T3054 Bid Amendment 1 020819.docx

PHILIP D. MURPHY

Governor State of New Jersey

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND PROPERTY

PROCUREMENT BUREAU

33 WEST STATE STREET

P. O. BOX 230

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0230

ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO

State Treasurer

SHEILA Y. OLIVER

Lt. Governor

MAURICE A. GRIFFIN

Acting Director https://www.njstart.gov

02/08/19

To: All Interested Vendors {Bidders}

Re: Bid Solicitation # 19DPP00307 Light Rail/ Fixed Guideway State Safety Oversight Support Services

Quote Submission Due Date: 02/28/19 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Bid Amendment #1

The following constitutes Bid Amendment #1 to the above referenced Bid Solicitation:

· This Bid Amendment includes answers to questions; and

· Please note that for all additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications to the Bid Solicitation, please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation entitled “T3054 Revised Bid Solicitation 020819”.

It is the sole responsibility of the Vendor {Bidder} to be knowledgeable of all of the additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications to the Bid Solicitation and/or the New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions relative to this Bid Solicitation as set forth in all Bid Amendments.

All other instructions, terms, and conditions of the Bid Solicitation shall remain the same.

Bid Solicitation #19DPP00307 Light Rail/ Fixed Guideway State Safety Oversight Support Services

Answers to Questions

Where applicable, each question references the appropriate Bid Solicitation section.

Section Reference Question (Bolded) and Answer

NJDOT will provide workspace located at:

The New Jersey Department of Transportation 1035 Parkway Avenue Trenton, NJ 08625

NJDOT will provide a desk and chair at this location. All other supplies and equipment must be provided by the Vendor {Contractor}. Please see “T3054 Revised Bid Solicitation 020819” Bid Solicitation Section 3.2 General Requirements.

There are no Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements for this Bid Solicitation. As per the cover page of the Bid Solicitation, this Blanket P.O. is subject to Small Business Set-Aside (SBE) Subcontracting only. Please refer to Bid Solicitation section 4.4.1.5 Small Business Subcontracting Set-Aside Blanket P.O.

Currently, all contact with the four properties (PATCO, NJ TRANIST Newark City Subway, NJ TR ANIST Hudson Bergen, NJ TRANIST River Line) (RTA/RTS) is done through the NJDOT SSO Office. Additionally, NJDOT relies heavily on a database to track inspections, direct observations, accidents, hazards and corrective action plans. The database also requires NJDOT review before transmitting data to the RTA/RTS.

Yes. Prior to the Quote Opening Deadline, a Vendor {Bidder} should review the documents comprising the submitted Quote, to ensure that all of the required documents have been completed and attached. Oftentimes a Quote is deemed non-responsive because a Vendor {Bidder} fails to attach a required form or attaches a blank form. To review a submitted a Quote a Vendor {Bidder} should log into NJSTART and review each document attached to the Quote submission. Instructions on how to review a submitted Quote can be found in the Quick Reference Guide entitled, How to Review a Submitted Quote, which is available on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page under Vendor Reference Guides

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Background To what extent will the contractor be involved with the development of the SSPPs for the 4 transit agencies listed given that the FTA does not want SSO funds to be spent on SSPP development?

The FTA encourages the SSO’s participation in aiding the RTA/RTSs in transitioning from a SSPP to a Public Transit Agency Safety Plan (PTASP). The SSO’s activity consists of answering questions, providing guidance and tracking progress as the PTASP plans are currently under development. The SSO does not develop the RTA/RTS’s SSPP or PTASP.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

Please clarify the following Conflict of Interest Requirements: a. If a staff employee is currently engaged in work for one of the four properties (PATCO, NJ TRANIST Newark City Subway, NJ TRANIST Hudson Bergen, NJ TRANIST River Line) will they be allowed to complete oversight on the others?

