D1C75C4E-ACBE-A700-94A3260C246A50BF.pdf

Little Farms CACI and Materials Testing

March 19, 2025

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

RFQ 2025-09-03

PROVISION OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES

FOR S. GRENER AVENUE, EMMIT AVENUE, MIX AVENUE,

AND SULLIVANT AVENUE (GEMS) WATER MAIN

REPLACMENT PROJECT

GEMS Water Main Replacement Project

TOC

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Invitation

1.2 Required Services

1.3 Indicative Timetable

1.4 Project Budget

2.0 Project Description

3.0 Queries

4.0 Qualifications

4.1 Firm, Team, or Joint Venture Qualifications

4.2 Personnel Qualifications

4.3 Subconsultants

5.0 Statement of Qualification (SoQ) Content and Submission Guidelines

5.1 SoQ Content

5.2 SoQ Format and Submission

5.3 Submission Evaluation Criteria

6.0 Interviews

7.0 Notice of Policy

Franklin County Department of Sanitary Engineering

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Invitation

1.1.1 The Franklin County Department of Sanitary Engineering (FCSE) invites qualified Professional Engineering firms to submit a statement of qualifications (SoQ) for the provision of design, bidding, construction administration, and construction inspection services for the capital project known as S. Grener Avenue, Emmit Avenue, Mix Avenue, and Sullivant Avenue (GEMS) Water Main Replacement Project.

1.1.2 The acquisition of professional services will be conducted in full compliance with Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 153.65 - 153.71. FCSE intends to follow these steps in selecting a Professional Engineering firm for these services:

• Receive SoQs from qualified firms;

• Review and evaluate SoQs and prepare a ranking of the firms using a panel of County employees;

• At the sole discretion of the Department, invite the top ranked firms to participate in an interview;

• Select a firm for scope and fee negotiation based on the results of the interview;

• Negotiate scope and fee with the selected firm. In the event an agreement cannot be reached with the top ranked firm, that firm will be excused, and the next firm will be contacted for negotiations. This process will continue until an agreement can be reached with a qualified firm. If no agreement can be reached, the RFQ will be reissued at a later date.

• Franklin County reserves the right to not award a contract as a result of the RFQ. Should the County elect to make no award, the County as its sole discretion, may reissue the RFQ at a later date.

1.2 Required Services

1.2.1 The Franklin County Department of Sanitary Engineering is a public utility providing water and wastewater services to unincorporated areas of Franklin County Ohio.

1.2.2 The County requires the services of a professional engineering firm for design, bidding, construction administration, and construction inspection services for the GEMS Water Main Replacement Project, hereinafter known as the project. A more detailed description of the project is summarized in Section 2.0 of this Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The County envisions the following services will be provided, though the final scope of services will be negotiated with the successful design professional:

• Concept Design – evaluate the existing conditions at the project site, develop alternatives and life cycle cost estimates, prepare and submit a concept engineering report.

• Preliminary Design – select the preferred alternative from the concept design phase, establish alignments and locations of facilities, conduct necessary surveying and geotechnical studies, finalize sizing and capacity, develop preliminary quantities, prepare and submit a preliminary design report.

• Final Design – prepare bid-ready specifications and plans based on the selected alternative from the preliminary design phase.

• Bid Phase Services – coordinate with Key Companies to issue plans and specifications to interested parties, maintain plan holders list, prepare and issue addenda to registered plan holders, attend pre-bid meeting and bid opening, tabulate and validate bids.

• Construction Administration (CA) – chair and minute pre-construction conference, chair and minute construction progress meetings, work with construction inspectors to validate installed quantities, certify and process contractor pay applications, review and respond to contractor requests for information (RFI), review and evaluate contractor claims, assist with contract enforcement and coordination, prepare and issue field work orders (FWO) and/or Change Orders (CO), assist with preparing contract modifications, prepare punch lists and contract closeout paperwork, review and process contractor submittals, track the construction progress and contractor schedules, liaise with the inspectors, review and approve inspector’s daily reports and weekly transmittal of reports to the County, approve inspector time and travel, in coordination with the construction inspectors ensure the work of the contractor conforms to contract documents, alert Franklin County of issues and progress, attend other project related meetings, ensure record drawing information is being tracked and all final record information is properly documented and received from the contractor, act as Construction Inspector in the absence of the normally assigned inspector.

