Request for Clarification Responses
RFQ On-Call Architectural and Engineering Services 2024
The following list is comprised of paraphrased Requests for Clarification (RFC) submitted by potential consultants or sub-consultants in writing via this form:
RFQ On-Call Architectural and Engineering Services Request for Clarification
Questions without answers may be posted here to indicate that we have received them before the deadline and we intend to respond.
There is not a category for Telecommunications (Division 27 & 28), is this work to be a part of the on-call RFQ? If so, under which category? (RFC 036-02 submitted 10/29/2024)
Disciplines for this RFQ are detailed in the "RFQ - Scope" (Response date: 11/01/2024)
Is the county looking to prequalify architectural firms through this RFQ? I did not see it listed under the list of disciplines. (RFC 036-03 submitted 10/29/2024)
Disciplines for this RFQ are detailed in the "RFQ - Scope" (Response date: 11/01/2024)
Can you please clarify the scope of services the County is requesting with this RFQ? There are inconsistencies between the type of projects described in Section 1 of the RFQ, the services listed in Section 1 of the RFQ, and the services listed and described in Appendix B - Scope of Services. (RFC 036-04 submitted 11/08/2024)
The Projects may include, but are not limited to: road reconstruction, road widening, bridge replacement, bridge rehabilitation, bike paths, trails, traffic signal design, traffic calming, hydraulic analysis, groundwater well design, potable water treatment and distribution systems, wastewater collection systems and treatment plants, and capital improvements. The disciplines listed in the Scope of Services are for those services for which the County has assessed additional need. (Response date: 11/14/2024)
Are civil engineering services being solicited as a part of this on-call? Civil engineering services are outlined on Page 4 of the scope of services attachment, but are not listed in the table on page 1 of the scope of services or as a check box option on Bid Express. (RFC 036-05 submitted 11/08/2024)
The County has only assessed additional need for the disciplines listed, at this time. We plan to return to the RFQ process for all services again in 2026. (Response date: 11/14/2024)
O’Dell is currently an on-call consultant to provide surveying services. We were acquired by Westwood Professional Services. We would also like to be considered for additional disciplines and intend to submit a proposal. In this case, should we also resubmit on surveying or is that not necessary? (RFC 036-06 submitted 11/08/2024)
Firms with existing 2022 on-call agreements for any disciplines listed, need not propose to this solicitation. If firms are interested in additional disciplines, proposals are to be submitted by deadline. (Response date:11/14/2024)
Are the potential drinking water and wastewater projects specific to the County Service Areas and Waterworks Districts, or are there other non-special district projects that may be included? (RFC 036-08 submitted 11/11/2024)
Non-special district projects may be included although not planned at this time. (Response date: 11/14/2024)
Does the County currently have any planned water and wastewater capital improvement projects that are intended to be undertaken within the next one to two years? Can the list be provided? (RFC 036-09 submitted 11/11/2024)
The Department does not have planned water and wastewater capital improvement projects at this time. (Response date: 11/14/2024)
The work description for 'Traffic Engineering' includes 'Provide design for roundabouts'. Typically design of a roundabout would be more of a 'Civil Engineering' scope. Can you expand on what you are expecting to be involved in the 'design for roundabouts'? Does it include final design and PS&E prep. (RFC 036-10 submitted 11/15/2024)
Traffic Engineering includes ‘Provide striping and signage design for roundabouts', which will include final design and PS&E preparation. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
For the required litigation statement, can this be provided relevant to California offices and staff? (RFC 036-11 submitted 11/16/2024)
Please provide all requested information for your firm. You may provide additional information you feel may be relevant. (Response date: 11/19/2024)
Section 5.2.i. requests projects from the past 4 years that are completed or ongoing within the categories of services. For LSCE, this would entail hundreds of projects. Was this the intention, or would the County like us to provide the requested information for key projects in the last 4 years? (RFC 036-12submitted 11/18/2024)
With the Statement of Qualifications, please provide a listing of most recent projects for each discipline for which your firm is proposing to provide. Lists may be limited to only completed projects and restricted to a maximum of 20 projects per listing. (Response date: 11/25/2024)
On Attachment B, it states the items listed under project design are applicable to electrical engineering and landscape design. However, these seem to be civil engineering tasks. Is civil engineering a service discipline for this contract? Can you please clarify? (RFC 036-13 submitted 11/19/2024)
Civil Engineering is not a category for this Request for Qualifications. Electrical engineering design and landscape architecture design are categories that are anticipated needs for some of our upcoming projects. (Response date: 11/25/2024)
Will DBE requirements only apply to the federally funded contract? (RFC 036-14 submitted 11/20/2024)
DBE requirements apply to contracts that will utilize federal funding. (Response date: 11/25/2024)
Are proposers required to identify subconsultants at the proposal stage or can they be added during the contract on a task order basis? (RFC 036-15 submitted 11/20/2024)
Proposers are to include initial subconsultants when submitting their Statement of Qualifications, and may request to add additional firms if the need arises under the contract. (Response date: 11/25/2024)
Peters Engineering Group is on the current on-call for "Traffic and Transportation Engineering" from September of 2022. Based on the statement on page 1 of the RFQ, I want to confirm that our firm does not need to submit a response to this RFQ for the Traffic or Transportation. (RFC 036-16 submitted 11/25/2024)
Firms with existing 2022 on-call agreements for interested disciplines listed on this RFQ, need not propose to this solicitation. If firms are interested in additional disciplines for which they're not already approved, they may submit a proposal under this RFQ. (Response date: 11/25/2024)
Does the Part 1 Solicitation Form need to be provided as a separate complete PDF file in addition to the form fields on Bid Express, or does completing the fields on Bid Express meet the requirements? (RFC 036-17 submitted 11/25/2024)
For the Statement of Qualifications requirements, Part 1. Solicitation Form, is completed through the fields/forms in Bid Express. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
Does the County routinely solicit for these services, and if so, could you provide the names of the last three (3) firms that have provided these services? (RFC 036-18 submitted 11/25/2024)
The Department of Public Works and Planning solicits these services through a mini-RFP process via an on-call architecture and engineering and other related services contract. Through this Request for Qualifications solicitation, the Department wants to increase the number of qualified consultants and add consultants where we have none. The firms that have a current on-call contract for these categories/discipline, are list here:
- Assessment Engineering - Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group
- Certified Access Specialist (CASP) Certification - Robina Wright Architect and Associates Inc.