A staff employee who is currently working for one (1) of the four (4) properties (PATCO, NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen, NJ TRANSIT River Line) should be dedicated solely to this Blanket P.O. after the award is made. Otherwise, a conflict of interest may prevent the use of the staff employee.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements In Section 3.1, Conflict of Interest, does NJDOT consider that the Conflict of Interest requirement apply to the entire firm, all employees, bidding on the NJDOT contract, or does it only apply to those Staff Employees, from the bidding firm, who are assigned to the NJDOT contract?

The Conflict of Interest requirement applies only to staff employees that will be assigned to this Blanket P.O. A Vendor {Contractor} can utilize staff employees not assigned to this Blanket P.O. to provide services to PATCO, NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT River Line and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

Please clarify what NJDOT considers to be a conflict of interest as it pertains to a contractor performing work for the SSO and one or more of the 4 systems listed in the solicitation.

Procedure SSO-002 found in Appendix D of The State Safety Oversight Program Standards (SSOPS) discusses the Conflict of Interest requirements. Every Conflict of Interest situation cannot be listed, and assessments and potential resolutions are made on a case by case basis for a staff member as outlined in the procedure.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

If the Light Rail/Fixed Guideway Safety Oversight Support contract is awarded, will it preclude employees from the winning firm, who are not associated with the contract, from being considered for other contract opportunities related to PATCO, NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT River Line and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen?

Staff employees from the Vendor {Contractor} that are not assigned to this Blanket P.O are not prohibited from other Blanket P.O opportunities related to PATCO, NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT River Line and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

If an assigned project staff member is performing work for PATCO, will they be allowed to perform oversight duties on other rail lines for which NJDOT performs oversight (NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT River Line and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen)?

A staff member who is performing work for PATCO may only provide oversight duties on NJTRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT River Line and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen. The staff member may not provide oversight for PATCO if they are performing work for PATCO.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

If an assigned project staff member is performing work for NJ TRANSIT’s River Line, will they be allowed to perform oversight duties on the other rail lines for which NJDOT performs oversight (NJ TRANSIT Newark City Subway, NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen and PATCO)?

A staff member who is performing work for NJ TRANSIT’s River Line may only provide oversight duties on NJTRANSIT Newark City Subway, PATCO and NJ TRANSIT Hudson Bergen. The staff member may not provide oversight for NJ TRANSIT’s River Line if they are performing work for NJ TRANSIT’s River Line.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Requirements

Does NJDOT consider it a conflict of interest if the proposed project manager for the Light Rail/Fixed Guide State Safety Oversight Support Services contract also has contract oversight responsibilities for a project on one of the four rail lines that NJDOT has oversight responsibility for?

The Blanket P.O. does not have a position called Project Manager. However, procedure SSO-002 found in Appendix D of The State Safety Oversight Program Standards (SSOPS) discusses the Conflict of Interest requirements. Every Conflict of Interest situation cannot be listed, and assessments and potential resolutions are made on a case by case basis for a staff member as outlined in the procedure.

State Supplied Price Sheet Instructions While the contract states that all work shall be perform based upon the corresponding awarded all-inclusive hourly rates, will the Vendor/Contractor be allowed to submit annual escalations?

The price sheet labeled as “3054 Price Sheet 01419.xlsx” on NJSTART contains fields for rates for each of the five (5) years associated to the Blanket P.O. No additional escalations shall be permitted.

Will the State allow vendors to take exception to any of the Standards Terms and Conditions?

As stated in Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.1, Exceptions to The State of NJ Standard Terms and Conditions (SSTC): “Questions regarding the SSTC and exceptions to mandatory requirements must be posed during this Electronic Question and Answer period and shall contain the Vendor’s {Bidder’s} suggested changes and the reason(s) for the suggested changes.” Additionally, as stated in Section 4.1, General: “Quotes including Vendor {Bidder} proposed terms and conditions may be accepted, but Vendor {Bidder} proposed terms or conditions that conflict with those contained in the Bid Solicitation as defined in Section 2.0 of this Bid Solicitation, or that diminish the State’s rights under any Blanket P.O. resulting from the Bid Solicitation, will be considered null and void.”

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