• Construction Inspection (CI) – provision of full-time, onsite construction inspector(s) to observe and record the work performed by the Contractor to ensure compliance with Issued For Construction plans and specifications, validate installed quantities, assist CA with pay application review and certify contractor pay applications, alert CA and Franklin County to any issues that cannot be resolved on site such as construction, safety or resident concerns, be the resident contact for questions and concerns, document all work with photographs taken on a daily basis to document pre-existing conditions and installed work, daily preparation of field reports, alert CA to potential claims, participate in progress meetings and walkthroughs, assist with punch list preparation, and other typical inspection services. Full time inspection is required meeting the agreed upon schedule of the contractor which may include days over 8-hours, nights or weekend work. Inspection services should include ample coverage of multiple contractor crews to provide detailed documentation (written and photographic) of the contractor’s work to ensure proper rectification and completion.

• Record Drawings – review all construction documentation such as as-built mark-ups, construction daily reports, and as-built survey coordinates, and incorporate this data into the final record drawing. Additionally, provide all as-built coordinates the format specified by FCSE.

1.3 Indicative Timetable

1.3.1 The key milestones for the selection process and construction activities are presented below in Table 1-1:

Table 1-1: Selection Process Indicative Timetable

Milestone Date(s)

RFQ issued March 19, 2025

Pre-Submittal Conference @ 10:00 AM

Via Microsoft Teams

April 9, 2025

Closing date for submission of queries @ 5:00 PM April 11, 2025

Closing date for answering queries April 18, 2025

Closing date for submission of SoQ @ 2:00 PM

Via Microsoft Teams

April 24, 2025

SoQ evaluation April 30 – May 9, 2025

Selection and notification of vendor May 14, 2025

Vendor negotiations and final scoping May 15 – May 29, 2025

Commissioners award contract June 17, 2025

1.3.2 FCSE reserves the right in accordance with this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and at its absolute and unfettered discretion, to amend this timetable at any stage.

1.4 Project Budget

1.4.1 FCSE submitted a Nomination for the engineering/design phase to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (OEPA) Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) and expects the funding to be awarded in June 2025. Funding for construction is anticipated to be secured from WPCLF and the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC). An overall budget for the services rendered by the design professional has yet to be identified and will be developed by negotiating with the selected design professional.

2.0 Project Description

2.1.1 The Franklin County Department of Sanitary Engineering is a public utility providing water and wastewater services to multiple unincorporated areas throughout Franklin County. The County’s largest area, Sanitary District 4 (SD-4), is located on the west side of Columbus and has approximately 3,800 customers.

Water mains located within S. Grener Avenue, Emmit Avenue, Mix Avenue, and Sullivant Avenue were installed in the mid-1950’s and are cast iron with diameters ranging between 6-inches and 10-inches. The project will generally consist of the design and construction of new water mains in an existing urbanized neighborhood, installation of new fire hydrants with watch valves, and new main line valves within the road and right-of-way. Table 2-1 provides a brief summary of the concept quantities.

Table 2-1: GEMS Water Main Replacement Concept Quantities

Item Description

Water Taps and Service Line Transfers 84

Water Meter/meter pits 84

8-inch, Water Pipe and Fittings 5,500 LF

8-inch Valves and appurtenances 13

12-inch, Water Pipe and Fittings 2,500 LF

12-inch Valves and appurtenances 7

Fire Hydrant Assembly with Valve 13

Fire Hydrant Reconnection with Valve 11

Asphalt Concrete 1,280 CY

2.1.2 Figures 2-1 and 2-2 illustrate the general location of the project area.

Figure 2-1: General Location of the GEMS Project Area

GEMS Project Area (Sanitary District 4)

Figure 2-2: Location of GEMS Project Area

3.0 Queries

3.1 All queries relating to this RFQ and the project in general shall be directed to:

Erika Patray Senior Purchasing Coordinator 373 South High Street, 25th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Email: epatray@franklincountyohio.gov Fax: (614) 525-3144

3.2 All queries shall be in writing (email, mail, and facsimile are acceptable), and written responses to all queries will be provided. Direct phone conversations and meetings with County staff during the selection process are prohibited.

