CN-550000-CA216-00020000.pdf

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Pursuant to Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, and Rule Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code, any person adversely affected by the agency decision or intended decision shall file with the agency both a notice of protest in writing and bond within 72 hours after the posting of the notice of decision or intended decision, or posting of the solicitation with respect to a protest of the terms, conditions, and specifications contained in a solicitation and will file a formal written protest within ten days after the filing of the notice of protest. The required notice of protest and bond, and formal written protest must each be timely filed with the Florida Department of Transportation, Clerk of Agency Proceedings, 605 Suwannee St, Mail Station 58, Tallahassee FL 32399-0458. Failure to file a notice of protest or formal written 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.

IMPORTANT NOTICE !!

All Prime Consultants and all Subvendors/subconsultants/subcontractors must register with the State's web-based e-Procurement system -"MyFloridaMarketPlace." You can register on-line at http://dms.myflorida.com/mfmp Professional Services acquired in accordance with Chapter

287.055 Florida Statutes, are exempt from the 1% transaction fee. You can also sign up to attend a vendor registration training session or call 1-866-352-3776 for assistance.

District: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Turnpike Central Office

Updated: Friday August 03 2018

Notice to Professional Consultants State of Florida Department of Transportation

Notice: All Letters of Response are required to be submitted via E-mail. The size limit for Letters of Response has been increased to 1MB. Please read the Response Procedure carefully!

The Department reserves the right to reject all Proposals and/or to waive minor irregularities.

The Department of Transportation anticipates seeking professional consultant services on the projects listed in this advertisement. Consideration will be given to only those firms that are qualified pursuant to law and that have been prequalified by the Department to perform the indicated MAJOR Type(s) of Work. Prime Consultants must be prequalified in at least one or more of the MAJOR Types of Work specified in the advertisement. A prequalified subconsultant(s) may be used to meet the other Types of Work specified in the advertisement. Persons and firms used whether prime consultant or subconsultant, can only perform the work for which they are prequalified with the Department, in accordance with Rule Chapter 14-75, Florida Administrative Code. Consultants technically prequalified but without unlimited audit status, will only be considered as primes for projects less than $500,000. Any firm not prequalified by the Department and desiring consideration for these projects must submit a complete Request for Prequalification Application to co.profserv@dot.state.fl.us by the advertised Letter of Response Deadline Date and Time. Please call 850-414-4597 if you have any questions on the prequalification process. A Department approved overhead audit (Technical Prequalification + Approved Unlimited Audit) is required for projects $500,000 or more. The technical work type(s) and audit must be approved by the shortlist date referenced in the advertisement in order for the responding firm to be considered responsive for shortlisting.

CONSULTANT ELIGIBILITY: It is a basic tenet of the Department's contracting program that contracts are procured in a fair, open and competitive manner. The Department requires that Consultants representing the Department must be free of conflicting professional or personal interests. In order to prevent potential conflicts of interest, the Department has established guidelines to be followed by professional services Consultants. Please familiarize yourself with the requirements of Procedure No. 375-030-006, also known as: "Conflict of Interest Procedure for Department Contracts". By submitting a Letter of Response, the Consultant certifies that they are in compliance with Procedure No. 375-030-006. This procedure is available at the following link:

Professional Services Publications Menu. In addition to the restrictions identified in Procedure No.

375-030-006, please be advised of the following prohibition: A consultant firm or its affiliate who was the Designer or Engineer of Record is precluded from bidding on the same project as the Construction contractor, or as a member of the construction team (subcontractor).

COMPLIANCE WITH NONDISCRIMINATION STATUTES AND AUTHORITIES: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., 78 stat. 252), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin); and 49 CFR Part 21; The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, (42 U.S.C. § 4601), (prohibits unfair treatment of persons displaced or whose property has been acquired because of Federal or Federal-aid programs and projects); Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, (23 U.S.C. § 324 et seq.), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, (29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.), as amended, (prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability); and 49 CFR Part 27; The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, (42 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq.), (prohibits discrimination on the basis of age); Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, (49 USC § 471, Section 47123), as amended, (prohibits discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, or sex); The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, (PL 100-209), (Broadened the scope, coverage and applicability of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, by expanding the definition of the terms “programs or activities” to include all of the programs or activities of the Federal-aid recipients, sub-recipients and contractors, whether such programs or activities are Federally funded or not); Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in the operation of public entities, public and private transportation systems, places of public accommodation, and certain testing entities (42 U.S.C. §§ 12131 -- 12189) as implemented by Department of Transportation regulations at 49 C.F.R. parts 37 and 38; The Federal Aviation Administration’s Non-discrimination statute (49 U.S.C. § 47123) (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, and sex); Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, which ensures non-discrimination against minority populations by discouraging programs, policies, and activities with disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority and low-income populations; Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, and resulting agency guidance, national origin discrimination includes discrimination because of limited English proficiency (LEP). To ensure compliance with Title VI, you must take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to your programs (70 Fed. Reg. at 74087 to 74100); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits you from discriminating because of sex in education programs or activities (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq).

