July 19, 2022

INVITATION TO BID

BL089-22

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is soliciting competitive sealed bids from qualified contractors for the Inspection and Exercising of Water and Sewer Valves on an Annual Contract with four (4) options to renew for the Department of Water Resources.

Bid submittal date and location:

Bids should be typed or submitted in ink and returned in a sealed container marked on the outside with the Bid Number and Company Name. Bids will be received until 2:50 P.M. local time on August 8, 2022, at the Gwinnett County Financial Services - Purchasing Division – 2nd Floor, 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046. Any bid received after this date and time will not be accepted. Bids will be publicly and virtually opened and read at 3:00 P.M. Apparent bid results will be available the following business day on our website www.gwinnettcounty.com.

Instructions on Submitting Questions All contractors are urged to attend. Questions regarding bids should be directed to Shelley McWhorter, Purchasing Associate III, at shelley.mcwhorter@gwinnettcounty.com or by calling 770-822-8734, no later than 10:00 a.m. on July 29, 2022. Bids are legal and binding upon the bidder when submitted. All bids should be submitted in duplicate.

Insurance

Successful contractor will be required to meet insurance requirements. The Insurance Company should be authorized to do business in Georgia by the Georgia Insurance Department and must have an A.M.

Best rating of A-5 or higher.

Facility Access

Gwinnett County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to its programs or activities. Any requests for reasonable accommodations required by individuals to fully participate in any open meeting, program or activity of Gwinnett County Government should be directed to the ADA Coordinator, Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center, 770-822-8165.

The written bid documents supersede any verbal or written prior communications between the parties.

Award will be made to the contractor submitting the lowest responsive and responsible bid. Gwinnett County reserves the right to reject any or all bids to waive technicalities, and to make an award deemed in its best interest. Bids may be split or awarded in entirety. Gwinnett County reserves the option to negotiate terms, conditions and pricing with the lowest responsive, responsible bidder(s) at its discretion.

Award notification will be posted after award on the County website, www.gwinnettcounty.com and companies submitting a bid will be notified via email.

We look forward to your bid and appreciate your interest in Gwinnett County.

Shelley McWhorter, CPPB Purchasing Associate III

The following pages should be returned as your bid:

• Bid Schedule, pages 20-22

• E-Verify Affidavit

• Code of Ethics Affidavit

• References, page 25

• Sub-Contractor List, page 26 http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/ mailto:shelley.mcwhorter@gwinnettcounty.com

BL089-22 Page 3

SPECIFICATIONS

PART 1 – OVERVIEW OF WORK

Gwinnett County is soliciting competitive, sealed bids for services related to the inventory, condition assessment and maintenance of the County’s Water and Sewer System Valves on an Annual Contract with the option of four (4) offers for contract renewal for the Department of Water Resources (DWR).

The project requirements for the Contractor include, but are not limited to: valve locating, valve inspection, valve exercising, valve box adjustment, valve box replacement, GPS, and other similar tasks. Valves to be addressed under this Contract vary between 2-inch and 48-inch. Exact valve locations will not always be pre-determined prior to assignment of work and may require research of GCDWR web browser GIS to access As-Builts, GCDWR files and field reconnaissance by the successful bidder. Work areas will range from: major thoroughfares, streets, highways, rural roadways, and off-road easement areas adjacent to creeks, streams, rivers, or other areas with difficult access.

This Contract will be issued on an annual basis, with no guaranteed minimum or maximum amount of work. The work will be procured on an “as-needed” basis, and it is intended that planned work will be spread equitably across the year. The Work shall include the furnishing of all implements, machinery, equipment, tools, materials, transportation, traffic control equipment, labor, necessary research, permits, data management equipment, and incidentals required for the safe prosecution and completion of the work. Bids submitted in response to this solicitation shall be all-inclusive and provide for the complete execution of the work without exception.

PART 2 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Unless otherwise specified, all items and work will be in accordance with the Georgia Department of

Transportation Standard Specifications - Construction of Roads and Bridges – latest edition, and all supplements thereto, and Gwinnett County, “Water System Design and Construction Standards for Development Projects, Latest Revision” and “Gwinnett County Department Of Water Resources - Sanitary Sewer Pump Station And Force Main Design And Construction Standards For Developer-Installed Systems – Latest Revision”. Specification booklets may be obtained from the Gwinnett County website.

https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/DWR/pdf/2016_Water_Sewer_Standards.pdf Valve inspections / assessments shall satisfy the requirements of this Bid document and AWWA M44, “Distribution Valves: Selection, Installation, Field Testing, and Maintenance”

2. Potential bidders must demonstrate that trained, responsible people will be used for this contract prior to their use in conducting the work. Contractor and its employees must be trained in, and follow, all applicable OSHA guidelines prior to entering into any work situation which would be governed by these regulations.

