ADDENDUM NO. 1 GENERAL This Addendum shall be made part of the Request for Proposals (RFP) dated December 15, 2015 for the PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR DRINKING WATER, WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER PROJECTS OPEN-END CONTRACTS, 2016-18. Where any part of the RFP is modified by this Addendum, the unaltered information shall remain in effect. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS & REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION Work (General) 1. Can you move the proposal due date back due to holiday schedules? CRW is facing numerous compliance deadlines and award of this work in January 2016 is an important step to maintaining compliance, therefore we cannot extend the solicitation period. Proposal submittals are due no later than January 7, 2016 at 2 pm local time. 2. Regarding the Water Infrastructure Improvements Service Area contract does that include water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure improvement projects or is it just water? Consistent with CRW s mission of water stewardship from rain drop to river, work covered by this program will address the needs of all CRW water infrastructure: drinking water, wastewater and stormwater. This applies to all service areas (Infrastructure Improvements, GIS/Asset Management and Urban Planning). 3. Regarding the Client References Letters are these included in one of the rating criteria? If so, which one? We find these notoriously difficult to get from our public sector client for whom we do most of this kind of work, and if we include something else in their place, how would it affect the rating criteria? Client reference letters will supplement the Experience rating. Should this requirement present a hardship, CRW recommends firms identify the reason for difficulty and offer client reference with current contact information to permit phone interview in lieu of a letter. 4. Should the proposer submit separate proposals if they are interested in consideration for more than one service area? Proposers shall submit a separate package for each service area they wish consideration.
5. What is the duration of the contract? Contract term is three years (2016-18) with the possibility of two, one year extensions. 6. Does CRW wish to see specific billing rates for every potential individual on the team (each individual design engineer, project engineer, planner, etc.)? Or, since this proposal is for an Open- End Contract and specific projects are undefined, does CRW want standard billing rates for specific positions, or bracketed billing rates (low end and high end) for specific positions? Will CRW allow for escalation in the billing rates over the three year period? CRW expects respondents to provide rate classes for the full range of staff demanded by CRW s programs. Firms are strongly discouraged from issuing basic (low) rate schedules with the expectation of adding specialized staff with higher rate class after selection. Such substitutions will not be approved, and may cause discontinuation of assignments. Respondents shall provide the applicable period associated with the proposed rates. If there is an intention to adjust rates within the engagement period, then respondent shall identify their proposed method of adjustment as part of the rate schedule. 7. Can you elaborate on the outreach effort? Who is the target audience? Will there be public outreach? Will there be internal training? Who are the anticipated stakeholders? CRW is committed to active, open and transparent communication. Our public outreach target audiences include residents, students, businesses, community organizations, and institutions in our service area. CRW s public outreach includes but is not limited to: proactively engaging customers to increase stewardship of our infrastructure and local water ways; facilitating public participation in major decisions and plans; providing information about our services and projects; and raising awareness of who we are, what we do, and the value of our work. Internal training is not planned. Stakeholders are project specific. 8. Can CRW provided the estimated contract value range and/or upper limit? The information provided in CRW s 2015 Consulting Engineers Annual Reports represents the most current project cost estimates available. CRW is focused on executing all necessary work to support the compliance and efficient operation of the system at the best value to rate payers. Individual project budgets will be established as they arise and can be appropriately scoped. 9. The RFP states, Subcontractors, if any, must be approved by CRW prior to engagement, Please define engagement. Are proposers required to identify subcontractors within this proposal? Or, are subcontractors to be identified by selected firms at the time of each work assignment?
Firms are not required to provide information on subconsultants as part of this RFP. Selected firms must present proposed subconsultants for CRW s concurrence when developing detailed scope for projects as they arise. DBE 10. Is CRW asking for DBE teammate identification and information (certifications, staff resumes, and so on) in this submission, or will that detail be requested later upon selection? CRW does not expect respondents to identify DBE subcontractors as part of the RFP response. Response to this RFP will be considered firm commitment to comply with CRW s DBE program, whatever it may be. Non-compliance will result in termination of work and removal from the program. 11. What DBE certification agency does Capital Region Water recognize to meet your participation requirements? CRW s current DBE policy mirror s PENNVEST s requirements. CRW is in the process of developing a new DBE Policy that is focused on increasing meaningful local DBE participation in Harrisburg. Firms interested in additional detail should attend CRW board meetings over the coming months as the policy is reviewed in draft and discussed prior to adoption (likely in early to mid- 2016). GIS/Asset Management 12. Would you define or be more specific about what is meant by administration? Does this refer on-site support for this administration? CRW s GIS has been developed over the past 2-1/2 years, beginning with system location data collection in March 2013. The data collection and GIS development has been performed by contractors, and due to the manner in which the system was set-up, we have faced challenges performing daily GIS work internally. CRW hired a GIS manager last year, and we have multiple GIS capable staff. We are planning to transition the daily GIS administration away from our contractor in 2016 and will need support for that process from the GIS & Asset Management Systems Support Consultant. Administration as intended in this RFP means assisting CRW staff with managing the GIS data within the SQL Server database and ArcServer as well as supporting our staff with the ArcGIS Online services. We currently have an Enterprise GIS environment with multiple versions and editors. It would also be beneficial to have Cityworks administration experience within this type of GIS environment and SQL Server. We would expect that the consultant would be on-site periodically (once a month), and most support would be remote.
13. Can CRW provide copies of any strategic plans, needs analysis or other planning documents that have been performed in the past 2-3 years for GIS/Asset management work? CRW s GIS Implementation Plan has been posted to our website with the information associated with this RFP. Work has progressed largely in line with the plan. 14. Is CRW using Cityworks Field mode or mobile applications? If so in what capacity? CRW uses Cityworks desktop mode, including laptops in the field. 15. Is it possible to see a data model or data dictionary of the utilities that are currently captured? A list of all CRW GIS layers is attached to this addendum. Urban Design and Planning 16. Does CRW anticipate services associated with MS4 and/or TMDL will be included in this Open- End Contract? MS4 and TMDL services associated with this service area may include projects such as the development of watershed and sub-watershed plans for green and gray infrastructure, as well as GSI development following recommendations of our GSI master plan. Services are not limited to stormwater and water quality compliance related tasks. Water Infrastructure 17. Can you clarify if Impoundment Adequacy Evaluation relates to CRW s Dehart Dam Complex and related assets? PADEP has advised CRW that their analysis indicates the spillway for our raw water impoundment (DeHart Reservoir) is not adequately sized to handle the Probable Maximum Flood event. CRW has committed to performing independent analysis prior to engaging in corrective planning, design and construction as necessary. That work is intended to be executed under this program.