Bicycle_and_Pedestrian_Bridge_Inspection_Services_(Addendum_#1_Revision).pdf

Request for Proposal

No. Public Works-0296

FOR

BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE INSPECTION SERVICES

Contact: Chris Schneiter, Management Analyst

Email: calberti@santacruzca.gov

RESPONSE DEADLINE: May 19, 2026, 2:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/santacruzca

City of Santa Cruz

Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Inspection Services

I. INTRODUCTION

II. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS

III. PROCESS INSTRUCTIONS

Attachments:

A - BP Bridge Inspection Services RFP Final

B - BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE LOCATION MAP

#Public Works-0296 Title: Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Inspection Services

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Summary

The City of Santa Cruz owns and maintains a network of 10 bicycle and pedestrian bridges of varying age, design, and construction type. These structures are critical to public safety and mobility. The city seeks professional engineering services to assess structural conditions, identify deficiencies, and recommend maintenance or rehabilitation actions. The selected Consultant shall perform various tasks and prepare deliverables such as inspection reports, photo documentation, and other deliverables as deemed necessary by the city. The city is soliciting proposals from qualified engineering firms to provide this service within its jurisdiction on a two-year rotation, with half the bridges inspected annually. There are currently 10 bicycle-pedestrian bridges in the city (See Attachment 1). The selected consultant shall perform inspections in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local standards. The contract will run for two years with a two-year renewal option.

The anticipated schedule for the RFP review and award process is from May 19, 2026, to contract award in July 2026.

1.2. Background

The City of Santa Cruz was incorporated in 1866 and formed its current charter in 1948. It is governed under a Council/Manager form of government. A Mayor and six Council members set policy for the City and a City Manager serves as chief administrator of those policies. The City is located on the coast, 75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay. It encompasses 15.8 square miles with cultural and ethnic diversity among its population of 65,000. Santa Cruz is part of the National

Marine Sanctuary and is a popular tourist destination owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historical landmarks.

The City provides a full range of municipal services and facilities including a recreational wharf, public golf course, over thirteen hundred acres of open space, full beach services, refuse management, law enforcement, fire protection, and water and wastewater utilities. The City is also host to University of

California Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.

1.3. Contact Information

Chris Schneiter

Professional and Technical Manager

Email: cschneiter@santacruzca.gov

Phone: (831) 212-6051

Department:

Public Works

Department Head:

Nathan Nguyen

Public Works Director mailto:cschneiter@santacruzca.gov tel:(831)212-6051

1.4. Timeline

The City will make every effort to adhere to the following tentative schedule. All dates set forth in this

RFP are subject to change at the City’s sole discretion. Any change will be set forth in an addendum. All references in this RFP to “time” are Pacific Standard Time.

Release Project Date April 2, 2026

RFP Questions and Clarification Due Date April 20, 2026, 5:00pm

Proposal Submission Deadline May 19, 2026, 2:00pm

Contractor Selection Date June 5, 2026

2. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS

2.1. Summary Scope of Work

All applicants must provide thorough and comprehensive responses that clearly demonstrate their team’s approach to and consistency with the below-mentioned standards.

The City invites qualified firms to respond to this Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project (“Project”) titled below:

Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Inspection Services

RFP No. Public Works-0296

The City anticipates awarding a contract to a vendor for a 2-year term with the option of one (2) year term extensions if City so elects. The Proposer will provide the services outlined in Section SCOPE OF

WORK.

The successful Proposer shall furnish all tools, equipment, materials, tax, apparatus, facilities, labor, transportation, supervision, and management, not specifically provided by the City, to complete the work described in this RFP. The successful Proposer will provide a brief statement of services, as detailed further in Section SCOPE OF WORK.

2.2. Contact

If you have any questions concerning this solicitation, please ask questions utilizing City’s e-Procurement

Question & Answer feature. This RFP document may be downloaded from the City’s e-Procurement

Portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/santacruzca/projects/252301. For technical assistance, contact OpenGov using the real-time chat feature on the Portal (located in the lower right-hand corner of the screen), or via email at procurement-support@opengov.com for support. All questions must be received by 5:00 pm on Monday, April 20, 2026.