FEDERAL DEBARMENT: By submitting a Letter of Response, the consultant certifies that no principal (which includes officers, directors, or executives) is presently suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from participation on this transaction by any Federal Department or Agency.

PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES: A person or affiliate who has been placed on the convicted vendor list following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work; may not submit bids, proposals, or replies on leases of real property to a public entity; may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract with any public entity; and may not transact business any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY TWO($35,000) for a period of 36 months following the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list.

INSPECTOR GENERAL: The Vendor/Contractor agrees to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes, and to incorporate in all subcontracts the obligation to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes.

E-VERIFY: The Vendor/Contractor shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's E- Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the

Vendor/Contractor during the term of the contract and shall expressly require any subcontractors performing work or providing services pursuant to the state contract to likewise utilize the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the subcontractor during the contract term.

SCRUTINIZED COMPANIES: Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, prohibits agencies from contracting with companies for goods or services of any amount if, at the time of contracting, the company is on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List, created pursuant to Section 215.4725, Florida Statutes, or is engaged in a boycott of Israel. Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, also prohibits a company from bidding on, submitting a proposal for, or entering into a contract for goods or services of $1 million or more if the company is on either the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List, or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector Lists which were created pursuant to section 215.473, Florida Statutes.

SELECTION METHOD: The listed projects are covered by the selection process detailed in the Rule Chapter 14-75, Florida Administrative Code, and the Acquisition of Professional Services Procedure, Procedure No. 375-030-002. Some or all of the responding firms may be requested to provide Written Technical Proposals, Oral Presentations, Interviews, or Expanded Letters of Response, for the ranking process. Unless otherwise noted in the specific advertisement, factors considered by the Technical Review Committee in developing the longlist and making the shortlist recommendation (where applicable) include:

(A) Past performance grades received by the Consultant on current and previous Department projects, or other performance data included by the Consultant in the LOR or Letter of Qualification.

(B) The location of the Consultant in relation to the work to be performed, for projects where Consultant proximity to project location is pertinent.

(C) Any restrictions placed on the Consultant by the prequalification evaluator.

(D) Volume of work previously awarded.

(E) Other information contained in the LOR or Letter of Qualification.

Factors to be considered by the Selection Committee when shortlisting include but are not limited to the following:

(A) Past performance grades received by the Consultant on current and previous Departmental projects.

(B) The volume of work previously awarded to the Consultant by the Department as evidenced by new agreements and supplemental amendments executed between the Department and the Consultant within the past five years.

(C) The distribution of work among the competing Consultants and the utilization of new Consultants.

(D) The workload of each Consultant, as evidenced by the number of similar projects the Consultant is shortlisted on that have not had a final selection, as well as the residual fees remaining to be paid to the Consultants on active agreements.

(E) Balancing the needs of the project to the abilities of the Consultants.

(F) The Consultant's working relationship/experience with the Department on previous projects.

(G) The general and specific information used to longlist the Consultants (i.e., prequalification restrictions, location (where pertinent), subconsultant relationships, etc.).

(H) Proposed subconsultant teaming (applicable for projects advertised with DBE under-utilized work types).

After ranking of the consultants the contract fee will be negotiated in accordance with Section

287.055 Florida Statutes. Funding on all projects is subject to legislative approval. Registration in MyFloridaMarketPlace is required prior to contracting. Note: The shortlist and final selection meeting dates and times are provided within the advertisement. All public meetings will be held in District headquarters unless otherwise noted. Changes to meeting dates and times will be updated under the All Advertisements link. The agenda for each public meeting is as follows: a) Opening Remarks (approx. 3 minutes); b) Public Input (15 minutes); c) Department business; d) Closing. For more information, contact the designated responsible office. In order to ensure a fair, competitive and open process, once a project is advertised under Current Advertisements, all communications between interested firms and the Department must be directed to the appropriate Professional Services Office. The advertisement contact is referenced in the Respond To: section of each advertisement. Respondents to this solicitation or persons acting on their behalf may not contact, between the release of the solicitation and the end of the 72-hour period following the agency posting the notice of intended award, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays, any employee or officer of the executive or legislative branch concerning any aspect of this solicitation, except in writing to the procurement officer or as provided in the solicitation documents. Violation of this provision may be grounds for rejecting a response.