3. All required traffic control shall be provided by the Contractor, shall be all-inclusive, and shall not be considered as a separate line item. Traffic Control shall include the preparation of any necessary plans and acquisition of permits. When necessary for safety, Contractor shall only use certified flagmen to support traffic control requirements. The flow of traffic will be maintained at all times during construction by permitting at least one lane of traffic to move through the construction site.

4. A contract, if awarded, will be an "Open-End" type to provide for the requirements of GCDWR on an "as-ordered" basis. As it is impossible to determine the exact quantities of items that will be required during the life of this contract, any quantities listed on the Bid Sheets are intended to provide equitable comparison of the bids submitted and may be increased, decreased or eliminated as necessary to satisfy the needs of the County.

5. GCDWR reserves the right to perform any work using in-house forces where deemed advantageous.

https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/DWR/pdf/2016_Water_Sewer_Standards.pdf

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6. Successful contractor may be required to provide a list of equipment currently owned and the number of employees available to complete the work associated with this contract. This list should be maintained on an annual basis or upon demand of the County Contract Manager if it is believed that the Contractor is failing to respond in a timely manner due to the lack of resources. Contractor shall report on a monthly basis the names of their employees and the number of crews working under this contract.

7. The successful contractor(s) shall provide the County a bi-weekly or weekly report, as directed by the

County Contract Manager, with information as requested in each section to include but not be limited to all outstanding work and the estimated time of completion for each category of work.

8. It will be the Contractor’s responsibility to be aware of the “dig law” in Georgia and follow the procedure as outlined by the Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (GUFPA). Contractor shall coordinate their work such that sufficient time is allotted for field location of utilities.

9. Before submitting a Bid, each bidder shall: examine the Bid Document Package thoroughly; become familiar with local conditions affecting cost or work; become familiar with federal, state and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations affecting cost or work progress or performance; study and carefully correlate Bidder’s observations with the Bid Document Package; and notify County concerning conflicts, errors, or discrepancies in Bid Document Package prior to the question deadline noted on page 1.

10. It is the intent of these Bid Documents to procure the goods and services needed to achieve complete works, fully functional and in compliance with County standards and specifications including accompanying documentation as appropriate to the work. It is not the intent of these documents to provide a complete and full description of the standard methods and materials necessary to achieve the end result. The omission from these documents of standard procedures or materials normally used in the implementation of the Work shall not relieve the successful Bidder from the performance of those requirements nor be cause for claims for additional compensation unless specifically identified in the Bid.

Submission of a Bid shall be evidence that the Bidder considers the Work to be adequately described in the Bid Documents.

PART 3 - GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. Insurance Requirements

The successful contractor and all subcontractors, as required herein, will be required to meet the attached insurance requirements. Contractor must supply a current Certificate(s) of Insurance that meets all specified requirements before the award can be made.

2. Training Certificate

The successful contractor and all subcontractors as required herein, should provide a copy of the Training Certificate(s) as specified in the bid documents before undertaking the associated work. Specifically, documentation of Confined Space Training for all persons involved in such efforts, and flagmen used in the control of traffic shall be certified and trained in such work.

3. References

GCDWR requests a minimum of three (3) verifiable references where work of a similar size and scope has been successfully completed. Bids will be considered only from experienced and well-equipped contractors engaged in work of this type and magnitude. List similar work successfully completed within the last seven years; on page, the ‘brief description of project’ should include: the location and size by number of valves addressed. References should specify the role of the Bidding firm on the job, responsibilities, and level of authority. (Prime / Sub / vendor) Bidder is responsible for the provision of accurate reference contact

BL089-22 Page 5 information. When contacted, references should be able to confirm that the Bidder has performed valve inspection services of similar size and scope (a minimum of 9000 inspections/year, including a minimum of 250 valves on mains 36-inch diameter or greater) for at least three of the last seven years. Bidder may include multiple references if needed to achieve a combined total of 9000 valves per year.

References provided should be from projects where the Bidder acted as the lead inspection firm or Prime Contractor with direct responsibility for the valve inspections and should refer to work performed under the Bidding Firm’s current name. If the Bidding Firm’s name was changed for administrative purposes without significant restructuring of their inspection service equipment and staff, references for work performed under the previous name would be considered.

4. Pricing on Bid Schedule

Unit pricing should include all related costs to that particular item and should be shown as two (2) decimal points (Example: $2.53 – not $2.531) and shall be all-inclusive for the item to be provided or service to be rendered unless specifically identified otherwise by the provided Bid Form.

5. Contractor Responsibilities

The successful contractor will provide an appropriate staff of employees, including supervisory personnel, for the efficient operation of the services hereunder. Contractor represents that all its employees, agents, and suppliers who perform services under this contract shall be qualified and competent to perform such services.

Contractor shall have personnel that can be contacted Monday through Friday 7:00 to 6:00 daily to answer any questions from the Contract Manager relating to work orders, location of where staff is working, when work orders will be worked and when landscaping / surface restoration will be completed.

