ENGINEERING SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Los Fresnos requests the submission of qualifications statements, which will lead to the possible award of a contract to provide design and construction phase engineering services for projects involving water and wastewater facilities funded as may be necessary by Texas Water Development Board programs, including, but not limited to, the Texas Water Development Board’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).

A. INTENT OF PROPOSAL

The intent of the City is to hire a firm to provide design and construction phase engineering services.  The City will rank candidates by order of highest qualifications and first attempt to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract with the highest qualified firm.  Evaluation of the Respondent’s Statement of Qualifications will be by a Selection Team representing the City.  If unable to negotiate a mutually acceptable contract, the City will terminate negotiations with the highest qualified and begin negotiating with the next highest qualified candidate.  If necessary, the City will repeat these steps until an acceptable contract is obtained. Procedures for procuring the Engineering Services are presented in the following steps.

The City intends to negotiate a fair and reasonable fixed-price contract with the most highly qualified person or firm, but reserves the right to reject any and all qualification statements received in response to this public notice.  The City reserves the right to short list respondents and base final selection rankings on personal interviews.  The City reserves the right to reject any or all qualification statements received and to conduct new project design engineering services selection procedures for this or future projects.

This contract is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, which includes EPA-approved fair share goals toward procurement of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) businesses. EPA rules require that applicants and prime contractors make a good faith effort to award a fair share of contracts, subcontracts, and procurements to M/WBEs through demonstration of the six affirmative steps. For more details of the DBE Program and the current, applicable fair share goals, please visit www.twdb.texas.gov/dbe.

B. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The Design Engineer will provide timely and professional geotechnical investigations, design surveys, construction plans and technical specifications and contract documents, construction staking, operations and maintenance manuals, and other specific services as discussed below.  It is the intent of this RFQ that a consistent quality of design services is provided for all of the project's components. 

The scope of Engineering Services is expected to include:

• Attend preliminary conferences with the City of Los Fresnos, Project Manager and other interested parties regarding the project.
• Determine the necessity for acquisition of any additional real property/easements/right-of-way for the project. Prepare property surveys, detailed descriptions of sites, maps, or drawings as required; assist in negotiating for land and easement rights.  The Engineer will coordinate with a Real Estate Appraiser, to be hired and by the City of Los Fresnos, in determining the location of real property needed for the wastewater facilities, determining the availability of title, easements, and rights-of-way needed to implement the project, and preparing a map of entire tracts with designation of part to be acquired to the City of Los Fresnos. (Appraiser provide information such as name and address of property owners, legal descriptions of parcels to be acquired, and appraisal.)  The Engineer will assist the City to obtain all necessary right-of-way and easements on behalf of the City pursuant to federal requirements acceptable to public funding agencies.
• Furnish and submit on behalf of the City the engineering data necessary for applications for routine permits by local, state and federal authorities (as distinguished from detailed applications and supporting documents for government grants-in aid, or for planning advances).
• Provide field surveys to collect information required for the design and complete related office computations and drafting.
• Perform geotechnical investigations such as auger borings, core borings, soil tests, or other subsurface explorations and laboratory testing and inspecting of samples or materials relevant to design.
• Prepare detailed construction plans, specifications and contract documents for the construction authorized by the City.
• Prepare estimates for probable construction cost of the authorized construction.
• Furnish the City with copies of approved contract documents including notices to bidders and proposal forms.
• Assist the City in the advertisement of the project for Bids.
• Attend the bid opening and tabulate the bid proposals, analyze the responsiveness of the bidders and make recommendations for awarding contract(s) for construction to the lowest responsive bidder. 
• Prepare and coordinate approval of formal Contract Documents and coordinate issuance of Notice to Proceed from the TWDB.
• Provide field surveys and office computations for construction control staking, including the staking of bench marks and horizontal control references for the contractor to stake out work.
• Consult and advise with the City and Project Manager during construction; issue all instruction to the contractor requested by the City or Project Manager; and prepare and issue routine change orders with the City and Project Manager's approval.  Prepare alternate designs or non-routine contract change orders that are necessary due to no fault of the Engineer and upon approval of the City, Project Manager and TWDB.
• Review samples, catalog data, schedules, shop drawings, laboratory, shop and mill tests of materials and equipment and other data which the contractor submits.  The Engineer will review and approve, for conformance with the design concept all shop drawings and other submittals as required by the Contract Documents to be furnished by contractors.
• Obtain and review monthly and final estimates for payments to contractors, and furnish any recommended payments to contractors or suppliers to the City and the Project Manager; assemble written guarantees which may be required by the Contract Documents.
• Attend monthly meetings with City, Project Manager and TWDB during construction.
• Conduct, in the company of the City and Project Manager, a final inspection of the project for compliance with the Contract Documents, and submit recommendations concerning project status of City’s final payment to the contractor.  Prior to submission of recommendation for final payment on each contract, the Engineer will submit a certificate of substantial completion of work done under that contract to the City, Project Manager, TWDB and others as required
• Revise the Contract Drawings (unless redrawing is required) from as-built drawings submitted by the contractor, to show the work as constructed.  The Engineer will provide the City with one set of reproducible records (as-built) drawings and two sets of prints.  Such drawings will be based on the resident project inspector’s construction data and the construction records provided by the contractor during the construction.
• Coordinate approval and issuance of Certificate of Completion from the TWDB.
• The Engineer will review the first year’s operation of the project and revise the operations and maintenance manual for the project as necessary to accommodate actual operating expenses.  Eleven months after initiation of the project operation the Engineer will advise the City in writing whether the project meets the project performance standards.
• The Engineer will train operating personnel and prepare curricula and training material for operating personnel.

C. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

The Proposer shall provide a description of the history and background of the firm, identification of the services currently being provided to municipalities in Texas and other information relevant to the provision of Engineering services.  The following information shall be included in your proposal:

1. General information about the firm.
   • Name, address and phone number of the firm.
   • History of the firm
   • List name and titles of officers of the firm who are directly responsible engineering services
2. References.
   • List of three (3) references to those listed in # 1 above.
3. Identify personnel to be assigned responsibility for administering the account (provide resume and location for the individual representatives that the firm will assign to the account).
4. List the experience of the individuals assigned to the account with the Texas Water Development Board’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Please list the work performed, including the dollar amount of the project. Please include the names, addresses, and phone numbers of contact persons.
5. Additional services - describe any other service or experiences of the firm which you deem beneficial in acting as Engineer to the City.
6. Attached a copy of engineering services contract proposed by your firm.

D. RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

If your firm is interested in being considered as Financial Advisor for the City of Los Fresnos, proposals must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on October 19, 2022, at the office of the City Manager, 520 E. Ocean Blvd., City of Los Fresnos Texas 78566.  Four (4) copies of the proposal must be sealed and clearly marked on the face of the shipping material "ENGINEERING SERVICES" RFP.