RFP 24-0421 Comprehensive Plan.docx

City of Fredericksburg 715 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #24-0421 Comprehensive Plan

NIGP Commodity Codes: 92561, 90657, 90664, 91888

Issue Date: 01/16/2024 • Due Date/Time: 02/16/2024 – 2:00 P.M. (EST) Procurement Officer: Siera Rogers| E-mail Address: ssrogers@fredericksburgva.gov

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: All proposals must be received by the date and time shown on the cover page of this solicitation at the following address. Any proposals received after the stated time and date will be returned unopened. See proposal requirements for additional REQUIRED information regarding “Identification of Sealed Proposals.” Delivery address: City of Fredericksburg, Finance Dept. Attn. Siera Rogers, 715 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Pre-Proposal NON-Mandatory meeting will be held 01/30/2024 at 2pm Location: 3rd Floor Conference room at 600 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

CLARIFICATION OF TERMS: If any prospective Offeror has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, then it is the Offeror’s responsibility to contact the Procurement Officer in writing, no later than 2:00 P.M. (EST) February 6, 2024. Oral requests for information will not be accepted. No further written inquiries will be accepted after this time. Any revisions to the solicitation will be made only by an addendum issued by the Procurement Officer. Any addenda, notifications, extensions, cancellations or changes will be posted prior to the due date and time on the City’s website at www.fredericksburgva.gov and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s e-procurement website, www.eva.virginia.gov. No other notification will be provided. It is the responsibility of the prospective Offeror to obtain all current information from either the City website or the eVA website.

PERIOD OF CONTRACT: March 1, 2024 to June 1, 2025

The undersigned hereby offers and agrees to furnish all goods and/or services in accordance with the attached signed proposal and the mandatory requirements outlined herein, or as mutually agreed upon through subsequent negotiation.

Company Name: _______________________________

Address: ______________________________________

City/State/ZIP: ________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed Name: ________________________________

Title: _______________________________

Date: _______________________________

Email: __________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________

Fax: _________________________________________

Cell: _________________________________________

DUNS Number: ________________________________ eVA Vendor ID: _________________________________

Vendor SCC ID: __________________________________

NOTE: This public body does not discriminate against faith-based organizations in accordance with the Code of Virginia, §2.2-4343.1 or against an Offeror because of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION PAGE

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit sealed proposals to establish one master ordering term agreement, through competitive negotiation for the purchase of land use, urban design, and neighborhood planning services by the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

BACKGROUND

The City is the heart of one of the fastest growing regions in the State. It has experienced a population growth rate of 26% since the 2000 Census, twice the statewide growth rate. The City’s population growth is due to the attractiveness of the City’s location and the strength of the regional economy. The last update of the fundamentals of the City’s Comprehensive Plan was in 2015. The City will soon celebrate the 300th anniversary of its founding in 1728. Renewal of the Comprehensive Plan is appropriate to start the City on its fourth century of progress.

In 2017, the Comprehensive Plan was updated with a renewed Council vision for the City. The Historic Preservation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan was updated in 2021. From 2017 to 2023, the City grafted six of ten Small Area Plans for City neighborhoods into the Comprehensive Plan. Consultant contracts have been signed for two more small area plans to be completed in 2024. The two final plans are to be undertaken in 2026, after adoption of a new Comprehensive Plan.

In addition to Small Area Plans, the City has other local and regional planning efforts underway, including:

· the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Events Department adopted a Parks Master Plan in 2021 and specific parks master planning efforts are underway for Old Mill Park and Alum Spring Park.

· the City Public Works Department is procuring consultant services for a Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems Master Plan and is partnering with Spotsylvania County for a regional water supply plan as required by the Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Quality.

· Multiple projects in various phases of design and funding in coordination with the regional transportation planning agency (FAMPO) and the Virginia Department of Transportation

The updated Comprehensive Plan must be integrated with the transportation and other plans for the broader region.

The update of the Comprehensive Plan will continue with a full revision of the Plan’s descriptive City/Regional demographic and economic statistics as well as the current state of public facilities is necessary to inform the Community engagement process. The next step would be a Community Conversation process, which is to be an interactive experience for the entire community to comment on what is currently valued in the City, what’s to be kept, what should fall away, and what’s to be added. Following the base data update and Community Conversation, would be the revision and consolidation of Comprehensive Plan Goals, Policies, and Objectives.

