AD#002 RFQual -23-041 Q&A Final 2.5.24.pdf

ADDENDUM #002

Solicitation Number: RFQual-23-041

Solicitation Title: Shared Savings Financing for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Bids due by: February 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time

Addendum Number: 002

Addendum Date: February 5, 2024

Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

A notice of protest should be filed with the Agency Clerk, Office of General Counsel, 501 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399; or by Fax: (850) 922-4355; or by Email: CO-GCAgencyClerk@fdc.myflorida.com.

Please be advised that the information contained in this Addendum is applicable to the original specifications of the above-referenced solicitation and any subsequent addenda.

Added language to the RFQual is highlighted while deleted language is stricken.

This Addendum includes the Department’s written answers to the written questions received.

This Addendum includes the following changes:

Change No.1

Section 4.6, Pass/Fail Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements, is hereby revised.

4.6 Pass/Fail Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements

The Department shall reject any and all Replies that do not meet the criteria defined below.

4.6.1 The Vendor has attended the Mandatory Informational Meeting.

4.6.2 The Vendor’s Reply is received by the Department on or before the date and time specified in the Timeline.

4.6.3 The Vendor agrees that all data generated, used or stored by Vendor pursuant to the prospective Contract will reside and remain in the United States and will not be transferred outside of the United States.

4.6.4 The Vendor’s Reply shall demonstrate that it has at least three (3) years, within the last five

(5) years of relevant experience providing shared savings financing for energy efficiency upgrades preferably in a correctional setting.

mailto:CO-GCAgencyClerk@fdc.myflorida.com

The Vendor’s reply shall demonstrate at least (3) years of experience providing Energy Efficiency Upgrades Retrofit projects. Preference will be given to projects performed within Correctional Institutions.

4.6.5 The Vendor’s Reply and all services to be provided under the Contract will be compliant with all laws, rules, and other authorities applicable to providing the services, including, but not limited to, Florida’s Open Government laws (Article I, Section 24, Florida Constitution, Chapter 119, F.S.).

4.6.6 The Vendor is able to demonstrate their ability to meet the Performance Bond and Labor and Material Payment Bond requirements. Within 10 Business Days of Contract execution, the Vendor shall deliver to the Department a 100% unconditional Performance Bond and a 100% unconditional Labor and Material Payment Bond each in the an amount not less than the cost found in the mutually agreed negotiated Proposal. The Performance Bond and Labor and Material Payment Bond shall be maintained through the term of the Contract (including renewal years).

4.6.7 The Vendor has submitted proof of its registration to do business in Florida, as evidenced by Articles of Incorporation or Fictitious Name Registration or Business and, if applicable, a copy of the most recent Certification of Good Standing. This information can be obtained from the Florida Secretary of State’s Office; otherwise, the Vendor shall provide certification of exemption from this requirement.

4.6.8 The Vendor has demonstrated its Financial Stability by submitting at least one of the following:

1. Audited financial statements that demonstrate the Vendor’s satisfaction of Financial Stability criteria;

2. Documentation of an investment grade rating from a credit rating agency designated as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);

3. For a Vendor with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion, a letter containing a written declaration, pursuant to Section 92.525, F.S., issued by the Vendor’s chief financial officer or controller attesting that the Vendor is financial stable and meets the definition of Financial Stability; or

4. For a Vendor with annual revenues of $1 billion or less, the Vendor’s current Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Financial Stress Score has a Financial Stress Class of 1, 2, 3, or 4.

4.6.9 The Vendor has submitted a completed Attachment IV, Firm’s Contact Information and

Certification.

4.6.10 The Vendor has submitted a completed Attachment V, Pass/Fail Requirement Certification and Non-Collusion Certification.

4.6.11 The Vendor has submitted a completed Attachment VI, Notice of Conflict of Interest.

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Responses to Written Questions FDC RFQual-23-041

Shared Savings Financing for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Question Number

Answer

1 Per Section 4.6.4, does a vendor’s relevant experience for providing sharing savings financing also include a vendor’s experience providing energy savings performance contracting?

Please refer to Change No.1 of this Addendum.

2 Page 6 of the RFQ states that the objective of this RFQ is to award multiple Vendors to form a Pre-Qualified Vendor Pool to partner with the State of Florida for shared savings financing of energy efficiency upgrades as contemplated by subsections 255.252(4) and 255.253(5). Florida Statue 255.253 (5) states that “financing of energy conservation measures and maintenance services through a private firm which may own any purchased equipment for the duration of a contract, which shall not exceed 10 years unless so authorized by the department.” Is it the departments intention to limit the project term to 10 years or will the state authorize project terms up-to 20 years?

