THE STATEWIDE REGIONAL EVACUATION STUDY PROGRAM (SRESP) WORK GROUP REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR

Transcription

1 THE STATEWIDE REGIONAL EVACUATION STUDY PROGRAM (SRESP) WORK GROUP REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR FLORIDA REGIONAL EVACUATION STUDIES EVACUATION TRANSPORTATION MODELING AND ANALYSIS February 29, 2008 CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS: Northeast Florida Regional Council 6850 Belfort Oaks Place, Jacksonville, FL Tel: (904) / Fax (904)

2 Table of Contents I. Introduction... 1 A. Invitation... 1 B. List of Events... 1 C. Special Accommodations... 1 II. Scope of work... 1 A. Purpose... 1 B. Background... 2 C. Proposed Tasks... 4 D. Meetings and Ownership... 9 III. Proposal submission requirements A. Required Information B. Proposal Format Instructions IV. Proposal evaluation and selection criteria A. Evaluation Process B. Oral Presentations C. Price Proposal D. Criteria for Evaluation V. Announcement of the intended award VI. Other information i -

3 I. INTRODUCTION A. Invitation The Statewide Regional Evacuation Study Program (SRESP) Work Group and the Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC) require written proposals from qualified consultants to provide EVACUATION TRANSPORTATION MODELING AND ANALYSIS services. The Work Group and NEFRC intend to award this contract to the responsive and responsible proposer team whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the study. For the purposes of this document, the term Consultant means the prime consultant acting on its own behalf and those individuals, partnerships, firms, or corporations comprising the proposer team. B. List of Events Action Deadline for Technical Questions Pre Proposal Conference (if Requested) Proposal Due (Technical and Price) Oral Presentation Regional Council Board Approval of Award C. Special Accommodations Any person with a qualified disability requiring special accommodations at a preproposal conference, public meeting, oral presentation and/or opening pertinent to this Request For Proposals shall contact the contact person at the phone number, e mail address or fax number provided on the title page at least five (5) working days prior to the event. II. SCOPE OF WORK A. Purpose The purpose of the Scope of Work is to provide guidelines for the development of a transportation modeling framework and prototype models that can be used in the evacuation traffic analysis for the Florida SRESP. Once the prototype model is accepted by the study group, the consultant will then compile required data, implement models, and perform analysis for each regional planning council

4 The SRESP is a project initiated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) to provide Florida s disaster planners with a uniform data source and coordinate a safe and efficient evacuation in the event of a disaster, either natural or through human activity. The following section will give an overview of the SRESP efforts, providing the broad context for the transportation modeling study. The specific tasks necessary to develop the transportation modeling framework will be described next. The project will be completed in a maximum of fifteen (15) months from the date of the notice to proceed. B. Background An Overview of the Florida Regional Evacuation Study Program In response to the devastating hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1359 Hazard Mitigation for Coastal Redevelopment, and House Bill 7121 Disaster Preparedness Response and Recovery, in June HB 1359 redefines the Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) as a Category 1 surge zone rather than an evacuation zone as established by the Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model. It directs all local governments to amend their future land use maps to include the new definition of CHHA by July 1, HB 7121 establishes the need for improvements in the State s infrastructure and provides for funds to be appropriated for the purpose of hurricane evacuation planning. In accordance with the legislative direction, DEM has obtained funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to conduct regional evacuation studies across the State. This is known as the Statewide Regional Evacuation Study Program (SRESP). The SRESP project will use new technologies and best available data to provide a complete and consistent up to date picture of the regional and statewide evacuation dynamics. The methodologies and processes to be used in the study will be determined through a joint effort between the State and all of the eleven (11) Regional Planning Councils (RPCs). Each RPC is responsible for managing the study in its own region. The Northeast Florida Regional Council is managing the overall study contract on behalf of DEM and the other ten Regional Planning Councils. The SRESP study is divided into two phases. The first phase of the study, currently underway, focuses on data collection and analysis. It consists of a Demographic and Land Use Analysis, Hazards Analysis, Behavioral Analysis, Shelter Analysis, and definition of Regional Evacuation Transportation Networks. Phase I will develop demographic projections and socio economic profiles for each county; provide housing and auto ownership information at the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) or block group level as appropriate; conduct surveys as appropriate to collect and analyze data on people s - 2 -