3.3 The closing date for submitting queries shall be as indicated in Table 1-1.

3.4 Pre-Proposal Meeting will be hosted on Microsoft TEAMS

April 9, 2025, at 10:00 A.M. EDT. See RFQ for information or call in (audio only) +1 380-900- 7428,,244488431# United States, Columbus

Phone Conference ID: 244 488 431#

Meeting ID: 278 493 238 638

Passcode: KJ7aY74u mailto:epatray@franklincountyohio.gov tel:+13809007428,,244488431 tel:+13809007428,,244488431

4.0 Qualifications

4.1 FCSE is anticipating that only Professional Engineering firms with a track record of successful execution of similar projects and meeting the qualifications set forth below will provide submissions for this project.

4.2 The County intends to sign one contract with one design professional for the services required to complete the project. Therefore, the firm, team, or joint venture shall have suitable qualifications in the following areas of municipal waterline construction:

• Surveying, property acquisition, easement preparation and acquisition

• Geotechnical investigations

• Concept and preliminary design services

• Final design services and preparation of construction documents

• Bidding phase services

• Construction administration

• Construction inspection

4.3 Firms, Teams, or Joint Ventures who submit partial statements of qualifications (SOQs) will not be considered.

4.1 Firm, Team, or Joint Venture Qualifications

4.1.1 Each firm shall be licensed to practice engineering in the State of Ohio. Engineers and surveyors in responsible charge of each aspect of the professional services shall be registered to practice engineering and/or surveying in the State of Ohio. Construction Document Technologist (CDT) certification for Construction administration professionals in responsible charge of reviewing and interpreting construction documents is preferred, but not required.

4.1.2 Demonstrate experience in the following areas:

• Design of water systems in accordance with City of Columbus standards;

• Property surveying including topographical surveys, locating surface features, property acquisition and easement preparation;

• Knowledge of current Ohio EPA regulations and AWWA standards as applicable to the permitting, construction, testing, and acceptance of water systems;

• Experience in surface restoration including work within roads and in vegetated areas; and

• Final design and preparation of bid-ready construction documents specifically related to the construction of public facilities for the distribution of potable water.

4.1.3 Demonstrated experience acting as an Owner’s representative and administering construction contracts. Experience includes but is not limited to the active and consistent enforcement of contract requirements, reviewing and certifying contractor’s applications for payment, monitoring and enforcing contractor schedules, monitoring and oversight of construction inspection personnel, evaluation of contractor claims, and other duties as required.

4.1.4 Demonstrated experience in the inspection of water system construction projects.

Experience includes but is not limited to ensuring the work of the contractor conforms with contract requirements, knowledge of safe and acceptable construction methods, ability to accurately track, calculate, and report quantities, ability to recognize non-conforming work and promptly notify contractor, ability to read, interpret, and enforce the requirements of construction plans, specifications, and shop drawings.

4.2 Personnel Qualifications

4.2.1 The County requires that the statement of qualifications will include proposed staff members with the requisite and relevant experience for this project. Only list personnel who will actively participate in the project. Describe their roles, specific tasks they will perform, and why they are qualified to perform these tasks.

4.2.2 Provide “key discipline experts” who will provide technical direction and will have ultimate responsibility for the successful technical outcome of the project. Individuals who are proposed as key discipline experts that generally provide high-level technical guidance to other staff shall have provided successful guidance on other similar projects and shall have a minimum of five (5) years of experience in their field in order to be considered an expert.

Separate key discipline experts can be proposed for separate technical areas.

4.2.3 The Project manager shall be licensed to practice engineering in the State of Ohio shall have a minimum of five (5) years of project management experience and shall have demonstrated experience in leading multidisciplinary teams and effectively liaising with the general public.

The project manager shall have demonstrated experience in understanding and implementing the design professional’s quality management system, motivating staff to exceed expectations for project outcomes, exceptional written and oral communication skills, proven budget and schedule management skills, and in-depth technical knowledge of municipal utility operations, project design, construction administration, and construction inspection.

Project managers having a PMP certification are preferred.

4.2.4 CA and CI Staff: Baccalaureate degree from an accredited university and three (3) years of experience in construction inspection or management on infrastructure construction projects (sewer / water / highway) or four (4) years high school diploma or its educational equivalent and ten years of experience in construction inspection or management on infrastructure construction projects (sewer / water / highway). Furthermore, CI staff shall have effective oral, written, organizational, and time management skills, patience and tact with the public, a valid driver’s license, be certified for OSHA 10-hour safety and confined space training, and be proficient at the use of a PC and its applications including MS Word and Excel.

