Arlington County Government Sealed Solicitation
Title: 24-DES-RFP-172 On-Call Engineering Services for Water Pollution Control Plant
Deadline: 9/12/2023 1:00 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Status: Awarded
Solicitation Number: 24-DES-RFP-172
Description: The County seeks to obtain a qualified contractor(s) to provide on-call professional engineering services for Arlington County’s Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). The Contractor shall provide professional engineering services for infrastructure projects primarily focused on wastewater treatment and collection system lift stations. Other requested services may include force mains, gravity sanitary sewers, and drinking water or stormwater systems.
Pre-Bid Meeting Date: 8/8/2023 9:30 AM
Pre-Bid Meeting Details: Please sign up if you plan to attend the pre-bid meeting. Mandatory Preproposal conferences will be held on August 2, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. and August 8, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. on Microsoft Teams. ATTENDANCE AT ONE OF THE PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCES IS MANDATORY TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN OFFEROR. RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FOR THOSE OFFERORS REPRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCES. MANDATORY PREPROPOSAL SITE VISIT The County will hold mandatory preproposal site visits on August 2, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. and August 8, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at 3402 S Glebe Rd, 2nd Floor, Arlington, VA 22202 in Room 208. OFFERORS MUST ATTEND ONE OF THE TWO MANDATORY PRE-PROPOSAL SITE VISITS. PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FROM THOSE OFFERORS WHOSE COMPANY IS REPRESENTED AT THE PREPREPROPOSAL SITE VISITS.
Documents:
| Documents as of 8/25/2023 |
|---|
| Final RFP 24-DES-RFP-172 On-Call Engineering Services for WPCP.pdf |
| Exhibit D - WPCB Contractor Safety Standard.pdf |
| Proposal Submittal Form.pdf |
| WPCB Process Flow Diagram .pdf |
Addition 1
Posted: 8/11/2023
Type of Addition: Mandatory Preproposal Conferences and Site Visits Meeting Notes
Overview: Mandatory Preproposal Conferences and Site Visits Meeting Notes and Sign-in sheet.
Documents:
Addition 2
Posted: 8/28/2023
Type of Addition: Addendum No. 1
Overview: Addendum No. 1 adds additional attachments to the RFP.
Documents:
Addition 3
Posted: 9/12/2023
Type of Addition: In Review
Addition 4
Posted: 2/24/2024
Type of Addition: Notice of Award Information
Overview: RFP No. 24-DES-RFP-172 awarded to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Brown and Caldwell, Inc., and Hazen and Sawyer, P.C.
Documents:
Question 1
Posted: 8/10/2023
Question: Regarding Article IV of the RFP (Scope of Services), can the County elaborate on item titled “Process Area Training Module Updates”? What platform does the County utilize?
Response: The WPCB uses Microsoft Office suite of software including Word, PowerPoint, and SharePoint platform for Process Area Training Modules. These modules are based on the individual process areas and typically include PowerPoint presentations, vendor videos, process overview documents including system manuals, equipment manuals, SOPs, and control narratives as well as training tests.
Question 2
Posted: 8/14/2023
Question: For Section C. Introduction and Background of Offeror, would it be acceptable to provide the year the company was established, the year our headquarters office was established, and the year any branch office within a 100 mile radius of Arlington County was established?
Response: Yes. That is acceptable.
Question 3
Posted: 8/14/2023
Question: For Section F. Offeror’s Qualifications and Experience, the RFP states that only completed tasks/projects will be considered for this evaluation. Is it acceptable for the overall contract to still be ongoing, if it is an on-call contract, as long as the individual task orders described have been completed?
Response: Yes, completed tasks/projects within an ongoing contract are acceptable.
Question 4
Posted: 8/17/2023
Question: Could you please clarify where to place the Proposal Form within the proposal? Page 15 lists it under Section A. Executed Forms, but page 43 says it must be the first page in the proposal i.e. before the front cover.
Response: Please reference Section V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements. The proposal form must be the first page of the Executed Forms in Section A.
Question 5
Posted: 8/17/2023
Question: Can photos taken during the site visit be used in the proposal?
Response: Yes.
Question 6
Posted: 8/18/2023
Question: On Page 2 of 5 of the Proposal Form, it indicates that the proposal form shall be the first page of the submitted electronic information. Is it acceptable to submit the form as part of Section A of the proposal as indicated in Part V, Item 7 of the RFP (page 15 of the RFP PDF document)?
Response: Yes, the proposal form shall be the first page of the Executed Forms in Section A.
Question 7
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Exhibit C, Nondisclosure and Data Security Agreement for Contractor and Individual, has a provision that County data cannot be downloaded except to approved devices. Can the County clarify what the approved devices are?
Response: Approved devices include PCs and mobile devices owned directly by the vendor or contractor, issued to vendor or contractor staff, and: centrally managed/configured (e.g. Intune, Jamf, ManageEngine, or a similar MDM platform), and that Have modern anti-virus installed and managed/configured by the vendor or contractor. Uploading of County data to cloud services not managed by Arlington County must be reviewed and approved by the County’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Question 8
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Exhibit C, Nondisclosure and Data Security Agreement for Contractor and Individual, has prohibitions around downloading of the County data onto a personally owned device. Can the County clarify if this prohibits the use of Company Microsoft Email and Microsoft Teams on the Project Personnel’s devices?
Response: The County’s BYOD policy only applies to the personal devices of County employees. Vendors and contractors are not permitted to add Arlington County O365 accounts or County data to devices not directly owned by the vendor or contractor.