NEGOTIATION: All FDOT Professional Services contract negotiations are subject to the guidance provided in the FDOT Negotiation Handbook.

CONTRACT: If awarded, the consultant will be expected to adhere to contract requirements referenced in the standard professional services agreement terms available at the following link.

RESPONSE PROCEDURE: Qualified consultants are encouraged to submit a Letter of Response, for each project in which they are interested, to the indicated requesting unit by 5:00 PM Eastern time on the date indicated as the Response Deadline. Letters of Response will be submitted as an attachment to an E-mail, submitted electronically to the indicated response address. The Standard FDOT Professional Services Letter of Response form must be completed and submitted to the indicated response e-mail address. Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Letter of Response Form when responding to the advertisement. The 4/18 version must be used when responding to the advertisement. The form will be a single file not to exceed 1MB in size in Adobe PDF format (unzipped), and the form completed in its entirety will not exceed the six 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form unless otherwise indicated in the advertisement. The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 3 of the form. Pages 4, 5, and 6 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants by work type. Consultants must not add additional pages to the form. Formatting requirements consist of a font size of 11, with ½ inch margins. Please be aware that all font (including graphics, tables, and captions on photos) must be standard arial narrow, 11 point font, single line spacing with no modification of font or spacing allowed. Please retain the source document as it may be requested at a later date within the procurement process, for audit purposes. The Department reserves the right to periodically sample letters of response to ensure compliance with format submittal requirements. All other advertisement submittal requirements will be verified with each Letter submittal. Failure to comply with the submittal requirements may cause the Letter of Response to be considered non-responsive.

Consultants should receive an e-mailed Return Receipt acknowledgement within 2 hours of submittal to the indicated response address. If a Return Receipt acknowledgement is not received by the Consultant, please call the appropriate Professional Services Office (within normal business hours) to verify the Department's receipt of your e-mailed Letter of Response. The advertisement contact is referenced in the Respond To: section of each advertisement. Letters of Response shall not contain links to other web pages since doing do would introduce additional information beyond the page limit of the Letter of Response submittals. Inclusion of links to other web pages may cause your submittal to be found non-responsive. The Letter of Response should, at a minimum, include the following information:

a. Project Name/DOT Financial Management Number

b. Consultant's name and address (Firm must use the name shown on the Consultant's qualification letter)

c. Proposed responsible office for consultant

d. Contact person, phone number and Email Address

e. Statement regarding prequalification of consultant or proposed subconsultants in advertised type(s) of work

f. Proposed key personnel and their proposed roles (do not include resumes)

g. Subconsultant(s) that may be used for the project

h. Indication as to whether the prime firm and/or subconsultants are disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) or Small Businesses

i. Project Approach and Understanding of Critical Issues

j. Relevant project experience - Similar type of work experience

k. A Bid Opportunity List should be submitted through the Equal Opportunity Compliance system which is available at the Equal Opportunity Office Website. Prime Consultants can obtain access to the new EOC system by filling out the Contractors and Consultants New Users Access Form. Please complete the form and submit it to EOOHelp@dot.state.fl.us.

For additional information regarding the Bid Opportunity List, please refer to this brochure.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Pursuant to the Federal Brooks Act, and Section 287.055, Florida Statutes, price may not be an evaluation criterion during the advertisement and selection phase for professional services procurements. Consultants are prohibited from including references to their proposed professional services fees or indirect rates in Letters of Response, Written Technical Proposals, Oral Presentations, or Interviews. It is permissible to address cost savings specifically related to the construction project. Inclusion of prohibited professional services cost data in a Letter of Response or Technical Proposal may cause the Letter of Response or Technical Proposal to be considered non-responsive.

Private attorney services may not be utilized on Department contracts without advance approval from the Attorney General’s Office. The advance approval may only be requested by Agency General Counsel (FDOT), and not the consultant firm. Since approval cannot be assumed, consultant firms shall refrain from proposing legal firms as part of the professional services consultant team in their procurement response and proposal documents. As referenced in Section 287.059(3), F.S.:

”An agency requesting approval for the use of private attorney services shall first offer to contract with the Department of Legal Affairs for such attorney services at a cost pursuant to mutual agreement. The Attorney General shall decide on a case-by-case basis to accept or decline to provide such attorney services as staffing, expertise, or other legal or economic considerations warrant. If the Attorney General declines to provide the requested attorney services, the Attorney General’s written approval shall include a statement that the private attorney services requested cannot be provided by the office of the Attorney General or that such private attorney services are cost-effective in the opinion of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall not consider political affiliation in making such decision. The office of the Attorney General shall respond to the request of an agency for prior written approval within 10 working days after receiving such request.