5 evacuation behavior; create a shelter inventory from the regional and statewide emergency management plans; and update the regional transportation network to identify the regional evacuation routes and their associated attributes, e.g., functional classification, capacity, posted speed, etc. The second phase of the SRESP, scheduled to begin in the summer of 2008, will include a Vulnerability Analysis, Evacuation Population and Vulnerability Analysis, Transportation Analysis, and Emergency Management Toolkit. Phase II will delineate the storm tide limits and evacuation zones; identify population at risk and evacuation populations; provide estimates of vehicle movements from each region and impacts of evacuation from adjacent regions; and create a quick reference toolkit that can be used by emergency management personnel. Need for Evacuation Transportation Modeling Framework Among the many analyses required for the SRESP study, transportation analysis is probably one of the most important components in the process. By bringing together storm intensity, transportation network, shelters, and evacuation population, transportation analysis explicitly links people s behavioral responses to the regional evacuation infrastructure and helps formulate effective and responsive evacuation policy options. Due to the complex calculations involved and numerous evacuation scenarios that need to be evaluated, the best way to conduct the transportation analysis is through the use of computerized transportation simulation programs, or transportation models. Over the years, different planning agencies have used different modeling approaches with varying degrees of complexity and mixed success. Some have used full blown conventional transportation models such as the standard Florida model FSUTMS; others have used a combination of a simplified conventional model and a spreadsheet program, such as the Abbreviated Transportation Model (ATM). These models have different data requirements, use different behavioral assumptions, employ different traffic assignment algorithms, and produce traffic analysis results with different levels of detail and accuracy. These differences make it difficult for planning agencies to share information and data with each other. They also make produce undesirable conditions for staff training and knowledge sharing. One of the objectives of the SRESP is to create consistent and integrated regional evacuation data and mapping, and by doing so, to facilitate knowledge sharing between state, regional, county, and local partners. To achieve this objective, it is important for all Regional Planning Councils to adopt the same data format and to use the same modeling methodologies for their transportation analyses. The purpose of this project is to develop a unified evacuation transportation modeling framework that can be implemented with the data collected by the Regional Planning Councils

6 Criteria for the Evacuation Transportation Modeling Framework Recognizing the importance of having a sound transportation methodology, the SRESP Work Group started reviewing transportation modeling options in October In a series of meetings, the Work Group saw presentations by the South Florida Regional Planning Council, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, the Florida Department of Transportation, and a few specialized private vendors. The Work Group has established the following criteria that the Evacuation Transportation Modeling Framework must meet: Open Architecture, flexible application, easily updated; Easily adaptable to RPC in house replication for local training and distribution; Compatible across regional lines; Contains all regional evacuation routes within the State; Accepts outputs from adjoining regions as inputs, generates outputs to adjoining regions; Generates clearance times for counties, regional evacuation and multi regional clearance times, all by county and region; Capacity to assess growth management activity with abbreviated model or application tools; Allows alternative assumptions and best case/worst case scenarios; allows for varying Level of Service (LOS) assumptions for roadways; Allows dynamic input of vulnerable zones; and Addresses Maximum Traffic Clearance Time (MTCT) and Maximum Clearance Time (MCT), clearance time to shelter by/at in county level, and traffic flow optimization scenarios. C. Proposed Tasks The SRESP Work Group and the Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC) require the services of a qualified Consultant to provide professional transportation modeling and analysis services for the Statewide Regional Evacuation Study. The consultant is encouraged to be creative in developing a sound analytical approach that achieves the goals of this project. In preparing a proposal for consideration by the SRESP Work Group and the NEFRC, the Consultant will not be limited to the proposed tasks specified below, - 4 -