STATEMENT OF NEEDS

The City is seeking proposals from firms (Offerors) with skills and expertise in data assembly, community engagement and visioning, and land use planning policy development for achievable aspirations.

The RFP response should identify and provide:

· Best sources for comprehensive community data for the City of Fredericksburg and the jurisdictions of the George Washington Planning District.

· A project schedule and deliverables.

· Data in a format readily compatibles with current electronic platforms (City website, computer mapping, survey questions) to present collected information and determine a schedule for putting these in place.

· A PowerPoint summary of the revised Chapter 2 and subsequently of the broad topics areas, identified below, for presentation to the public, City Council, and Planning Commission.

The Offerors are asked to:

1. Create new text and tables to replace the current Comprehensive Plan (Attachment D), Chapter Two (2) and add any other pertinent demographic or economic data related to land use. Data assembly and formatting into text, table, and presentation formats should be completed 45 days after contract signature.

This activity will not involve public meetings or presentations on the part of the consultant.

The product should be usable by the city planning staff to propose to City Council and the Planning Commission to serve as a working document for the replacement of the current Chapter 2 (Attachment D), to be used to foster informed discussion in community meetings.

2. Create and manage a Community Conversation strategy to inform the direction of the overall Comprehensive Plan update through a series of topical open discussions to help identify and form the public’s thinking in updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The strategy should include the use of approaches that maximize community involvement and intentionally seek to engage specific hard-to-reach and, typically, silent demographic segments, to provide an opportunity for open communications and the nonjudgmental sharing of idea and opinions. The process should use an informal “focus group” format, with topic-focused sessions conducted in comfortable, non-traditional settings that will encourage the participation of a broad demographic range of City residents and business operators. In addition, the process should provide for other “out-of-the-box” strategies for gaining input at public events, online, etc. The conversation/dialogues are to highlight citizens’ issues and concerns and to then move forward with a Comprehensive Plan update continuing the Community Conversation process. In this way, the Plan update is to be shaped through a deeper understanding of the issues that emerge as part of the conversation process, and obtain more detailed information focused around these qualitative and quantitative “shared visions” for the future.

This effort should be completed by October 1, 2024.

3. Develop strategies and achievements that address the desired qualitative and quantitative characteristics identified in the Community Conversation phase that can be substantially attained before the next mandated five-year update of the Plan. The 2015 Comprehensive Plan addresses seven broad subject areas:

Chapter 3: Transportation Chapter 4: Public Services, Public Facilities, and Preserved Open Space Chapter 5: Environmental Protection Chapter 6: Business Opportunities Chapter 7: Residential Neighborhoods and Housing Chapter 8: Historic Preservation Chapter 9: Institutional and Jurisdictional Partnerships

The introduction for these chapters and the chapters themselves have an unwieldy list of recommendations: 48 Best Practices, 61 Goals, 99 Policies, and 118 Initiatives. While all of these aspirations have value, achieving a significant portion of them with the limited staffing and financial resources available to a City the size of Fredericksburg, and in an acceptable time frame, creates many unfulfillable expectations. Updating and focusing these aspirations is the core element of this project. However, the Historic Preservation Chapter was rewritten in 2021: its content should not be addressed, but its format and structure should be edited to be consistent with the new format established for the other chapter topics. Similarly, the content for the Small Area Plans chapters should not be addressed, but their format and structure should be edited to be consistent with the new format established for the other chapter topics. In addition, since 2015, the Virginia General Assembly has adopted additional specific topics to be addressed in a Comprehensive Plan.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Additional/modified Comprehensive Plan topics include: Groundwater & Surface Water; Broadband Infrastructure; Emergency and Climate Resilience; Freight Corridors; Urban Development Areas; Coastal Resource Management; Sea-level Rise and Flooding issues; Transit Oriented Development; Manufactured Housing; ]

The next Comprehensive Plan should focus on reaching or making significant progress in the near-term toward the most important community characteristics to be retained and added, as well as the improvements that are fiscally achievable.

The next Comprehensive Plan should be structured so as to be interactive with the public so that such progress can be monitored and followed. To do so the Offeror should develop an accessible Comprehensive Plan that is interactive with traceable implementation. Utilize Geographic Information Systems, digital story boards, and other computer tools to create a Plan that is web-based. A relevant example is the City of Manassas’ on-line Comprehensive Plan available at: 2040 City of Manassas Comprehensive Plan

Approximately three public meeting updates during this policy creation process are envisioned. Consultant work on new Comprehensive Policies and the interactive public portal should be completed by February 1, 2025. Upon completion of a Comprehensive Plan update, the documents would be presented to City Council to initiate the formal public hearing process with public hearings by the Planning Commission and finally by City Council for adoption.