The public should be able to easily identify contractor employees. The successful contractor(s) will at a minimum provide crews with picture identification badges which should be clearly displayed at all times the crews are working. All trucks should be marked with contractor’s name and contact number on both driver’s and passenger sides of the vehicle.

Contractors shall be very sensitive and supportive to the public and respect their property while conducting the work. Contractor shall be aware that they will at times interact with the public. Such encounters should be handled politely but should only provide general information. Specific questions should be deferred back to the Contract Manager for response. The Contractor should not make statements concerning the work to representatives of any media outlets without express permission from the County as to form and content.

6. Materials

The Contractor will be required to furnish all material, labor, tools, equipment, and all other items necessary to complete the work, including but not limited to, valve risers, valve stem extensions and guides, valve boxes, valve box lids, valve pads, and valve markers. As well as miscellaneous items including but not limited to; dirt, crusher run, gravel, cold/hot patch mix, concrete, grass seed, pine/wheat straw, sod, pine bark, and other landscaping materials to be installed under this contract. All materials shall conform to the applicable Gwinnett County specifications for such products. Unit pricing on the bid schedule must be all-inclusive to provide the service or item being requested for each line item with no exceptions.

7. Inspection

A County representative will inspect the work done under this agreement and is hereby authorized and empowered to reject and refuse all work, the methods of application, or any part thereof, in fulfillment of the bid, that does not comply in kind, quality, quantity, time, or place with the Bid Documents. GCDWR does not commit to having full time inspection of the work while in progress. Any lack of inspection will in no way relieve the Contractor of his responsibility and liability to provide quality workmanship in accordance with the Specifications. Inspection of the Work by the County during installation does not relieve the Contractor of

BL089-22 Page 6 responsibilities for documentation, Quality Assurance, or any other requirements of this solicitation. Any approval of the Work in the field by the inspector shall not be construed as Final Acceptance of the Work.

8. Damages

Any incidental damages to adjacent works, structures, or utility arising for work performed by Contractor their subcontractors, or associates shall be repaired by the Contractor at the Contractor’s sole expense.

Contractor is advised that complaints against their work for damages may be filed up to 90 days from the date that the work is performed.

9. Concrete Sidewalks/Driveways

Any sidewalks damaged in the pursuit of this contract will be replaced in sections from existing joint to joint and finished to match the existing sidewalk. Driveways will be replaced to the first contraction joint. All concrete and road cut repairs must be completed prior to submission of invoices. All replacements must meet the specifications of “Water System Design and Construction Standards for Development Projects, Latest Revision.” Copies may be obtained from Gwinnett County Website at the link provided above.

Note: Contractor shall inspect concrete driveways and walkways prior to commencing work to determine if there are pre-existing cracks or damage in areas adjacent to the proposed work. If damage is visible, Contractor should take photographs to document conditions. Photograph naming shall comply with section Part 4 – Section B - paragraph 14 of these documents and shall clearly identify in the photos which specific property and location to which they refer.

When replacing and/or constructing a concrete driveway, the existing driveway shall be cut with a concrete saw, and 1/2-inch preformed joint material, full depth, is to be used at the joint. Joint material shall also be placed between the curb and driveway if applicable. All concrete used to construct the various items shall have a minimum compressive strength of 3000 psi at 28 days. Form offsets at radius points shall be at least 12 inches to avoid slivers of concrete that may be easily broken off.

Curing of all concrete shall be in accordance with Section 430.04-J of the Georgia Department of Transportation Standard Specifications – latest edition. Curing shall be considered incidental to the construction, and no additional payment will be made.

10. Disposal of Waste Materials

The unit prices provided by the Bidder shall include the removal and appropriate disposal of all debris generated by the work. Piling debris on the street or the right-of-way is not acceptable. The removal and disposal of all waste materials will be considered incidental to the particular pay item being constructed.

Salvaged risers, metal boxes, or metallic valve box lids shall be returned to the County for recycling at a location as directed by DWR.

11. Road Cuts

All road cuts exceeding 12 square feet must have prior approval from the GCDWR Contract Manager. All road cut repairs must be completed prior to submission of invoices. Repair of road cuts must meet Georgia D.O.T.

and Gwinnett County D.O.T. specifications. In the event the road cut fails, the contractor shall be required to compact and repair defective road cut at the Contractor’s own expense. Any damage to vehicles due to defective road cut will be remedied at the expense of the Contractor.