The Attorney General may request additional information necessary for evaluation of a request.

The Attorney General shall respond to the request within 10 working days after receipt of the requested information.”

When universities or colleges are needed to perform services, the Department’s Project Manager shall procure such services by means of either a University Master Agreement task work order, a governmental agency contract, or a competitive solicitation for contractual services, as appropriate (reference Section 287.057(21), F.S. Universities proposed as subconsultants will not be added to the professional services contract.

STANDARD NOTES: (Applicable to following projects where indicated)

1. This project does not fall within the FDOT standard Professional Services Types of Work, therefore technical prequalification of responding consultants in a work type is not mandatory. If the Prime submitting on this project is not a Prequalified Professional Services firm and desires to submit for the project, the following requirements must be met:

a. Prime must be currently licensed as a Professional Engineering firm in the State of Florida by the advertisement response deadline.

b. Prime must possess professional liability insurance (include a professional liability insurance certificate with Letter submittal) by the advertisement response deadline.

c. For projects $500,000 or above: a recent overhead audit (dated within 6 months of the Consultant's fiscal year end must be on file with the Department, or a recent overhead audit dated within 6 months of the Consultant's fiscal year end must be submitted to the Prequalification Administrator via e-mail to co.profserv@dot.state.fl.us prior to the Letter of Response deadline in the advertisement. In all cases, the overhead audit must be prepared by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or governmental agency and in conformance with the Department's current Reimbursement Rate Guidelines. A completed Request for Qualification Form No. 375-030-01 must accompany the submittal of an overhead audit to the Prequalification Administrator.

The Standard FDOT Letter of Qualification form is required to be submitted to the indicated response e-mail. Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Letter of Qualification form when responding to the advertisement. The 4/18 version must be used when responding to this ad.

The Standard FDOT Letter of Qualification form completed in its entirety must not exceed the six 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form. The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 3 of the form. Pages 4, 5, and 6 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants prequalification by work type. Additional pages must not be added to the form. The Letter of Qualification shall be submitted as a single electronic file not to exceed 1MB in size in Adobe PDF format (unzipped). Format requirement is a font size of 11, with ½ inch margins. Failure to comply with the submittal requirements shall cause the Letter of Qualification to be considered non-responsive.

2. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

3. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

4. Selection will be made from the Standard FDOT Expanded Letters of Response form.

Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Expanded Letter of Response Form when responding to the advertisement. The 4/18 version must be used when responding to this ad. The Standard FDOT Expanded Letters of Response form completed in its entirety must not exceed the nine 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form. The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 6 of the form. Pages 7, 8, and 9 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants by work type. Consultants must not add additional pages to the form. Consultant shall also submit resumes which are restricted to 2 pages each and an organization chart or staffing chart (can be either 8-1/2x11 or 11x17, at the discretion of the Consultant). Construction Training and Qualification Program (CTQP) printouts may also be submitted. Staff hours on summary sheet (one sheet showing the hours of prime and all subs) will be submitted where applicable.

Examples of acceptable and unacceptable content for organization charts, staffing charts, staff hour estimate charts, and CTQP printouts are provided at this link. Organization, staffing, or staff hour estimate charts containing extra narrative content (not in conformance with examples) will be deemed unacceptable, at the sole discretion of the Procurement Office, and will not be passed on to the Technical Review Committee for review and evaluation with the other submittals. Prime Consultant should submit:

- Professional Services DBE or Small Business Commitment Form (375-030-83)

- Truth In Negotiation Certification (375-030-30)

- Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion for Federal Aid Contracts (375-030-32)

- Certification for Disclosure of Lobbying (375-030-33)

- Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (375-030-34)

- Vendor Certification Regarding Scrutinized Companies Lists (375-030-60).

All submittals except organization chart, staffing chart, other required forms, and certifications shall adhere to a font size of 11, with ½ inch margins. The Expanded Letter of Response file size is not restricted to 1MB, however Consultants are advised that the Expanded Letter of Response Form electronic submittal should not exceed FDOT’s internal server file size restriction of 15 MB. Failure to comply with the submittal requirements may cause the Letter of Response to be considered non-responsive.

5. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

6. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

7. This project has been reserved for competition among only small businesses in accordance with the Department's Business Development Initiative (BDI) Program. Letter submittals for this project will only be accepted from firms that meet the definition of a small business set forth by section 337.027, Florida Statutes. The prime consultant submitting a Letter must be a qualified professional services firm and meet the small business definition of section 337.027, Florida Statutes at the time of submittal of the Letter and must maintain this status as a small business through contract execution. All subconsultants utilized for the project, including lower-tier and non-professional services firms, must also be a small business pursuant to section 337.027, Florida Statutes at the time of submittal of the Letter and must also maintain this status as a small business through contract execution. Note: Any professional services consultant firm prequalified under Rule 14-75, F.A.C., that is shown as a Small Business on the Professional Services Prequalified Small Business Report is not required to supply the Small Business Affidavit Certification for Prequalified Professional Services Firms Form with the Letter. Any non-professional services subconsultant firm that is shown as a Small Business on the Small Business listing for Construction, Maintenance and Other Contractual Services Firms is not required to supply the Small Business Affidavit Certification for Road and Bridge Construction Firm and All Other Non-Professional Services Firms Form with the Letter.

SMALL BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

a. The prime and subconsultants proposed for this project must meet the small business definition set forth by section 337.027, Florida Statutes. They are also required to submit a notarized copy of the Small Business Affidavit Certification Form with the Letter.

Professional Services firms who appear on the Department’s Small Business listing are currently certified, and are not required to resubmit the Form. Non-Professional Services firms who appear on the Small Business listing for Construction, Maintenance and Other Contractual Services Firms are currently certified, and are not required to resubmit the Form. Please refer to the advertisement for other submittal requirements

b. Submitting firms that are small businesses must completely comply with the professional services prequalification process as described in the Florida Administrative Code Chapter 14-75. Additional instructions can be found in the BDI Program Guidelines.

Small Business listing for Professional Services:

http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/procurement/ProfessionalServices/lppc/listmenu.htm

8. Under-Utilization Goal for DBEs and Small Businesses - The goal of the Department’s Under- Utilization strategy is to encourage and promote use of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and Small Businesses in areas of work where they have been under-used. Under-Utilization is defined by FDOT as 25% or less utilization level in a Work Group, which may vary by district. The specific Under-Utilized Work Groups are identified in the advertisement. Consultants are strongly encouraged to propose a DBE or Small Business to perform services for each Under-Utilized Work Group identified in the advertisement. DBEs or Small Businesses can be proposed at either the Prime or Sub-level for the Under-Utilized Work Group(s). Use of Under-Utilized DBEs or Small Businesses for Consultant teaming is a shortlist consideration factor for projects referencing this Standard Note. Consultants are requested to indicate your firm's proposed use of DBEs and/or Small Business primes or subconsultants to meet Under-Utilization goals on the table within the Professional Services Letter of Response form (as designated in the advertisement) by checking the box under the Under-Utilization (UU) column. Failure to list DBEs and/or Small Business prime or subconsultants on the response form shall indicate no proposed utilization. Please refer to the advertisement for other submittal directions. Reports are available at the following locations to validate status of firms as Small Businesses and DBEs:

DBE listing for Professional Services:

http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/procurement/ProfessionalServices/lppc/listmenu.htm

Small Business listing for Professional Services:

http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/procurement/ProfessionalServices/lppc/listmenu.htm

Additionally, firms will submit the Professional Services DBE or Small Business Commitment form as required by the advertisement when selecting from Expanded Letters of Response, otherwise it will be required with the Request for Proposal.

9. It is the policy of FDOT to encourage the participation of small businesses and disadvantaged business enterprises ("DBE") in all facets of the business activities of FDOT, consistent with applicable laws and regulations. FDOT has established an aspiration goal of 10.65% DBE usage and an additional 3% non-DBE Small Business usage for the subject Project. Firms proposing for this Project shall aspire to have 10.65% or more of the total contract costs performed by DBEs, and an additional three percent (3%) or more of the total contract costs performed by non-DBE small businesses. Although not a contract requirement, FDOT believes that the aforementioned aspiration goal can realistically be achieved based on current availability of DBEs and small businesses. FDOT further believes that the 13.65% overall goal can be achieved through race neutral means, using standard competitive procurement processes. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 339.0805, Florida Statutes, and Rule 14.78.005, Florida Administrative Code, FDOT has adopted rules to provide certified DBEs opportunities to participate in the business activities of

FDOT as vendors, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants. FDOT has adopted the DBE definition set forth in Code 49 of Federal Regulations Section 26.5.

The Department's DBE directory may be found at the following website:

https://fdotxwp02.dot.state.fl.us/EqualOpportunityOfficeBusinessDirectory/.

