Addendum 5 RFP 22-015 DDB-

Request For Proposal DDB Design Scope Fire Station 23

RFP# 22-015

Addendum 5

1. FF&E – does the city of Fairburn have a state contract with some furniture vendors that we can reach out to?

Response: The City does have vendors of record for furniture purchases.

2. Security and IT – does the city of Fairburn have someone in-house or a vendor they usually use for the existing facilities?

Response: Yes. We have someone on staff.

3. Instructions to Offerors” (p. 24) is a bit confusing Response:

4. Should “Instructions to Offerors” be completed/included in submission?

5. Please provide E-Verify Security & Immigration Affidavit (per request on p.

25).

Response: The forms are attached within the proposal and are also accessible from the City of Fairburn website.

6. On p. 25, “Tax Compliance” is listed under Forms and Affidavits. Please provide form.

Response: The form is attached and listed under the documents tab on the

GPR.

7. Should “Exhibit C – Hourly Rates” (p. 59) be included in proposal submission?

8. What is defined as an economically disadvantaged firm?

Response: A socially and economically disadvantaged business is a business owned by an individual who has experienced disadvantages due to their race, ethnicity, culture, or a lack of capital.

9. Performance Bond O.C.G.A 13-10-60 The intent of including the performance bond was based upon the estimated budget and also the assumption of risk the general contractor will assume for a design which they did not develop. Therefore the performance bond will be required for the future contractor awarded the build portion of the project.

The performance bond shall be waived for the architectural design scope, but the awarded firm will bear the cost of any change orders requested by the future general contractor and the assume the risk or any issues in construction due to a fault in the design.

Comment:

Dear Mr. Smith, After attending the pre-proposal meeting and reviewing the RFP, we have identified concerns that will require a response in order to submit a statement of qualifications (SOQ). The first and most important concern is the presence of language throughout the RFP that is not applicable to the professional design and engineering (AE) services requested. Selected examples include: a performance bond referencing O.C.G.A 13-10-60 which is for construction contracts versus AE contracts; a fee format reminiscent of a subcontractor’s bid which would be very difficult (if not impossible) for an AE firm to complete with such granularity before the fire station building and site concepts are approved and a final budget is established;

a clause introducing liquidated damages; and the absence of requirements for professional liability insurance. Each of these examples are applicable for general construction and/or design-build contracts, not for AE contracts. In addition, the use of the term “Contractor” is used interchangeably to describe a business entity contracting with the City and to describe a general or design-build “Contractor” who constructs a project. The ambiguities created by the dual use of the term are too numerous to list in this summary.

We are a highly skilled AE firm capable of providing all the planning, design, engineering, and construction administration tasks necessary to deliver DBB projects and have outstanding public building experience, including fire stations exactly like the one described for Station 23. This is our area of expertise. We are passionately motivated to submit; however, we believe our response to the RFP in its current form would be considered non-responsive due to being unable to address so many points. Our goal in sending this correspondence is not to criticize; it is to submit a consistent, insurable SOQ that completely addresses the goals and requirements of the City of Fairburn. We do not want to miss this opportunity and respectfully request a call or meeting to discuss how we might submit a responsive SOQ given our concerns and equitably compete with other AE firms for the Station 23 commission.

Thank you for considering our request.