Repair of road cuts must meet all of Georgia and Gwinnett D.O.T. specifications. Compaction of backfills shall be built up in layers and each layer shall be compacted. Layers shall be no more than 6 inches in depth. The final two layers shall be crusher run at a minimum depth of 6” each. The final top dress shall be a hot patch and rolled level with existing road. In the event the road cut fails (i.e., separation, settlement, etc.), the contractor shall be required to compact and repair the defective road cut at their own expense. Any damage to

BL089-22 Page 7 vehicles due to a defective road cut will be addressed by, and at, the sole expense of the contractor. When replacing concrete, the pavement section installed by the Contractor shall reflect the pavement section removed and shall meet applicable Georgia D.O.T. and Gwinnett County D.O.T. Specifications.

At no time will it be acceptable to leave the job site of a road cut without temporarily repairing the cut. The cut must be left with compacted material and crusher run. The final top dress should be made within 7 to 10 days of original cut. No payment for the installation will be paid until all work is complete.

12. Landscaping

Surface restoration of impacted areas adjacent to the work shall be classified as one of three categories:

unpaved, asphalt-paved, or concrete-paved. All surface restoration must be completed prior to submission of invoices.

A. Unpaved

Yards shall be hand raked smooth, upon completion of repairs, so there are no lumps, chunks of dirt, roots or rocks. Excavation area should be restored to its original condition to match previous contour and the site must be free of all debris. Only after the site is level shall there be the application of seed and straw. If the lawn is not fescue, contractor still needs to rake the soil level and remove any clumps of clay or stones.

Contractor will restore all landscaping to original condition and customer satisfaction, to include buying all grass seed, sod, wheat/pine straw and pine bark if needed. It will be the Contractor’s responsibility to completely restore, at their sole expense, any improvements or structures, including but not limited to sheds, fences, walkways, driveways, irrigation, domestic water line, mailboxes, and mailbox posts which were damaged either directly or indirectly by the Contractor’s activities.

When the landscaping crew installs replacement sections of sod, such sections shall be placed as to not allow a gap more than ½” between the existing grass edges and the new sod. All replacement sections of sod shall be rectangular in shape and shall not be applied as plugs to fill small irregular shaped areas.

Contractor shall provide all services necessary to remove or subcontract the removal - and replacement as appropriate - of any trees, shrubs, structures, or specialized landscaping (such as brick/stone fences or retaining walls) which obstruct the performance of the Work. Contractor shall affix orange flagging tape to identify such obstructions to the work. Such trees, shrubs, or improvements shall not be removed without the prior authorization of the Contract Manager who will coordinate with the homeowner to obtain their approval. Contractor shall undertake the removal of such improvements only with the specific approval of the Contract Manager. Contractor shall be solely liable for all costs associated with such removal and replacement if they fail to obtain prior authorization for removal of such. Contractor shall be compensated at not more than cost plus 10% for the removal and reinstallation of specialized landscaping, and such cost shall be identified prior to undertaking the work. No payment shall be made to the Contractor for delays associated with the negotiation of landscaping removal. Approval for additional payment to address specialized landscaping is on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the County and approval at one location shall not be extended by the Contractor to other locations nor set a precedent.

B. Asphalt-Paved

Asphalt paving restoration shall meet the criteria set out above in paragraph 11. Contractor shall saw-cut the asphalt prior to removal to ensure that the repair is neat and clean. The Contractor shall ensure that the top of the valve box is flush with the surface of the paving upon completion and does not create a traffic impact. The County reserves the right to allow cold-patch restoration in locations deemed appropriate in its sole discretion.

C. Concrete-Paved

Concrete paving, curb, or gutter on GA DOT maintained roads, which is impacted by the work shall be

BL089-22 Page 8 restored in compliance with GA DOT specifications. In all other locations, the replacement concrete section installed by the Contractor shall reflect the original concrete section removed. Contractor shall saw-cut the concrete prior to removal to ensure that the repair is neat and clean. The Contractor shall ensure that the top of the valve box is flush with the surface of the paving upon completion and does not create a traffic impact. The County reserves the right to allow a flowable-fill restoration in locations deemed appropriate in its sole discretion.

13. Subcontractors

The General Contractor will be allowed to utilize subcontractors for work under this contract. The use of subcontractors not listed in the Bid for the work must have the prior approval of the GCDWR. Subcontractors must utilize vehicles that display the Company Name of the Contractor. Invoices showing actual fees to be paid to the subcontractor shall be required documentation in Pay Requests submitted by the Contractor. Reduction in costs associated with the use of a Subcontractor not listed in the Bid shall be reflected in future Pay Requests to the County. Increased costs associated with the addition of a subcontractor after the Bid shall not be cause for increased compensation to the Contractor.

14. Worksites

The Contractor shall be responsible for appropriately securing and protecting the site until the work is completed. The County will not remove or dispose of debris or spoil generated by Contractor from worksites.

Contractor shall be required to clean up mud and dirt from all repair sites, smooth any ruts or wash-out areas, provide and install landscaping, stabilize in accordance with NPDES, State and County Erosion and Sediment Management regulations, remove any debris generated, and leave sites in original condition or better.