Firms agree to apply their best efforts to utilize qualified non-DBE small businesses as vendors, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants for the Project. Qualifications for small businesses may be found at the following website: http://www3b.dot.state.fl.us/EqualOpportunityOfficeBusinessDirectory/CustomSearch.aspx

Firms agree to apply their best efforts to utilize qualified non-DBE small businesses as vendors, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants for the Project. Qualifications for small businesses may be found at the following website:

http://www.fdot.gov/EqualOpportunityOffice/sizeStandards.shtm

Firms will submit the Professional Services DBE or Small Business Commitment form as required by the advertisement when selecting from Expanded Letters of Response, otherwise it will be required with the Request for Proposal.

DBE listing for Professional Services:

http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/procurement/ProfessionalServices/lppc/listmenu.htm

Non-DBE Small Business listing for Professional Services:

http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/procurement/ProfessionalServices/lppc/listmenu.htm

10. This contract will require field office personnel; therefore all firms performing inspection services on the CEI contract must utilize CEI field office rates.

DISTRICT 2

Major Work :

2.0 - Proj. Dev. & Environ. (PD&E) Studies

3.1 - Minor Highway Design

Contract : 19207 Projects less than $500,000 (Technical Qualification only)

Selection Method : Selection from Expanded Letter of Response

Professional Liability Insurance $: $250,000

Financial Management Number(s):

44032512201

Project Description:

PD&E: NATURE COAST TRAIL FROM TRENTON DEPOT TO ALACHUA

COUNTY LINE; Gilchrist County

Project Manager: Brooker, Brian

Contract Amount/Limit: $350,000

See Standard Notes Above: 4,9

Special Notes:

When submitting LOR, include Financial Management (FM) Number 440325-1-22-01 and firm name on the subject line.

Construction Training and Qualification Program (CTQP) printouts DO NOT need to be submitted Resumes- a two-page resume or work history sheet for key personnel.

The Technical Committee shall consider and weigh the following in their selection process (0-100):

1. Awareness of Project Issues (30) -Understanding of scope -Project Issues

2. Approach to Project (30) -Unique Concepts & Savings -Quality Control -Schedule

3. Project Staff (30) -Project Manager -Staff Quality -Availability

4. Other (10) -Prime/Sub Relationship -Quality of Proposal During the acquisition phase of this project, Consultants are requested to refrain from contacting District Staff to market their firms until Final Ranking has Occurred.

The project manager will participate as a member of the Technical Review Committee for this contract.

View proposed scope (Adobe Acrobat® PDF file)

Advertisement Date : 23JUL2018 Response Deadline Date : 06AUG2018 Longlist(Tech. Rev. Cmte.) Date: 23AUG2018 Time: 01:00PM Shortlist Selection Date : 10SEP2018 Time: 10:00AM Final Selection Meeting Date : 01OCT2018 Time: 10:00AM 1st Date Negotiations Meetings : 03OCT2018 Time: 10:00AM Last Date Negotiations Meetings: 19NOV2018 Time: 12:00PM

Response Deadline : 06AUG2018 Respond To:

d2.profserv@dot.state.fl.us Attn.: Lynne Crawford, MS 2016 Phone: 386-961-7835

STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES EXPANDED LETTER OF RESPONSE

375-030-23

PROCUREMENT

04/18

Advertisement No.: 19207 DOT FM Number: 44032512201

Submittal Date: 8/6/2018 Project Name: PD&E: Nature Coast Trail from Trenton Depot to

Alachua County

Consultant’s Name: Volkert, Inc.

(Firm must use the name shown on the Consultant’s qualification letter.)

Street Address: 2300 Maitland Center Parkway, Suite 122

City: Maitland State: FL Zip: 32751

Office Location: Maitland Contact person: Ralph Bove, Jr.

Phone: 321-297-6812 Contact email: ralph.bove@volkert.com By submittal of this letter the Consultant certifies that all information provided in the letter is true and accurate. The Consultant further certifies that staff proposed are currently employed by the firm(s) identified, or the Consultant shall provide a statement indicating when staff will become employed by the identified firm(s).

Please refer to project advertisement for evaluation criteria. Other required submittals are specified in the advertisement.

