CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 1 of 8

SOLICITATION INFORMATION SHEET

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES – ARCHITECT/ENGINEER

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The University of Connecticut is accepting sealed Proposals for:

RFP RELEASE DATE: 10/9/2025

PROJECT NUMBER: GF250923

PROJECT NAME: Branford Water Pollution Control Facility Resiliency Project Phase II: Feasibility Study and Conceptual Design

PROJECT LOCATION: Town of Branford

PROCUREMENT AGENT: GRIFFIN FEHRS, griffin.fehrs@uconn.edu, 860-486-2618

INTENT OF THIS SOLICITATION: The purpose of this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is to request Cost Proposals and Statements of Qualifications from qualified Companies to provide scoping and planning for sustainability and resilience focused projects to support a Candidate (hereafter referred to as the “Awardee”) of the Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program.

LOCATION OF THIS SOLICITATION: Submit a Proposal for this solicitation through the HuskyBuy Portal:

https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=UConnFullSuite.

SBE/MBE PARTICIPATION: The University of Connecticut is committed to providing a professionally inclusive environment within which small and minority businesses are encouraged to participate in the procurement experience. As such, we encourage participation by Small (SBE) businesses, Minority-Owned (MBE) businesses, Woman-Owned (WBE) businesses, and businesses owned by persons with a disability (DisBE), certified as such by the Connecticut’s Department of Administrative Services Supplier Diversity Division. For further information, visit: https://portal.ct.gov/DAS/Services/Licensing-Certification- Permitting-and-Codes/Small-Minority-Business-Center. To learn about the University of Connecticut’s Supplier Diversity Program, visit: https://supplierdiversity.ubs.uconn.edu. Additionally, the University encourages Connecticut-based businesses to participate in this public solicitation process.

CRITICAL DATES:

Pre-Proposal Conference Date and Time 10/20/2025 2:00 pm

Pre-Proposal Conference Location Virtual Meeting (Registration Below)

Q&A (RFI) Due Date and Time 10/29/2025 2:00 pm

Proposal Due Date and Time 11/12/2025 2:00 pm

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 2 of 8

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: During the Pre-Proposal Conference, the RFP and Scope of Work will be discussed. The Pre-Proposal Conference is not mandatory, however, interested Proposers are strongly encouraged to attend. Please email the Procurement Agent listed in the Solicitation Information Sheet for access to the Pre-Proposal Conference which will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The registration deadline is 1 hour prior to the event start time.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION QUESTIONS: All Requests for Information (“RFI”) questions are to be posted under the Q&A Board Tab in the HuskyBuy sourcing event for this solicitation. No phone calls or RFI questions emailed directly to the Procurement Agent will be accepted.

CLARIFICATIONS, ADDENDA, and INTERPRETATIONS: Proposers shall promptly notify the University of any ambiguity, inconsistency, or error which they may discover upon examination of the contract documents.

Any and all interpretations of the RFI Responses, contract documents, and supplemental instructions, will be in the form of a clarification/addendum, and posted as part of the HuskyBuy sourcing event. Failure of a Proposer to receive any such clarification/addendum or interpretation shall not release a Proposer from the obligations under its Proposal as submitted.

CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS: This is a Quality-Based Selection solicitation process. Proposals shall be evaluated utilizing the objective technical criteria listed within the RFP, as well as any additional information obtained from persons or other sources identified in the Proposal. Note: The Cost Proposal is evaluated by CPFP and the Proposer with the lowest overall cost is assigned the maximum points allocated for this evaluation criteria. All other proposals receive a percentage of the points available based on their cost relationship to the lowest Cost Proposal. The selection committee will only see the points assigned to each Cost Proposal; they do not see the actual Cost Proposal.

PROJECT SCHEDULE/DURATION:

● Anticipated Contract Issuance/Notice to Proceed: November 2025

● MILESTONES: See Tasks below. The specific schedule will be developed in consultation with the

Awardee, depending on their specific needs.

● Services are planned to start: November 2025

● Services Duration: Up to two years.