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS - PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

A. Proposal Requirements

In order to be considered for selection, Offerors should submit a complete response to this RFP.

Proposal Delivery Methods:

Preferred - One (1) original and two (2) hard copies of each proposal and one (1) electronic copy (CD, DVD, or removable drive) of each proposal must be submitted to the City by the due date and time. If the proposal contains proprietary information, submit one (1) hard copy and one (1) electronic copy that DO NOT contain the proprietary information, and mark them as REDACTED copies.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that proposal packages are received by the time and date indicated and at the appropriate location. Proposals submitted elsewhere, including to other City buildings, will not be accepted. Any proposals received at the specified location after the deadline will not be considered and shall be returned unopened.

Refer to the cover page of this document for the deadline and for the address.

1. Proposal Preparation

An authorized representative of the Offeror must sign any submitted proposal. All required information must be submitted. If an Offeror fails to submit all information requested, the purchasing agency may require prompt submission of missing information after the receipt of proposal. Failure to submit all required information may result in a lowered evaluation score of the proposal. Mandatory requirements are those required by law or regulation or are such that they cannot be waived and are not subject to negotiation.

Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. The Offeror is responsible for all costs of proposal preparation. The City is not liable for any costs incurred in preparing a response to the RFP. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

Other proposal format requirements include:

a. The entire proposal response shall be signed and filled out as required. The entire RFP, with signature page, must be included in the ORIGINAL proposal and the ELECTRONIC copy of the proposal. Additional copies must include the signed cover page, but need not include the remainder of the original RFP.

b. No font smaller than 12 point.

c. 8½ x 11-inch page size (larger pages are allowed for figures or tables, but they should be folded into the overall proposal and used sparingly.)

d. All pages should be numbered: 50 pages maximum front/back, not including the original RFP.

Each copy of the proposal should be bound or contained in a single volume where practical. All documentation submitted with the proposal should be contained in that single volume.

Vendor Name Street or Box Number City, State, Zip Code

POSTAGE*

City of Fredericksburg Procurement Office ATTN: Siera Rogers, Procurement Officer 715 Princess Anne St.

Fredericksburg, VA 22401

-OR-

Post Office Box 7447 715 Princess Anne St.

Fredericksburg, VA 22404-7447

Note on the package the due date/time & RFP#/title

Unsealed proposals may be hand delivered to the designated location in the office issuing the solicitation, please check office hours and for Holiday closures.

No other correspondence or other proposals should be placed in the envelope, box, or other sealable package.

Oral Presentation: Offerors who submit a proposal in response to this RFP may be required to give an oral presentation of their proposal to the agency. This provides an opportunity for the offeror to clarify or elaborate on the proposal. This is a fact-finding and explanation session only and does not include negotiation. The issuing agency will schedule the time and location of these presentations. Oral presentations are an option of the purchasing agency and may or may not be conducted.

2. Clarification of Terms

If any prospective Offeror has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, the prospective Offeror should contact the Procurement Officer by the date indicated on the face of the solicitation. All inquiries must be submitted in writing to Siera Rogers, via email, at ssrogers@fredericksburgva.gov. Please include the RFP number and title in the subject line of the message.

Any revisions to the solicitation will be made only by addendum issued by the Procurement Officer and will be posted on the City’s website, www.fredericksburgva.gov and the state procurement website at www.eva.virginia.gov. No other notification will be made.

3. Proprietary Information

All records pertaining to this procurement are open to inspection by the public under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act unless specifically exempted under Virginia Code § 2.2-4342. If you want portions of your proposal to be confidential, you must comply with § 2.2-4342(F), which requires that you (i) specifically invoke the protections of § 2.2-4342(F) before or upon submission of the data, (ii) identify the specific data to be protected, and (iii) state the reasons why protection is necessary. You cannot mark pricing information as confidential. If the City cannot tell which specific parts of the proposal are marked as confidential, if the entire proposal is marked as confidential, or if you do not completely comply with § 2.2-4342(F), the entire proposal is public information and the City will release it in response to a valid records request, in accordance with the timelines specified in § 2.2-4342(D).

The classification of the entire proposal document and/or pricing information as proprietary or trade secrets is not acceptable.

