846540archHenr.pdf

COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA – Department of Finance, Purchasing Division

8600 Staples Mill Road / P.O. Box 90775 / Henrico, VA 23273-0775

Phone: (804)501-5660

Version 4.13.26

RFP No. 26-2987-7EAR

September 23, 2026

Request for Proposal (“RFP”)

Architectural and Engineering Services – Highland Springs Elementary School Replacement

Your firm is invited to submit a proposal to provide professional architectural and engineering services for replacement of Highland Springs Elementary School in accordance with the enclosed Scope of Services, General Contract Terms and Conditions, Special Contract Provisions and Supplemental Project

Requirements and Provisions.

Your firm’s proposal submittal, consisting of one (1) complete electronic copy and one (1) redacted electronic copy (if applicable) in a “pdf” format, will be received no later than October 20, 2026, at

11:00 a.m., local prevailing time, by submission through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s electronic procurement platform eVA.

Time is of the essence, and any offeror that attempts to submit a proposal after the appointed hour for submission, will be unable to, because eVA automatically closes the solicitation at the appointed time. The time of receipt shall be determined by the time clock in eVA. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their proposals are submitted in eVA by the deadline indicated.

A pre-proposal conference will be held on October 5, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. virtually via a Microsoft Teams meeting. Offerors interested in attending should email Eric Rosen at ros074@henrico.gov to receive an electronic invite to the meeting. Offerors are strongly encouraged to attend the pre-proposal conference.

Nothing herein is intended to exclude any responsible offeror or in any way restrain or restrict competition.

On the contrary, all responsible offerors are encouraged to submit proposals. The County of Henrico reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals submitted.

Pursuant to Henrico County Code Section 16-43, the award will be made by the County School Board of Henrico County, Virginia.

This RFP and any addenda are available on the County of Henrico website at:

http://henrico.gov/finance/divisions/purchasing, and on eVA at https://eva.virginia.gov/.

Should you have any questions concerning this RFP, please contact Eric Rosen at ros074@henrico.gov by no later than October 12, 2026.

Very truly yours, Eric Rosen, VCO

Procurement Analyst, III about:blank http://henrico.gov/finance/divisions/purchasing https://eva.virginia.gov/ mailto:ros074@henrico.gov

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

A. Purpose

B. Background

II. Scope of Services

III. Successful Offeror Qualifications

IV. County Responsibilities

V. Proposal Submission Requirements

VI. Proposal Response Format

VII. Proposal Evaluation / Selection Process

VIII. Anticipated Procurement Schedule

IX. General Contract Terms and Conditions

A. Annual Appropriations

B. Antitrust

C. Artificial Intelligence Systems Clause

D. Assignment of Contract

E. Authorization to Transact Business in the Commonwealth

F. Award of the Contract

G. Changes to the Contract

H. Collusion

I. Compensation

J. Controlling Law and Venue

K. County License Requirement

L. Drug-Free Workplace to be Maintained by the Contractor (VA. Code §2.2-4312)

M. Employment Discrimination by Contractor Prohibited

N. Employment of Unauthorized Aliens Prohibited

O. Environmental Management

P. Ethics in Public Contracting

Q. Indemnification

R. Insurance Requirements

S. Minority-, Woman-, Military Family-, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned, Small Business and Employment Services Organizations

T. No Discrimination against Faith-Based Organizations

U. Nondiscrimination of Offeror

V. Occupational Safety & Health Policy Statement

W. Ownership of Deliverable and Related Products

X. Payment Clauses Required by Va. Code §2.2-4354

Y. Record Retention and Audits

Z. Safety

AA. Severability

BB. Subcontracts

CC. Successful Offeror’s Performance

DD. Taxes

EE. Termination by County

FF. Testing and Inspection

GG. Use of Forced and Child Labor Prohibited (VA Code § 2.2-4311.4)

X. Special Contract Provisions

A. Conduct

B. Direct Contact with Students Certification

C. Professional Services Contract Format

D. Tobacco-Free Requirement

XI. Supplemental Project Requirements and Provisions

A. Architect’s Responsibilities

B. Scope of Architect’s Basic Services

C. Additional Services

D. Owner’s Responsibilities

E. Construction Cost

F. Use of Architect’s Instruments of Service

G. Claims for Consequential Damages

H. Reserved

I. Miscellaneous Provisions

J. Payments to the Architect

K. Basis of Compensation

L. Other Conditions or Services

M. A201 References

XII. Forms

Attachment A – Proposal Signature Sheet

Attachment B – Business Category Classification Form

Attachment C – Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) Registration Information

Attachment D – Proprietary/Confidential Information Identification

Attachment E – County of Henrico Insurance Specifications

Attachment F – Sample Contract

Attachment G – Certification for Direct Contact with Students

Attachment H – AIA Form A201-2017, General Conditions of the Contract for

Construction, as amended by the County

I. Introduction

A. Purpose

The intent and purpose of this Request for Proposal (“RFP”), and the resulting contract, is to obtain services from a qualified architectural firm to provide professional architectural and engineering services necessary to design for the construction of a new elementary school for

Highland Springs Elementary (the “Project”) in accordance with the Scope of Services section of the solicitation.