The finance term for each project will be negotiated between the Contractor and the Department. The Department anticipates most projects will have a payback of 10 years or less. Payback periods will not exceed 20 years.

3 Under the terms of the Shared Savings Agreement the Department splits the resulting cost savings with the Contractor over a specified term in exchange for the installation, financing, maintenance, and monitoring of the EEMs. Has the Department determined what the savings split should/will be?

The savings split will be determined through negotiations prior to beginning a project.

4 How many firms does the Department plan to pre-qualify for the pool?

The Department anticipates pre-qualifying multiple contractors for each category.

5 Can you please provide the Design Standards or Master specifications for all work that is being contemplated for the Department of Cor Corrections via this RFQ?

Complete Specifications will be provided to the Pre-Qualified Vendor Pool.

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6 If a responding Vendor is an affiliate of a corporation (parent company), can we submit financial statements for that parent company or do we need to submit separate financials specifically for the affiliate.

The Department will evaluate the financial stability of the Vendor, submitting a reply to this Request for Qualifications.

7 Do offerors need to submit subcontracting agreements for 2nd tier subcontractors named in the proposal?

No. Please see Section 4.7, Tab D Partners, Consultants, and Subcontractors, of the RFQual.

8 What are the required coverage levels (single and aggregate) required for Performance Bonds and Labor & Material Payment Bonds at the time of Request for Qualification response?

No bonds are required as part of the Reply. Bond amounts will be negotiated in each project’s contract.

9 Will redlines to Terms and Conditions be permitted as part of the Request for Qualifications response?

No.

10 Will redlines to Attachment XIII, Model Shared Savings Contract, be permitted as part of the Request for Qualifications response?

No.

11 Do all potential future subcontractors need to be listed in the Request for Qualifications response and submitted via Attachment VII?

No. The Department reserves the right to approve or disapprove any subcontract submitted by the Selected Vendor per Task.

12 Is the HIPAA form required as part of the Request for Qualifications response?

No. However, the Business Associate Agreement may be required as part of a resulting contract.

13 Regarding the Shared Savings Contract (Exhibit XIII), there are several provisions that indicate that Vendor and Department will “in good faith, negotiate a Shared Savings Contract” (Section

2.2.2.2 (p. 6), Sections 6.3 (p.30), art. 2 (p.48). These seem to be in conflict with Section 2.2.2.2 that states: “The Shared Savings Contract language (Attachment XIII) has been provided and approved and agreed to by the Vendor by submission of a Reply to this RFQual.” Must the Vendor agree to the specific terms of the Contract, or will there be an opportunity to negotiate, in good faith, the terms and conditions of the template Shared Savings Contract if selected?

Exhibit III, Shared Savings Contract, is a sample draft. The Department and Contractor will negotiate each term and conditions for Shared Savings Contract.

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14 In Tab C for Qualifications it mentions that “All resumes should be no more than two (2) pages in length. If more than two (2) pages are submitted, only the first two (2) pages will be evaluated.”, is it no more than 2 pages for each personal resume or only 2 pages of total team resumes will be accepted?

Resumes should be no more than two (2) pages in length per individual Team member.

15 During costing/savings development phase, if a planned EEM upgrade is currently funded in a capital improvement plan, can that offset of CIP cost be calculated in project savings?

No.

16 FS Statute 225.253(5) states that the shared savings “shall not exceed 10 years unless so authorized by the department.” Is the Department expecting all projects to not exceed 10 years? Or is Department authorizing projects with savings greater than 10 years?

Please see the Department’s Answer to Question Number 2 of this Addendum.

17 After Pre-Qualified Vendor Pool is established, how will the Department determine what sites get given to respective companies?

The Department will assign projects to members of the Pre- Qualified Vendor Pool based on the Department’s sole discretion considering each Firm’s applicability to the project.

18 After Pre-Qualified Vendor Pool is established, when a task order for a specific site is issued, will it be issued to more than one company or will only one company get the one site alone?

Selected Vendors will receive the original Task. However, the Department retains the right to reassign the Task to another Vendor if the terms cannot be successfully negotiated with the first Selected Vendor.

19 Does the Department currently have annual appropriations for the funding of these task orders planned for this project?

The Department has funding in the appropriation category of Deferred-Payment Commodity Contracts utilized for these types of programs.

20 On the pre-proposal call, it was mentioned that the Department will not be co-signing on any loans/financing, what is the Departments plan for the financing of projects?

Each project will be funded by the Firm awarded the contract for that project.