Architectural Services – WhiteCountyDetentionCenter RFQ# 290-0410Rev2

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS RFQ # 290-0410Rev.2

Architectural Services for WhiteCountyDetentionCenter

WHITECOUNTYBOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

CLEVELAND, GEORGIA

Closing Date/Time:

July 10, 2009, 2:00p.m.

WhiteCounty Purchasing Department

59 South Main Street - Suite A

Cleveland, GA30040

706-865-2235 Fax: 706-865-1324

Changes in Revision:

Close Date: July 10, 2009 – 2:00 PM

Removed:Requirement for experience in the State of Georgia

Design – Build Method of Construction

Added: Financed by SPLOST

Cost Method – Design/Architectural Services Only

Collusion affidavit

Other Questions addressed below:

There is not a budget estimate.

A formal Needs Assessment has not been performed.

The White County Board of Commissioners is soliciting qualifications from qualified firms to provide architectural services (only) regarding the construction of the renovation to enlarge the existing DetentionCenter located in White County, Georgia. Project has been approved and financed through the use of SPLOST funds. Firms are required to submit references for similar projects designed.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) we recognize that the information may not be complete in every detail and that all work may not be expressly mentioned in these specifications. It is the responsibility of the proposing company to include in their qualification all pertinent information in accordance with the objectives of the County.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Qualifications MUST be submitted in the format prescribed herein. Failure to comply with the directions listed in this RFQ, or omission of requested information could result in disqualification of your firm’s qualification. Qualifications are to be submitted in a sealed envelope, clearly marked in the lower left-hand corner:

“RFQ 290-0410Rev2 – Architectural Services”

Closing Date/Time: July 10, 2009, 2:00 p.m.

The qualifications will be received at the offices of the White County Purchasing Department:

WhiteCounty Purchasing Department

59 South Main Street – Suite A

Cleveland, GA 30528

One (1) original and three (3) copies of the Qualifications must be received at the Purchasing Department’s office not later than 2:00p.m. Absolutely no Qualifications will be accepted after 2:00p.m. Faxed or e-mailed Qualifications are not acceptable. Qualifications received after the deadline will be returned to the sender unopened. Names of submitting firms will then be read aloud at 2:00p.m., July 10, 2009. WhiteCounty shall have 90 days to determine qualified firms. All interested parties and the general public are invited. No other distribution of the qualification shall be made by the offeror.

ALL QUESTIONS are to be directed to BeverlyBollefer, White County Purchasing Department, Fax 706-865-1324 or email . All questions are to be received not later than July 2, 2009. Responses to substantive questions will be provided to all firms who have requested Qualification information or if obtained from the web site you will need to notify us your contact information to insure you are updated.

Qualifications received will become the property of WhiteCounty and shall be used as the County sees fit. All information contained in the Qualifications will remain confidential until after the award and signing of contract. WhiteCounty reserves the right to cancel the Request for Qualifications or to reject any and all responses received, to waive any technicalities or other minor informalities if it determines, in its sole discretion, that such cancellation or rejection is in the best interests of WhiteCounty.

Firms shall submit evidence of insurability.

COST OF QUALIFICATION:

WhiteCounty assumes no responsibility or liability for the costs incurred by the submitting firm to prepare and/or submit a qualification. The entire cost of preparing and submitting Qualifications, including oral presentations if required, or any work in connection therewith will be borne by the submitting firm or team of firms.

RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPOSER:

Request for Qualifications must be signed by an authorized official to bind the offeror and it shall contain a statement to the effect that the Request for Qualifications is firm for a period of at least ninety (90) days from the closing date for submission.

PROHIBITION OF GRATUITIES:

Firms shall not offer any gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value to any official, employee, or agent of the White County Board of Commissioners for the purpose of influencing consideration of this qualification.

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL:

Ownership of all data, material, and documentation originated and prepared for the County pursuant to this contract shall belong exclusively to the County.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION:

The final selected firm will be given written notification of being selected by the County. This project may be awarded in whole or in part at the sole discretion of the County. The County will negotiate and execute a contract with the selected firm prior to the beginning of the actual services. Should contract negotiations fail, the County will negotiate with one of the highly ranked firms. In general, the contract will comply with applicable laws and standard provisions and shall contain the following terms: Detailed scope of services, Schedule for providing services, and Cost of services.