B. Background

Highland Springs Elementary School is located at 600 Pleasant St, Highland Springs, Virginia

23075. The existing school will be torn down after the new building is occupied. There are also classroom trailers, parking lots and playgrounds that shall stay operational until the new school is constructed.

1. On November 8, 2022, Henrico voters approved a bond referendum, which included funding for the replacement of Highland Springs Elementary School to ensure future ability to meet growing student population and increased demand for elementary school capacity in the area. It is expected the new school building will open at the start of the 2029-2030 school year.

2. The scope of this project is to build a new elementary school building on the site while maintaining functionality of the existing school structure. The project shall be phased to allow for new parking, bus loop, and other areas typical of an elementary school.

3. The new building will accommodate a capacity of approximately 700 to 800 students and will encompass approximately 90,000 square feet. The program will include the following, although not exclusively: general classrooms, specialty classrooms, media center, gymnasium, cafeteria, common areas, and administrative spaces. The functions to be included in the facility will be further defined in consultation with the Successful Offeror.

The site work may include accessory structure, athletic fields and tracks, site lighting, bus canopy, associated parking areas, landscaping, and all requirements in coordination with the County of Henrico, VA Plan of Development requirements. The use of an elementary school prototype design is acceptable.

4. Furniture: The scope will include interior design and coordination services for the selection of furniture for the facility. In order to expedite ordering and delivery of furniture, selections will be developed based on the available furniture contracts.

5. Occupancy: Phase 1, the new school building, must be Substantially Complete and ready for occupancy no later than May 1, 2029. To accommodate a reasonable construction schedule, the project must be out to bid no later than August 1, 2027.

6. Design disciplines involved in the work shall include the following: architectural, civil, structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical. Project services shall include energy management, fire alarm, security alarm, camera surveillance system, structured data cabling, clock and intercom systems.

7. A Design Committee consisting of representative members of the school community and school administrators will be made available to assist the Architect during programming and design. The Architect shall work with the Design Committee to attain consensus of the design requirements and solutions.

8. The Owner in the Request for Proposal refers to the School Board of the County of Henrico

Virginia. The Owner's representative is the Director of Facilities for Henrico County Public

Schools (HCPS).

9. Plan for Development

a. This project may be eligible for the Henrico County Planning Department’s "POD Fast

Track Process - Gold" program. This may reduce the review times for each submission and for each reviewing entity. The Offeror and their sub-consultants may be requested to execute an agreement to participate in this Fast Track process and meet the required response and resubmission time frames.

b. The full Plan of Development Review Process can be viewed online from the Henrico

County website at:

https://henrico.us/pdfs/planning/apps/podprocess.pdf

10. LEED

a. The project will also include an energy management system that will be compatible with the existing energy management system currently serving the school system.

b. It is the intent of HCPS to have the new elementary school achieve, at a minimum, LEED Silver Certification.

II. Scope of Services

The Successful Offeror shall provide all supervision, labor, material and equipment necessary to provide the following:

A. General Requirements

The Successful Offeror shall:

1. Provide complete contract documents and provide contract administration for the entire time until successful completion and acceptance of the project by the HCPS.

2. Provide all architectural and engineering design services in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Virginia State Department of Education, Virginia Uniform Statewide

Building Code (latest edition, including all subsequent modifications and supplements), Henrico County Plan of Development review process and current Americans with

Disabilities Act.

3. Provide a design that minimally meets LEED Silver certification requirements.

4. Provide project construction administration to include proposal evaluation, negotiations, problem resolution, team building, reporting, logs and Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling analysis.

5. Not be responsible for construction means, methods, techniques or procedures (other than those specified in contract documents), or for safety precautions and programs in connection with the work and shall not be responsible for the construction contractor's failure to carry out the construction contractor's own responsibility. The Successful Offeror as part of his basic service shall advise the Owner concerning correction of difficulties https://henrico.us/pdfs/planning/apps/podprocess.pdf occurring in the building or equipment during the construction contractor's guarantee period.