2.3. Proposal Submittal Due Date

Proposals are due no later than 2:00 pm on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, to guarantee review. Proposals received after the deadline will be deemed non-responsive. All proposals will be submitted via City’s e-

Procurement Portal at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/santacruzca/projects/252301.

Proposers take full responsibility for City’s receipt of its Proposal. The City will not be liable for any expenses incurred by Proposers in responding to this solicitation, including but not limited to any costs associated with interviews.

It is the responsibility of the Proposer to ensure that electronic submittals are received by the City prior to the deadline.

2.4. Pre-Proposal Meeting

A pre-proposal meeting will not be held for this RFP.

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2.5. Responsiveness and Responsibility

When determining the Responsiveness of the proposal, the City may consider any of the following but not limited to:

A. Proposal received on time and completed per instructions.

B. Proposal contains required contents, forms and signatures submitted in accordance with RFP instructions.

C. Proposal is compliant with specifications and industry standards.

When determining the Responsibility of the Proposer, the City may consider any of the following but not limited to:

A. Possession of industry standard licensing and/or certifications.

B. Financial capacity of the Proposer.

C. Experience or past performance of the Proposer.

D. Use of Subcontractors / Subconsultants.

E. Past, Present and Pending Legal Actions.

F. Exceptions with City’s Terms and Conditions.

G. Anticipated adherence with Project delivery schedule.

H. Ability to respond to City’s inquiries for proposal clarification.

Proposers have the right to take exception to the specifications or terms and conditions of this RFP, however, such exceptions may deem the proposal non-responsible. Any exceptions taken must be explained in the proposal and submitted by the submittal due date. Any exceptions that contradict the

City’s terms and conditions or contain provisions that are not in the best interest of the City will disqualify the Proposer. If exceptions are not explained, the Proposer will comply with the specifications as stated in this RFP. Exceptions submitted after the proposal due date will not be accepted.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive any informality or minor defect in proposals received.

2.6. Definitions

In this RFP document:

A. “Proposer” means contractor, firm, supplier, vendor, or consultant submitting a proposal to this

RFP.

B. “Proposal” means the complete submittal of Proposer to the City in response to this RFP, including any written documentation and oral interview responses.

C. “Subcontractor” means those performing any portion of the services as subcontractors, vendors, suppliers, and other business entities and individuals that is not the Proposer.

D. “Key Staff”, if required, means the employees of the Contractor or subcontractor(s) that will provide project leadership or expertise in lead technical services and are considered essential to the success of the Project.

E. “Contract” also means Purchase Order or Agreement.

3. PROCESS INSTRUCTIONS

3.1. Questions and Requests for Clarification and Addenda

Questions or concerns regarding any aspect of this RFP shall be sent via City’s e-Procurement Portal’s

Question & Answer feature and received by the date identified in Timeline in INTRODUCTION Section.

Any questions or objections not submitted within the time and manner stated above or to anyone other than the above-stated contact will be deemed waived. The City is not bound by the oral representation of any City employee or official. Answers to questions received will be sent out in the City's procurement portal.

The City may determine it is necessary to revise any part of this RFP. Revisions will be made by written addenda and it is the Proposer’s sole responsibility to comply with any addenda to this RFP. Addenda will be posted on the City’s e-Procurement Portal, https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/santacruzca/projects/252301, under Bidding Information.

3.2. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

RFP responses will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria identified in the sub-sections Responsiveness and Responsibility in GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS section, below, by an evaluation committee composed of City staff. The evaluation committee will open and review the proposals in confidence. Proposals will be available to the public after the contract award.

After the initial proposal evaluation, the City may determine that additional information is needed to establish the final ranking of proposers. The semi-finalists will be contacted and may be asked to:

• Conduct a scenario-based demonstration of the equipment or service,

• Revise the submitted proposal for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers, and/or

• Provide additional information to assist City in determining the best value proposer.

The Evaluation Committee will use all information collected to rank the semi-finalists in order of their ability to best meet the requirements of the City. The City will begin negotiating a firm contract with the highest ranked Proposer. If no agreement can be reached, negotiations will begin with the next ranked

Proposer.

3.3. Responsiveness

Responsiveness is determined in accordance with meeting the minimum requirements in Sub-Section

Responsive and Responsibility of Section GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS to be responsive

(the submittal includes all of the required documentation).