B. Specific Proposal Submission Instructions

Proposals should be as thorough and detailed as possible so that the Proposal Evaluation Team can properly evaluate the Offeror’s capabilities to provide the required services. Offerors are strongly advised to provide a model for the City’s evaluation purposes that represents their solution to all requirements depicted in the RFP, and which is complete, comprehensive, simple and easy to understand. Offerors are required to submit the following items, separated by tabs within the proposal and in sequential order with a Table of Contents corresponding to the related sections of this RFP:

TAB 1: RFP and Addenda

The entire RFP with attachments (A, B, & C) signed and filled out as required. The proposal shall also include an original signed copy of any future addenda to this RFP that may be issued.

TAB 2: Qualifications

Describe your firm’s background, experience, and qualifications related to this type of contract that should include, but need not be limited to, the following:

· Professional competence of consultant/firm and key personnel

· Resumes of key personnel

TAB 3: Methodology

Offerors shall submit a thorough comprehensive proposal that convincingly and realistically depicts all of their expertise, capabilities, qualifications, resources, plans, and processes, which can successfully enable the fulfillment all of requirements depicted in the Statement of Need.

TAB 4: Experience

· General and specific examples of relevant work

· References (3) within last 5 years

TAB 5: Appendices, Data and Other Submissions

· Include any other appendices, data, project schedule/ deliverables and other information necessary to support your proposal.

EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA

The Procurement Officer will review all proposals received by the proposal submission deadline. Proposals must be complete and responsive to all sections of the RFP. Proposals that do not fulfill all program requirements or omit any of the requested contents may receive a reduced evaluation score. Failure to meet all mandatory requirements may result in a reduced evaluation score of up to 10% of the total available points. Selection of the successful Offeror will be based upon submission of proposals meeting the selection criteria. The minimum selection criteria will include:

Total 100 Points

PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCE

An optional preproposal in-person meeting will be held January 30th, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. 3rd floor conference room located at 600 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. For additional questions, email ssrogers@fredericksburgva.gov, and please include the RFP number and title in the subject line of the message.

OFFEROR ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

The following requirements and qualifications are MANDATORY and pertain to the solicitation only. Compliance will determine if Offeror may be deemed eligible for award.

1. DEBARMENT STATUS: By participating in this procurement, the vendor certifies that they are not currently debarred by the Commonwealth of Virginia from submitting a response for the type of goods and/or services covered by this solicitation. Vendor further certifies that they are not debarred from filling any order or accepting any resulting order, and that they are not an agent of any person or entity that is currently debarred by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

2. MANDATORY USE OF CITY FORM AND TERMS FOR RFPs: Failure to submit a proposal on the official City form provided for that purpose may be a cause for rejection of the proposal. Modification of or additions to the General Terms of the solicitation may be cause for rejection of the proposal; however, the City reserves the right to decide, on a case by case basis, in its sole discretion, whether to reject such a proposal.

3. QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFERORS: The City may make such reasonable investigations as deemed proper and necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the services or furnish the goods, and the Offeror shall furnish to the City all such information and data for this purpose as requested. Verification of stated qualifications should be provided with the Offeror’s response. The City reserves the right to inspect Offeror’s physical facilities prior to award to satisfy questions regarding the Offeror’s capabilities. The City further reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigations of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the City that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to provide the services and/or furnish the goods contemplated therein.

4. CONTRACTOR/SUBCONTRACTOR LICENSE REQUIREMENT: By their signature on this solicitation, Offerors certify and warrant that their firm, and any individual employees and/or subcontractor(s) is/are properly certified and/or licensed by the appropriate federal, state, or other regulatory authorities to provide all goods and services specified or fulfill the requirements delineated herein.

5. VIRGINIA STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: Pursuant to Code of Virginia, §2.2-4311.2 subsection B, an Offeror organized or authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth pursuant to Title 13.1 or Title 50 is required to include in its proposal the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission (SCC). Any Offeror that is not required to be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth as a foreign business entity under Title 13.1 or Title 50 or as otherwise required by law is required to include in its proposal a statement describing why the Offeror is not required to be so authorized. Indicate the above information on the SCC Form provided. Contractor agrees that the process by which compliance with Titles 13.1 and 50 is checked during the solicitation stage (including without limitation the SCC Form provided) is streamlined and not definitive, and the City’s use and acceptance of such form, or its acceptance of Contractor’s statement describing why the Offeror was not legally required to be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth, shall not be conclusive of the issue and shall not be relied upon by the Contractor as demonstrating compliance.

6. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARD: Upon the award or the announcement of the decision to award a contract as a result of this solicitation, the City will publicly post such notice on the City website, www.fredericksburgva.gov, and the eVA VBO (www.eva.virginia.gov) for a minimum of ten (10) days.

7. AWARD: Selection shall be made of multiple Offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals on the basis of the evaluation factors included in the Request for Proposal, including price, if so stated in the Request for Proposal. Negotiations shall be conducted with the Offerors so selected. Price shall be considered, but need not be the sole determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each Offeror so selected, the agency shall select the Offeror, which, in its opinion, has made the best proposal. It is the intent of the City to issue an award to the highest ranking Offeror. The City reserves the right to make awards for any goods or services, depending upon the capabilities and benefits described in any Offeror’s proposal, and as the City deems in its best interest. Such decision shall be based upon the City’s sole and exclusive judgment.

The City may cancel this Request for Proposal or reject proposals at any time prior to an award and is not required to furnish a statement of the reasons why a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4359D). Should the City determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one Offeror is fully qualified, or that one Offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to Offeror. The award document will be a contract incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms, and conditions of the solicitation and the contractor’s proposal as negotiated.

GENERAL TERMS

These are mandatory and non-negotiable terms applicable to any contract awarded under this procurement.

A. Assignment. Contractor will not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights, obligations, or interests in this contract without the written permission of the City.

B. Audit. Contractor will retain all records related to this contract for 5 years after final payment or until audited by the City, whichever comes first. The City may inspect these records upon reasonable notice to Contractor.

C. Authorization to do Business in Virginia. Contractor is authorized to do business in Virginia as a domestic or foreign business entity under Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Virginia Code. Contractor will not allow its existence to lapse or its certificate of authority or registration to do business in Virginia to be revoked or cancelled during the term of this contract.

D. Choice of Law, Venue. This contract is governed by Virginia law. The Circuit Court of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the exclusive venue for any litigation regarding this contract.

E. Claims. Contractor must notify the City in writing of its intention to file a claim at the time of the occurrence or beginning of the work upon which the claim is based. All claims must be submitted less than 60 days after the final contract payment.

F. Default. The City is in default 1) if it fails to pay any amount due to Contractor; or 2) upon any other material failure to comply with the terms of the contract. Contractor is in default upon any material failure to comply with the terms of the contract. A party alleging that the other party is in default must provide the allegedly defaulting party with written notice specifying the alleged default and allow 30 days for the default to be cured.

G. Dispute Resolution. The parties will first endeavor to resolve any disputes, claims, or other matters in question between them through direct negotiations, and if direct negotiations fail, by non-binding mediation, with the exclusive venue of the mediation being the City of Fredericksburg. Should the dispute remain unresolved either (i) following negotiation and mediation, or (ii) more than 90 days after a party has requested mediation, either party may institute a lawsuit or chancery action, as appropriate, in Fredericksburg Circuit Court, and may pursue all available appeals in Virginia state courts, to the extent they have jurisdiction. Any agreement reached in mediation must be reduced to writing and executed by the parties; upon execution, the agreement will be enforceable as a settlement agreement.

H. Drug-Free Workplace. Contractor agrees to (i) provide a drug-free workplace for the contractor’s employees; (ii) post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, a statement notifying employees that the unlawful manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance or marijuana is prohibited in Contractor’s workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violating that prohibition; (iii) state in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of Contractor that Contractor maintains a drug-free workplace; and (iv) include the terms of this section in every subcontract or purchase order of over $10,000, so that the terms will be binding upon each subcontractor and vendor.

I. Ethics in Public Contracting. Contractor certifies that its offer is made without collusion or fraud and that it has not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other offeror, supplier, manufacturer, or subcontractor and that it has not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this purchase any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services, or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

J. Force Majeure. No party to this Agreement shall be liable or responsible to the other party for any failure, interruption, or delay in fulfilling any of its obligations under this agreement, due to events beyond the affected party’s control, including natural disaster, act of God, war, armed conflict, pandemic, epidemic, public health crisis, or state of emergency, provided that the affected party gives the other party prompt written notice of the occurrence of the event, stating the period of time the occurrence is expected to continue. The affected party shall use diligent efforts to end the failure, interruption, or delay and ensure the effects of the Force Majeure Event are minimized.