7 but rather can add to or revise the proposed task set in proactive and creative ways. Additional tasks may be warranted if the Consultant can provide adequate justification. Task 1 Refine Scope of Work and Schedule Initial inquiries and discussions with the SRESP Work Group and/or NEFRC may result in some revisions of the Scope of Work and project schedule. The Consultant may recommend additional tasks, such as collecting information on background traffic during an evacuation operation. As necessary, the Consultant will refine the Scope of Work for this project based on professional experience and input from the NEFRC project manager. The Consultant will prepare documentation of any such revision and submit the revision to NEFRC for approval. Deliverables for Task 1: - Detailed Scope of Work - Detailed Schedule and Work Plan Task 2 Select Transportation Modeling Software There are a number of software packages that have been used for evacuation studies. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The Consultant will review these software packages and make a recommendation to the SRESP Work Group as to which software package best meets the project needs and should be adopted as the modeling platform. When evaluating the software packages, the Consultant should consider the following required functions and features as identified by the Work Group: Reliability the software should use government approved and industry standard methodology to produce results that are academically and legally defensible; Open Source code is non proprietary and all model components developed from the software can be delivered to RPCs; Data Source the software should use standard and readily available data as collected by Phase I of the study; User Interface the software should have a customizable and friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that allows the user to easily access input and output files; GIS Compatibility the software should be able to process GIS files. At the very least, it should be able to display input and output files in GIS format; - 5 -

8 Spatial Flexibility the software would ideally be able to aggregate small geographic areas to larger areas, and be scalable to the entire state if necessary; Scenario Management the software should be able to create and handle multiple scenarios simultaneously, allowing for scenario comparisons and sensitivity analyses; Operational Features the software should be able to perform the following operations: - Identify critical links - Calculate regional clearance time - Calculate county clearance time - Calculate in county and out of county clearance time to shelter - Import baseline inputs from Excel (XLS, DBF) - Export results to Excel (XLS, DBF) - Import baseline inputs from GIS - Export results to GIS - Export to TXT; Compatibility in addition to evacuation studies, the software can be used by RPC s to conduct other studies as well, such as Comprehensive plans and amendments, Developments of Regional impact (DRIs); Running Speed computer run time is an important factor when selecting a software package. As in other planning studies, many scenarios need to be evaluated in a short time, it is essential that the model results can be obtained in a timely manner; and Cost the price of the software and licensing requirements is important, particularly considering it may be necessary to use a large number of copies around the entire state. Deliverables for Task 2: - Presentation of Findings - Report: Selection of a Transportation Software for Evacuation Studies Task 3 Formulate Evacuation Modeling Framework The Consultant will identify contributing factors affecting an emergency evacuation operation and formulate proper mathematical relationships to represent the interactions between these factors. The Consultant should pay special attention to the following three issues: Network Coding the Consultant will develop a methodology to properly represent contra flow lanes and other traffic control measures in the evacuation transportation network. Traditionally, freeways and ramps are coded as one way directional links. In the event of contra flow operation, evacuating vehicles will be permitted to travel in the reverse - 6 -

9 direction. The new coding scheme will allow users to easily change the direction of these links and adjust the associated link attributes such as capacity and Level of Service (LOS) to properly represent the traffic operations under these conditions. In addition, intersection delays under emergency signal timing plans also need to be properly represented in the network. Background Traffic both the evacuating traffic and background traffic need to be explicitly represented in the modeling framework. Phase I of the SRESP study will ideally provide enough information for the evacuating traffic including origin, destination, departure time, vehicle occupancy rate. However, the same information may not be available for the background traffic. Even though the background traffic will remain in the region, the travel patterns will be different from those observed under the normal conditions. There will be fewer home based work trips. Fewer trips will head into the evacuation zones, and there will be fewer trips originating from the evacuation zones other than for the purpose of evacuation. In addition, there will be considerably fewer normal trips or non evacuating trips generated within each zone, so the normal trip generation rates may not apply. The Consultant will develop a methodology to address the background traffic issue. Synthesized trip tables may be accepted if enough supporting evidence is provided. Route Choice vehicle simulation and traffic assignment should follow mesoscopic simulation logic. Individual vehicles or a platoon of vehicles will be generated with attributes such as departure time, origin, destination, and vehicle occupancy. During simulation, vehicle movements will follow logical speed delay relationships. Vehicles will be re routed or queued in the traffic depending on the congestion level. A visualization tool may be developed to graphically illustrate the evacuation operations and help identify the problem areas. Deliverables for Task 3: - Report: Development of Florida Regional Evacuation Transportation Framework - Presentation: An Overview of the Florida Regional Evacuation Transportation Framework Task 4 Develop Prototype Model After the modeling methodology and framework are reviewed and approved by the SRESP Work Group and NEFRC project manager, the Consultant will select an area from the eleven regional planning councils to fully implement the Evacuation Modeling Framework. The area should ideally have information collected from actual evacuation operations, such as traffic counts, actual - 7 -