- Cost Estimating Validation - None
- Electrical Engineering – Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers, Borrelli And Associates, Inc., Electrical Power Systems, Inc., Huber & Huber Architects
- Landscape Architecture – Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers, Huber & Huber Architects
- Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering – Lawrence Engineering Group
- Qualified SWPPP Developer and/or Practitioner – NoneSurveying – Bedrock Engineering, Inc., O'Dell Engineering, Quad Knopf. Inc. (dba QK)
- Traffic Engineering – Dewberry Engineers, Inc., JLB Traffic Engineering, Inc., Peters Engineering Group
- Transportation Planning – None
- Utility Locating – Quad Knopf. Inc. (dba QK), T2 UES, Inc. d/b/a T2 Utility Engineers
- Water and Natural Resources Engineering – None
(Response date: 12/03/2024)
For Part 2 SOQ Attachments: H. Project Commitments, for the list of current projects or commitments in our office, does that mean for the assigned local office or the key personnel’s commitments? (RFC 036-19 submitted 11/25/2024)
The list of current projects or commitments is for the local office and key personnel that would be working on this contract. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
For the optional section Part 3 Federally Funded Eligibility Attachments, will we still be considered for eligibility for federally funded projects if we do not submit Exhibit 15-H Proposer/contractor Good Faith Effort if we meet the 21% DBE goal with our sub-consultant(s)? (RFC 036-20 submitted 11/25/2024)
The 15-H, Proposer / Contractor Good Faith Efforts form is only needed if the proposing firm is not able to meet the 21% DBE goal. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
If we are submitting a prime consultant on a category, can we be a subconsultant to another firm under a different category? (RFC 036-21 submitted 11/25/2024)
Firms that are submitting a proposal as a prime consultant may still be a subconsultant to a different firm. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
Do you want one submittal for all the categories, or should each category be its own submittal? (RFC 036-22 submitted 11/25/2024)
Only one proposal is to be submitted by the Consultant for all categories/disciplines they are wanting to propose on. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
On the site Attachment A Exhibit 10-I Notice to Proposers DBE Information opens rfq-attachment-b-sample-cost-proposal. Can you please provide the Attachment A Exhibit 10-I Notice to Proposers DBE Information. (RFC 036-23 submitted 11/25/2024)
The link to Attachment A Exhibit 10-I Notice to Proposers DBE Information has been updated. (Response date: 12/02/2024)
Attachment G Exhibit 15-H, Proposer / Contractor Good Faith Efforts has goal of 0%. Please confirm the DBE amount is 21%. (RFC 036-24 submitted 11/25/2024)
The Attachment G Exhibit 15-H, Proposer/Contractor Good Faith Efforts form has been updated. The DBE goal is 21%. (Response date: 12/02/2024)
On the site Attach J. Sample Agreement - Appendix B Scope (Draft) opens the Consultant’s Scope of Services – App B Consultant Eligible Services Form. Do you want us to include the Consultant’s Scope of Services – App B Consultant Eligible Services Form on the first page? If so, where do we place it? (RFC 036-25 submitted 11/25/2024)
The Consultant’s Scope of Services – Appendix B Form is not to be completed by the proposing firm. This is a template that the Department will use in the contract of the awarding firm(s). It will be tailored to each firm and identify the discipline(s) they have been selected for. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
In reference to the "List of current staff, including job classification," requirement, can proposers summarize the firm statistics or limit the list to the primary office's current staff and job classifications? (RFC 036-26 submitted 11/27/2024)
The firm's list of current staff, including job classifications should encompass proposed staff for this contract. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
In reference to the "Firm organization chart" requirement in Attachments to all SOQs, should proposers include the firmwide organizational chart or an organizational chart for staff proposed for this contract? (RFC 036-27 submitted 11/27/2024)
The firm's organizational chart should encompass proposed principals for this contract. (Response date: 12/03/2024)
Will the County consider extending the deadline for submittals given the number of questions requesting clarification on the scope of work, some of which are still pending a response? (RFC 036-28, 036-32 submitted 12/03/2024)
The deadlines for the submittals have been extended an additional week. See Addendum 1. (Response date: 12/06/2024)