3.4. Responsibility

Responsiveness is determined in accordance with meeting the minimum requirements in Sub-Section

Responsive and Responsibility of Section GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS to be responsive

(the submittal includes all of the required documentation).

The total maximum score for the evaluation of proposals is 100 percent (100%). Proposals will be evaluated by the EC using the Proposal Evaluation Criteria as set forth in Section EVALUATION CRITERIA.

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Proposals that are deemed responsive, from a Proposer that has been deemed responsible, will be evaluated based on the Evaluation Criteria below. Evaluation and scoring of proposals will be based on how likely the proposal content meets or exceeds the performance requirements of this RFP.

3.5. Negotiations

Upon the City’s final ranking of proposals, the Proposers shall be prepared to enter negotiations to enter into the Contract. The City will first begin negotiations with the top-ranked Proposer(s). If the City and the top-ranked Proposer(s) do not reach an agreement, then the City may negotiate with the next highest-ranked Proposer. This process will continue until the City reaches an agreement with a

Proposer(s) or terminates the procurement. The City may begin negotiating with the next highest-ranked Proposer whenever the City determines that doing so is in its best interest, and the City may negotiate with more than one Proposer at the same time.

The failure of the highest-ranked Proposer to comply with any of the requirements of this section shall constitute grounds for the City to negotiate the agreement with the next top-ranked Proposer. Upon completion of successful negotiations, the City will issue a written Notice of Intent to Award (NOITA) letter to all Proposers which lists the “Successful Proposer” that the City recommends for award of an agreement.

3.6. Collusive or Sham Bids

No person, supplier, or corporation shall make or file or be interested in more than one bid for the same work, except so far as alternate bid may be called for. Nor shall any person, supplier, or corporation submit a collusive or sham bid, per se, directly or indirectly, to induce any other supplier to submit such a bid, or to refrain from responding, or seek in any way to fix the price, or any portion of the proposed price, in order to secure an advantage against the owner or any person interested in a proposed contract. However, a person, supplier, or corporation submitting a sub-bid to a proposer or quoting prices on materials for a bidder, is not hereby disqualified from submitting sub-bids or quoting prices to other bidders.

The proposer shall acknowledge that it has not directly or indirectly been collusive with any other proposer in the preparation and submission of the proposal by submitting the Non-Collusion

Declaration. If at any time it shall be found that the proposer to whom a contract has been awarded has, in presenting the proposal, colluded with any other party or parties, said proposer shall be liable to the City for all loss or damage which the City has or may suffer as the result of the collusive activity, including, but not limited to, the cost of advertising and awarding a new contract.

3.7. Public Record

Proposals received are the property of the City. All proposals, evaluation documents, and any subsequent contracts will be subject to public disclosure per the “California Public Records Act,” (CPRA)

California Government Code, sections 7920.000 – 7931.000. All documents related to this solicitation will become public records once discussions and negotiations with proposers have been fully completed and a Notice of Intent to Award (NOITA) letter to all Proposers is issued.

If Proposer’s proprietary information is contained in documents or information submitted to City, and

Proposer claims that such information falls within one or more CPRA exemptions, Proposer must clearly mark such information “Confidential and Proprietary,” and identify the specific lines containing the information. In the event of a public request for such information, City will make best efforts to provide notice to Proposer prior to such disclosure. If Proposer contends that any documents are exempt from the CPRA and wishes to prevent disclosure, it is required to obtain a protective order, injunctive relief, or other appropriate remedy from a court of law in Santa Cruz County before the City is required to respond to the CPRA request. If Proposer fails to obtain such remedy within the time the City is required to respond to the CPRA request, City may disclose the requested information without any liability to

Proposer. Proposer further agrees that it shall defend, indemnify and hold City harmless against any claim, action or litigation (including but not limited to all judgments, costs, and attorney’s fees) that may result from denial by City of a CPRA request for information arising from any representation, or any action (or inaction), by the Proposer.

3.8. Award Protests

The City desires to foster cooperative relationships with Proposers and to reach a fair agreement in a timely manner.

