Engineering and Admin Services.pdf

Haywood County, NC

Hurricane Helene Watershed Recovery Project

Request for Qualifications

Engineering and Administrative Services

Emergency Watershed Protection

Issued On: 8/31/2026 Due Date: 9/25/2026

Point of Contact for Communications Regarding this RFQ:

Duane Vanhook, District Director Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District 828-452-2741 . ext. 3 duane.vanhook@haywoodcountync.gov

OR

Kristi Hill Purchasing Manager – Haywood County 828-356-2613 kristi.hill@haywoodcountync.gov

1. Project Background and Objectives

Haywood County (“County”) is requesting a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) from qualified, firms and/or organizations registered and operating in the State of North Carolina. This request is to provide technical and administrative services in compliance with the requirements of the USDA-NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program, the North Carolina Stream Debris Removal Assistance Program, and potentially other grant funding sources. Responses to this RFQ will be used to determine the relative qualifications of various firms to perform the scope of work and tasks specified. The County is seeking a firm/ organization with demonstrated experience in the design, permitting, and contract administration requirements of the USDA-NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program to include, but is not limited to, developing a project design that includes construction drawings and specifications, an operation and maintenance plan, a quality assurance/ inspection plan and an engineer’s estimate of the project installation costs, permitting, and providing necessary quality assurance during construction.

2. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION

A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

All proposals must be signed by an officer or employee having the authority to sign on behalf of the firm or bind the firm legally.

Any interlineations, alterations, or erasures of submitted materials must be initialed by the signer of the proposal.

The Terms and Conditions in this RFQ shall supersede any Terms and Conditions offered. Any additional conditions or modifications to the Terms and Conditions must be submitted as part of the proposal. Acceptance of additional conditions or modifications will be the sole discretion of the County.

Submission of a proposal by the offeror is not to be construed as an award or order.

The firm must show capability and experience in NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Standards and Specifications

B. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The County will receive proposals until 3:00 PM, September 25, 2026 at the address below. At that time, the County will close the receipt of proposals and begin the evaluation process. Proposals received after the submittal deadline will not be accepted or considered. The County will not be held responsible for the failure of any mail or delivery service to deliver a proposal package prior to the stated submittal deadline. Late submittals of RFQs will not be considered for any reason whatsoever.

Submitting firms should submit one package containing: (1) original and four (4) exact copies of complete proposal packages along with one (1) electronic PDF version of the proposal in its entirety saved on a USB drive. All proposal packages must be submitted in a sealed package and clearly identified with:

proposal name, offerors name and address, and the date and time of the submittal deadline clearly marked on the outside of the package. Proposal packages shall be delivered to:

Haywood County Finance Attention: Kristi Hill 4th floor Historic Courthouse

215 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786

It is solely the offeror’s responsibility to ascertain that they have received all required and necessary information, documents, and addenda prior to submitting a response and to ensure that the response is received at the correct location on time.

C. PROPOSAL FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

To facilitate the analysis of proposals, proposals should be prepared according to the instructions outlined in this RFQ and in the order presented below. Proposals should be prepared as simply as possible with straightforward, concise narratives to demonstrate an understanding of the project and services required by the County. Proposals that provide innovative alternatives and creative approaches are encouraged.

Any other information thought to be relevant but not applicable to the categories below may be provided as an appendix to the proposal.

Submitted proposals should be organized into the following sections:

1. Cover Letter

The letter should, at a minimum, acknowledge the offeror’s intent to provide timely and professional services to the County, acknowledge any addenda and identify the offeror’s main point of contact for any communications regarding the submitted proposal. Also provide a brief narrative that summarizes the proposal and addresses the key benefits, qualifications, and capabilities of the offeror.

2. Company Profile

Provide a description of the firm’s history, ownership, business organization, financial status, overall qualifications, products or services offered, and any relevant licenses held, if applicable.

o Provide evidence of registration and good standing with the North Carolina Secretary of State and State Boards governing applicable professional services required. In the case of out-of-state corporation, provide a Certificate of Authority as evidence of ability to do business in North Carolina.

o Describe the overall capability of the offeror to fully perform the contract requirements

3. Understanding and Approach

Provide a description of the offeror’s understanding of the requirements contained in the Scope of Work described in this RFQ. This section should, at a minimum, address the following:

o Expression of the offeror’s understanding of the services being requested.

o A detailed description of the offeror’s intended approach to providing the services identified in the Scope of Work.

o A list of all major tasks to be performed by the offeror and the deliverable products associated with each task. Also include information regarding the timelines associated with the delivery of required tasks.

o Understanding of the content of Damage Survey Reports (DSRs) used in the EWP planning process and experience preparing and/or interpreting DSRs.

