RFQ26265 Abbots Creek Gravity Outfall Page 1 of 7

WINSTON-SALEM/FORSYTH COUNTY UTILITY COMMISSION

FORSYTH COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INTEREST/STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES

THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM DESIRES TO ENGAGE A PRIVATE ENGINEERING FIRM FOR THE

FOLLOWING PROJECT:

ABBOTTS CREEK GRAVITY OUTFALL

PROJECT BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF WORK DESIRED:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities (WSFCU) plans to replace and upsize approximately 5,700 LF of 12-inch gravity sewer to 18-inch, and 6,000 LF of 15-inch gravity sewer to 21-inch, along the existing alignment of Abbotts

Creek. These improvements were identified in the Wastewater Collection System Master Plan.

The proposed alignment will cross Interstate 40, Old Salem Road, Shields Road, and Bridgeport Drive, and will require one crossing of Abbotts Creek.

The selected engineering firm will be responsible for preparing all design documents required for permitting, easement acquisition, bidding, and construction. The firm will may provide construction administration services for the project, but this is to be determined at a later date.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Please do not submit fee information with your submittal. The City selects firms to provide professional services based on demonstrated competence and qualification. Once a firm is selected, the City will enter into contract negotiations with that firm; and, as part of that negotiation, will determine a fair and reasonable fee for the services to be provided. The City reserves the right to terminate negotiations with the selected firm(s) and proceed to negotiate with other firm(s) should contract/fee negotiations fail. Once a firm is selected, a detailed scope of services

(broken down by specific milestone events/deliverables), and associated fee proposal, and implementation schedule will be refined, agreed to and once signed, will be identified and attached to the City’s standard professional services agreement form.

Any firm wishing to be considered must be properly registered with the Office of the Secretary of State. The Engineers performing the work and in responsible charge of the work must be registered in the State of North Carolina and must have a good ethical and professional standing. It will be the responsibility of the selected private firm to verify the registration of any corporate subsidiary or subcontractor prior to submitting a Letter of Interest. The firm must have the financial ability to undertake the work and assume the liability. The selected firm(s) will be required to furnish proof of

Professional Liability insurance coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000.00 per claim. The firm(s) must have an adequate accounting system to identify costs chargeable to the project.

All qualified firms who submit responsive Letters of Interest will be considered. The evaluation of these firms will be based on the firm’s overall experience, past performance, knowledge, and familiarity with the type of work required, the experience of proposed staff to perform specific work required, including any sub consultants and the firms distance from the project site.

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Priority consideration will be given to firms that maintain an office in North Carolina and staffed with an adequate number of employees deemed by the City to be capable of performing a majority of the work required.

The City of Winston-Salem in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-assisted programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such

Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION OF A LETTER OF INTEREST

All Letters of Interest should be limited to twenty (20) pages, including the cover sheet. Letters of Interest containing more than 20 pages will not be considered. In order to reduce printing costs and to facilitate recycling, we request that only electronic Letters of Interest in PDF format be submitted prior to the deadline. The PDF copy should be e-mailed to: jacobmo@cityofws.org.

Section I - Cover/Introductory Letter

The introductory letter should be addressed to Jake Moyer, Civil Engineer. The letter should contain the following information:

• Expression of firm’s interest in executing the work.

• Statement that the firm will perform a minimum of 35% of the work.

• Statement of any possible conflicts of interest; and

• Summation of information contained within the letter of interest, including an email address and telephone number for the firm’s contact person along with the business street address.

Section II - Evaluation Factors

This section should contain information regarding evaluation and other factors listed in the advertisement such as:

• Identify project personnel/sub consultants’ qualifications and experience.

• Understanding of project (site and structure conditions, traffic and safety concerns, etc.);

• Unique qualifications of key team members.

• Proposed schedule for completion; and

• Identify type and location of similar work performed within the last five (5) years

Section III - Supportive Information

This section should contain the following information:

• Capacity Chart/Graph (available work force);

• Organizational chart indicating personnel to be assigned by discipline.

• Resumes of key personnel.

• Names, classifications, and location(s) of the firm’s North Carolina personnel and resources to be assigned to the work; and

• Other relevant information

Private firms are invited to submit letters of interest for providing the requested engineering services to the City by 12:00

Noon, July 29th, 2026. Letters of interest submitted after this deadline will not be considered. The submittal, in PDF format, should be submitted to Jake Moyer, Civil Engineer, to the following email address: jacobmo@cityofws.org .

Firms submitting Letters of Interest are encouraged to carefully check them for conformance to the requirements stated above. If

Letters of Interest do not meet these requirements, they will be disqualified. No exceptions will be granted.

