Apalachee Regional Planning Council
RFQ for Environmental Services
APALACHEE REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
Professional Environmental Consulting Services
Request for Qualifications Release Date: June 20, 2018
Request for Qualifications Due Date: June 27, 2018
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Purpose of this Request for Qualifications
The Apalachee Regional Planning Council (ARPC), through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), is seeking a qualified environmental consulting firm to provide assistance with the recently awarded Florida Department of Environmental Protection Florida Coastline Management Grant for implementation Shoreline Analysis and other components of the Florida Coastline Management Grant for which funding is secured. This solicitation is being issued to comply with Federal procurement standards outlined in CFR §200.317 - CFR §200.326 that are applicable to hiring of consulting firms to assist communities with grants awarded.
1.2 Background Information
The ARPC’s goal is to complete a coastal resiliency /restoration analysis of the shorelines of Apalachicola Bay. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with FDEP and other entities to leverage existing data to help identify the best opportunities for investment of public and private dollars to substantially increase coastal resiliency for the communities around the bay. ARPC’s coastal resiliency planning expertise, augmented by technical support from a highly qualified coastal restoration/resiliency consultant will complete this much needed project, which
as described more thoroughly in the application contained herein, is to systematically develop a prioritized list of estuarine areas within the bay that are best suited (i.e., from an environmental, anthropogenic, and cost efficiency standpoint) for shoreline restoration/stabilization projects which upon implementation, will improve sustainability and protect vulnerable infrastructure and the communities that depend on it.
The proposed project was developed to provide the following benefits:
▪ FDEP and other decision makers will acquire better understanding of the restoration needs and opportunities for Apalachicola Bay.
▪ Analysis results will help maximize return on investment of estuarine habitat enhancement efforts, not only from an ecological perspective, but also from a community resiliency perspective.
▪ This project fills a need that is not currently filled by any other planning tool.
1.3 Type of Contract and Contract Term
The ARPC will award a single one-year contract to one full-service firm to implement grant funds in support of their goal.
2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
2.1 Activities Required Under this Request for Qualifications
This RFQ is to solicit for a qualified environmental consultant who is expected to provide a wide range of environmental services to the ARPC.
In order to meet the project goal, the following objectives will be realized by completion of the project:
▪ Development of an extensive and comprehensive GIS database of publicly available data pertaining to the
natural, physical, and anthropogenic features of the nearshore areas of Apalachicola Bay;
▪ Systematic analyzation of GIS data for Apalachicola Bay to identify areas with the greatest likelihood of
stabilization/restoration success, based on existing habitat and surrounding natural, physical, and
anthropogenic environment; and
▪ A prioritized list of shoreline restoration opportunities for Apalachicola Bay.
The project will be executed by completing five distinct tasks, including:
▪ Project Setup (Task 1)
▪ Data Assembly (Task 2)
▪ Data Analysis (Task 3)
▪ Summary of Results (Task 4)
▪ Recommendations (Task 5).
2.2 Minimum Requirements
Responses will be evaluated per the requirements specified in Section 3.3 Qualifications. Qualified respondents will also meet the following requirements of this Request for Qualifications.
• Proposed Project Manager has a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience working with the State of Florida environmental regulations.
• Firm must have demonstrated experience in implementing work related to coastal resiliency in the State of Florida.
• Proposed Project Manager must have a strong understanding of coastal, nearshore and/or estuarine habitat-based processes related to resilient infrastructure development.
• Proposed Project Manager must have demonstrated Geographic Information Systems skills.
2.3 Project Budget
The total budget for the grant is $74,000. The ARPC and the successful consultant will develop a project specific scope of services to fulfill the project requirements.
3. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
3.1 General Expectations
Consultants are asked to submit concise qualifications describing their experience within project scope. The response should include a clear outline of how the firm would help the ARPC to implement their project goal and highlight their experience and successes managing such grants.
3.2 General Process
The ARPC will review and evaluate qualifications with the following criteria in mind: expertise related to relevant project components; firm and staff experience; project approach. The ARPC reserves the right to accept or reject responses on any basis it deems appropriate.
3.3 Qualifications
Responses should be sent electronically. Standard advertising brochures should not be included in the response. The response shall include the following information in the order presented below. Qualifications will be evaluated based on a 100 Point Scale as follows:
SECTION A Qualifications and Capabilities
This section shall include the firm's name, areas of expertise, a brief history of the firm, size, number of office locations, and business address of the office responsible for this contract. The name, address, and telephone number of a contact person responsible for their submittal shall be included. In addition, the following information shall be provided:
· Project experience in implementing the requirements of FDEP grant funded projects or other applicable projects in the State of Florida.
· Summary of experience of developing recommendations to be utilized by local government officials.
· Ability to perform complex analyses utilizing GIS.
0-35 pts.