B. Professional Architectural and Engineering Service Phases

1. The Successful Offeror shall provide one full set of drawings and specs for HCPS to review and comment at the following phases, and shall allow HCPS 10 days at each of these phases to review and comment on the documents:

a. 100% Schematic Design Phase

b. 100% Design Development Phase (35% CDs)

c. 65% Construction Document Phase

d. 95% Construction Document Phase

e. 100% Bid Document Phase

2. The Successful Offeror shall cooperate and coordinate with HCPS’s third party contractor for commissioning, including but not limited to coordination of design review comments, project specifications and requirements and functional testing.

3. Schematic/Design Development

Upon approval of the project requirements by the HCPS, the Successful Offeror shall:

a. Prepare design of preliminary documents consisting of preliminary drawings and specifications for approval by HCPS.

b. Submit to HCPS a statement of probable project construction cost and budget.

c. Conduct and/or attend all necessary meetings to discuss schematic/preliminary drawings.

d. Design services shall include energy management, fire alarm, security alarm, camera surveillance system, structured data cabling, clock and intercom systems. All of the aforementioned systems are currently in place and serving the existing schools. The

Successful Offeror shall consider the existing systems to coordinate with the new building design features.

4. Design Development

Upon approval of Schematic drawings by the Owner, the Successful Offeror shall:

a. Prepare design of preliminary documents consisting of preliminary drawings and specifications for approval by the HCPS and State Department of Education.

b. Prepare and submit to HCPS an updated statement of probable project construction cost and budget.

c. Assist HCPS in submitting any documentation for code or agency approval such as the

County of Henrico Plan of Development (POD).

d. Conduct and/or attend meetings to discuss preliminary drawings.

e. Design services shall include an overall project phasing schedule to include planning and all installation provisions for school functions impacted by the project.

5. Construction Documents Phase

Upon approval of design development documents by HCPS, Successful Offeror shall:

a. Prepare working drawings and specifications (for approval by HCPS) in order that

HCPS may solicit bids for the construction of the project.

b. Advise HCPS of any adjustments to previous statements of probable project construction cost.

c. Conduct and/or attend meetings to discuss working drawings.

d. Assist HCPS in submitting any documentation for code or agency approval such as the

County of Henrico Building Permits.

6. Bid Phase

The Successful Offeror shall:

a. Assist in the bidding of the project for construction to include providing required documents for bidding, preparation of addenda, evaluation of bids, and

b. recommending contract award.

c. Provide a complete record CAD drawings and specifications.

d. Conduct and attend a pre-bid meeting to review specifications and answer interested bidders’ questions.

e. Participate in any construction pre-award meeting that may be necessary.

7. Construction Phase

The Successful Offeror shall:

a. Conduct and attend pre-construction conferences, and twice monthly construction meetings with the Contractor.

b. Provide services to help HCPS in evaluating the bids received, review construction schedules, and keep HCPS informed of the progress of the work, review shop drawings and other required submittals.

c. Review and approve materials, equipment and tests thereof.

d. Maintain accounts of the work including the issuing of change orders at the direction of HCPS.

e. Review contractor's applications for payment, and issue Certificates for Payment in approved amounts.

f. Provide on-site observation of the work.

g. Make as many visits as are necessary in accordance with the schedule for the project but at least two per month to the site, while the work is in progress, to understand the progress and qualify of the work and to determine if the work is proceeding in accordance with the contract documents. A person qualified in each design phase of the project shall be available when required supporting the necessary visits.

h. Provide written report to HCPS after each such visit indicating the date, time of day, and the names of the persons representing the Successful Offeror who participated in the visit. The report shall advise HCPS of any problems that were noted.

i. Make every effort to guard HCPS against defect and deficiencies in the work of the construction contractor.

8. Warranty Phase

The Successful Offeror, as part of its basic service, shall advise HCPS concerning correction of difficulties, occurring in the building or equipment during the Contractor's guarantee period.

C. Additional Services

The Successful Offeror shall provide additional professional architectural and engineering design services, including but not limited to the following:

1. Additional site architectural and design services, including but not limited to, accessory structures such as an athletic/field house and concession/restroom facilities, athletic fields and tracks, sports lighting, bus canopy, associated parking areas, landscaping, and all requirements in coordination with the County of Henrico, VA POD requirements.

2. Hazardous materials abatement coordination in the scope of their services. Hazardous material testing and abatement design services will be performed under HCPS annual contracts.

3. Interior design, bidding, ordering, installation, and coordination services for the selection of furniture for the new Highland Springs Elementary School. Selection of furniture shall be developed based on available furniture contracts accessible to HCPS.

III. Successful Offeror Qualifications

The Successful Offeror shall have the following general qualifications:

A. The Successful Offeror, and its consultants shall have demonstrated multi-disciplinary expertise in municipal design of elementary schools.

B. The Successful Offeror and its consultants shall have demonstrated ability to finish projects within specified times, within a specified fixed fee, within Owner’s budget, with minimal claims and with minimal change orders other than those requested by the Owner.