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Volkert is pleased to have this opportunity to serve the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Two (D2) office on the Nature Coast Trail (NCT) PD&E Study from the Trenton Depot to the Alachua County line in Gilchrist County. In preparation for this project we have read the scope of services, reviewed available project data, conducted field visits, discussed the project with D2 staff and met with local government stakeholders. To gain a better understanding of D2’s needs, we met with Department Project Manager (PM) Brian Brooker, EI, Project Development Engineer David Tyler and TRC Members Lauri Shubert, Brittany Chastain and Susie Hetrick (by phone). The Volkert Team is eager to bring our expertise, dedication and availability to D2 to provide a cost-effective and highly successful project! Volkert’s expanded Letter of Response illustrates the following: understanding of the scope of services and project issues; approach to the project including unique concepts and savings, quality assurance and quality control; schedule; staffing quality and availability; teaming relationship; and, similar project experience.

AWARENESS OF PROJECT ISSUES

UNDERSTANDING OF SCOPE: The scope of services for the NCT includes two phases: Phase 1 is the PD&E Study and Phase 2 is the Final Design. The PD&E Study will focus on public involvement, stakeholder coordination, concept development, preliminary engineering, environmental impact assessments, project documentation, project management and administration. As discussed with the D2 TRC, the anticipated Class of Action for the PD&E Study is Non-Major State Action (NMSA). Project documentation will be provided to support the NMSA checklist. Volkert will support D2 as needed to complete the PD&E Study and prepare this project for Final Design.

At the Department’s discretion, the Final Design phase may be authorized through a supplemental agreement.

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PROCUREMENT

The purpose of the PD&E Study is to document the social, natural, cultural, physical and economic impacts of extending the existing NCT eastward from the Trenton Depot to the Alachua County line, a distance of approximately 10.6 miles. This segment of the NCT represents the Gilchrist County portion of the overall Trenton-to-Newberry Rail Trail which is part of the overall NCT system that was designated as part of the National Recreational Trail, East Coast Greenway system in 2010. The Gilchrist County portion of the NCT extension is being advanced under Florida’s Shared-use Nonmotorized (SUN) Trail program. Funding for the SUN Trail program comes from Wheels on the Road, Trail Network (TLWR) as authorized by Florida Statute 320.072. SUN Trail legislation allows the allocation of TLWR funds to all phases of project development including PD&E, design, right-of-way (ROW) acquisition, new construction, reconstruction of trail surfaces and bridges and maintenance. SUN Trail funds may not be used for trail amenities including, but not limited to, trail furniture or seating areas, restrooms, shelters, picnic pavilions, kiosks, landscaping, parking areas or trailheads.

Incorporation of any trail amenities requires alternative funding and coordination with state and local government partners as well as regulatory agencies and special interest groups.

PROJECT ISSUES: Volkert’s exceptional awareness of the project issues is based on our extensive research and our discussions with TRC Members, D2 staff including Barney Bennette and Aja Stoppe, as well as key project stakeholders. Volkert met with Gilchrist County Administrator Bobby Crosby and conducted a field meeting with City of Trenton City Manager, Lyle Wilkerson and Public Works Director, Bruce Philman. We talked to Britney Moore, Operations Consultant, from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT), Pam Sanders, Permitting Engineer from Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) and Bob Edwards, General Manager of the Gilchrist Club. We reviewed project-related documents including the Nature Coast State Trail Management Plan, SUN Trail Network Program Handbook, SUN Trail Network Individual Trail Application for the NCT, FDEP Boundary Survey and FDOT Work Program. Volkert verified the current state ownership along the NCT extension by reviewing the Gilchrist County Property Appraiser’s database. We obtained and reviewed the City of Trenton’s Community Redevelopment Plan and Streetscape Master Plan as well as Geographic Information System (GIS) data from FDEP, SRWMD, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Based on this research Volkert has identified the following key project issues.

Crossing SR 49/US 129 in Trenton: The existing NCT enters the City of Trenton from the west and runs along the north side of the Trenton Depot before terminating at an existing sidewalk on the west side of SR 49/US 129 (N Main St), south of NW 4th Ave. The abandoned Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) railroad alignment and ROW continues on the east side of SR 49/US 129 from this location and runs parallel to Lancaster St, which was formerly part of the ACL ROW. The alignment of the abandoned ACL ROW and Lancaster St is offset slightly to the north of the existing NCT terminus in Trenton. The skew angle created by the former rail alignment orientation at SR 49/US 129 and Lancaster St further complicates the future trail crossing. The existing (2017) annual average daily traffic along SR 49/ US 129 between SR 26 and SR 47 ranges from 6,800 to 7,200 with a truck factor in excess of 7%.

Existing businesses at the end of Lancaster St including Suwannee Valley Feeds, Inc. and Gilchrist Trucking Company contribute to the truck traffic at the intersection of SR 49/US 129 and NW/NE 4th Ave.