All questions concerning this request for Letters of Interest or the scope of this work should be directed to: Jake Moyer jacobmo@cityofws.org. Questions will be accepted through 5:00 PM July 22nd, 2026. If you feel the information provided is inadequate to submit a Letter of Interest, please contact Jake Moyer @ 336-734-1247 or by e-mail.

The firm selected will be notified by telephone. Notification will be given to those firms that were not selected by e-mail.

mailto:jacobmo@cityofws.org mailto:jacobmo@cityofws.org mailto:jacobmo@cityofws.org

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Notice to Proposers:

It is the policy of the City that an employee, officer, or agent of City may not participate in any manner in the bidding, awarding, or administering of contracts in which they, or a member of their immediate family, their business partner, or any organization in which they serve as an officer, director, trustee, or employee, has a financial interest.

The successful proposer must comply with all provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Equal

Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA), and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. By submitting a proposal, the successful proposer agrees to indemnify the City from and against all claims, suits, damages, costs, losses, and expenses in any manner arising out of, or connected with, the failure of the Company, its subcontractors, agents, successors, assigns, officers, or employees to comply with the provisions of the ADA, EEOA, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

No special inducements will be considered that are not a part of the original bidding document.

City’s Rights and Options

The City, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights:

• To supplement, amend, substitute or otherwise modify this RFQ at any time

• To cancel this RFQ with or without the substitution of another RFQ

• To take any action affecting this RFQ, this RFQ process, or the services subject to this RFQ that would be in the best interests of the city

• To issue additional requests for information

• To require one or more service providers to supplement, clarify, or provide additional information in order for the city to evaluate the responses submitted

• To share the Proposals with City employees other than the Evaluation Committee or City advisory committees as deemed necessary

• To award all, none, or any part of the Services that is in the best interest of the city, with one or more of the Service Providers responding, which may be done with or without re-solicitation.

• To discuss and negotiate with selected Service Provider(s) any terms and conditions in the Proposals including but not limited to financial terms

• To negotiate a contract with a service provider based on the information provided in response to this RFQ

Public Records

Any material submitted in response to this RFQ will become a “public record” once the proposer’s document(s) is opened and the proposer is determined to be a participant in the solicitation process and shall be subject to public disclosure consistent with Chapter 132, North Carolina General Statutes. Proposals submitted under this section shall not be subject to public inspection until a contract is awarded N.C.G.S 143-129.8(d).

Trade Secrets/Confidentiality

Proposers must claim any material that qualifies as "trade secret" information under N.C.G.S. 66152(3) in their response to this RFQ and must state the reasons why such exclusion from public disclosure is necessary and legal.

To properly designate material as trade secret under these circumstances, each Proposer must take the following precautions: (a) any trade secrets submitted by a Proposer should be submitted in a separate, sealed envelope marked

"Trade Secret - Confidential and Proprietary Information - Do Not Disclose Except for the Purpose of Evaluating this

Proposal," and (b) the same trade secret/confidentiality designation should be stamped on each page of the trade secret materials contained in the envelope.

Do not attempt to designate your entire proposal as a trade secret, and do not attempt to designate pricing information as a trade secret. Doing so may result in your bid being disqualified.

In submitting a proposal, each Proposer agrees that the City may reveal any trade secret materials contained in such response to all City staff and City officials involved in the selection process, and to any outside consultant or other third parties who assist City in the selection process. Furthermore, each Proposer agrees to indemnify and hold

RFQ26265 Abbots Creek Gravity Outfall Page 4 of 7 harmless the City and each of its officers, employees, and agents from all costs, damages, and expenses incurred in connection with disclosing any material, which the Proposer has designated as a trade secret.

The City reserves the right to make all final determination(s) of the applicability of North Carolina General Statutes §

132-1.2, Confidential Information.

Familiarity with Laws and Ordinances

The submission of a proposal on the services requested herein shall be considered as a representation that the Proposer is familiar with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations which affect those engaged or employed in the provision of such services, or which in any way affects the conduct of the provision of such services; and no plea of misunderstanding will be considered on account of ignorance thereof. If the Proposer discovers any provisions in the

RFQ documents that are contrary to or inconsistent with any law, ordinance, or regulation, it shall be reported to the City in writing without delay.

The Proposer agrees that in carrying out this contract, compliance will be maintained with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, specifically including, without limitations, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and Section

1324A, the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

The Proposer certifies that the proposal is made in good faith and without collusion with any person making a proposal or with any officer or employee of the City.

The undersigned further agrees, in connection with the performance of this contract, not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, gender, age, handicap, political affiliation, or national origin.

Proposals are to be signed by an officer of the company authorized to bind the submitter to its provisions. Failure to manually sign the appropriate proposal form will disqualify the proposer and the proposal will not be considered.