C. The Successful Offeror shall have demonstrated experience in the incorporation of sustainable and energy efficient design (LEED®) principles, including the coordination of the design and construction process with commissioning agents.

D. The Successful Offeror and its consultants shall have demonstrated experience in project construction administration to include proposal evaluation, negotiations, problem resolution, team building, reporting, logs and CPM scheduling analysis.

IV. County Responsibilities

The County will designate an individual to act as the County’s representative with respect to the work to be performed under this contract. Such individual shall have the authority to transmit instructions, receive information, and interpret and define the County’s policies and decisions with respect to the contract.

V. Proposal Submission Requirements

A. The Purchasing Division will not accept oral proposals, nor proposals received by telephone, FAX machine, email or hard copy submissions. Proposals will only be accepted through eVA.

B. The Proposal Signature Sheet (Attachment A) must accompany any proposal(s) submitted and be signed by an authorized representative of the Offeror. If the Offeror is a firm or corporation, the Offeror must print the name and title of the individual executing the proposal. All information requested should be submitted. Failure to submit all information requested may result in the Purchasing Division requiring prompt submission of missing information and/or giving a lowered evaluation of the proposal.

C. The time proposals are received shall be determined by the time clock in eVA. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their proposals are submitted in eVA by the deadline indicated.

D. By submitting a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal, the Offeror represents it has read and understands the Scope of Services and has familiarized itself with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and rules and regulations that in any manner may affect the cost, progress, or performance of the Contract work.

E. The failure or omission of any Offeror to receive or examine any form, instrument, addendum, or other documents or to acquaint itself with conditions existing at the site, shall in no way relieve any Offeror from any obligations with respect to its proposal or to the Contract.

F. Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by an offeror in connection with this procurement transaction shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; however, the Offeror must invoke the protection of this section prior to or upon submission of data or materials, and must identify the data or other materials to be protected and state the reasons why protection is necessary. An Offeror may not designate as trade secrets or proprietary information (a) an entire proposal, (b) any portion of a proposal that does not contain trade secrets or proprietary information, or (c) line item prices or total proposal prices. (Va. Code § 2.2-4342(F)). (Attachment D)

G. A proposal may be modified or withdrawn by the Offeror any time prior to the time and date set for the receipt of proposals. The Offeror shall follow the process in eVA. No proposal can be withdrawn after the time set for the receipt of proposals and for 120 days thereafter.

H. Each offeror is responsible for determining that it has received all addenda or Questions &

Answers (“Q&A”) issued by the Purchasing Division before submitting a proposal. If an addendum or Q&A is issued after an offeror has submitted a proposal response, the Offeror shall resubmit their proposal in the latest solicitation round in eVA. The County will only evaluate proposals submitted in the latest solicitation round in eVA.

I. Clarifications, Comments and Questions

The County welcomes comments regarding how the RFP and scope of services may be improved. Offerors requesting clarification, interpretation of, or improvements to the

RFP, shall submit technical questions in writing by no later than October 12, 2026. Any changes to this RFP shall be in the form of a written addendum issued by the Purchasing

Division.

J. All proposals received on time pursuant to the provisions of this RFP shall be accepted for consideration. Proposals shall be open to public inspection only after award of the Contract.

K. Responsible Offeror Certification

1. “Responsible offeror” means a person who has the capability, in all respects, to perform fully the contract requirements and the moral and business integrity and reliability that will assure good faith performance, and who has been prequalified, if required.

2. In determining whether an offeror is responsible, the County will consider whether the

Offeror has defaulted on any government contract in the last five years; whether any government has terminated a contract with the Offeror for cause in the last five years; and whether Offeror or any of its officers, directors, partners, or owners is currently barred from participating in any procurements by any federal, state, or local government agency.

3. As part of its proposal, the Offeror must certify that it has not defaulted on any government contract in the last five years or must explain any such default in reasonable detail. The

County may deem any such explanation of default insufficient if it does not include contact information for the government on whose contract the Offeror defaulted.

4. As part of its submission, the Offeror must certify that no government has terminated a contract with the Offeror for cause in the last five years or must explain any such termination for cause in reasonable detail. The County may deem any such explanation of termination for cause insufficient if it does not include contact information for the government that terminated a contract with the Offeror for cause.

5. As part of its submission, the Offeror must certify that neither it nor any of its officers, directors, partners, or owners is currently barred from participating in any procurements by any federal, state, or local government body. If the Offeror cannot make such certification, the Offeror must explain any ban in reasonable detail. The County may deem any such explanation insufficient if it does not include contact information for the public body that barred the Offeror or the Offeror’s officer, director, partner, or owner from participating in any procurement on any federal, state, or local government body’s contract.