SECTION B Technical Approach
· Description of the firm’s technical approach to complete the tasks required.
0-40 pts.
SECTION C Local Experience and Knowledge
· Demonstrate knowledge of coastal process through involvement in projects in the Florida Panhandle.
SECTION D Project Staff
· Brief biographical summaries of related experience for staff members working on the project.
· Organizational chart.
· Resumes for key project personnel assigned to this project. Indicate the project manager who will be responsible for ensuring the project success. Provide no more than ten (10) resumes.
0-15pts.
0-10pts.
3.4 Terms and Conditions
The process of selecting organizations to provide consultation services for the ARPC's benefit requires the accumulation of comprehensive and accurate information to ensure that a knowledgeable, objective decision can be made as well as compliance with Federal procurement standards outlined in CFR §200.317 - §200.326 for the implementation portion of this proposal and subsequent successful grant applications.
The ARPC reserves the right to accept or reject all proposals or portions thereof without stated cause. The ARPC reserves the right to re-issue any RFQ or cancel the RFQ if none of the proposals are deemed satisfactory to the ARPC.
Upon selection of a finalist, the ARPC by its proper officials shall attempt to negotiate and reach a final agreement with the finalist. If the ARPC, for any reason, is unable to reach a final agreement with this finalist; the ARPC then reserves the right to reject such finalist and negotiate a final agreement with another finalist who has the next most viable proposal. The ARPC may also elect to reject all proposals and re-issue a new RFQ.
Clarification of proposals: The ARPC reserves the right to obtain clarification of any point in a Proposer's proposal or obtain additional information. Any request for clarification or other correspondence related to the RFQ shall be emailed to Jcrozier@thearpc.com and a response shall be provided within 2 business days.
The ARPC reserves the right to waive any formalities, defects, or irregularities, in any proposal, response, and/or submittal where the acceptance, rejection, or waiving of such is in the best interests of the ARPC. The ARPC reserves the right to disqualify any proposal, before or after opening, upon evidence of collusion, intent to defraud, or any other illegal practice on the part of the Proposer.
3.5 Public Information
Information supplied by the Proposer to the ARPC is subject to the Florida Public Records Law. Florida law provides that municipal records shall at all times be open for personal inspection by any person, Section 119.01, F.S., The Public Records Law. Information and materials received by the ARPC in connection with all Proposers’ response shall be deemed to be public records subject to public inspection upon award, recommendation for award, or 30 days after bid opening, whichever occurs first. Section 119.071, F.S.
3.6 Proposal Time Schedule
The timeline for completion of this request for proposals is outlined below.
June 20, 2018 Formal announcement date for RFQ.
June 27, 2018 – 5:00PM EDT: Deadline for submittal of proposals.
June 29, 2018 Notification of award.
July 2, 2018 Award of contract by APRC.
3.7 Notification of Award
The ARPC plans to select a consultant with Council approval by June 29, 2018. Should either party fail to execute a contract within 30 days of notification of award, the ARPC reserves the right to rescind the award and select services from another interested firm.
3.8 Number of Proposals to Submit; Deadline, Mail, and Hand Delivery Addresses
One (1) digital (PDF) copy of the proposal must be submitted by 5:00 PM EDT on June 27, 2018.
The mailing and hand delivery address is:
Apalachee Regional Planning Council
Attn: Joe Crozier, (Environmental Program Manager)
2507 Callaway Road, Suite 200, Tallahassee, FL 32303
(850)488-6211 ext. 104
Email Contact: Jcrozier@thearpc.com
3.9 Late Proposals
Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.
4. VENDOR REQUIREMENTS
4.1 Equal Employment Opportunity
The Proposer agrees to comply with all federal, state, and local laws, resolutions, ordinances, rules, regulations, and executive orders pertaining to unlawful discrimination on account of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual preference, disability, or age. When required by law or requested by the ARPC, the Proposer shall furnish a written affirmative action plan.
4.2 Insurance Requirements
Prior to award, the successful bidder will be required to furnish evidence of insurance as follows:
Comprehensive General Liability: Limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage including premises and/or operations, independent contractors, products and/or completed operations, broad form property damage and contractual liability endorsement.
Business Auto Liability: Covering any auto with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence with combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage. This shall include owned vehicles, hired and non-owner vehicles and employee non-ownership.
Professional Liability and Errors and Omissions: The Consultant shall carry Professional Liability Insurance with a coverage minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence.
Workers' Compensation: The Consultant shall carry Workers' Compensation coverage to apply for all employees for statutory limits and shall include employer's liability with a limit of $1,000,000 each accident, $1,000,000 disease policy limits, $1,000,000 disease limit each employee.
All policies shall provide a 30-day notice of cancellation or modification of coverages. Prior to commencement of work, the proper insurance certificates shall be provided to and approved by the Apalachee Regional Planning Council.