K. Freedom of Information Act. All records pertaining to this contract are open to inspection by the public under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Virginia Code § 2.2-3700 et. seq) unless specifically exempted under the Act (including records properly exempted under Code of Virginia § 2.2-4342).

L. Immigration. Contractor does not, and will not during the performance of this contract, knowingly employ an unauthorized alien as defined in federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Contractor will register for and participate in the federal E-Verify Program if required to do so under Code of Virginia § 2.2-4308.2. Contractor will provide the City with a copy of their E-Verify “Maintain Company” page to the City upon request. Failure to comply with E-Verify requirements subjects Contractor to automatic disbarment from City procurement until the requirements are met.

M. Indemnification. Contractor will save, defend, hold harmless, and indemnify the City, and all of its elected and appointed officials, officers, employees, agents, departments, agencies, boards, and commissions from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, injuries, fines, penalties, costs (including court costs and attorney's fees), charges, liability, or exposure, however caused, resulting from, arising out of, or in any way connected with Contractor's negligent acts, errors or omissions, recklessness or intentionally wrongful conduct of the Contractor in performance or nonperformance of its work under the contract. This indemnification survives the termination of the contract.

N. Insurance. Contractor and any subcontractors will maintain the following insurance coverage, provided by insurance companies authorized by the Virginia SCC to offer insurance in Virginia, during the entire term of the contract. Contractor will provide copies of its Certificates of Insurance to the City.

O. Licensing. Contractor will maintain all licenses and certifications required by applicable federal, state, and local governmental entities for provision of the goods and services to be provided under this contract.

P. Modifications. Only the City Manager or City Procurement Officer may modify this contract on behalf of the City. Only the original signatory of the contract on behalf of Contractor, or another individual authorized in writing by Contractor to modify the contract, may modify the contract on behalf of Contractor. Modifications to this contract can only be authorized in accordance with Code of Virginia § 2.2-4309. Modifications can only be authorized by the following methods:

City and Contractor may agree in writing to modify the terms of the contract. Any additional goods or services to be provided must be of a sort that is ancillary to, or within the same broad product or services categories as, those provided for in the original contract.

The City may issue written change orders for changes such as services to be performed, methods of packing or shipping, and place of delivery or installation. If Contractor determines that the change order will not necessitate a change in compensation or schedule, Contractor will comply with the change order upon receipt. If Contractor determines that the change order will necessitate a change in compensation or schedule, Contractor will notify the City of that determination, and only proceed to comply with the change order upon the City’s written approval.

The contract may be renewed by agreement if provided for in the description of the contract term. Contractor shall not require any employee or agent of the City other than the City Manager or Procurement Officer to execute any additional contract, license, or other agreement pertaining to this contract.

Q. Non-appropriation. All funds for payments after June 30 of the current fiscal year are subject to appropriation by the City Council. If Council does not appropriate the required funds, the City will terminate this contract on June 30 of the then-current fiscal year.

R. Non-Discrimination. Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, or other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment, except where there is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the contractor. Contractor will post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices stating the terms of this section.

Contractor, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor, will state that the contractor is an equal opportunity employer.

Notices, advertisements, and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule, or regulation are sufficient for the purposes of this section.

Contractor will include the terms of this section in every subcontract or purchase order of over $10,000, so that the terms will be binding upon each subcontractor and vendor.

Contractor will conform to the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Virginia Fair Employment Contracting Act of 1975, the Virginians with Disabilities Act, and § 2.2-4343.1E of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

S. Notices. Any notices pertaining to this contract must be sent by first-class mail to:

a. To the City:

Fredericksburg City Manager P.O. Box 7447 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404-7447

b. To the Contractor:

The address listed on Contractor’s Proposal or Bid. Contractor may change its address for notices by notifying the City in writing of the change.

T. Payments. Contractor must provide its federal employer identification number and VA W-9 to the City before requesting payment.

Contractor will submit itemized invoices, with appropriate documentation, to the City, at the payment address shown on the purchase order or contract. All invoices must show the City contract or purchase order number and Contractor’s federal employer identification number. No invoice may include any cost other than those listed in the contract or in an individual purchase order referencing the contract.

The City will pay invoices within 30 days of receipt. Any invoice not paid within 30 days will accrue 1% interest per month. When payment is made by mail, the date of the postmark will be considered the date of payment. If offset proceedings have been instituted under the Virginia Debt Collection Act, the date of offset will be considered the date of payment.