4.2.5 Under the guidance of the key discipline experts and project manager, provide local engineers and technicians who will conduct the bulk of the work associated with this project. Articulate how the work of the proposed staff will be guided and monitored to ensure quality deliverable and constructed assets.

4.2.6 Surveyors on the project shall have 10 years of experience and be a licensed surveyor in the State of Ohio.

4.2.7 Clearly indicate the professionals who will provide quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) of the project documents in all disciplines. FCSE expects the selected firm will provide proper review of project documentation before being presented to FCSE with proof of a QA/QC review.

4.3 Subconsultants

4.3.1 Subconsultants shall have demonstrated experience in the area for which they are selected.

4.3.2 Proposed subconsultants shall have 10 years of experience in the task they will be performing and hold professional licensure, if applicable.

4.3.3 Subsurface utility engineering (SUE) work shall be by a firm experienced in Level B SUE according to ASCE Standard 38-02.

4.3.4 Subconsultants shall have knowledge of working with City of Columbus design and construction standards for water systems as well as roadway restoration work with the County and Townships to the extent it is applicable to their proposed task.

5.0 SoQ Content and Submission Guidelines

5.1 SoQ Content

5.1.1 Include the following information in the SoQ in the order outlined below. There may be further breakdowns of this format for each item, if the Design Professional so requires to clarify their statement. The County reserves the right to reject any SoQ that does not conform to this general format.

5.1.2 Cover Letter: A one-page cover letter, indicating the Design professional’s name and address, and the name, address and telephone number of the person authorized to represent the firm, team, or joint venture.

5.1.3 Table of Contents: Provide a table of contents of the material contained in the SoQ.

5.1.4 Project Understanding and Technical Approach: Describe the Design Professional’s understanding of the project including your understanding of the project and the needs of the County, technical approach to the project including planning, staffing, approach to ensuring quality and conformance of constructed assets, approach to materials testing including types and quantities of materials tested, deliverables, innovative ideas, internal processes and quality controls of the firm in preparing the documents and communicating with FCSE and other stakeholders.

5.1.5 Firm’s Experience: Identify relevant projects performed. Limit the information to a description of those projects that are similar to the project described in this RFQ. Do not include other types of projects as they will not be considered. If the Design Professional is a joint venture, clearly delineate the areas of responsibility and expertise of each partner. Do not include projects on which any of the proposed team members did not make a substantial contribution to its successful execution. The following information shall be included for each project:

• Project title

• Firm name

• Role of firm

• Project description

• Contract value

• Proposed team members involved, role, and contribution

• Client name

• Client contact

• Year completed

5.1.6 Organizational Capability: Demonstrate the organizational capability of your firm. Provide information concerning the number of full-time persons currently on staff, the projects on which the firm is currently working, and future projects to which the firm is committed.

Identify the personnel who will be assigned to the project and the office in which they normally work. Provide an organizational chart showing the proposed staff members and their proposed roles. The organizational chart should also depict how the firm plans to efficiently utilize its resources to deliver the projects given the compressed schedule desired by the County.

5.1.7 Proposed Project Team: Identify the project principal, project manager, construction administrator, construction inspectors, drafting resources, technicians, and other personnel who will be responsible for the successful execution and administration of the project.

Provide resumes for each individual detailing their participation in other similar projects, their roles on those projects, and their intended role on this project.

5.1.8 Provide on a flash drive the drawings and specifications of each of the listed projects on which your firm provided similar professional services that demonstrate your expertise.

5.1.9 Schedule: provide a Gantt chart showing the various tasks required to complete the project, float times, and critical path.

5.2 SoQ Format and Submission

5.2.1 The SoQ shall be bound in three-ring binders complete with spine and cover inserts or be spiral or comb bound. The SoQ shall clearly identify the contents of the binder (i.e., RFQ number, project and firm, TOC, and tabbed).

5.2.2 Submissions shall be printed legibly on 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17 paper, double sided.

5.2.3 Four (4) original signed hard copies of the SoQ are requested.

5.2.4 Provide two (2) flash drives, each containing an electronic copy of the SoQ in PDF format and the drawings and specifications of the listed projects that demonstrate your firm’s experience.

All SoQs must be submitted in a clearly marked sealed container or envelope, with RFQ 2025- 09-03 and the name of the Firm, Team, or Joint-Venture printed on the outside of the container or envelope. If the Submission envelope is enclosed in another envelope for purpose of delivery, the exterior envelope shall be clearly marked as containing a Submission with the RFQ number and name and the date of the Submission opening shown on the exterior envelope. All sealed qualification must be properly identified with the Submitter’s name, the RFQ number, and the title on each sealed envelope.