6. If the Offeror fails to submit certifications or explanations in accordance with this section, the Purchasing Division may require prompt submission of missing information and/or give a lowered evaluation of the proposal.

7. The Offeror must notify the County immediately if the Offeror discovers that its certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous.

8. The fact that the Offeror defaulted on a government contract in the last five years; the fact that a government terminated a contract with the Offeror for cause in the past five years;

or the fact that the Offeror or any of its officers, directors, partners, or owners has been barred from bidding on contracts by any federal, state, or local government body will not necessarily result in the County deeming the Offeror non-responsible.

9. If it is later determined that the Successful Offeror knowingly made a false certification, the County may terminate the contract for cause.

VI. Proposal Response Format

A. Offerors shall submit a written proposal that presents the Offeror’s qualifications and understanding of the work to be performed. Offerors must address each evaluation criterion and be specific in presenting their qualifications. The proposal should provide all the information considered pertinent to the Offeror’s qualifications for this project.

B. The Offeror should include in its proposal the following:

1. Table of Contents

All pages are to be numbered.

2. Tab 1 – Introduction and Signed Forms

In this tab, the following items should be provided:

a. Cover Letter – On company letterhead, signed by a person with the corporate authority to enter into contracts in the amount of the proposal.

b. Proposal Signature Sheet – Attachment A

c. Business Classification Form – Attachment B

d. Virginia State Corporation Commission Registration Information – Attachment C

e. Proprietary/Confidential Information – Attachment D

f. Direct Contact with Students – Attachment G

3. Tab 2 – Statement of the Scope

In this tab, Offerors, in concise terms, shall state their understanding of the Scope of

Services requested by this RFP in Section II.

4. Tab 3 – Default, Termination and Barred Certification Statement

Pursuant to Section V, Items K(3), K(4) and K(5), in this tab, Offerors shall certify (i) that it has not defaulted on any government contract in the last five years, (ii) that no government has terminated a contract with the Offeror for cause in the last five years, and

(iii) that neither it nor any of its officers, directors, partners, or owners is currently barred from participating in any procurements by any federal, state, or local government body. If any of the aforementioned certifications cannot be made, Offerors must explain in reasonable detail.

5. Tab 4 – Experience, Qualifications and Resumes

In this tab, offerors should demonstrate the Offeror’s and their staff’s, qualifications, and experience in providing the services as requested in this RFP. Submit current resumes of any staff that will be providing the services to the County. Offerors should provide, at a minimum, documentation demonstrating that they are regularly engaged in professional architectural and engineer design services in Virginia for no less than three (3) years.

Documentation should include a list of projects that the Offeror completed or is currently working with the following information provided:

a. Description of scope and nature of project;

b. Contact persons and telephone numbers;

c. Project design and construction timetables with details provided regarding the ability to meet design and construction schedules;

d. Project design and construction budgets with details provided regarding the ability to work within budget constraints; and,

e. The number of construction change orders and resultant time and cost impact.

If subconsultants are to be utilized, provide similar documentation to what has been requested of the Offeror in this section.

Additionally, offerors should provide information demonstrating their ability to finish projects within specified times, within a specified fixed fee, within the Owner’s budget, with minimal claims and with minimal change orders other than those requested by the

Owner. Offerors shall provide documentation demonstrating experience in construction administration to include proposal evaluation, negotiations, problem resolutions, team building, reporting, logs, CPM schedule analysis, and LEED Silver. Offerors should also provide evidence of knowledge of Henrico County Plan of Development standards, local conditions, and all pertinent codes and regulations.

6. Tab 5 – References

In this tab, offerors should include a minimum of three (3) references where the Offeror has provided services similar to the services being solicited in this RFP. The information provided should include a contact person’s name, position, up-to-date telephone number and email address, the company for which the contact person worked, and the time period of the services performed.

7. Tab 6 – Project Approach/Implementation of Services

In this tab, offerors should demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the scope of work requested in this RFP as demonstrated in Section II. Offerors should provide, in detail, their approach to fulfilling the scope of services being solicited by this RFP and demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of the Scope of Services. If subconsultants are to be utilized, provide the services that they will be providing.

8. Tab 7 – Assumptions

In this tab, offerors shall list any assumptions made when responding to this RFP.

9. Tab 8 – Appendices

Optional for offerors who wish to submit additional material that will clarify their response.

C. Cost and Pricing.

1. No Price Proposal.

Pursuant to VA Code § 2.2-4302.2, this Request for Proposal does not request that the

Offeror furnish estimates of man- hours or costs for services within the Offeror’s proposal.