Repeated failure of the Contractor to adequately restore and clean work sites in a timely manner shall be grounds for termination.

15. Contact

The Contractor shall provide the name of a contact person for this work. Said person shall have a cell phone and must be well informed and up to date regarding the work currently underway, completed, and scheduled.

The contact person must be available at all times during regular business hours, and any other time field crews are working.

16. Repairs by the County

If faulty works and/or inadequate landscaping by the Contractor are repaired by the County, all costs (direct or indirect) arising from the faulty work shall be deducted from any payments due to the Contractor for services rendered. A detailed explanation shall be attached to each deduction.

17. Failure of Contractor to Perform

Failure of the Contractor to perform according to the requirements of this bid and within the times as stipulated will constitute a default of contract. Default of contract will be grounds for termination of contract and re-award to the second low, responsive and responsible bidder. Additional remedies include Contractor’s performance would be reviewed by the Gwinnett County Purchasing Policy and Review Committee;

documentation of Contractor’s performance would be placed in the Vendor Performance File; Contractor would be placed on Gwinnett County’s Ineligible Source List and any future solicitations and/or awards could be denied for a period of up to 2-years.

Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources reserves the right to hire another Contractor to reduce backlog if the County feels such backlog is excessive due to the inability of the Contractor to complete the Work in a timely manner. The Contractor will pay any additional costs incurred if backlog is due to the inability of the Contractor to provide the number of crews indicated in the Bid, or the productivity of the field crews is found to be unacceptably lower than indicated by the Contractor’s proposed schedule.

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18. Normal Hours of Work The GCDWR normal business hours are listed below. All work must be performed during these business hours.

Exceptions to these hours [including Holidays, Saturdays and Sundays] must have prior approval by GCDWR Contract Manager. After hours or holiday work requiring attendance of County Staff must be scheduled at least two business days in advance.

For the purposes of this bid, the following definitions hold:

• Normal Business Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Weekend Hours will be defined as 5:00 p.m. Friday to 8:00 a.m. Monday

• Holidays will be defined and recognized as New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Veterans

Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

• Furlough Days: The number and occurrence of Furlough Days are subject to redefinition annually and are considered as holidays with respect to scheduling.

19. Bid Security

Each Bid shall be accompanied by Bid Security made payable to Owner in the amount equal to five percent (5%) of the Bidder’s maximum Base Bid Price. Bid Security shall be cashier’s check or Bid Bond issued by Surety meeting requirements. Bid bond should be on County provided form found in the bid package. Failure to use County forms may constitute a non-responsive bid and may be rejected.

Bid Security for Successful Bidder will be retained until bidder has executed Agreement and furnished required payment and performance bonds. If Successful Bidder fails to furnish the qualifications submittals or fails to execute and deliver Agreement and furnish required Payment and Performance Bonds within fifteen (15) calendar days after Notice of Award, Owner may annul Notice of Award and Bidder’s Bid Security will be forfeited.

Bid Security, for any Bidder, may be retained by the Owner until the ninety-first (91st) day after Bid opening. If Notice of Award is issued within ninety (90) calendar days after Bid opening, Bid Security for Bidder receiving Notice of Award may be retained by Owner up to ninety (90) calendar days after Notice of Award.

Bid Bond shall be issued by company having a registered agent in State of Georgia and shall comply with any additional requirements listed below.

20. Bid Bond Forfeiture

The Successful Bidder, upon his failure or refusal to execute and deliver the Contract and Bonds required within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of Notice of Award, shall forfeit to the Owner, as penalty for such failure or refusal, the security deposited with Bid.

21. Qualifications of Surety Companies

In order to be acceptable to Owner, Surety Company issuing Bid Guaranty Bonds, or 100% Performance/Payment bonds as required in the Bid shall meet and comply with following minimum standards:

Bonding Company must be licensed to do business in Georgia by the Georgia Secretary of State, authorized to do business in Georgia by the Georgia Insurance Department, listed in the Department of the Treasury's Publication of Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as Acceptable Surety on Federal Bonds and as Acceptable Reinsuring Companies and have an A.M. Best rating of A-V or higher.

All bonds should be submitted on forms provided by Gwinnett County and agencies providing bonds and insurance should provide proof that they meet the criteria outlined in the bid and contract documents.

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Surety shall be admitted to do business in State of Georgia and shall be registered to provide such surety by the State of Georgia Insurance Commissioner.

Attorneys-in-fact who sign bid bonds or performance/payment Bonds shall file with bond certified power of attorney to sign bond.

Surety company agents shall list name, address, and telephone number on bonds.

22. Payment and Performance Bonds

Performance and Payment Bonds shall be for 100% of the total Base Bid and shall extend twelve (12) months beyond date of final payment. Bonds shall contain waiver for alteration to Contract terms, time extensions, or forbearance on Owner's part.

