RFQ - Engineering Support on Wastewater System Improvements

WWEB is requesting Qualifications for professional consulting services to assist with the following Tasks: A. Provide tracking of costs, schedule, and project milestones for 25 funded projects. Coordination with the funding recipient (cooperative), their engineer and contractor will be required. Tracking of pertinent information shall be in an electronic format (Microsoft Excel or similar) and shared in a monthly update meeting with NHDES. Identification of issues with meeting deadlines established in the funding agreement with the cooperative will be of utmost importance. B. Provide technical input and guidance during attendance at project meetings with project owners, their engineers, and contractors to optimize project schedule. Coordinate among entities as needed to ensure that project meetings are happening at an adequate frequency for the scope of the project. The Consultant is expected to attend a minimum of the project kickoff meeting and preconstruction meeting and additional meetings as appropriate for the scope of the project. The Consultant shall attend such meetings as a representative of NHDES. C. The Consultant shall review Engineering Contracts (and associated Amendments) for Design and Construction Administration (including scope, schedule, and fee) and provide feedback and recommendations for approval to NHDES. D. The Consultant shall coordinate the Environmental Review process for the funded projects with the NHDES Environmental Review lead, the cooperatives engineer, and the cooperative. The Consultant shall answer technical questions as needed during the process, ensure the Environmental Review template submitted on behalf of the cooperative covers the full scope of the wastewater project and is consistent with approved funding scope of work. E. The Consultant shall review design drawings and specifications prior to sending to NHDES for final design approval. Provide review of compliance with NHDES Administrative Rules for design on the 25 funded projects. Applicable Administrative rules include: Env-Wq 700 and Env-Wq 1000; and other rules as appropriate. F. The Consultant shall review cost estimates and provide comment or recommendation on bid alternates to assist in ensuring projects are able to meet established budgets based on available grant funding. G. The Consultant shall review the request to bid the Construction Contract from the cooperatives design engineer and recommend Authorization to Bid to NHDES. H. Provide onsite project visits during construction. The purpose of these visits is to confirm compliance with the applicable Administrative Rules and the contract documents and observe construction progress. A minimum of two site visits per project is required during active construction. Prepare observation reports on work in progress for NHDES. Review pay applications from the Contractor and the cooperatives design engineer and recommend to NHDES for payment. I. The Consultant shall review and comment on the construction schedules during the course of construction to ensure the projects are being completed in a timely manner. J. The Consultant shall be responsible for reviewing Construction Change Orders for the life of each construction project. Feedback to the cooperative and their engineer shall be provided, and recommendation to approve the Change Order to NHDES once consensus is reached. K. The Consultant shall be responsible for assistance to the cooperative and their engineer with preparing disbursement requests and recommendation for Approval to NHDES. L. The Consultant shall review the request to award the Construction Contract from the cooperatives design engineer and recommend Authorization to Award to NHDES. M. The Consultant shall complete a Closeout Checklist for each project and coordinate with the cooperative and their engineer to ensure that the required documents are submitted. N. The Consultant shall provide training in a web-based format to instruct the cooperatives on the preparation of a fiscal sustainability plan as a requirement of the funding. The Consultant shall provide review of the prepared fiscal sustainability plans and work with cooperatives and their engineers to develop a document O. Provide technical and administrative support to cooperatives from the point of the final grant application, submission of design documents for review by NHDES, submission of Environmental Review templates, through construction. Provide support for cooperatives in meeting grant requirements through the life of the grant. The Consultant shall be the primary point of contact for the owners and their engineers for the project and coordinate with NHDES to provide information and answers to questions as needed. Consultant Inquiry Period Ends: 11/30/2022 Final Agency Responses to Inquiries: 12/9/2022 Estimated Notification of Selection and Begin Contract Negotiations: January 2023 Electronic submissions must be sent to Sarah.B.Ridyard@des.nh.gov with a subject line of RESPONSE TO RFQ Technical Assistance to Disadvantaged Wastewater Projects. Questions regarding the submittal of qualifications shall be directed to Sarah Ridyard, P.E. at Sarah.B.Ridyard@des.nh.gov or (603) 271-8484. Inquiries must be received by the Agencys RFQ Points of Contact no later than the conclusion of the Consultant Inquiry Period (see Schedule of Events section, herein). Inquiries received later than the conclusion of the Consultant Inquiry Period shall not be considered properly submitted and may not be considered. The Agency intends to issue official responses to properly submitted inquiries on or before the date specified in the Schedule section herein; however, this date is subject to change at the Agencys discretion. The Agency may consolidate and/or paraphrase questions for sufficiency and clarity. The Agency may, at its discretion, amend this RFQ on its own initiative or in response to issues raised by inquiries, as it deems appropriate. Oral statements, representations, clarifications, or modifications concerning the RFQ shall not be binding upon the Agency. Official responses by the Agency will be made only in writing by the process described above. Vendors shall be responsible for reviewing the most updated information related to this RFQ before submitting Qualifications. Qualifications must be valid for one hundred and eighty (180) days following the deadline for submission of Qualifications in Schedule of Events, or until the Effective Date of any resulting Contract, whichever is later. Bids will be returned to the Consultants unopened. Delivery of the submittals shall be at the Consultants expense. The time of receipt shall be considered when a submittal has been officially documented by the Agency, in accordance with its established policies, as having been received at the location designated above. The Agency accepts no responsibility for mislabeled mail or mail that is not delivered or undeliverable for whatever reason. Any damage that may occur due to shipping shall be the Consultants responsibility. The Consultant is solely responsible for confirming receipt of their qualifications package prior to the due date and time. All submittals submitted in response to this RFQ must consist of at least one (1) electronic copy of the Submittal, including all required attachments contained on digital media. If hard copies are submitted in addition to the required electronic submittal, at least four (4) clearly identified copies of the Submittal, including all required attachments are required. Consultants who are ineligible to bid on submittals, bids or quotes issued by the Department of Administrative Services, Division of Procurement and Support Services pursuant to the provisions of RSA 21-I:11-c shall not be considered eligible for an award under this submittal. The Agency reserves the right to: Make independent investigations in evaluating Qualifications; Request additional information to clarify elements of a Qualification; Waive minor or immaterial deviations from the RFQ requirements, if determined to be in the best interest of the State; Omit any planned evaluation step if, in the Agencys view, the step is not needed; At its sole discretion, reject any and all Qualifications at any time; and Open contract discussions with the second highest scoring Consultant and so on, if the Agency is unable to reach an agreement on Contract terms with the higher scoring Consultant(s) The method of contractor selection has not been determined at this time

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