the part of the A/E including its subconsultants and consultants, in the performance of any of the services furnished.

The A/E shall be responsible for all costs resulting from its errors, omissions and other breaches of the applicable standards of care established under Virginia law including, but not limited to, it own cost for labor and other in-house costs, any resulting Consultant Change Order costs including costs for demolition, cutting patching, repairs, removal or modification of Work that is already in place, any Firm or County delay damages, and any judgments, fines or penalties against the County resulting from A/E errors, omissions, and other breaches of the applicable standards of care. However, the A/E shall not b responsible for the cost of the correct equipment or system which should have been originally specified, except the A/E shall b responsible for any increased costs, whether the result of inflation, reordering, restocking or otherwise, of incorporating the corrected Work into the Consultants’ Contract Changer Order.

For the Purposes of determining the A/E’s share of such costs for Work which has not yet been performed, the cost of work performed by Consultant’s change order shall generally be presumed to be 15% great than if the work had been included in the Consultant’s Contract.

The A/E shall have the burden of disproving this presumption.

The County shall actively pursue reimbursement of costs resulting from the A/E’s errors, omissions, or breaches of the applicable standard of care. Upon determination that there may be A/E financial responsibility involved, the A/E shall be contacted by the County. The A/E shall be advised of the design deficiency, informed that it is the County’s opinion that the A/E may be financially responsible, and requested to provide a technical solution to the problem including cost estimate. Upon notification of potential liability, the A/E should coordinate with the County to determine required technical support and timing to minimize delay costs.

Pending final decision by the County, the A/E will be invited to attend all price negotiations with the Consultant for the corrective work. The A/E shall participate as a non-voting technical advisor to the County’s negotiator. IF the A/E refuses to cooperate in the negotiations or disputes its responsibility, the County shall have the right to proceed with the remedial construction and/or change order negotiations without the A/E.

L. Drug Free Workplace

During the performance of this contract, the Consultant agrees to (i) provide a drug-free workplace for the Consultant’s employees; (ii) post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, a statement notifying employees that the unlawful manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance or marijuana is prohibited in the Consultant’s workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of such prohibition; (iii) state in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Consultant that the Consultant maintains a drug-free workplace; and (iv) include the provisions of the foregoing clauses in every subcontract or purchase order of over $10,000, so that the provisions will be binding upon each subconsultant or vendor.

For the purposes of this section, “drug-free workplace” means any site at which the performance of work is done in connection with this contract awarded to the Consultant, the employees of whom are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of any controlled substance or marijuana during the performance of the contract.

M. Ethics in Public Contracting

The Offeror hereby certifies that it has familiarized itself with Article 6 of Title 2.2 of the Virginia Public Procurement Act, Section 2.2-4367 through 2.2-4377, Virginia Code Annotated, and that all amounts received by it, pursuant to a Contract resulting from this RFP, are proper and in accordance herewith. By submitting their proposals, Offerors certify that their proposals are made without collusion or fraud that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other offeror, supplier, manufacturer or subconsultant in connection with their proposal, and that they have not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

N. Examination of Records

The Consultant agrees that Spotsylvania County or any duly authorized representative shall have access to and the right to examine any and copy any directly pertinent books, documents, papers and records of the Consultant involving transactions related to any Contract resulting from this RFP. The period of access provided in this paragraph for records, books, documents, and papers and software which may be related to any arbitration, litigation, or the settlement of claims arising out of the performance of any subsequent contract or any subsequent Contracts with vendors shall continue until disposition of any appeals, arbitration, litigation, or claims. Consultants agrees to keep all records in accordance with the state and local retention laws including but not limited to Virginia Code § 55-525.27.

O. Faith-Based Organizations

Pursuant to Section 2.2-4343.1 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, in all invitations to bid, requests for proposals, contracts, and purchase orders, the COUNTY does not discriminate against faith-based organizations.

“Faith-based Organization” means a religious organization that is or applies to be a Consultant to provide goods or services for programs funded by the block grant provided pursuant to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193.

If CONSULTANT is a faith-based organization, then Consultant shall give to each individual who applies for or receives goods, services, or disbursements provided pursuant to this Agreement the following notice:

NOTICE

Pursuant to Section 2.2-4343.1 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as an applicant for or recipient of goods, services, or disbursements provided pursuant to a contract between the COUNTY and a faith-based organization, you are hereby notified as follows:

Neither the COUNTY’S selection of a charitable or faith-based provider of services nor the expenditure of funds under this contract is an endorsement of the provider’s charitable or religious character, practices, or expression. No provider of services may discriminate against you on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or your refusal to actively participate in a religious practice. If you object to a particular provider because of its religious character, you may request assignment to a different provider. If you believe that your rights have been violated, please discuss the complaint with your provider or notify the COUNTY Administrator.

P. Federal-Aid Provisions

When the U. S. government pays all or any portion of the cost of a project, the Consultant shall observe all federal laws, rules, and regulations made pursuant to such laws. The work shall be subject to inspection by the appropriate federal agency. Such inspection shall in no sense make the federal government a party of the contract and will in no way interfere with the rights of either party. Consultant shall require all subconsultants to observe all federal laws, rules, and regulations made pursuant to such laws. Reporting requirements that is part of the regulation shall be followed in accordance with the federal law, rules and/or regulation made pursuant to such laws. A Duns number will be provided by the Consultant and registration with the Central Consultant Registration (CCR) shall be followed according to the federal aid provisions.