23. Termination for Cause

The County may terminate this agreement for cause upon ten days prior written notice to the contractor of the contractor’s default in the performance of any term of this agreement. Such termination shall be without prejudice to any of the County’s rights or remedies by law.

24. Termination for Convenience

The County may terminate this agreement for its convenience at any time upon 30 days written notice to the contractor. In the event of the County’s termination of this agreement for convenience, the contractor will be paid for those services actually performed. Partially completed performance of the agreement will be compensated based upon a signed statement of completion to be submitted by the contractor, which shall itemize each element of performance.

25. Right to Investigate

GCDWR may make any investigations deemed necessary to determine Bidder's ability to perform the Work, and Bidder shall furnish all information and data requested. Bidder's inclusion as a pre-qualified Bidder will not prohibit the Owner from reserving right to reject any bid from any Bidder that the County considers not properly qualified to carry out Contract obligations or able to satisfactorily complete the Work on schedule.

25. Local Agent

If Bidder does not have offices in the State of Georgia, such Bidder shall designate a proper agent in the State of Georgia on whom service can be made in the event of litigation.

PART 4 - SCOPE OF WORK

Section A - GENERAL The valve location, inspection, and exercising project is designed to help GCDWR retrieve critical information relative to the operation and maintenance of its water and sewer infrastructure; verify the location of valves;

exercise valves; identify valves in need of repair; and repair or adjust their valve box enclosures. The project requirements for the Contractor include, but are not limited to project planning, appointment scheduling, valve location, valve exercising, valve box adjustment, valve box replacement, GPS, inspection, documentation, public interaction, and handling the associated problems that occur with this type of project. Any maps provided to the Contractor by the County shall be in electronic format only. Preparation and printing of hard copies shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor.

The Contractor shall locate, inspect, and exercise valves assigned by GCDWR and shall clean, clear, adjust or straighten valve boxes as needed and as instructed by GCDWR. The valve locations to be collected by the Contractor shall be assigned by a generated list of assets. The Contractor shall be responsible for locating, BL089-22 Page 11 inspecting, and exercising valves within that generated list with the exception of Air Release Valves (ARV), and Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV). If the Contractor identifies a County valve which is not on the GIS-based maps provided, the Contractor will be responsible for inspecting, locating, and exercising the valve as if it were shown on the maps. Contractor is not responsible for searching for valves which are not identified on the maps, and failure to identify such valves will not be held against the Contractor. Contractor shall specifically notify the Contract Manager on a weekly basis of any valves identified in the field but not indicated on the GIS-based maps.

Temporary naming conventions for previously unidentified valves located in the field by the Contractor shall be discussed during the kick-off meeting.

Contractor may have to collect mapping grade (sub-meter accuracy) GPS coordinates for valves within the identified area other than those excluded above. If the valve cannot be located, then the Inspection results shall be logged as CNL (Could Not Locate). No payment shall be made for valve location efforts if the valve is identified by the Contractor as CNL.

Upon location, the valve and valve box shall be inspected to determine compliance with county standards, “Water/Sewer System Design and Construction Standards for Development Projects, Latest Revision” (Located on the website provided in Part 2 of this document). If the valve and valve box are in good order, the valve box shall be cleaned of any debris, the valve shall be exercised (with the exception of end-of-line valves) and the documentation set out in the inspection form attached shall be collected. Although the valve location and inspection efforts may be carried out simultaneously, these efforts are considered as separate for the purposes of payment. As part of the inspection, Contractor shall determine whether the valve is leaking prior to the test, monitor the valve after achieving closed condition to assure the valve has sealed, and upon completing the inspection to assure no leaks have developed during the exercising effort.

If it is determined that the valve box is not aligned with the valve, straightening of the valve box shall not require pre-authorization, but request for payment for such work MUST be accompanied by photo-documentation prior to beginning and following the work, clearly indicating the need for straightening and the depth of misalignment.

Adjustment of valve boxes vertically to meet County standards shall not require pre-authorization, but requests for payment for such work MUST be accompanied by photo-documentation prior to beginning and following the work, clearly indicating the need for adjustment and the vertical change provided in inches.

GCDWR reserves the right to prioritize the order in which activities are performed by the Contractor. The County reserves the right to require a County inspector to be present during the operation and inspection of any valve deemed critical by the County, and require the Contractor to schedule the inspection such that a minimum one-business-day notification is provided. For instance, the County could specify that all valves along a specific highway within an assigned area are addressed prior to moving to the other portions of that area and require an on-site County inspector for valves on that main.

Contractor is to submit bi-weekly reports regarding the number of valve sites completed, the level of service provided at each, the number of crews pursuing the work, and outstanding backlog. Summary reports shall be required from the Contractor as part of the Monthly Payment Requests. The Monthly Payment Requests shall be accompanied by a listing of each Facility ID addressed; type of work completed, and full documentation and data delivery. More frequent reporting may be required if DWR feels that there is insufficient progress of the work or concerns regarding the quality of either the work product or data submitted by the Contractor.

