6-25-54 Surveying Services-SOW.docx

Montgomery County RFP 25-54 Multiple County Departments/Projects Real Estate Surveyor Services

SCOPE OF WORK

The County seeks qualified professionals to provide assorted surveyor services on an as-needed basis for the following types of projects:

A. Surveys to determine the actual acreage of farmland conservation easement purchases.

B. Surveys to determine the metes and bounds of open space conservation/trail easement projects.

C. Surveys to determine the metes and bounds of various road and other transportation projects.

Surveys for the farmland preservation program must meet additional requirements. The surveys for farmland conservation easement purchases must be conducted with the provisions found in Act 43 of 1981, the Agricultural Area Security Law. The County seeks professionals for the following services:

A. Check the existing legal description in the deed recorded in the land records of Montgomery County to determine if the following requirements are met:

1. Deed contains metes and bounds of the subject tract or area. The metes and bounds of preserved farms in Montgomery County extend to the legal right of way of a farm or less if so described in the deed.

2. Deed contains at least one course referencing a permanent marker or monument of a type commonly placed in the field by a surveyor.

3. Deed contains a closure error which is not greater than one foot per 200 linear feet.

B. If the existing legal description in the deed(s) recorded in the land records in Montgomery County does not meet all of the requirements in A (1), (2) and (3) above, or in the case of farmland easement purchases, the easement area will only be a portion of the tract, then the subject tract or area must be surveyed. Firms shall demonstrate to county staff that a survey is necessary. Such a survey must comply with the boundary survey measurement standards for a survey as published by the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors in its “Manual of Practice for Professional Land Surveyors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” adopted July 10, 1998, or its most current successor document, with an error of closure of at least 1' in 10,000'.

C. For all farmland conservation easement surveys, at least one course and distance referencing two newly placed sequential permanent concrete markers or monuments, of a type placed in the field by a surveyor, shall be required for each tract or parcel and each exception included in the subject properties. A metes and bounds description of the surveyed area, whether it includes the whole tract or only a portion of the tract, shall be provided. The acreage measurement must be exact to two decimal places. The surveyor must provide separate legal descriptions for all exclusion areas of the easement, whether voluntarily excluded by the landowner or by the county. These exclusion areas also need to be depicted differently, usually in a different shade, on the survey itself. If firms have the capability, they should provide the county with a GIS shapefile of the farm datasets, for us to upload into ArcGIS Pro. Additionally, we may request that the survey be certified by you to our Title Insurance Company. For all farmland conservation easement surveys, all surveys shall be prepared to be in full compliance with the requirements described in Section 138e.73 in the PA regulations. A copy is enclosed.

D. For all completed surveys (farmland, open space conservation/trail easement and transportation), four (4) original plot plans together with four (4) legal descriptions of the properties including exceptions should be delivered stamped, signed and guaranteed to the Montgomery County Planning Commission. The plans must show the error of closure, the calculations for the error of closure, the calculations for the metes and bounds; a metes and bounds description of the easement area, and for farmland conservation easements, bear a certification that the plan complies with 7 PA Code, Chapter 138e., Section 138e.67 "The Requirements of the Agricultural Easement Deed," Paragraphs b(1) and (2) and c, and Section 138e.73. The language to be used in the certifications for farmland preservation easements is attached. In addition, each draft survey shall be sent to the Montgomery County Planning Commission via email for review before finalizing. A final digital copy shall be sent via email at the time the paper copies are mailed.

The selected surveyor(s) will work closely with Montgomery County Planning Commission staff to coordinate and account for project-specific considerations.

QUALIFICATIONS

For any proposed survey work, firms/individuals must submit the following information about their qualifications. This information will be factored into the selection process:

A. Description of firm, including resumes of key personnel, including the project manager, and a copy of the engineering license for the person sealing the plan.

B. Demonstration of the firm’s familiarity with Montgomery County, PA.

C. Description of the firm’s surveying experience, including the size of the surveying department, the percent of the firm’s business that is surveying, the surveying equipment that will be used, and the tenure of the surveyors at the firm.

D. Description of the nature and status of lawsuits against the firm over the past 3 years.

E. Previous surveying experience of firm and/or project manager with farmland preservation, open space conservation/trail easements, or road and transportation projects in Montgomery County, PA, as well as other counties in Pennsylvania, if any.

F. Previous experience of firm and/or project manager surveying the specific tract or area.

G. Previous experience of firm and/or project manager surveying a property that adjoins the specific tract or area.

FEES

Proposed fees may vary. However, all fees associated with farmland preservation projects shall be based on a "cost not-to-exceed" basis. Proposed fees shall include the total cost of doing the boundary closure check and plan preparation in the case of sufficient closure, and the total cost of doing a field survey if needed. The proposed fees shall be included for each farm, open space conservation/trail easement, and/or roadway/transportation project in any subsequently issued request for prices.

PERMISSION

The County will secure permission for the selected surveyor to enter the subject properties, as necessary. The selected surveyor shall notify each landowner of the date when the work on the property is to be performed. The surveyor must obtain permission from the owners of any adjacent properties before entering those properties and may not damage these properties while conducting the survey.

TIME PERIOD

Montgomery County shall use a list of qualifying surveyors who have responded to this Request for Proposal for a two-year period following approval by the County Commissioners, with the option for up to three (3) extensions of one year each. No escalator (price increase) will be permitted during the contract period.

Communication & Submission:

· All questions are to be submitted via the Messages / Opportunity Q&A section for this solicitation in the Bonfire portal and all answers will be provided for public review.

· All final proposal submissions must be made electronically via the County’s procurement submission portal - https://montcopa.bonfirehub.com/portal - by the posted submission deadline.

· All Questions and Answers submitted and provided to become binding to all firms submitting a proposal for this project.

All costs of developing proposals and any subsequent expenses relating to contract negotiation are entirely the responsibility of the proposer and may NOT be charged to Montgomery County.

Attachment A: Current copy of 7PA Code, Section 138e. 7