INSURANCE:

Prior to commencing work the firm, at its own expense, shall furnish an insurance certificate showing the certificate holder as White County Board of Commissioners, with a special notation naming White County as an additional insured on the liability coverage. At a minimum: Commercial General Liability and Automobile Liability: combined single limit at least $1,000,000 per occurrence; Umbrellas liability in the amount of at least $1,000,000 that follows the coverage forms for underlying liability policies or is broader; Worker’s Compensation policy providing statutory limits; Architects’ & Engineers” Professional Liability – errors and omissions policy in the amount of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. Coverage shall provide for professional errors and/or omissions in the preparation of designs and/or specifications and include the rendering of supervisory, inspection, or architectural and/or engineering services.

INDEMNIFICATION:

The Firm shall indemnify, protect, defend and hold harmless White County, their agents, and employees, from and against any and all claims, demands, judgments, or causes of action, including costs and attorney’s fees by any party or parties whatever for loss, damage, injury, fines or penalties of any kind of character either to persons or property directly or indirectly arising out of the operations performed under the Contract except such lost, damage, or injury as is caused by the sole negligence of the County

GENERAL:

The proposer agrees that they presently have no interest and shall not acquire any interest, directly or indirectly, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the services hereunder. The proposer further agrees that no person having any such known interest shall be employed or conveyed an interest, directly or indirectly, in the contract.

Qualifications submitted are not publicly available until after award by the White County Board of Commissioners. All qualifications and supporting materials, as well as correspondence relating to this RFQ becomes the property of WhiteCounty when received. Any proprietary information contained in the qualification should be so indicated. However, a general indication that the entire contents, or a major portion, of the qualification is proprietary will not be honored.

PROTEST PROCEDURES:

Right to Protest: Any actual firm, who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract, may protest to the Purchasing Manager. The protest shall be submitted in writing within five (5) days after such aggrieved person knows or should have known of the facts giving rise thereto. The protest must be accompanied by a detailed statement, indicating the reasons for such protest.

The Purchasing Manager shall have authority to settle and resolve a protest of an aggrieved offeror concerning the solicitation or award of a contract. If the protest is not resolved by mutual agreement, the Purchasing Manager shall issue a decision in writing within ten (10) days. The decision shall state the reasons for the action taken. This decision shall be final and conclusive, unless the firm appeals administratively within five (5) days after receipt of decision to the White County Board of Commissioner’s. Any protest taken to the Board or court shall be subject to the protestant paying all administrative costs, attorney fees, and court costs when it is determined that the protest is without merit.

PURPOSE OF REQUEST AND SCOPE OF SERVICES:

WhiteCounty is soliciting qualifications from architectural and/or engineering firms for the design of an addition to the WhiteCountyDetentionCenter, located in Cleveland, Georgia.The solicitation will be publicly advertised twice in the legal section of the White County News within a period of 30 daysprior to the closing date. The solicitation shall also be available electronically on the internet for a period of 30 days Solicitation will also be publically posted at the White County Courthouse. After review of qualifications, the three top ranked firms will be requested to provide Cost Proposals to provide services for this project.

Only firms that have successfully designed Detention Facilities that actually have been constructed will be considered.

It is anticipated that the facility will be of “POD” design, two (2) beds per cell, with an estimate of 150 beds.

The Architectural/Engineering scope of services will be in two phases:

Phase 1: to include schematic design to include functional and space programming, design development to include project presentations, and project cost estimating. The construction of the design will be bid out to third party contractors.

