RFQ 2026-016 Section 3 Build America, Buy America Compliance Monitoring Services

The City of Waco, Texas, Housing and Community Development Department has issued Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 2026-016 to procure Section 3 Build America, Buy America (BABA) compliance monitoring services for federally funded public facility improvements and housing construction projects. The procurement seeks an experienced firm to provide comprehensive compliance services including pre-construction conference training, weekday help desk support (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), training on economic opportunities for low and moderate-income individuals, on-site Davis Bacon violation assessments, benchmark review and certification, reporting analysis, record keeping, material supply contract compliance review, worker interviews, and federal audit assistance and bid document preparation support. Projects covered under this contract may encompass street and sidewalk repairs, park creation, facility construction and expansion, and housing construction. The City intends to establish an annual as-needed contract with two, two-year renewal options. Evaluation will be conducted on a 100-point technical scale assessing firm expertise and experience (maximum 50 points), personnel expertise and experience (maximum 35 points), and timeline and service delivery capability (maximum 15 points); the Project Review Committee may conduct oral interviews with top-rated firms, adding communication ability scoring (maximum 10 points). Qualified firms must be licensed or registered to practice in Texas, maintain no conflicts of interest with the City, provide five references with at least one from the past 24 months, and carry insurance coverage including workers' compensation, commercial general liability, business automobile liability, and professional liability of at least $1,000,000. Questions are due May 4, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time, qualifications submissions are due May 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time with opening at 2:05 p.m. via Zoom, interviews are tentatively scheduled for May 15-22, 2026, final ranking by May 25, 2026, and award notification by June 5, 2026.

The RFQ documents do not explicitly identify set-aside designations or restrictions specific to disadvantaged enterprises, though the scope emphasizes Section 3 compliance monitoring related to economic opportunities for low and moderate-income individuals. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the available procurement materials. Submissions containing price data will be automatically disqualified, indicating that pricing will be negotiated following qualifications evaluation and potential interviews. Contract awards exceeding $100,000 require City Council approval, while smaller contracts may be executed by the City Manager or designee; firms must register with the Texas Secretary of State if contract value exceeds $100,000 and comply with Texas statutory requirements including energy company boycott certifications, firearm entity non-discrimination provisions, Israel boycott prohibitions, and foreign terrorist organization restrictions. The RFQ does not include specific budget ranges or award values in the available documentation. The City reserves the right to reject any and all submissions and will not reimburse proposal preparation costs.