HVAC Studies Q & A.pdf

This is a Questions and Answers document issued by the Maryland Comptroller's Office regarding an expedited Request for Proposals for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Studies. The solicitation seeks comprehensive technical evaluations of Variable Refrigerant Flow systems at four Baltimore City public schools—Arlington Elementary, Arundel Elementary, Govans Elementary, and Pimlico Elementary/Middle. Proposals were due August 14, 2026, with questions due July 31, 2026. The contractor must conduct visual inspections, staff interviews, document reviews, and system analysis at each facility; identify root causes of chronic VRF failures that triggered emergency school closures; assess remediation approaches with cost estimates; and analyze nationwide VRF performance data in public school settings. Separate root-cause assessment reports for each school and a cumulative comparative analysis are required by November 9, 2026, with an additional December 1, 2026 deadline to support the Comptroller's mandated submission to the Maryland General Assembly. A pre-proposal conference was held on July 29, 2026, with twelve firms in attendance. The contract period runs from award through December 1, 2026.

The maximum contract value is $150,000 on a firm fixed-price basis with no travel reimbursement provided. This is a Small Business Reserve procurement limited to Maryland-certified small businesses with a 10% Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) subcontracting goal; only Maryland State Department of Transportation-certified MBEs count toward this goal. Contractors must comply with Maryland Living Wage Requirements (Tier 2 classification), submit required affidavits and certifications, provide three customer references from the past five years, and disclose all current or prior Maryland state contracts from the last five years. In response to bidder inquiries, the Comptroller's Office confirmed that the deliverable due dates of November 9 and December 1 cannot be extended to meet the General Assembly mandate, and no additional funding beyond $150,000 is available for the project.