2. Negotiation of Pricing Arrangements.

Offeror(s) selected for final contract negotiation and award through the evaluation process will be requested to submit a price proposal. The price proposal shall provide specific cost information as may be detailed in the negotiations phase notification or price proposal request that will be sent to the selected Offeror(s). The price proposal shall be due within the time specified in the request. The Offeror shall not be required to, nor should they submit billing rates, estimates of man-hours or other information pertaining to costs of services until requested by the County in the contract negotiation stage.

VII. Proposal Evaluation / Selection Process

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

Functional Requirements 40

(In accordance with Section VI, Item B(3), B(7), B(8), and B(9), this criterion considers the extent to which the Offeror’s proposal satisfies the services as specified in Section II of this RFP.)

Project Approach / Implementation of Services 25

(In accordance with Section VI, Item B(7) and B(8), this criterion considers the Offeror’s project approach to implement the services specified in Section II of this RFP.)

Experience and Qualifications 30

(In accordance with Section VI, Item B(5), B(6), and B(9), this criterion considers the Offeror’s, their individual proposed assigned staff, and their subconsultants qualifications and experiences with working on projects or contracts of similar size and scope as specified in Section II of this RFP. In accordance with Section VI, Item B(4), this criterion also considers the Offeror’s default, termination and barred status.)

Quality of Proposal Submission / Oral Presentation 5

(This criterion considers the overall quality of the Offeror’s proposal submitted and any oral presentations required.)

Total 100

B. The County intends to award a contract to one offeror.

For professional services, the County shall engage in individual discussions with two or more Offerors deemed fully qualified, responsible and suitable on the basis of initial responses and with emphasis on professional competence, to provide the required services. The County may conduct repetitive informal interviews. The Offerors shall be encouraged to elaborate on their qualifications and performance data or staff expertise pertinent to the proposed project, as well as alternative concepts.

At the discussion stage, the County may discuss nonbinding estimates of total project costs, including, but not limited to, life-cycle costing, and where appropriate, nonbinding estimates of price for services.

For architectural or engineering services, the County shall not request or require Offerors to list any exceptions to proposed contractual terms and conditions, unless such terms and conditions are required by statute, regulation, or ordinance until after the qualified Offerors are ranked for negotiations. At the conclusion of discussion, on the basis of evaluation factors published in the

Request for 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 and pursuant to contractual terms and conditions acceptable to the County, 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.

VIII. Anticipated Procurement Schedule

The following represents the timeline of the process currently anticipated by the County:

Request for Proposal Distributed September 23, 2026

Pre-proposal Conference October 5, 2026 @ 11:00 a.m.

Questions Due By October 12, 2026

Receive Written Proposals By October 20, 2026 @ 11:00 a.m.

Conduct Oral Interviews with Offerors November 6, 2026

Negotiations Completed November 2026

Award Contract December 2026

Services Begin January 2027

IX. General Contract Terms and Conditions

A. Annual Appropriations1

The contract resulting from this procurement (“Contract”) shall be subject to annual appropriations by the Henrico County Board of Supervisors. Should the Board fail to appropriate funds for this

Contract, the Contract shall be terminated when existing funds are exhausted. The Successful

Offeror (“Successful Offeror” or “Contractor”) shall not be entitled to seek redress from the

County or its elected officials, officers, agents, employees, or volunteers should the Board of

Supervisors fail to make annual appropriations for the Contract.

B. Antitrust

By entering into a contract, the Successful Offeror conveys, sells, assigns, and transfers to the

County of Henrico, Virginia all rights, title and interest in and to all causes of action it may now have or hereafter acquire under the antitrust laws of the United States and the

Commonwealth of Virginia, relating to the particular services purchased or acquired by the

County under the contract.

C. Artificial Intelligence Systems Clause

The following terms apply to any artificial intelligence system, as defined in the Advancing

American AI Act, section 7223(4) of Pub. L. 117-263 (“AI System”) provided or used in the

Successful Offeror’s performance of this contract.

1. If the Successful Offeror will provide or use an AI System owned and/or operated by a third party (“Service Provider”) in the Successful Offeror’s performance of this contract, the Successful Offeror is responsible for ensuring that the AI System conforms with this clause and the County’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy found at:

https://employees.henrico.gov/employment/policies/section13/#1309. All AI Systems must conform to Virginia and federal law.

2. The County retains full ownership of, and will own, all data, information, personally identifiable information, or content (collectively, “Data”) submitted to the AI System by, or on behalf of, the County, including but not limited to user prompts, queries, instructions, system prompts, source data, documents, knowledge bases, and any other information or content submitted to the AI System by, or on behalf of, the County.