The County representative will inspect the work done under this agreement and is also hereby authorized and empowered to reject and refuse the work, any portion thereof, and/or the methods of application which are deemed not to comply in kind, quality, quantity, time, or place with the Bid Documents. GCDWR does not commit to having full time inspection of the work while in progress. GCDWR reserves the right to review the quality of work at randomly selected sites as part of the Monthly Payment Request approval process.

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Section B – INSPECTION

Task A1: Location, Inspection and Exercising of Valves

1. Valve Location: The Contractor shall use a Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide coordinates for each valve location requested. Contractor shall provide mapping grade locations for all valves surveyed. ARV’s, and PRV’s shall not be included under this contract.

2. GCDWR will provide an electronic map showing general locations of valves to be field located using GPS.

Contractor shall be responsible for providing hard-copy work maps or otherwise supplementing the electronic map provided by the County. The County expressly states herein that the electronic maps provided are general in nature and exact locations of the valves are not known. Contractor shall be responsible for finding the actual physical location of the valves in the field. Contractor shall provide crews experienced in such field operations and shall ensure that they are adequately equipped to efficiently carry out the location of the valves. Valves on the County wastewater force mains maybe included in this list of assets.

3. Contractor is herein notified that valves may be paved over, overgrown, or otherwise obscured from sight, and may not have valve markers. Adequate time shall be included in the bid to perform a reasonable search whether in the Right of Way, in the roadway, or open easement areas. It is the experience of the County that the time required to locate a valve can vary significantly. Contractor shall use visual inspection, probe rods, magnetic locators, GCDWR web access GIS to view As-Builts, and other appropriate tools or methods of their choosing to locate the valves. The Bidder shall determine the appropriate amount of search time to include in their Bid Price based on their own methods, crews, experience and equipment. Search time shall in no case be limited in the Bidder’s submittal to less than 15 minutes per site. At the sole discretion of GCDWR, up to one hour of additional, compensated search time at the unit rate bid may be allotted for an extended field location effort. Contractor should not assume that additional compensated search time will be authorized and should include sufficient time for field location efforts as part of their unit rates. The County will not issue payment for extended search times, unless such effort was pre-authorized for that location. Compensation for additional search time shall be limited to a maximum of one-hour at any location. County shall not pay stand-by charges, travel time, or any other costs associated with the location of valves. Authorization by the County for additional compensated search time at one location shall not be considered or construed as authorization of additional search time at other locations or set a precedent for such.

4. If a valve is not located by the Contractor, it shall be identified as “CNL”. It is the intent of the County that all the valves identified on the GIS maps be inspected and exercised. Any valve identified on the County-provided maps which is labeled by the Contractor as CNL shall be considered as and inspection defect on the part of the Contractor. The identification of CNL as a defect is to prevent a Contractor from simply skipping valves that are not easily found rather than putting forth a diligent effort to field locate valves.

The error-rate generated by the CNL identification will be tracked separately from procedural or data errors and will not count against the reported quality of the data delivery of the Contractor. However, repetitive failure of the contractor to achieve 95% or better locations, such will be noted against the Contractor as a performance issue.

5. The Contractor will provide x, y coordinates for each located valve. These shall be Georgia West State Plane coordinates in the NAD 83 projection. The accuracy of the coordinates shall be less than one (1) meter horizontal.

6. Upon locating a valve and collecting GPS coordinates, Contractor shall inspect the valve box to determine whether it meets the standards of GCDWR with respect to integrity of the unit and its location with respect to grade. The valve shall be exercised by the Contractor as set out herein and in compliance with AWWA standards. The Contactor shall verify turns-to-open, and operational data pertinent to the valve prior to

BL089-22 Page 13 exercising. Contractor shall determine to the extent possible after clearing any debris from the valve box to fully expose operating nut: whether the valve is leaking, physical condition, the position of the valve (open or closed), the open direction (clockwise or counterclockwise), number of turns to close, allowable torque to turn, and shall document any difficulties in the operation of the valve. The valve shall be monitored by a leak detection device prior to operating, upon achieving full closure, and after exercising. Any leaks identified, or failure to achieve a complete seal upon closing, shall be reported to the County contract Manager. Contractor shall ensure that the valve is returned to its previous state upon completion of their work.

7. Contractor shall use caution in exercising valves to ensure that the customers are not adversely impacted.

Valves shall be opened and closed slowly to avoid generating pressure waves or dislodging sediment in the system. Customers shall be informed prior to exercising a valve if such operation will result in temporary loss of service. Any activities which may result in service disruption to the customer shall be coordinated through GCDWR prior to performing.

8. If a valve is found to be in a position other than that indicated as normal by the GIS, GCDWR should be contacted prior to undertaking any activities to determine the appropriate course of action.