In addition, a school crossing serving the Trenton Middle/High School is located approximately 825 feet north of this intersection. Students use the existing trail and sidewalks along SR 49/US 129 to access the school. Driveway access to local businesses in this location also affects pedestrian mobility and safety.

Volkert discussed options for crossing SR 49/US 129 during the field review with City of Trenton staff. From a geometric and safety standpoint, the extension of the NCT should be a perpendicular crossing, as shown in Figure 1. Alternative 1 (yellow) continues the NCT north along the existing sidewalk on the west side of SR 49/US 129 for approximately 150 feet where it crosses at mid-block to align with the existing ACL ROW. Alternative 2 (orange) continues the NCT north along the existing sidewalk on the west side of SR 49/US 129 for approximately 100 feet where it crosses mid-block to align with the existing sidewalk just north of Lancaster St. Alternative 2 then continues north along the existing sidewalk on the east side of SR 49/ US 129 to the ACL ROW. Alternative 3 (blue) extends the NCT east from the existing trail terminus and crosses mid-block to align with NE 4th Ave. Alternative 3 then continues north along the east side of SR

END OF EXISTING TRAIL

FIGURE 1

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NE 4th Ave

NW 5th Ave

49/US 129, crossing Lancaster St before continuing to the ACL ROW. All of these alternatives would require a mid-block crossing of SR 49/US 129 and would require reconstruction of the existing sidewalk.

Volkert will work with D2 staff including Traffic Operations to refine these alternatives and consider traffic control devices such as a pedestrian activated signal or flashing beacon to provide a safe crossing for trail users. The use of the existing sidewalks along SR 49/ US 129 will be further explored during the PD&E phase in terms of potential impacts to existing ROW, drainage and utilities. For example, reconstruction of the existing curb line and curb returns at NW 4th Ave may be required to develop a mid-block crossing of the trail north of NW 4th Ave. All crossings at this location will adhere to current FDOT standards as documented in the Florida Design Manual and will incorporate features in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Local government staff did not indicate any particular preferences for the trail crossing in front of the Trenton Depot; however, it was generally recognized that crossing SR 49/US 129 directly adjacent to the Lancaster St/NE 4th Ave “wye” intersection (Alternatives 2 and 3) may not be desirable from a safety standpoint due to the amount of truck traffic generated at this location. In addition, Alternative 3 may require ROW acquisition in front of Gray Construction Company, owned by County Commissioner Todd Gray.

Logical Termini in Gilchrist County: The eastern terminus for the NCT PD&E Study is currently identified as the Alachua County line.

At this location, the future extension of the NCT would continue along the ACL ROW into the City of Newberry. Gilchrist County Administrator Bobby Crosby indicated a desire to develop the eastern end of the NCT in Gilchrist County with features to potentially serve as a future trailhead. Without the extension into Newberry, this segment of the NCT would operate as a “one-way in/one-way out” trail facility. Rather than “dead-end” the trail at the county line, an innovative solution would be a “bulb-out” or circular design that could include benches for resting. Adding parking spaces at this end of the trail would provide alternate access to the NCT. County staff understands these features would need to be funded through sources other than SUN Trail funds and expressed an interest in discussing the County’s participation with FDOT and others to provide these enhancements. Potential funding for these features may also be available through FDOT’s Transportation Enhancement program. CR 337 and CR 2085 (located at the county line) are existing roadways that provide access to the rural residential area in this area. Both cross the ACL ROW and could serve as options to better define the trail’s eastern logical termini. This would also allow the Gilchrist County segment of the Trenton-to-Newberry extension to have “independent utility” meaning it could be advanced as a stand-alone project and would not be dependent on the segment to Newberry for logical termini.

Trail Alignment and Typical Section: Gilchrist County is well-known for its nature-based recreational qualities. Overall, the community is very supportive of the recreational and economic benefits of the NCT. The abandoned ACL ROW and alignment has been identified as the most logical location for the FDEP Rails-to-Trails project in Gilchrist County. A boundary survey completed in 2011 by FDEP identifies the relationship of this alignment to surrounding properties and land features. Much of the land surrounding the ACL ROW is low-lying and undeveloped; however, the trail alignment is anticipated to occupy the railbed for the former ACL railroad which is elevated in a fill section as it traverses across the County. The proposed width of the trail typical section is anticipated to be 12 feet. With the exception of the SR 49/US 129 crossing in Trenton, alignment alternatives are not anticipated. Based on input from the City of Trenton, access to existing utilities along Lancaster St, including water lines underneath the ACL ROW, is a concern and will be coordinated during the PD&E Study.

Safety and Security: The NCT will…