3. The County retains full ownership of, and will own, all Data generated by the AI System with County Data or County usage context, including but not limited to responses, results, analyses, anonymized data, derivative data, metadata, logs, synthetic data, and any other output or action produced by the AI System but excluding technical system-level data that contains no County Data or County usage context, such as performance metrics, token counts, and processing times.

4. The County retains full ownership of, and will own, all Custom Developments. The

Successful Offeror and Service Provider must dedicate Custom Developments to the

County’s exclusive use and treat Custom Developments (and all associated Data) as the

County’s confidential information. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider must not use, reproduce, or derive benefit from Custom Developments for any other purpose, or for

1 Mandatory contract provision. Any proposal that takes exception to this provision, whether in part or in whole, may be rejected and not considered.

https://employees.henrico.gov/employment/policies/section13/#1309 any other party, without express written authorization from the County’s Department of

Information Technology. The term “Custom Developments” means any design of or modifications, customizations, configurations, or enhancements to AI Systems or associated implementations or workflows, and any related work product or deliverables, in each case developed specifically for the County under this contract, including any modifications, customizations, configurations, or enhancements to AI Systems, or models as a result of model training or fine-tuning. The term “Custom Developments” excludes any background intellectual property existing prior to entry into this contract or developed independently by the Successful Offeror or Service Provider without use of or reference to the County’s confidential information or design specifications during the term of this contract.

5. The Successful Offeror must use the County’s Data only to perform the specific requirements of the contract; provide technical support and maintenance as required to perform this contract; and provide such other services as may be expressly authorized in writing by the County’s Department of Information Technology. County Data and County usage context must not be used to train the AI System or models.

6. To the extent the Successful Offeror or Service Provider obtains any intellectual property rights in County Data, or any improvements, enhancements, feedback, or derivative works thereof, the Successful Offeror assigns and transfers all such rights to the County effective immediately upon creation.

7. The Successful Offeror grants to the County an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use the AI System for the duration of this contract for any lawful County purpose.

This license includes the right to (i) operate and access the AI System through agreed-upon methods; (ii) input and receive Data; (iii) allow authorized County personnel and contractors to use the AI System; and (iv) integrate the AI System with the County’s systems as necessary for any lawful County purpose (except that County systems may not be connected to AI Systems without prior written approval from the County’s Department of Information Technology). The AI System must not refuse to produce outputs or conduct analyses based on the Successful Offeror’s or Service Provider’s discretionary policies.

This requirement does not require retraining of the model or alteration of model weights.

8. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider must implement reasonable technical, administrative, physical, and organizational safeguards to protect County Data from loss, damage, destruction, unauthorized alteration, or corruption, and prevent its unauthorized, accidental, or unlawful access, disclosure, use, or processing.

9. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider must implement “eyes off” Data handling procedures that restrict human review of County Data except as strictly necessary to provide the AI System for performance of this contract or respond to incidents (including ensuring that any human access to County Data must be logged, justified, and limited to the minimum necessary for functionality), and such access must be transparently logged and visible to the County.

10. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider must comply with the following Data localization requirements. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider (i) must not remove or allow removal of any County Data from the agreed-upon premises or authorized services and (ii) must not transmit, store, take, or access County Data, or allow County

Data to be transmitted, stored, taken, or accessed by any means outside the agreed-upon premises or authorized services, without express written consent from the County’s

Department of Information Technology.

11. The Successful Offeror and Service Provider must implement and maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that all County Data is logically segregated from the Data of any non-County customer or client and not commingled with Data of other customers or clients, and the Successful Offeror and Service Provider must provide adequate defense in depth through access controls, policy enforcement points, labeling, and/or encryption mechanisms and must perform continuous monitoring to protect against unauthorized access by external and internal threat actors, third parties, or disclosure resulting from human or machine error.

12. Upon completion, termination, or expiration of the contract, unless otherwise directed by the County in writing, the Successful Offeror and Service Provider must securely delete all

County Data and any Custom Developments from the AI System and all its other systems and all copies, backups and derivatives thereof, and certify deletion to the County in writing.

13. The County retains full ownership of, and will own, all feedback provided by the County to the Successful Offeror and/or Service Provider with respect to the AI System or Custom

Developments, regardless of whether feedback is provided by County personnel, the

Successful Offeror, Service Provider, or through automated processes. If feedback includes

County Data and/or confidential information, such feedback may not be used for system improvement or any other purposes (other than the performance of this contract).