5.2.5 Submissions shall be delivered in-person by 2:00 PM on the date indicated in Table 1-1 to:

Franklin County Purchasing Department Attn: Erika Patray 373 South High Street, 25th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-6315

SoQs will be publicly opened on Microsoft TEAMS

April 24, 2025, at 2:00 PM. EDT. See RFQ for information or call in (audio only) +1 380-900- 7428,,437985011# United States, Columbus

Phone Conference ID: 437 985 011#

Meeting ID: 261 920 799 400

Passcode: cW2Mf974

The timestamp in the Franklin County Purchasing Department will serve as the official record of the time and date that sealed bids are received and will be the sole factor in determining if bids are received in time to be considered. Offerors are advised to allow adequate time to locate appropriate parking in the downtown Columbus, Ohio area and access required security checkpoints within the Franklin County Courthouse Building.

5.2.6 It is the responsibility of the Offeror to submit the SoQ at the location designated by Franklin County for the opening of Submissions prior to the time scheduled for opening. No Submission shall be considered if it arrives after the time set for the opening, as determined by the employee or representative of Franklin County designated to open the Submissions.

5.2.7 Faxed transmissions of SoQs will not be accepted.

5.2.8 The opening of the sealed bids will take place on the date and time specified in Table 1-1.

Franklin County will conduct all public bid and proposal openings via the online meeting service Microsoft Teams. The link and contact numbers for the Teams meeting are found in Table 1-1.

5.2.9 Sealed submissions will be received at the office designated by Franklin County until the time stated when all submissions will be opened, read aloud and the Sealed Bid Log will be posted to the Franklin County Purchasing Department’s website.

5.2.10 The public opening and reading of the submissions are for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as an acceptance or rejection of any submission.

5.2.11 The contents of the submission envelope shall be a public record and open for inspection, upon request, after the award of the contract.

5.3 Submission Evaluation Criteria

5.3.1 SoQs will be evaluated by a panel of County employees on a category score basis using the following criteria:

• Responsiveness to all RFQ requirements and project needs in a clear and concise manner;

• Qualifications and experience of the proposed firm(s);

• Range of experience and technical competence of personnel assigned to the project, especially the project manager and lead staff;

tel:+13809007428,,437985011 tel:+13809007428,,437985011

• Type of similar projects profiled;

• Clarity and feasibility of the proposed work plan / technical approach to project delivery;

• Availability of firm(s) to perform the work immediately and present deliverables in a timely manner;

• Past experience with FCSE and knowledge of the FCSE water system including performance on past projects, scope adherence, communication skills, and quality and timeliness of deliverables;

• Verification of references and quality of sample work product;

• Reasonableness of estimated project timeframe; and

• SoQ readability and use of graphics to demonstrate concepts and processes.

6.0 Interviews

6.1 The County reserves the right to conduct interviews with any, all, or none of the responding firms. In the event the County selection committee deems interviews necessary to select the best firm, the County will establish a meeting at a mutually acceptable time. The County selection committee will meet with key members of the firm’s proposed project team and individuals authorized to represent the firm.

6.2 Interviews will be conducted on the date indicated in Table 1-1.

6.3 All interviews will take place in-person or via Microsoft TEAMS at the discretion of the County.

6.4 The County will lead the interview and highly encourages the proposed project manager to have as many team members present as possible.

7.0 Notice of Policy

7.1 It is the policy of the County that all original materials produced as a direct result of the services performed under the contract, including but not limited to SoQs, electronic media, documents, construction drawings, reports, studies, training manuals, and other data shall become the property of Franklin County. Any copyrighting of material produced as a result of the services performed shall be in Franklin County’s name. Where licensed material is incorporated as an integral component of the services provided the firm shall register the County as a licensed user and shall provide the County with one complete copy of the licensed material. Under no circumstances will a Professional services firm be permitted to withhold documents, calculations, reports, or any other materials directly related to this project from the County in exchange for additional fees, royalties, or other commercial gain.

7.2 The County complies with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. It is the policy of the County that entities with which the County does business shall not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability that can be reasonably accommodated, or veteran status. It is the policy of the County to use good faith efforts to encourage the participation of small and emerging business enterprises.