Ethics Policy / Code of Conduct

The City of Winston-Salem has established guidelines for ethical standards of conduct for City representatives and to provide guidance in determining what conduct is appropriate in particular cases. City representatives should maintain high standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and fairness in carrying out public duties; avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants including the appearance of impropriety; and never use their position or power for improper personal gain. In establishing an ethics policy, the City of Winston-Salem desires to protect the public against decisions that are affected by undue influence, conflicts of interest, or any other violation of these policies as well as promote and strengthen the confidence of the public in their governing body. For a complete review of the City Policy as it relates to this solicitation, click the following link. http://www.cityofws.org/bids

Stimulation of the Local Economy

In an effort to stimulate the local economy, foster development and promote efficiency in the provision of city services and the completion of various city projects, the City of Winston-Salem has undertaken an initiative to strongly encourage all parties contracting with the City of Winston-Salem to evaluate their internal operations and hiring practices and, where appropriate, to initiate efforts to stimulate the local economy by hiring applicants and contractors from the Winston-

Salem/Forsyth County Area and by utilizing minority and women contractors and service providers. Such efforts to stimulate the local economy may be accomplished by posting job vacancies with the North Carolina Employment Security

Commission, the Piedmont Triad Regional Council of Governments, and the Winston-Salem Urban League; and utilizing the State of North Carolina Office for Historically Underutilized Business database https://www.ips.state.nc.us/vendor/searchvendor.aspx?t=h or other local resources such as the City of Winston-Salem

M/WBE Program to identify Winston-Salem/Forsyth County based contractors and subcontractors. Stimulation of the local economy requires a collaborative effort of both the public and private sector. The city is committed to taking reasonable steps to achieve said goal.

Iran Divestment Act

Provider hereby certifies that it is not on the North Carolina State Treasurer’s list of persons engaging in business activities in Iran, prepared pursuant to NCGS 147-86.58, nor will Provider utilize on this agreement any subcontractor on such http://www.cityofws.org/bids https://www.ips.state.nc.us/vendor/searchvendor.aspx?t=h

RFQ26265 Abbots Creek Gravity Outfall Page 5 of 7 list. This list, along with additional information about the Iran Divestment Act, is available on the Treasurer’s Office site: https://www.nctreasurer.com/inside-the-department/OpenGovernment/Pages/Iran-Divestment-Act-Resources.aspx.

Divestment from Companies that Boycott Israel

Contractor hereby certifies that it is not on the North Carolina State Treasurer’s list of companies engaged in a boycott of

Israel in violation of NCGS 147-86.80 et. seq. and that it will not utilize on this agreement any subcontractor on said list.”

E-Verify Compliance

Per N.C.G.S. 143-133.3 “E-VERIFY. CONTRACTOR shall comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Further, if the CONTRACTOR utilizes a subcontractor, the CONTRACTOR shall require the subcontractor to comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General

Statutes.”

Right to Audit

To confirm compliance with the terms of this agreement, local, state, and federal laws and regulations, the

City may, at all reasonable times upon reasonable prior notice during usual business hours, inspect, audit and examine for a period up to five (5) years after completion of the service or project detailed in this Agreement, all accounts and books of Contractor and, where necessary, make copies of the Contractor's documents necessary to determine compliance. Such right may be exercised through any agent or employee of City or by independent certified public accountants designated by the City. The Contractor shall permit the aforementioned inspection, audit and examination, and where necessary, the City to make copies of documents verifying compliance as indicated herein."

Qualifications

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. Chapter 55 Article 15 entitled Foreign Corporations, the successful bidder, if bidding on behalf of a corporation or LLC, must have on file with the Secretary of State of the State of North Carolina a Certificate of

Authority to transact business in this state. If bidding on behalf of a sole proprietorship or business under an assumed name, the successful bidder must be registered as such with the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. Submission of a bid while not in compliance with this requirement will result in the bid being rejected as non-responsible.

Termination

Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the parties, this Agreement may be terminated by either party for convenience with no less than ten (10) calendar days’ notice. In the event of termination, the Contractor will be paid for all Services properly rendered to the date of termination and shall promptly discontinue all Services affected (unless a termination notice from the City directs otherwise). In the event of any termination, the Contractor will be paid for all Services properly rendered to the date of termination and shall (i) promptly discontinue all Services affected (unless a termination notice from the City directs otherwise); and (ii) deliver to the City all documents, data, reports, estimates, summaries, and such other information and materials as may have been accumulated by the Contractor in performing the Services herein. Other than being paid for

Services properly rendered to the date of termination, Contractor hereby waives any and all other claims for lost profits, lost opportunity, and for any and all other direct, indirect, special, and consequential damages. In the event that the City terminates this Agreement due to the Contractor’s poor workmanship, failure to perform the Service set out herein or, otherwise, for breach of this Agreement, or in the event that the Contractor terminates this Agreement for convenience or otherwise, the

City may pursue and recover all remedies available at law or in equity, as these remedies are cumulative and do not exclude each other.