Q. Freedom of Information

All information submitted to the County in response to this RFP will constitute public information and pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act will be available to the public for inspection upon request. Pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-4342 and County Procurement Policy § 3-27, a Bidder/Offeror may request an exception to disclosure for trade secrets or proprietary information as such is defined under Virginia Code § 59.1-336, part of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. In order to claim this exemption, a Bidder/Offeror must: (1) Submit a request in writing referencing their desire to invoke the protections of Virginia Code § 2.2-4342; (2) Specifically identify which data or materials they wish to have protected; and

(3) Articulate the rationale for why protection is necessary for the particular data or materials, to the satisfaction of the County. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the data or materials being open for inspection in response to a valid inquiry under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and serve to waive any right of the Bidder/Offeror to assert a claim against the County for disclosure of trade secrets or proprietary information.

R. Grant Funds Provision

When a project is funded in part or all by grant funds, the Consultant shall observe all rules and regulations according to the grant fund award documentation. Consultant has the responsibility to comply with all grant fund reporting requirements and any or all award documentation terms and conditions.

S. Governing Law

In any contract resulting from this RFP, the parties agree that this agreement is governed by and shall be interpreted in accordance with the Spotsylvania County Procurement Policy and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that proper venue, in the event of litigation concerning this matter, shall be in the Circuit Court of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The parties agree that any litigation involving this Agreement shall be brought only in such court.

T. Headings

Headings in the RFP and any resulting contract are informational only and the substance of each numbered or lettered provision shall prevail in the event of any ambiguity or inconsistency between a heading and its content.

U. Insurance

During the performance of any Contract resulting from this RFP, the Consultant shall have and keep current insurance whichever is greater in scope or amount as follows:

a. Worker's Compensation Insurance in compliance with all states in which Consultant does business, including coverage B Employer's liabilities in not less than the following amounts:

i. Bodily Injury by accident $100,000 for each accident;

ii. Bodily Injury by disease, $500,000 policy limit;

iii. Bodily Injury by disease, $100,000 for each employee.

b. General Liability insurance in amount not less than $1,000,000 for any occurrence involving bodily injury, and not less than $1,000,000 for any occurrence involving property damage. This coverage shall include contractual liability, broad form property damage, independent Consultants, and personal injury.

c. Automobile liability insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit bodily injury and property damage. This coverage shall include liability for the use of hired and non-owned apparatus.

d. Professional Liability Insurance in an amount not less than $2,000,000 per claim and

$6,000,000 in the aggregate. The amount of coverage may increase according to the project value.

The General Liability and Automobile Liability insurance policies specified herein shall name Spotsylvania County as additional insured with regard to work performed under any contract resulting from this RFP. The Consultant shall provide Spotsylvania County with copies of certificates of insurance coverage and proof of payment of all premiums. These certificates shall have provisions for notifying Spotsylvania County if there is any change in liability insurance.

V. Interpretation

Words of any gender used in any Contract resulting from this RFP shall be held and construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular number shall be held to include the plural, and vise versa, unless the context otherwise requires.

W. Non-Collusion

The party making the foregoing proposal hereby certifies that such proposal is genuine and not collusive or sham; that said offeror has not colluded, conspired, connived or agreed, directly in indirectly, with any offeror or person, to put in a sham proposal or to refrain from offering, and has not in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement or collusion, or communication or conference, with any person to fix the proposal price or affiant or of any proposal, or to fix any overhead, profit or cost element of said proposal price, or of that of any other offeror, or to secure any advantage against the County or any person interested in the proposed contract; and that all statements in said proposal are true.

X. Non-Discrimination

Any contract resulting from this RFP and every contract, sub-contract, or purchase order there under shall include the following provisions according to Virginia Code §2.2-4311:

During the performance of a contract, the Consultant agrees as follows:

1. The Consultant will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, age, or national origin, except where religion, sex or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the Consultant. The Consultant agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicant for employment, notices setting forth non-discrimination clause.

2. The Consultant, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Consultant, will state that such Consultant is an equal opportunity employer.

3. Notices, advertisements, and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule or regulation shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of meeting the requirement.

The Consultant will include the provisions in the foregoing paragraphs a, b, and c in every contract, subcontract, or purchase order of over $10,000, so that the provisions will be binding upon each subconsultant or vendor associated with Spotsylvania County.

Y. Partial Invalidity

Neither any payment for, nor acceptance of, the whole or any part of the services by Spotsylvania County, nor any extension of time, shall operate as a waiver of any provision of any Contract resulting from this RFP, nor of any power herein reserved to Spotsylvania County, or any right to damages herein provided, nor shall any waiver of any breach of any Contract be held to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach. Failure of Spotsylvania County to require compliance with any term or condition of any Contract shall not be deemed a waiver of such term or condition nor a waiver of the subsequent enforcement thereof.

Z. Proposal Withdrawal

Any Proposal may be withdrawn up until the time set above for the opening of the Proposal.

Any Proposals not so withdrawn shall constitute an irrevocable offer for a period of 120 days.

AA. RFP Proposal and Clarification

Spotsylvania County reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted and to request additional information of one or more offerors.