o Experience obtaining right-of-entry, easements, and access agreements with private property owners, corporations, and non-profits.

o Understanding of federal/state environmental laws including but not limited to: Clean Water Act, 401 Water Quality Certification, US Army Corps Section 404, and Identification of Endangered species

4. Key Personnel

Identify all key personnel who will be assigned to the resulting contract and their role on the offeror’s team. Describe each individual’s experience, specific EWP consulting/management experience, relevant licenses and/or certifications, relevant association memberships, overall credentials related to the requested services and proposed role in this project. Also, identify all subcontractors/sub-consultants who will support the work performed under the resulting contract and define their roles. Respondents must include an organization chart that clearly identifies personnel assigned to this project and their roles. The organization chart must clearly illustrate the proposed lines of communication between proposed team members and the County management

5. Past Experience Summarize the Respondent’s overall experience providing EWP consulting/management services, number of contracts (current and past); identify percent completed, NRCS EWP program familiarity, and detailed information regarding previously completed EWP projects.

Related projects that were similar in size and scope completed for other government agencies with comparable requirements may be submitted in lieu of EWP projects, but may be weighted less.

6. References

Provide a reference for a minimum of three EWP projects or projects with related services performed within the last 5 years including project name, dates of service, contact name, address, phone and email.

D. SIGNATURES

An original signature by an authorized officer of the firm is required on the Original version of the proposal submittal package. Please include evidence of signatory’s authority to bind the firm in the proposal.

E. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals will be evaluated by an appointed Selection Committee according to the evaluation criteria described in this section. The information provided in each proposal will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Demonstrated understanding of the project scope, approach to providing the requested services and understanding of the USDA/NRCS EWP Program.

Unique capability of the firm to provide the requested services.

Demonstrated experience successfully providing similar services in the past to the USDA-NRCS

EWP Program and staff.

Experience working with Engineering and Infrastructure Departments, Emergency Management

Departments, FEMA, USDA-NRCS staff, County, and municipal governments.

Specialized experience, qualifications, and demonstrated knowledge of the offeror’s key personnel.

Ability to respond quickly for emergency floodplain, watershed management, or civil construction issues.

Proposed timeframe for completion of services and tasks.

Completeness of the proposal and inclusion of all requested information.

F. AWARD OF CONTRACTS

The County will award a contract to one (1) consultant that is deemed to be fully qualified and best suited to provide the required services, as determined solely by the County, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in Section 2.E. Evaluation of Proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation of proposal or selection. At the County’s sole discretion, the County reserves the right to take the following actions in connection with this RFQ:

To perform interviews with one or more Consultants prior to selection.

To request additional information from any or all Consultants.

To judgmentally select the successful Consultant that best meets the needs of the County.

To reject any or all proposals.

To meet with select Consultants at any time to gather additional information.

The County shall not be deemed to have finally selected a Consultant until a contract has been successfully negotiated and signed by both parties.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

To facilitate construction and completion of projects, the Consultant will serve as the primary consultant to the County and/or assigned delegates. The Consultant will provide consultation, technical assistance, engineering and planning support, bid procurement, contractor selection, bid tabulations, contract award, contractor scheduling, coordination of contractors, monitoring/inspecting work in progress, inspection and certification of completed work, documentation of contractor progress, preparation of progress reports and final reports, management of payment requests, determining consistency and adherence to project plans & specifications, certification of projects, and project close-out for EWP task orders. Duties/tasks will include but not be limited to the following:

1. Easement Assess/Right-of-Entry: Obtain appropriate documentation with correct signatures.

2. Title Searches/Land-Ownership: Title searches and verification of land ownership; assist with identification/ location of easements, and other hindrances to title.

3. Design and Permitting: Develop design documents (plans, details, and specifications) consistent with NRCS and County requirements sufficient to obtain required State and Federal permits for project areas requiring sediment removal and/or bank stabilization. Consultant shall obtain necessary topographic surveys, perform desktop and/or field environmental assessments to determine permit requirements for each project, prepare and submit applications and coordinate issuance of permits.

4. Bid documents: Preparation of bid documents, estimated cost of construction and construction schedule for project areas requiring sediment removal and/or bank stabilization.

5. Contract Administration, Bid Solicitation, and Contractor Selection Support: Provide County with project Scopes of Work; provide as-needed technical support, engineering recommendations, RFP development, bid solicitations, bid advertisement, bid evaluation/tabulation, contractor procurement, bid award, and guidance with executing contracts that are compliant with NRCS and Code of Federal Register (CFR) requirements.

6. Inspections/Construction Documentation: During construction on all sites, the Consultant will provide a qualified construction inspector to document the construction process and to assure that the work performed is consistent with the project Plans & Specifications prepared by USDA;

observe and notate testing results and communicate with the Contractor QC/QA consultant. In the event of deviation from the project plans, the Consultant will notify NRCS and the County immediately.