IMPORTANT: Winston-Salem City Code (Chapter 2, Article 1, Sec. 2-3) provides that the City may disqualify any business from bidding on contracts of the City if a business fails to perform satisfactorily on past or current projects

Nondiscrimination Ordinance

As a condition of entering into this contact, the Contractor represents and warrants that it will fully comply with the City's

Non-Discrimination Policy, as set forth in Chapter 2, Section 2-8 Entitled “Policy of Nondiscrimination” of the Winston-Salem City Code. As part of such compliance, the Contractor shall not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, veteran status, disability, age, marital status, familial status, protected hairstyle, political affiliation or national origin in the screening of applicants, the hiring and treatment of its employees, the provision of the goods and/or services set forth herein, or the https://www.nctreasurer.com/inside-the-department/OpenGovernment/Pages/Iran-Divestment-Act-Resources.aspx

RFQ26265 Abbots Creek Gravity Outfall Page 6 of 7 solicitation, selection, hiring, or treatment of its subcontractors, vendors or suppliers, (hereinafter collectively

“subcontractors”), if any, in connection with this contract or the contract solicitation process if applicable, nor shall the

Contractor retaliate against any person or entity for reporting instances of such discrimination. The Contractor shall enact employment policies consistent with this obligation to refrain from such discrimination and shall provide evidence of such to the City within 90 calendar days of the first receipt of City funds. The Contractor shall provide equal opportunity for subcontractors to participate in all of its subcontracting and supply opportunities, if any, under this contract, provided that nothing contained in this clause shall prohibit or limit otherwise lawful efforts to remedy the effects of marketplace discrimination that has occurred or is occurring in the marketplace. The Contractor understands and agrees that a violation of this clause shall be considered a material breach of this contract and may result in termination of this contract, disqualification of the Contractor from participating in future City contracts pursuant to Winston-Salem City Code

Section 2-3 or other sanctions. Furthermore, as a condition of entering into this contract, the Contractor agrees to: (a) promptly provide to the City in a format specified by the City all information and documentation that may be requested by the City from time to time regarding the screening of applicants, the hiring and treatment of its employees particularly if City funds were used in connection with hiring and compensation process, and the solicitation, selection, treatment and payment of subcontractors, if any, in connection with this Agreement; and (b) if requested, provide to the City within sixty days after the request a truthful and complete list of the names of all subcontractors that the Grantee has used under this contract, including the total dollar amount paid by the Contractor on each subcontract or supply contract. The

Contractor further agrees to fully cooperate in any investigation conducted by the City pursuant to the City’s

Nondiscrimination Policy, to provide any documents, relevant to such investigation, that are requested by the City. The

Contractor agrees to provide to the City from time to time on the City’s request, payment affidavits detailing the amounts paid by the Contractor to subcontractors and suppliers in connection with this contract within a certain period of time. Such affidavits shall be in the format specified by the City from time to time. Nothing in this contract shall infringe upon any rights afforded to the Contractor by state or federal law.

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Evaluation Criteria

Below is a description of the evaluation criteria that will be used to evaluate the proposals. To be deemed responsive, it is important for the firm’s proposal to contain appropriate detail to demonstrate satisfaction of each criterion and compliance with the performance provisions outlined in this RFP. The proposal will be the primary source of information used in the evaluation process. Proposal must contain information specifically related to the proposed services requested in this RFP.

Failure of any firm to submit information requested may result in the elimination of the proposal from further evaluation.

Respondents will be evaluated for selection on the basis of the Proposer most qualified to meet the requirements of this RFP.

Major criteria to be considered in evaluation may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to:

• Work Experience - The background, education, and experience of the proposed project team in providing similar services elsewhere, including and especially the level of experience in working with municipalities. Determination that the selected respondent has no contractual relationships that would result in a conflict of interest to the City’s contract. Proposer should include a list of similar projects within the last five (5) years that have been completed by the proposed project team.

• Understanding of Project – The proposer’s demonstrated understanding of the project scope, background, and purpose, as well as any other pertinent details and/or innovative approach that would help exhibit clear understanding of potential project obstacles/challenges. This should include a proposed plan in which the proposer details the approach they would follow to carry out the project.

• Past Performance – How a proposer has performed on previous projects for public and private entities. The proposer will be evaluated on client satisfaction from previous projects.

• Proposed Plan of Action – Proposer’s demonstrated ability to meet the project's performance requirements with respect to schedule.

The following “Weighted Scale” will be used to evaluate each proposal

Evaluation Criteria Weight

Work Experience 35

Understanding of Project 25

Past Performance 25

Proposed Plan of Action 15