Under certain emergency procurements and for most time and material purchases, final job costs cannot be accurately determined at the time an order is placed. In these cases, payments are contingent on the City’s determination that all invoiced charges are reasonable. The City will notify Contractor within 30 days of invoice of any charges it determines to be unreasonable. Payment for those charges will be suspended until a settlement is reached. Contractor will not take legal action concerning the charges unless a settlement is not reached within 30 days of notification.

U. Payments to Subcontractor. Within 7 days after receipt of payment by the City for work performed by a subcontractor, Contractor shall a) pay the subcontractor for the proportionate share of the total payment received from the City attributable to the subcontractor’s work, or b) notify the City and the subcontractor, in writing, of Contractor’s intention to withhold payment and the reason for withholding the payment.

Contractor will pay interest of 1% per month to subcontractors on all amounts owed to the subcontractors which has not been paid or withheld under the terms of the preceding paragraph.

Contractor must require individual subcontractors to provide their social security numbers, and proprietorship, partnership, and corporate subcontractors to provide their federal employee identification numbers. Contractor will provide this information to the City upon request.

Contractor must require subcontractors to include the terms of this section in all contracts with other subcontractors.

V. Prime Contractor and Subcontractors. Contractor has prime responsibility for all services and goods to be provided under this contract, specifically including adequate supervision of work to be performed. This contract is only between Contractor and the City, and Contractor accepts full responsibility for the work performed and goods provided by, and the acts and omissions of, its subcontractors.

Subcontractor will not subcontract for any part of this contract without the advance written permission of the City Procurement Officer. Contractor will provide the names, qualifications, and experience of any proposed subcontractors to the City Procurement Officer.

W. Relation to City. Contractor is an independent contractor of the City. This contract does not create an employment relationship between the City and Contractor or any of its employees.

X. Severability. If any provision of this agreement is determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the agreement remain in full force, if the essential terms and conditions of the agreement for each party remain valid, binding, and enforceable.

Y. Strict Performance. The failure of a party to insist upon the other party’s strict performance of the terms of the contract is not a waiver of the right to insist upon strict performance of those terms at a later time.

Z. Termination. The City may terminate this contract for any reason upon 30 days’ notice to Contractor. The City will promptly pay all amounts already earned by Contractor and reasonable expenses incurred in reliance upon the contract, up to the effective date of the termination. Receipt of the notice does not affect Contractor’s obligations under the contract, including fulfillment of outstanding orders, up to the effective date of termination.

The parties can agree to terminate this contract at any time.

SPECIAL TERMS

1. Term. The initial term contract period will be for one year from the date of award. All orders and related documents shall survive the period of performance stated in this section until such time as all Orders (executed prior to the expiration of the date of the Contract) have been completely performed or services delivered.

2. RESERVED.

3. Confidentiality. Contractor will hold confidential any information provided by the City under this contract. Contractor will not disclose this information to any third party, during or after the term of this contract, unless required to do so by valid court order or subpoena.

4. Project Manager. Contractor shall designate an employee as project manager for this contract. Contractor shall not assign any duties to the project manager that would conflict with the manager’s responsibilities under this contract. Contractor will only designate a different project manager with the City’s written permission, which will not be unreasonably withheld.

The project manager is responsible for coordination of all of Contractor’s work under the contract, such as overall control over Contractor’s work, communication with the City’s point-of-contact, securing required approvals and permissions (work orders, etc.) from the City, attending meetings with the City, and consulting with the City as requested.

5. No Other Costs. Contractor warrants that the City will incur no costs either on a one-time or continuing basis, other than those specified in this contract.

6. Personnel. All of Contractor’s personnel providing goods and services under the contract shall be adequately qualified to provide those goods and services. Contractor shall remove from the project and replace any of Contractor’s personnel that the City deems unsuitable for the project.

7. Assessment Reviews. Contractor and the City shall meet weekly through the contract term at the City or via phone conference, to review the planning and progress of the project. Contractor’s project manager shall attend all of these meetings. Contractor shall respond promptly to any concerns raised by the City at the meetings.