14. The Successful Offeror must:

a. Disclose to the County all AI Systems used in performance of this contract.

b. Use only AI Systems developed and produced in the United States and that host all applications and data in the United States. The use of foreign AI Systems in the performance of this contract, including any AI components manufactured, developed, or controlled by non-U.S. entities, is prohibited.

c. Provide a means for the County to implement human oversight, intervention, and traceability (including disclaimers that the content was generated by an AI System). If the AI System uses intermediary processing (such as reasoning, retrieval, or agentic processes), the AI System must summarize intermediary steps from Data input to Data output and make this information accessible through Data output, audit trail, and the user interface, if applicable. At a minimum, the AI System must provide (i) summarized intermediate processing actions and decision points; (ii) model routing decisions with accompanying rationale; and (iii) retrieval methods employed, including complete source attribution with direct links and relevant excerpts from materials used in response generation.

d. Comply with Virginia’s security breach laws (including §§ 18.2-186.6 and 32.1-

127.1:05 of the Code of Virginia) in the event of any confirmed or suspected security incident.

D. Assignment of Contract

A contract shall not be assignable by the Successful Offeror in whole or in part without the written consent of the County.

E. Authorization to Transact Business in the Commonwealth1

1. A contractor organized as a stock or nonstock corporation, limited liability company, business trust, or limited partnership or registered as a registered limited liability partnership or other business form must be authorized to transact business in the

Commonwealth as a domestic or foreign business entity if so required by Title 13.1 or Title

50 of the Code of Virginia or as otherwise required by law.

2. An Offeror organized or authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth pursuant to

Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia must include in its proposal the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission (Attachment C). Any 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 of the Code of Virginia or as otherwise required by law must include in its proposal a statement describing why the Offeror is not required to be so authorized.

3. An Offeror described in subsection 2 that fails to provide the required information shall not receive an award unless a written waiver is granted by the Purchasing Director, his designee, or the County Manager.

4. Any falsification or misrepresentation contained in the statement submitted by the Offeror pursuant to Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia may be cause for debarment by the County.

5. Any business entity described in subsection 1 that enters into a contract with a public body must not allow its existence to lapse or allow its certificate of authority or registration to transact business in the Commonwealth if so required by Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia to be revoked or cancelled at any time during the term of the contract.

F. Award of the Contract

1. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive any informalities.

2. The Successful Offeror must, within fifteen (15) calendar days after Contract documents are presented for signature, execute and deliver to the Purchasing office the Contract documents and any other forms or bonds required by the RFP.

3. Notice of award or intent to award may also appear on the Purchasing Office website:

http://henrico.gov/finance/divisions/purchasing/.

G. Changes to the Contract

The parties may agree in writing to modify the terms, conditions, or scope of the Contract. Any additional services to be provided shall be of a sort that is ancillary to the Contract services, or within the same broad service category as included in the Contract award. Any increase or decrease in the price of the Contract resulting from such modification shall be agreed to by the parties as a part of their written agreement to modify the scope of the Contract.

H. Collusion1

By submitting a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal, each Offeror represents that in the preparation and submission of this proposal, the Offeror did not, either directly or indirectly, enter into any combination or arrangement with any person, Offeror or corporation or enter into any agreement, participate in any collusion, or otherwise take any action in the restraint of free, competitive bidding in violation of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) or

Section 59.1-9.1 through 59.1-9.17 or Sections 59.1-68.6 through 59.1-68.8 of the Code of

Virginia.

I. Compensation

1. The Successful Offeror must submit a complete itemized invoice for services that are performed under the Contract. The Successful Offeror must include a unique identifying invoice number on each invoice. The County shall pay the Successful Offeror for satisfactory compliance with the Contract within forty-five (45) days after receipt of a proper invoice.

http://henrico.gov/finance/divisions/purchasing/

2. The County encourages the Successful Offeror to receive payments via ACH. The County utilizes a third-party payment network powered by Bank of America called Paymode-X.

This network allows the County to make ACH payments to vendors without retaining any financial information of that business. If interested, the Successful Offeror should visit https://www.paymode.com/henricocounty to register or for more information. The

Successful Offeror should register each payment address where ACH payments will be received. Once registered with Paymode-X, the verification process takes up to two weeks before ACH payments begin. All payments until then are issued via check.

J. Controlling Law and Venue

The Contract will be made, entered into, and shall be performed in the County and shall be governed by the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia without regard to its conflicts of law principles. Any dispute arising out of the Contract, its interpretations, or its performance shall be litigated only in the Henrico County General District Court or the Circuit Court of the

County of Henrico, Virginia.

K. County License Requirement1

If a business is located in the County, it is unlawful to conduct or engage in the business without obtaining a business license. If your business is located in the County, include a copy of your current business license with your proposal submission. If your business is not located in the

County, include a copy of your current business license with your proposal submission. If you have any questions, contact the Business Section, Department of Finance, County of Henrico, telephone (804) 501-4310.

L. Drug-Free Workplace to be Maintained by the Contractor (VA. Code §2.2-4312)1

1. During the performance of this Contract, the Contractor agrees to (i)…