It appears that architectural services are being requested, but the breakdown of services listed under item 1 does not indicate architectural scope, only consultant disciplines. Please clarify if there are architectural services being requested at this time. (RFC 036-29 submitted 12/03/2024)
The services that are being requested is to supplement the existing on-call architecture & engineering and other related services. At this time there is no vertical/structural architects needed. (Response date: 12/06/2024)
Please confirm if Exhibit 10-Q, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, needs to be submitted. There is no designated upload section for it on Bid Express. (RFC 036-30 submitted 12/03/2024)
Attachment D Exhibit 10-Q, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities and Attachment H Self-Dealing Transaction Disclosure Form would be requested from the proposer upon offer of agreement. These forms are not needed with the submittal of the SOQ. (Response date: 12/06/2024)
Can you please verify the total aggregated amount for ALL disciplines and contracts will be $6M? (RFC 036-31 submitted 12/04/2024)
It is across all disciplines for the entire duration of the agreement (3 years) distributed among the consultants who perform work as needed. There is no minimum amount per consultant. (Response date: 12/06/2024)
Bid Express requires the addendum # and date to be listed in the RFQ response. Where is that information? (RFC 036-32 submitted 12/05/2024)
Addendum 1 has been posted to the website for this RFQ, under "Request for Qualifications (RFQ), Attachments, and Addenda". (Response date: 12/06/2024)
What should be included in an "agreement statement?" (RFC 036-33 submitted 12/05/2024)
The 'agreement statement' shall consist of any issues or proposed changes to the draft/sample contract agreement, which has been included as Attachment J, or an affirmation that the terms are acceptable. The Consultant shall provide a brief statement affirming that their proposal terms shall remain in effect for a minimum of ninety (90) days following the date proposal submittals are due, to allow time for proposal evaluations, recommendations, and contract adoption. (Response date: 12/06/2024)
Bid Express is showing this RFQ deadline as 12/13/2024. Per addendum 1, the deadline was extended to 12/20/2024. Will this be corrected, so we can submit our response next week? (RFC 036-34 & 35 submitted 12/13/2024)
The Bid Express link has been updated, and the deadline date has been revised. (Response date: 12/16/2024)
Due to the holidays, we submitted early to the original bid express site, but we just noticed there was a new one created with the updated deadline of 12/20. Do we need to resubmit all of our files to the 2nd bid express site or will the original site be taken into account? (RFC 036-36 submitted 12/16/2024)
If you already submitted a proposal through the original solicitation in Bid Express, it will not need to be resubmitted. The original submittal will be used. If you would like to make any changes prior to the submission deadline, you may re-submit at the new link. (Response date: 12/16/2024)
Based on the project types listed in Appendix B Scope; can you state if those are Federally Funded Scope projects? (RFC 036-38 submitted 12/20/2024)
The disciplines most likely to be utilized for Federally Funded projects are: Electrical Engineering (for traffic signals and lighting), SWPPP, Surveying, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Planning, and Utility Locating. Any of these disciplines may also be utilized in connection with non-federally funded projects. (Response date: 12/23/2024)
On page 6 of 9 of the RFP, 3. Attachments related to Federally Funded eligibility (optional); we are still required to include as part of our submission, correct? And the forms listed (Ex. 10-O1 and O2? Are we also required to include all the forms A, D, G, H, and I? Can B2 be provided? (RFC 036-39 submitted 12/20/2024)
Attachments (A, F, G & I) are required for eligibility to work on Federally Funded projects, only. Firms that elect to restrict their eligibility to non-Federally Funded projects are not required to complete forms. Attachment B (Sample Cost Proposal) is required for all proposing firms. (Response date: 12/23/2024)
Addendum No. 3 provided a Revised Scope that includes "Architectural Drafting and Design." However, the Solicitation Form online (at Bid Express) does not offer "Architectural Drafting and Design" as one of the "Areas of Interest and Eligibility." Will the online form be revised accordingly? (RFC 036-40 submitted 01/14/2025)
The Areas of Interest and Eligibility section has been updated. (Response date: 01/14/2025)
The solicitation mentions Construction Scheduling Analysis as a requested service, but it is not listed as a discipline in the Areas of Interest and Eligibility section. How should we indicate our interest in this service? (RFC 036-41 submitted 01/15/2025)
The Areas of Interest and Eligibility section has been updated. (Response date: 01/15/2025)