7. Contract Management: The Consultant will assist the County with managing contract cost accounting. The Consultant will review task order budgets, monitor contractor invoicing, and track project costs to assure that budgets are maintained. The Consultant will provide the County and NRCS with recommendations to release payment for work completed that is determined to be complete and performed in accordance with project plans and specifications.

8. Progress Reports/Meetings: Inspection reports will be prepared by the Consultant. A 5-Day Report will be prepared each week and submitted to the County and/or NRCS; deviations to scope of work, costs, or schedule will be noted in the 5-Day Report. Other reports and progress updates may be required by the County or NRCS as needed. Periodic meetings may be required by the County or NRCS to be held at office locations defined by the contract or Statement of Work developed for each project. The Consultant shall attend meetings as requested by the County or

NRCS.

9. Construction Close-out: A preliminary completion walk-through inspection will be performed by the Consultant noting any remaining items on a punch list. Upon notification from the contractor that the punch list items have been addressed, the Consultant will perform a final walk-through and approval of each project area with the County and NRCS field representative. A Final Report will be prepared at the conclusion of each completed project and submitted to the County and/or NRCS within the time prescribed by the contract. The Final Report will include before and after photos and/or as-built survey sufficient to show construction was performed in accordance with NRCS requirements.

10. Manpower Support:

o Consultant must provide one individual to serve as Project Manager and function in the capacity described above. If the Respondent is selected based on an employee expected to be hired and that employee is not hired, the agreement is subject to cancellation by County without penalty. Any changes in personnel by the Consultant must be approved by the County.

o Weekly coordination of work assignments will be required.

o During completion of projects, the Consultant’s Project Manager and/or staff may be required to be onsite full-time until the project is stabilized or restored to functional order. Haywood County will not reimburse the Consultant for such expenses or provide shelter or food during completion of the projects.

4: CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The following general Terms and Conditions apply to this RFQ solicitation process and will be incorporated into the resulting contract. Any exceptions to the following requirements or other sections of this RFQ should be addressed in the offeror’s proposal.

B. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This RFQ, all attachments to this RFQ, any additional or supplementary documents incorporated herein by reference, any resulting contract, and the selected offeror’s submitted proposal contain all the Terms and Conditions agreed upon by the parties hereto, and no other agreements, oral or otherwise, regarding the subject matter of this contract or any part thereof shall have any validity or bind any of the parties hereto. This contract shall not be modified, altered, changed, or amended unless in writing and signed by the parties hereto.

C. CONFLICT BETWEEN DOCUMENTS

In the event of a conflict between the contract documents, including these Terms and Conditions and the terms of a purchase order or related document issued by the County Finance Office, the contract documents shall control.

D. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

A contract shall be deemed in force only to the extent of appropriations available to each department for the purchase of such goods and/or services. The County’s extended obligations on contracts that include funding through successive fiscal periods shall be contingent upon actual appropriations for the successive periods (additional years).

E. NON-DISCRIMINATION

Consultant will take affirmative action not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment or otherwise illegally deny any person participation in or the benefits of the program which is the subject of this agreement because of race, creed, color, sex, age, disability, or national origin. To the extent applicable, Contractor will comply with all provisions of Executive Order No. 11246 the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (P.L. 88-352) and 1968 (P.L. 90-284), and all applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders, instructions, designations, and other directives promulgated to prohibit discrimination. Violation of this provision, after notice, shall be a material breach of this agreement and may result, at County’s option, in a termination or suspension of this agreement in whole or in part.

F. INDEMNIFICATION

Contractor agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the County for all loss, liability, claims, or expense (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from bodily injury, including death or property damage, to any person or persons caused in whole or in part by the negligence or misconduct of the Consultant, except to the extent same are caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the County.

It is the intent of this section to require Consultant to indemnify Haywood County to the extent permitted under North Carolina law.

G. INSURANCE

Consultant shall procure and maintain insurance as set forth below. Consultant shall cause Owner to be listed as an additional insured on any applicable general liability insurance policy carried by Consultant.

A. The limits of liability for the insurance required are as follows:

1. Workers’ Compensation: Statutory

2. Employer’s Liability --

a. Bodily injury, each accident: $500,000

b. Bodily injury by disease, each employee: $500,000

c. Bodily injury/disease, aggregate: $500,000

3. General Liability --

a. Each Occurrence (Bodily Injury and Property Damage): $1,000,000

b. General Aggregate: $2,000,000

4. Excess or Umbrella Liability --

a. Per Occurrence: $1,000,000

b. General Aggregate: $1,000,000

5. Automobile Liability --Combined Single Limit (Bodily Injury and Property Damage):

$1,000,000

6. Professional Liability –

a. Each Claim Made $2,000,000

b. Annual Aggregate $2,000,000

H. LAWS AND REGULATIONS

The Consultant shall keep fully informed of all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations that in any manner affect the conduct of the work. The Consultant shall at all times observe and comply with all such laws, ordinances, and regulations.

I. IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986

The offeror certifies that he/she does not and shall not during the performance of the contract for goods and services in the State of North Carolina, knowingly employ unauthorized aliens as defined in the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, as amended.

J. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT

A contract shall not be assignable by the Consultant in whole or in part without the written consent of the County.

K. DEFAULT

In event of default by the Consultant, the County reserves the right to procure the goods and/or services and/or services from other sources and hold the Consultant liable for any excess cost occasioned thereby.

L. INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

The Consultant and any employees, agents, or other persons or entities acting on behalf of the Consultant shall act in an independent capacity and not as officers, employees, or agents of the County.

M. NON-EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT

Nothing herein is intended nor shall be construed as creating any exclusive arrangement with the selected Consultant. The contract shall not restrict the County from acquiring similar, equal, or like goods and/or services from other sources.

ANTI-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

HAYWOOD COUNTY

NORTH CAROLINA

, being first duly sworn deposes and says that:

1. (S)he is the of (the company submitting the attached proposal);

2. (S)he is fully informed respecting the preparation and contents of the attached bid and of all pertinent circumstances respecting such bid;

3. Such bid is genuine and is not collusive or sham;

4. Neither the said bidder nor any of its officers, partners, owners, agents, representatives, employees or parties in interest, including this affiant, has in any way colluded, conspired, connived or agreed, directly or indirectly, with any other bidder, firm or person to submit collusive or sham bid in connection with the contract for which the attached bid has been submitted or to refrain from bidding in connection with such contract, or has in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement or collusion or communication or conference with any other bidder, firm or person to fix the price or prices in the attached bid or of any other bidder, or, to fix any overhead, profit, or cost element of the bid price of any other bidder to secure through collusion, conspiracy, connivance or unlawful agreement any advantage against the County of Haywood, or any person interested in the proposed contract; and

5. The price or prices quoted in the attached bid are fair and proper and are not contained by any collusion, conspiracy, connivance or unlawful agreement on the part of the bidder or any of its agents, representatives, owners, employees, or parties, in interest, including this affidavit.

Signature and Title

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this day of , 20 .

Notary Public

My Commission Expires On:

Haywood County 215 N. Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786 E-VERIFY AFFIDAVIT

The State of North Carolina recently passed HB 786 (S.L. 2013-418) enacting NCGS 160A-20.1(b) which prohibits governmental units from doing business with contractors/companies who do not comply with E-Verify. The law also applies to a contractor’s subcontractors.

Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NCGS requires an employer that transacts business in the State of North Carolina and employs 25 or more employees in the State of North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify program.

In accordance with the NCGS, Haywood County requires all contractors/companies who do business with Haywood County to comply with the E-Verify requirements as evidenced by submission of this affidavit for formal bids.

I, ____________________________(the individual attesting below), being duly authorized by and on behalf of

________________________________ (the entity bidding on project/contracting with county, hereinafter "Employer") after first being duly sworn hereby swears or affirms as follows:

1. Employer understands that E-Verify is the federal E-Verify program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, or any successor or equivalent program used to verify the work authorization of newly hired employees pursuant to federal law in accordance with NCGS §64-25(5).

2. Employer understands that Employers Must Use E-Verify. Each employer, after hiring an employee to work in the United States, shall verify the work authorization of the employee through E-Verify in accordance with NCGS§64-26(a).

3. Employer is a person, business entity, or other organization that transacts business in the State of North Carolina and that employs 25 or more employees in North Carolina. (mark Yes or No)

a. YES _____, or b. NO _____

4. Employer's subcontractors comply with E-Verify, and Employer will ensure compliance with E-Verify by any subcontractors subsequently hired by Employer.

This ____ day of _______________, 20 _.

Signature of Affiant Print or Type Name: _________________________

State of ___________ County of ___________

Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me, this the _____ day of ________________, 20 _.

My Commission Expires:

Notary Public

(A ffix O fficial/N otarial S eal)

Haywood County IRAN 215 N. Main Street DIVESTMENT ACT Waynesville, NC 28786 CERTIFICATION

Name of Company:

IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT CERTIFICATION

REQUIRED BY N.C.G.S. 143C-6A-5(a)

As of the date listed below, the entity listed above is not listed on the Final Divestment List created by the State Treasurer pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-6A-4.

The undersigned hereby certifies that he or she is authorized by the entity listed above to make the foregoing statement.

Signature Date

Printed Name Title