LIST OF REFERENCE DOCUMENTS:

Branford Wastewater Infrastructure Climate Resiliency Report

Branford WPCA Maps

PROJECT DESCRIPTION/SCOPE OF WORK: With guidance from the Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professionals (“SRC EPs”), the selected Company is expected to provide high quality Services to an Awardee of the Long Island Sound Planning Support Program throughout the CT portion of the Long Island Sound Coastal boundary (within Connecticut). The selected Company will use their experience to provide the Awardee with Services for a sustainability and resilience focused project that will impact communities within or partially within the Long Island Sound Coastal boundary. The Services should help foster a sustainable and resilient Long Island Sound and the end products supported through this program should advance a community’s efforts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, and recover from the effects of natural disturbances (e.g., sea level rise, storms and other extreme events, and human impacts), while

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 3 of 8 promoting social, environmental, and/or economic well-being for all communities. The Services must advance the Long Island Sound Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The Services should also follow the SRC Resilience Planning Guide adopted and adapted from Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation Resilient Connecticut Planning Framework (2020) by assisting the Awardee with considering the applicable decision support criteria questions. All Candidate

Projects in CT that entail the development of actions included by Sustainable CT (e.g., Create a Watershed

Management Plan, Implement Low Impact Development, Assess Climate Vulnerability), must follow Sustainable CT’s Action guidance. Services are anticipated to be provided for up to 2 years, though the scope and duration of a Purchase Order (“PO”) will be determined by the specific project’s needs.

Note that not all Candidate Projects may be determined to be Awardees, as all award determinations consider the Candidate and Awardee Selection Criteria outlined starting on page 5 within the Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program Request for Expressions of Interest.

Once a Company is hired by the University of Connecticut (“UConn”), the Candidate will be notified that they are selected to receive an award and become an official Awardee. The Company must not reach out or communicate directly with the Candidate regarding this opportunity prior to the execution of a PO.

The scope of the PO with the selected Company should reflect the Desired Services of the specific Candidate Project, along with the tasks defined below (Tasks A – D) that are required as a part of each Scope of Work and should be included in the RFP submission and associated budget detail. Relevant criteria from the SRC Resilience Planning Guide should be considered as appropriate for the project and phase.

Task A: Form and Coordinate with Stakeholder Groups

The selected Company will hold an initial meeting with the designated SRC EP and Awardee to discuss formation of a comprehensive and relevant stakeholder group for the project. The Company will then assist the Awardee in forming the stakeholder group and is expected to meet with the Awardee’s stakeholder group throughout the duration of the Scope of Work at a frequency to be determined based on the needs and resources of each Awardee and stakeholder group. At the first meeting with the Awardee stakeholder group, the Company will work with the group to establish project-specific goals and a shared project vision to inform and direct the project as it advances throughout the Scope of Work period.

Deliverables:

1) Meeting attendee list and written summaries for each meeting. These should be distributed in a timely manner to the Awardee, stakeholder group, and the designated regional SRC EP.

2) Final project goals and vision distributed to the Awardee, stakeholder group, and the designated regional SRC EP.

Task B: QAPP Development

The selected Company will develop and submit a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) to EPA for the Services, prior to the start of any task that requires data collection. The Company should consult with the designated regional SRC EP, the appropriate EPA contacts, and the Awardee’s stakeholder group to develop and finalize the QAPP. Note the development and approval of a QAPP is anticipated to take approximately 4 months. The designated SRC EP will be responsible

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 4 of 8 for connecting and managing communication between the Company and the appropriate EPA contacts.

Deliverables:

1) Draft version(s) of QAPP, submitted to EPA.

2) Final QAPP, submitted to and approved by EPA.

Task C: Progress Reports

Deliverable:

1) Submission of a Progress Update accompanying the submission of an invoice and/or at least every 3 months, distributed to the Awardee, the designated regional SRC EP, and UConn.

Task D: Technical Services and Final Products Developed through the Services

Deliverables:

1) Output of Desired Services tasks described below (detail the specific tasks and deliverables that the Company proposes to complete for the Candidate Project).