9. The contractor shall assure a valve key will fully seat on the operating nut and operate all valves (with the exception of end-of-line valves) fully in both directions twice. Valves sized 12” and less are to be exercised manually. Valves 16” and larger may be operated automatically. Contractor shall not apply more torque to a valve than that for which it is rated. Contractor shall use valve-operating methods which allow them to control and assess the torque applied. The use of breaker bars or handle extensions shall not be considered appropriate. Damage to the valve stem or shear pin due to over-torqueing during the inspection shall be repaired by the County and shall be at the Contractor’s sole expense. Prior to proceeding with this work, Contractor shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the County that their methods and equipment are protective of the Valves and will not result in over-torqueing. Acceptance of Contractor’s proposed methods and equipment by the County shall not relieve the Contractor of sole responsibility for damages to the County’s valves arising from the actions of the Contractor’s field crews.

10. Contractor shall not apply more than 300-lbs torque to any valve without express permission of the County.

Any valve requiring operational torque in excess of the limit specified by the Manufacturer shall be identified as “Frozen” and shall be identified for repair to the GCDWR.

11. Contractor shall coordinate with the GCDWR prior to operating any valve larger than or equal to 24-inch diameter on the water mains.

12. All data identified in the attached inspection form shall be collected and recorded at a minimum. Data shall be complete and verified by the Contractor prior to being transferred to GCDWR.

13. If the existing valve box is found to be at an improper grade or damaged the valve box shall be adjusted to grade or replaced in accordance with Gwinnett County Specifications. Such work shall not be considered as a “repair” and shall be performed at the time of the inspection without the requirement for a Work Order specific to that task. However, pre- and post-adjustment photo-documentation supporting the need for the work shall be required. No payment for adjusting a valve box to grade shall be made by the County without such photo-documentation.

14. If it is determined that the valve box is not aligned with the valve, straightening of the valve box shall be undertaken by the inspection crew. Such work shall not require pre-authorization, but request for payment for such work MUST be accompanied by photo-documentation prior to beginning and following the work, clearly indicating the need for straightening and/or the depth of misalignment.

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15. The Contractor shall submit electronic copies of the inspection and location documentation collected under this contract in addition to the hard-copy files. A file format for the submittal of electronic data collected under this Contract will be provided to the Successful Bidder at the Kick-Off Meeting. Electronic data shall be provided using permanent media such as DVDs or hard drives. E-mailed data files shall not suffice as a final form for submittal.

16. The Contractor shall document each valve found with photographs. The photos shall be taken with at minimum a 3 mega pixel camera with the picture size being no less than 1920 by 1440 and the file size no greater than

1.0 MB.

17. Each valve located and assessed, shall have a set of photographs taken displaying the following:

a. Valve cover showing marking of Facility ID

b. Top side of valve looking along the pipeline direction of flow to notate location (landmarks to help identify location)

c. Photographs shall be named in the following manner to accompany the electronic database submittal:

VLV_ ValveFacilityID_ContractorUniqueID_Date_IncrementalNumber.jpg

18. Valve sites which are identified by the Contractor as in need of repair shall document the full extent of the repairs required to bring the valve site into compliance with County standards. If surface conditions prevent the inspection of the valve site, the location shall be identified as “CNA” (could not access) and a description as to the reasons / cause for inaccessibility shall be documented. Valve sites that are located and accessible but reflect valves that cannot be exercised shall be identified immediately to the County as “CNE” (could not exercise) with a full description as to the reasons the valve is considered inoperable.

19. Minimum Data Deliverable Quality Assurance / Quality Control are as follows:

a. Contractor shall provide a sample completed set of data prior to project start for review by the County to ensure that procedures followed in the field meet data collection protocols.

b. Contractor shall be required to collect coordinates from approximately 10% of the valve locations a second time as a Quality Assurance process. These secondary readings shall not be collected by the same field crew originally responsible for the data. The costs of QA/QC efforts shall not be billed separately and shall be built into the unit rates bid.

c. The Contractor shall operate a quality control system, to be approved by the designated Contract Manager, which will effectively gauge the accuracy of all survey, inspection and repair reports produced by the operator.

d. The minimum levels of accuracy to be attained under the various survey headings are as follows:

1. Inspection Accuracy 95%

2. GPS Accuracy 98%

e. The Contractor’s data quality control program shall include routine auditing of the work completed by qualified personnel. The qualified personnel shall meet the minimum specified Contract requirements for the performance of the work and shall be approved in writing by the Contract Manager.

20. The data submissions shall undergo random review checks for Quality when submitted to the County. Should accuracy levels fall below 95%, the data submittal will be refused, and payment will not be released. Contractor will be required to correct or re-do inspections until 95% level of accuracy is reached. Repeated data submittal refusals for quality under 95% will constitute cause for dismissal.

a. All costs associated with…