8. Ownership of Documents. All information supplied by the City under this contract remains the sole property of the City. All materials (such as methods, formulae, processes, improvements, strategies, data, and original works of authorship) prepared by Contractor specifically in performance of this contract become property of the City. Upon completion of the task orders or termination of the contract, the Contractor shall promptly return to the City all data supplied by the City still in Contractor’s possession, and Contractor shall turn over to the City originals of all materials prepared specifically in performance of this contract, in hard copy, electronic format, or both, as desired by the City. Contractor assigns to City the copyrights to all work prepared, developed, or created under this contract, including the right to: 1) reproduce the work; 2) prepare derivative works; 3) distribute copies to the public; and 4) display the work publicly.

9. Advertising. Contractor will not make any news or advertising releases pertaining to this contract for any purpose, specifically including use for marketing references, without advance written permission from the City.

METHOD OF PAYMENT

The contractor shall be paid using one of the following methods for all procurements:

1. Small Purchase Charge Card (SPCC): At the time of verified receipt of goods or services, if the Contractor accepts credit cards in payment, the City will authorize payment by SPCC, currently Bank of America Visa. Any “Check-out fees” imposed by the contractor must be disclosed prior to the purchase and shall be detailed in a separate line item on the receipt at point of sale. No check-out fee or surcharge may be greater than 4% of the total sale.

2. Check or ACH: Payment will be made not more than 45 days after 1) satisfactory performance of the contract in all provisions thereof or 2) upon receipt of a properly completed invoice, whichever is later; in accordance with Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-4352 .

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A. – Vendor Data Sheet Attachment B. – State Corporation Commission Form Attachment C. – Proprietary and Confidential Information Attachment D. – 2023 Fredericksburg Virginia Comprehensive Plan

ATTACHMENT A.

Vendor Data Sheet Note: The following information is required as part of your response to this solicitation. Failure to complete and provide this sheet may result in finding your bid nonresponsive.

1. Qualification: The vendor must have the capability and capacity in all respects to satisfy fully all of the contractual requirements.

2. Vendor’s Primary Contact:

Name: Phone:

3. Years in Business: Indicate the length of time you have been in business providing this type of good or service:

__________ Years ________ Months

4. Vendor Information: eVA Vendor ID or DUNS Number: ___________

5. References: Indicate below a listing of at least four (4) current or recent accounts, either commercial or governmental, that your company is servicing, has serviced, or has provided similar goods. Include the length of service and the name, address, and telephone number of the point of contact.

A. Company: ___________________ Contact: ____________________________

Phone: ( )_____________________ Email: ___________________________

Project:

Dates of Service: $Value:

B. Company: ___________________ Contact: ____________________________

Phone: ( )_____________________ Email: ___________________________

Project:

Dates of Service: $ Value:

C. Company: ___________________ Contact: ____________________________

Phone: ( )____________________ Email: ___________________________

Project:

Dates of Service: $ Value:

D. Company: ___________________ Contact: ____________________________

Phone: ( )____________________ Email: ___________________________

Project:

Dates of Service: $ Value:

I certify the accuracy of this information.

Signed: Title: ________________________ Date: ______

ATTACHMENT B.

State Corporation Commission Form This form must be returned with response to solicitation Virginia State Corporation Commission (“SCC”) registration information: The undersigned Offeror:

is a corporation or other business entity with the following SCC identification number:

-OR-

is not a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, registered limited liability partnership, or business trust

-OR-

is an out-of-state business entity that does not regularly and continuously maintain as part of its ordinary and customary business any employees, agents, offices, facilities, or inventories in Virginia (not counting any employees or agents in Virginia who merely solicit orders that require acceptance outside Virginia before they become contracts, and not counting any incidental presence of the offeror in Virginia that is needed in order to assemble, maintain, and repair goods in accordance with the contracts by which such goods were sold and shipped into Virginia from offeror’s out-of-state location)

-OR-

is an out-of-state business entity that is including with this bid an opinion of legal counsel which accurately and completely discloses the undersigned offeror’s current contacts with Virginia and describes why those contacts do not constitute the transaction of business in Virginia within the meaning of §13.1-757 or other similar provisions in Titles 13.1 or 50 of the Code of Virginia.

**NOTE** Check the following box if you have not completed any of the foregoing options but currently have pending before the SCC an application for authority to transact business in the Commonwealth of Virginia and wish to be considered for a waiver to allow you to submit the SCC identification number after the due date for bids (the City reserves the right to determine in its sole discretion whether to allow such waiver):

Signature: Date:

Name:

Print Title:

Name of Firm:

ATTACHMENT C.

Proprietary/Confidential Information Identification Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by an Offeror shall…