2) Submission of all final products, reports, or materials developed through the Services distributed to the Awardee, stakeholder group, the designated regional SRC EP, and UConn at the conclusion of the Scope of Work period/when all Services are completed.

Once a Company is selected, the Awardee will be sent an Acceptance of Support Letter by Connecticut Sea Grant (“CTSG”) to outline the agreement and expectations of the Awardee, Company, and CTSG. After the Awardee returns the signed Acceptance of Support Letter, the University will prepare a PO based on the proposal. The establishment of the PO is contingent upon the Awardee signing the Acceptance of Support Letter.

Awardees may be asked to approve products and deliverables before payment is dispersed to the Company. In all cases, the final required deliverable of the Scope of Work is copies of all final products, reports, or materials developed through the Services. Note that no funds will pass through the Awardee organization. Note the Company may be asked to present at meetings during and at the conclusion of the Scope of the Work period, such as the Long Island Sound Partnership Sustainable and Resilient Communities Work Group meetings.

Payment to the selected Company under this funding opportunity is administered as a Cost Reimbursable

Award. The Company must submit invoices to UConn along with a Progress Update to the designated SRC

EP for review and approval in order to receive payment. Please indicate the percentage of each task that is completed. Deliverables must be received before the final payment can be made. Payment to the

Company will take place in compliance with UConn policies and procedures.

Up to approximately $400,000 is available for completion of the Services for up to 7 CT Awardees. In the past, we funded projects ranging from $35,000- $115,000 and we are considering funding projects in the same range this year. This project has been funded wholly or in part by the EPA under assistance agreements LI-00A00578 and LI-00A01412 to CTSG, University of Connecticut. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA, nor does the EPA endorse trade

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 5 of 8 names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document. Funding is subject to

Uniform Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200). An EPA funding acknowledgement, CTSG logo, and LIS Partnership logo must appear on all final products, reports, or materials.

DELIVERABLES: The Consultant will provide the following deliverables:

Candidate: Town of Branford

Project: Branford Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) Resiliency Project, Phase II: Feasibility

Study and Conceptual Design

Project Description:

The Town of Branford is seeking support to advance the conceptual design and feasibility phase of its Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) Resiliency Project. The WPCF, which treats an average of 3.5 million gallons of sewage per day, is highly vulnerable to current 1% flood events and future sea level rise. Located adjacent to the Branford River—which flows directly into Long Island Sound—the facility is recognized as a critical community asset, essential to protecting public health, water quality, and local economic stability (Figure 1).

Building on a Phase I assessment completed in 2023, which identified climate vulnerability at the WPCF and over 50 associated pump stations, the Town is now prepared to move into Phase II:

Feasibility Study and Conceptual Design. This phase will focus on the WPCF itself, evaluating a range of wet- and dry-floodproofing strategies, as well as nature-based and hybrid approaches to mitigate flood risk. The Town seeks assistance in identifying appropriate design standards (e.g., today’s base flood elevations, Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, and projected 2050/2080 sea level rise scenarios), developing conceptual alternatives, and preparing preliminary cost estimates.

The project will also assess funding opportunities and provide guidance to ensure that outcomes align with future funding eligibility. The Town is committed to a phased approach—data collection, conceptual design, preliminary design, and construction—while maintaining a focus on feasibility, implementability, and financeability. A chosen alternative is intended to lead Branford to Phase III - Preliminary Design of the project. The eventual implementation of this project will safeguard the WPCF against sea level rise risks, ensure continuity of wastewater treatment services, and strengthen Branford’s ability to anticipate, absorb, and recover from flooding and extreme weather events.

Desired Services:

The following should be incorporated into the Required Tasks in Scope of Work listed in the RFP:

1) Establish the basis of design for flood protection levels under multiple scenarios (e.g., NEIWPCC TR-16, FFRMS, 2050, 2080).

2) Conduct a feasibility analysis of site-specific floodproofing and resiliency measures, including both engineered and nature-based options.

3) Develop conceptual plans for multiple resilience strategies, including wet/dry floodproofing and hybrid solutions.

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 6 of 8

4) Provide comparative analysis of options, including constructability, sequencing/phasing, and funding opportunities.