10 evacuation routes, clearance times, and so on. The purpose of developing the prototype model is to test the validity of the proposed modeling framework, and make revisions if necessary. Deliverables for Task 4: - A Prototype Evacuation Transportation Model for a Selected Region - Final Dataset and Documentation Task 5 Implement Regional Transportation Models The Consultant will work with the staff of the Regional Planning Councils and develop a regional transportation model for each region. The regional model will use the socio economic data obtained from Phase I of the Regional Evacuation Studies. The modeling area will cover the entire region and part of the adjacent areas where an evacuation operation might have impacts. Each model will include two model years, a base year of 2006 and a future year of Due to the limits on time, budget, and observed base year data, it may not be possible to validate the model. It is very important to use professional judgment and common sense to ensure that the model produces reasonable results. Deliverables for Task 5: - Eleven (11) Evacuation Transportation Models - Final Dataset and Documentation Task 6 Conduct Transportation Analysis The Consultant will assist each of the Regional Planning Councils in conducting the required transportation analysis using the newly developed evacuation model for the region. The Consultant will create as many scenarios as necessary based on the input from the RPC staff, make the necessary adjustment to the model parameters to reflect the scenarios under consideration, perform the model runs, summarize the results in graphical and/or tabular format, and document the analysis. Deliverables for Task 6: - Model Runs - Data and Maps Displaying Evacuation Routes, Clearance Times - Transportation Analysis Report, if required Task 7 Prepare Model Documentation and Application Guidelines The Consultant will prepare model documentation clearly explaining the methodology used in the model. For each model component, the - 8 -

11 documentation will include a brief theoretical background, a description of the implementation plan, and where applicable, a flow chart graphically demonstrating the relationships between and among the model components. The Consultant will also prepare Application Guidelines on how to use the model. The Application Guidelines will include instructions on how to perform certain operations, a glossary of major input and output variables, and common errors a user might encounter. Deliverables for Task 7: - Model Documentation - Application Guidelines Task 8 Provide Staff Training and Technical Support The Consultant will work with the SRESP Work Group to develop a three day training workshop. The training workshop will be offered three times at various locations in Florida to state, regional, county, and local government emergency management personnel and technical staff. The workshop will focus on modeling methodologies, data format and structure, and software applications using a combination of lectures and hands on computer exercises. Workshop participants will be expected to learn the basic skills required to install the software, set up and run the model, troubleshoot simple problems, and interpret the model results. The Consultant is also expected to answer technical questions in the form of electronic mail or telephone calls. In some cases, the Consultant will be required to provide on site support. Deliverables for Task 8: - Training Workbook - Training Workshops - Technical Assistance D. Meetings and Ownership The Consultant shall meet with the Project Manager on a regular basis to discuss the project s needs. Monthly status reports will be provided to detail major accomplishments, including documentation in both electronic and hardcopy formats. Presentations on individual tasks will be made at the Department s request. All programs, scripts, and other work products developed as part of this project shall become the property of the State of Florida. The Consultant will relinquish all claims and title to such products and agree to provide all data and documentation whether in written or electronic form. All work products will conform to all terms with respect to specific restrictions on copyrights and patents. The Consultant agrees that no confidential or proprietary software or products will be used for completion of this - 9 -

12 project without the written permission of the Project Manager and accepted by the Oversight Committee. III. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS A. Required Information Each consulting team that responds to the RFP must submit the following information: 1. A listing of the names and qualifications of the firms and specific individuals, to include any sub consultants, who will be involved in the preparation of the various tasks as outlined above. Resumes should be limited to two (2) pages per person. Include existing, and previous obligations with other issues related to time/availability of staff. 2. A detailed description of the methodology and steps to be used to accomplish each of the requirements as outlined in the Scope of Work, to include a description of the various tools and technologies to be used in accomplishing relevant tasks. 3. A detailed Scope of work including workshops, meetings with project managers and other public representatives. 4. The proposed cost to complete the above requirements (itemized by task). The total budget must include costs for all items necessary to carry out the requirements discussed above and must include costs for attendance at workshops, public meetings, reproduction costs, telephone, mileage, mailing, and other miscellaneous costs. 5. The overall schedule of completion to be presented in the format of a Gantt or Pert chart or other recognized product tracking methodology, itemized by task and subtask based on completion of key project deliverables/analyses. 6. A statement disclosing any present, past, or forthcoming work performed by the Consultant or sub consultants that may present a conflict of interest with the project. 7. Provide the names and contact information for three (3) references. Two (2) of the references should be from the public sector