Phase 2: if Phase 1 is accepted and funding is made available, then Phase 2 will proceed to include assistance in obtaining required permits, preparation of construction documents, plans, and specifications with professional seals and signatures, coordination and approval of utility connection designs with local utility providers, assistance with bid evaluation and contract award recommendation, provide contract administration support during construction activities, and supervision of work of contractor during construction.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

The “Request for Qualifications” must be organized and provided in a clear and concise format:

  • Transmittal Letter to include firm name, address, contact name and telephone number in regards to the submittal, contact name and telephone number for primary person that would be assigned to the project if firm is successful, acknowledgement of any addenda issued, state whether or not your firm has been involved in any litigation within the past five (5) years arising our of your performance – explain fully. List any exceptions to this RFQ.
  • Provide a fully detailed plan (to include projected schedule) on how your firm would approach this project.
  • Provide an organizational chart of your firm.
  • Provide a profile on your firm and the project team. Show past experience and expertise in design of Detention Facilities.
  • Provide resumes for all key personnel including all members of the project team. Provide detailed information in regards to Project Manager. Ensure relative experience is shown.
  • Provide examples of successful projects that demonstrate the firms expertise in designing Detention Centers. Within this section provide the following information:
  • Project Name and Scope
  • Original Estimate of Project Cost
  • Final Project Cost
  • Explanation of Differential in Cost
  • Original Scheduled Completion Date
  • Actual Project Completion Date
  • Explanation of Differential of Completion Dates
  • Name of owner, contact name, and telephone number
  • Name of General Contractor and phone number.
  • Non-Collusion Affidavit – The attached non-collusion affidavit must be duly filled in and returned as part of the Qualification submittal. Omission of the non-collusion affidavit could result in disqualification of your team’s Qualification.

EVALUATION PROCESS:

The Selection Committee will review each Qualification received utilizing the following criteria. At the County’s discretion, presentations may be requested as part of the evaluation process. WhiteCounty reserves the right to retain all qualifications submitted and to use any idea in any qualification regardless of whether that qualification is selected.

  • Related experience on similar projects.
  • Respective qualifications and demonstrated competence, of firm and proposed Project Manager
  • Ability to produce the required service within a reasonable time
  • Past performance
  • Proximity of the firm to the project

The White County Board of Commissioners selection committee will review the Qualifications which have been submitted and take any of the following actions deemed to be in the best interests of the County:

The County may select the firm it considers most qualified and negotiate with this firm for the Work;

The Board may select three or more firms to be interviewed ["short list"] from which it will select a firm for the work;

The Board may solicit additional information from any of these firms or from other firms for further consideration.

Failure of a consultant to provide any portion of the requested information may result in declaration of the consultant’s qualifications package being declared non-responsive. WhiteCounty reserves the right to reject any and all of the firms submitting.

ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS:

It is agreed that the successful bidder will not assign, transfer, convey, or otherwise dispose of a contract that results from this invitation or his right, title, or interest in or to the same, or any part thereof, without written consent by the County.

STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Attached are the WhiteCounty standard terms and conditions under which the selected design firm will be expected to carry out the required professional services. Upon the County reaching agreement with the firm selected to provide the architectural or engineering services, the County shall enter into a professional services agreement with said firm, and with said contract as approved by the County Attorney.

AFFIDAVIT OF SUCCESSFUL BIDDER

(In Compliance with Official Code of Georgia Annotated 36-84-1)

GEORGIA, WHITECOUNTY

Personally appeared before the undersigned officer, duly authorized by law to administer oaths, and , (Individuals, Partners or President and Secretary respectively) of , who after being duly sworn depose and say on oath that and its employees, agents or servants, have not prevented or attempted to prevent any person or persons, firm or corporation desiring to procure for himself or other, any person, firm or other legal entity from making a bid therefore nor has such person, firm or legal entity attempted to induce any other person, firm or legal entity to withdraw a bid for said work nor has such person, firm or other legal entity in any way violated the terms or provisions set forth in Official Code of Georgia Annotated Section 36-84-1.

Sworn to and subscribed before me,

this the day of

______, 2009.

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

Instructions: This Affidavit should be executed by the individual, if individually bid; by all partners, if it is a bid of a partnership; by the officers or the agents or other persons who may have acted for or represent a corporation in the bidding of the contract, if the bidder is a corporation.

5999/W115266