5) Engage with Town staff, WPCA, and community stakeholders through at least three meetings and presentations.

Deliverables:

1) Basis of Design memorandum, including recommended flood protection levels and justifications.

2) Conceptual design plans and narratives for at least three comprehensive resiliency alternatives.

3) Cost estimates for each conceptual option, with consideration of phasing and implementation pathways.

4) Assessment of potential funding sources aligned with recommended design approaches.

5) Final report summarizing findings, feasibility analysis, and recommended path forward.

Map of Project Area:

Figure 1. Location of Town of Branford’s Wastewater Treatment Facility. Additional maps are available at this link:

Branford WPCF MAPS.pdf

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 7 of 8

COST PROPOSAL: Submit a Cost Proposal utilizing the Form provided. No substitution of the Form is permitted.

QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSER: In addition to submitting a Cost Proposal, all Proposers must provide information/documentation with their submission (unless stated otherwise) that demonstrates the following:

- REQUIRED LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS: If selected as the Vendor of Choice, your Company will be required to provide a copy of the following prior to issuance of an Acceptance of Support Letter.

a. Provide either a Professional Architectural Firm license or a Professional Engineering Company

License:

Architecture Firm – If your Company is a corporation, provide a copy of your Company’s

Certificate of Authorization from the Connecticut Architectural Licensing Board (as per

Connecticut General Statutes §20-298a and §20-298b). This certificate must remain effective for so long as the design professional is under contract to provide professional services for this Program.

Professional Engineering Company – Provide a copy of the Company’s License (as per

Connecticut General Statutes Section 20-306a and 20-306b). This License must remain effective for so long as the design professional is under contract to provide professional services for this Program.

b. Provide a copy of at least one proposed Program team member’s current Connecticut Architect license or current Connecticut Professional Engineering (PE) License.

- NARRATIVE OF PROJECT APPROACH: Prepare a Narrative that demonstrates your Company’s understanding of the Scope of Work for this Project. Concisely present an approach that includes the following:

a. Technical Approach: Describe your Company’s approach, which demonstrates your understanding of the needs of this Project, including your Company's process for completing a Scope of Work within a proposed schedule.

b. Quality Assurance/Quality Control: Describe your Company’s process and procedure for managing and assuring quality of its documents.

- PREVIOUS RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: Describe the overall qualifications of the Proposer, including background in this field and the services that it provides. Utilize the Previous Relevant Experience Form, ProfServ-RFP provided with this RFP.

a. It is recommended that the Proposer provide three (3) examples of projects in progress or completed within the past ten (10) years, comparable in size, scope, and similar environment to this Project, with an emphasis on sustainability.

b. A detailed description of the work performed and how it relates to the Scope of Work outlined in the RFP shall be included.

c. Examples with any information on the Form stated as “confidential” may not be considered.

- PROPOSED TEAM QUALIFICATIONS: The Proposer must demonstrate the ability to staff the Project with high quality, experienced personnel. Describe the qualifications and responsibilities of the key personnel who will be assigned to the Project including their experience on similar assignments and their specific responsibilities for the proposed Project. Utilize the Resume for Proposed Key Personnel

CPFP Prof. Services-Architect/Engineer Open RFP, October 2025 Page 8 of 8

Form, ProfServ-RFP provided with this RFP.

a. It is recommended that the Proposer provide Resumes for the following positions: Principal, Project Manager.

b. Only provide Resumes for the key personnel who may be assigned to this Project, do not include Resumes for personnel not assigned to the team.

MISCELLANEOUS REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: The Proposal shall include the following documents:

1. SEEC Form 10: Review the SEEC Form 10: Notice to Executive Branch State Contractors and Prospective State Contractors of Campaign Contribution and Solicitation Limitations (acknowledgment of receipt of the explanation of prohibitions) and upload the executed Form where applicable. The Form can be found at:

https://seec.ct.gov/Portal/data/forms/ContrForms/seec_form_10_final.pdf.

2. Supplier Diversity Certificate: If certified, provide your Company’s current Supplier Diversity Certificate issued by the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services.

End of Solicitation Information Sheet