The City encourages Proposers to resolve issues regarding the RFP requirements or the procurement process through written correspondence and discussions at least 5 business days prior to the proposal due date. This will allow the City time to research the validity of any stated issues and either issue an addendum to the RFP, cancel the RFP, or determine the protest to be unfounded and proceed with the solicitation. In the event the protest of specifications is denied, and the protester wishes to continue in the protest process, the protesting Proposers must still submit a proposal in accordance with the proposal submittal procedures provided in this solicitation. Questions or concerns prior to the intent to award notice will be directed to:

Chris Schneiter, Professional and Technical Manager, cschneiter@santacruzca.gov

Any Proposer who unsuccessfully bids on a City contract or any trade association representing workers who would have potentially been employed by such contract may formally protest a contract award.

Protests letters regarding a contract award will be directed to:

City of Santa Cruz

Nathan Nguyen, Public Works Director

809 Center Street

Protests regarding the contract award must be received no later than 5 business days after the written

Notice of Intent to Award is sent by the City. The award protest must be in writing and include:

The name, address, and telephone number of the protester; The Project title, RFP Number, and RFP due date; A detailed statement of the legal and/or factual grounds for the protest; and the form of relief requested. Throughout the protest review process, the City has no obligation to delay or otherwise postpone an award of a contract.

Protests regarding the award resulting from this RFP must be delivered to

Nathan Nguyen, Public Works Director within 5 business days after the written Notice of Intent to Award is sent by the City. The Public Works Director will review the protest and issue a written response within

10 business days. The decision of the Public Works Director is final.

3.9. Debriefing

A debriefing may be held after the contract award with the City and a Proposer for the Proposer to receive information about the evaluation of their proposal. A Proposer shall submit a written request to the City for a debriefing shall within thirty (30) days after the issuance of the NOITA. The debrief conference will be allotted a maximum of thirty (30) minutes and will consist only of evaluating the requesting Proposer’s Proposal.

3.10. Contract Implementation

Upon award notification and prior to final contract approval, the successful proposer will be required to submit:

• Proof of insurance and prevailing wage compliance documentation as specified in Sub-Section

Insurance Requirements and Sub-Section Prevailing Wage in Section Terms and Conditions of this RFP;

• Documentation of all credentials necessary to legally perform the Project specified;

• A completed W9 form and, if applicable, non-resident withholding exemption form, if not already on file with the City; and

• Proof of a current City of Santa Cruz business tax certificate if the proposer is located in, or performs services within, the city limits for more than 6 days annually.

• The finalized contract will be in the form included as Appendix A Sample Agreement herein, and include the RFP documents, the Proposer’s response to RFP and Vendor Questionnaire, the

Budget as described in Cost Proposal, and any negotiated modifications agreed to by the parties.

3.11. Reservation of Rights

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

• To reject any or all proposals or information received pursuant to this RFP;

• To waive any informality or minor defects in proposals received;

• To supplement, amend, substitute, or otherwise modify this RFP at any time by means of written addendum;

• To cancel this RFP with or without the substitution of another RFP or prequalification process;

• To cancel the scope of services awarded through this RFP process with or without the substitution of another RFP or prequalification process;

• To request additional information from a Proposer;

• To bid separately any item or items where it is determined by the Purchasing Manager that:

o A substantial savings in cost will result due to a large quantity purchase, or o The commodity is not appropriately classified under this specification contract.

o To verify the qualifications and experience of each Proposer;

• To require one or more Proposers to supplement, clarify, or provide additional information in order for the City to evaluate proposals submitted.

3.12. Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Living

The City of Santa Cruz has long been an advocate for environmental conservation and sustainable living.

This includes, but is not limited to, the Green Business Program, the Living Wage Ordinance, the Clean

Ocean Business Program, the Green Building Program and Climate Action Plan 2030 goals which define greenhouse gas reduction objectives to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035 (compared to 1990 levels). In your proposal, please provide information about your company regarding any existing environmental conservation goals or guidelines, environmental or greenhouse gas emissions disclosures, Green Business certifications, existing alternative fuel service vehicles, superior employee benefit policies, or other applicable policies.

3.13. Financial Responsibility

The City accepts no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a Proposer in responding to this

RFP. Proposers acknowledge and agree that their Proposals will become the property of the City and may be used by the City in any way deemed appropriate.