13 All consultant firms responding to the Request for Proposal must submit fifteen (15) hard copies including one (1) original and fourteen (14) duplicates, and one electronic copy (PDF preferred) of the required information to: Northeast Florida Regional Council 6850 Belfort Oaks Place, Jacksonville, FL ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY NOT LATER THAN 12:00 noon, on March 31, 2008 B. Proposal Format Instructions All proposals submitted should conform to the following format: 1.0 General Information All proposals submitted shall contain two parts and be marked as follows: PART I TECHNICAL PROPOSAL (One Separately Sealed Package for Technical Proposals) PART II PRICE PROPOSAL (One Separately Sealed Package for Price Proposals) THE SEPARATELY SEALED PACKAGES MAY BE MAILED TOGETHER IN ONE ENVELOPE OR BOX. It is important that the Contractor s proposal be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked in the lower left hand corner with the following information: SEALED PROPOSAL For: FLORIDA REGIONAL EVACUATION STUDIES EVACUATION TRANSPORTATION MODELING AND ANALYSIS Failure to do so may result in premature disclosure of your proposal. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to insure that the proposal is received by the Northeast Florida Regional Council by the date and time specified above. Late quotes will not be considered

14 2.0 Technical Proposal (Part I) 2.1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Proposer shall provide an Executive Summary to be written in nontechnical language to summarize the Proposer's overall capabilities and approaches for accomplishing the services specified herein. The Proposer is encouraged to limit the summary to no more than ten (10) pages MANAGEMENT PLAN The Proposer shall provide a management plan which describes administration, management, and key personnel. a. Administration and Management The Proposer should include a description of the organizational structure and management style established and the methodology to be used to control costs, services reliability, and to maintain schedules, as well as the means of coordination and communication between the organization and the Department. b. Identification of Key Personnel The Proposer should provide the names of key personnel on the Proposer's team, as well as a resume for each individual proposed and a description of the functions and responsibilities of each key person relative to the task to be performed. The approximate percentage of time to be devoted exclusively to this project and to the assigned tasks should also be indicated PROPOSER'S TECHNICAL PLAN The Proposer shall provide a technical plan which explains technical approach and facility capabilities. a. Technical Approach The Proposer should explain the approach, capabilities, and means to be used in accomplishing the tasks in the Scope of Services, and where significant development difficulties may be anticipated and resolved. Any specific techniques to be used should also be addressed. b. Facility Capabilities The Proposer should provide a description and location of the Proposer's facilities as they currently exist and as they will be employed for the purpose of this work

15 2.4. WORK PLAN The Proposer shall provide a Work Plan which sets forth on an average the estimated staff hours for each skill classification that will be utilized to perform the work required. 3.0 Price Proposal (Part II) The price proposal information is to be submitted in a separate sealed package marked "PRICE PROPOSAL". The Price Proposal information shall be submitted on the forms provided in the Request for Proposal. 4.0 Presenting the Proposal The proposal shall be limited to a page size of eight and one half by eleven inches (8½" x 11"). Foldout pages may be used, where appropriate, but should not exceed five (5) percent of the total number of pages comprising the proposal. Type size shall not be less than 10 point font. The proposals should be indexed and all pages sequentially numbered. Bindings and covers will be at the Proposer's discretion. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures, art work, expensive paper and expensive visual and other presentation aids are neither necessary nor desired. Also, it is recognized that existing financial reports, documents, or brochures, such as those that delineate the Proposer's general capabilities and experience, may not comply with the prescribed format. It is not the intent to have these documents reformatted and they will be acceptable in their existing form. IV. PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA A. Evaluation Process A Technical Review team will be established to review and evaluate each proposal submitted in response to this Request for Proposal. The Review Team will be comprised of the Work Group members, one from each regional planning council, the program manager, the FDOT representative, and/or professionals from relevant service areas appointed by the Oversight Committee or program manager. The NEFRC office will distribute to each member of the Review Team a copy of each technical proposal. The Review Team members will independently evaluate the proposals on the criteria established in the section below entitled "Criteria for Evaluation" in order to assure that proposals are uniformly rated. The Review Team will assign points, utilizing the evaluation criteria identified herein and complete a technical summary. Proposing firms must attain a score of seventy (70) percent of available points or higher on the Technical Proposal to be considered responsive. Should a

16 Proposer receive fewer than seventy (70) percent for their Proposal score, the Price Proposal will not be opened. During the process of evaluation, the NEFRC Office will conduct examinations of proposals for responsiveness to requirements of the RFP. Those determined to be nonresponsive will be automatically rejected. B. Oral Presentations Oral Presentations may be required by the top Proposers. The NEFRC will announce the Proposers, and the date, time and location scheduled for the oral presentations if needed. The following time frames shall govern the Oral Presentations: 1. Presentation 30 minutes 2. Specific Questions on proposal 15 minutes 3. General Questions of all Proposers 60 minutes If utilized the committee members will independently evaluate the oral presentations on the criteria established in order to assure that orals are uniformly rated. Oral Presentations are open to interested parties and will begin on the date, time, and at the location announced following RFP review. C. Price Proposal The NEFRC will open Price Proposals in accordance with relevant rules and regulations. The NEFRC Project Manager will review and evaluate the price proposals and prepare a summary of its price evaluation. The Review Team will assign points based on price evaluation criteria identified herein. This is not a lowest price but best price RFP request. The NEFRC reserve the right to negotiate an award based on the best value, price and technical considerations, and/or portions of proposals to be accepted D. Criteria for Evaluation Proposals will be evaluated and graded in accordance with the criteria detailed below. a. Technical Proposal (1000 Points) Technical evaluation is the process of reviewing the Proposer's Executive Summary, Management Plan, Technical Plan and Work Plan for understanding of project, qualifications, approach and capabilities, to assure a quality product

17 The following point system is established for scoring the technical proposals: Point Value 1. Executive Summary Management Plan Technical Plan Work Plan 150 b. Oral Presentations (100 Points) The Oral Presentation shall include sufficient information to enable the Committee to evaluate the technical capability of the firms to provide the desired services. The following point system is established for scoring the Oral Presentations: Point Value 1. Presentation Questions 40 c. Price Proposal ( 100 Points) Price evaluation is the process of examining a prospective price without evaluation of the separate cost elements and proposed profit of the potential provider. Price analysis is conducted through the comparison of price quotations submitted. d. Conditions of Proposal All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this RFP shall be the responsibility of the Contractor and shall not be reimbursed by the Northeast Florida Regional Council or the Region in any part. V. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE INTENDED AWARD The final decision will be communicated to the Proposers via mail and . Any Proposer who claims to be adversely affected by the decision must file a written protest with the NEFRC within 30 days of the contract award date. The NEFRC reserves the right to segment proposals or accept portions of proposals as is in the best interest of the program and the NEFRC and SRESP Work Group. Final price negotiation will be the result of selection of all, or portion of the most successful proposal

18 VI. OTHER INFORMATION Specific questions regarding the Request for Proposal can be directed to: Security and Confidentiality Ms. Joyce Rhodes Northeast Florida Regional Council 6850 Belfort Oaks Place Jacksonville, FL Tel: (904) Fax (904) The Contractor shall comply fully with all security procedures of the United States, State of Florida, and the Region in the performance of the Contract. The Contractor shall not divulge to third parties any confidential information obtained by Contractor or its agents, distributors, resellers, subcontractors, officers, or employees in the course of performing Contract work, including, but not limited to, security procedures, business operations information, or commercial proprietary information in the possession of the Region, it agencies or third parties. The Contractor shall not be required to keep confidential information or material that is publicly available through no fault of the Contract, material that the Contractor developed independently without relying on the Region s confidential information or material that is otherwise obtainable under law as public record. To insure confidentiality, the Contractor shall take appropriate steps as to it personnel, agents, and subcontractors. The warranties of this paragraph shall survive the Contract. Warranty of Authority Each person signing any resulting Contract warrants that he or she is duly authorized to do so and to bind the respective party to the Contract. Proposal Conference If requested and only if requested, a conference will be held for potential Contractors on March 19, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at the office of the Northeast Florida Regional Council, 6850 Belfort Oaks Place, Jacksonville, Florida Contractors may request a conference by contacting Ms. Joyce Rhodes at (904) ext. 148 not later than March 12, 2008 at 2:00 pm