Question 9
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: For the RFP response, can the proposer include a Table of Contents? If yes, where should the TOC be located and will it be counted towards the page limit(s)?
Response: Yes, a table of contents may be included in the Offeror's response wherever the Offeror deems appropriate. The Table of Content will not be counted toward the page limit.
Question 10
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: In the RFP, there is no mention of Cover/Tabs. Can the proposer include a Cover and Tab(s) at the beginning of each required section? And will these be counted towards the page limit(s)?
Response: Yes. Offeror may include a Cover and Tab(s). No, the cover and tab(s) will not be counted toward the page limit.
Question 11
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Will there be an addendum issued after all questions have been submitted and answered? And if so, where will we be able to access the Addendum Acknowledgement Form to include with the proposal submittal?
Response: All questions will be responded to in Vendor Registry. If an addendum is needed to change the solicitation, one will be issued. Acknowledgment of Addendum will be attached to any addendum of this solicitation if applicable.
Question 12
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: During the plant tour, it was mentioned that the secondary aeration tanks are over-instrumented. Could you provide further perspective on this issue? Is it a maintenance issue? Do plant staff have preferences on the most effective way to address the issue?
Response: The Secondary Aeration Tanks currently are equipped with 16 modulating flow control valves and 16 air flow meters. Not all tanks have a uniform number of dissolved oxygen (DO) probes, where some tanks have 15 DO probes, while others have only 4. The original design used the heavily instrumented tanks as “surrogates” to predict the DO profiles and control the less instrumented tanks. All of this equipment is outdoors and subject to UV from sunlight, extremes of temperature and humidity, and precipitation. It's difficult to maintain that many devices under those conditions and to develop control strategies that fail elegantly when sensors are unavailable.
Question 13
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Would it be possible for a current process flow diagram of the Water Pollution Control Plant to be shared with consultants?
Response: Please see the WPCB Process Flow Diagram attached to the public solicitation.
Posted: 8/11/2023
Type of Addition: Mandatory Preproposal Conferences and Site Visits Meeting Notes
Overview: Mandatory Preproposal Conferences and Site Visits Meeting Notes and Sign-in sheet.
Documents:
Posted: 8/28/2023
Type of Addition: Addendum No. 1
Overview: Addendum No. 1 adds additional attachments to the RFP.
Documents:
Posted: 9/12/2023
Type of Addition: In Review
Posted: 2/24/2024
Type of Addition: Notice of Award Information
Overview: RFP No. 24-DES-RFP-172 awarded to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Brown and Caldwell, Inc., and Hazen and Sawyer, P.C.
Documents:
Posted: 8/10/2023
Question: Regarding Article IV of the RFP (Scope of Services), can the County elaborate on item titled “Process Area Training Module Updates”? What platform does the County utilize?
Response: The WPCB uses Microsoft Office suite of software including Word, PowerPoint, and SharePoint platform for Process Area Training Modules. These modules are based on the individual process areas and typically include PowerPoint presentations, vendor videos, process overview documents including system manuals, equipment manuals, SOPs, and control narratives as well as training tests.
Posted: 8/14/2023
Question: For Section C. Introduction and Background of Offeror, would it be acceptable to provide the year the company was established, the year our headquarters office was established, and the year any branch office within a 100 mile radius of Arlington County was established?
Response: Yes. That is acceptable.
Posted: 8/14/2023
Question: For Section F. Offeror’s Qualifications and Experience, the RFP states that only completed tasks/projects will be considered for this evaluation. Is it acceptable for the overall contract to still be ongoing, if it is an on-call contract, as long as the individual task orders described have been completed?
Response: Yes, completed tasks/projects within an ongoing contract are acceptable.
Posted: 8/17/2023
Question: Could you please clarify where to place the Proposal Form within the proposal? Page 15 lists it under Section A. Executed Forms, but page 43 says it must be the first page in the proposal i.e. before the front cover.
Response: Please reference Section V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements. The proposal form must be the first page of the Executed Forms in Section A.
Posted: 8/17/2023
Question: Can photos taken during the site visit be used in the proposal?
Response: Yes.
Posted: 8/18/2023
Question: On Page 2 of 5 of the Proposal Form, it indicates that the proposal form shall be the first page of the submitted electronic information. Is it acceptable to submit the form as part of Section A of the proposal as indicated in Part V, Item 7 of the RFP (page 15 of the RFP PDF document)?
Response: Yes, the proposal form shall be the first page of the Executed Forms in Section A.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Exhibit C, Nondisclosure and Data Security Agreement for Contractor and Individual, has a provision that County data cannot be downloaded except to approved devices. Can the County clarify what the approved devices are?
Response: Approved devices include PCs and mobile devices owned directly by the vendor or contractor, issued to vendor or contractor staff, and: centrally managed/configured (e.g. Intune, Jamf, ManageEngine, or a similar MDM platform), and that Have modern anti-virus installed and managed/configured by the vendor or contractor. Uploading of County data to cloud services not managed by Arlington County must be reviewed and approved by the County’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Exhibit C, Nondisclosure and Data Security Agreement for Contractor and Individual, has prohibitions around downloading of the County data onto a personally owned device. Can the County clarify if this prohibits the use of Company Microsoft Email and Microsoft Teams on the Project Personnel’s devices?
Response: The County’s BYOD policy only applies to the personal devices of County employees. Vendors and contractors are not permitted to add Arlington County O365 accounts or County data to devices not directly owned by the vendor or contractor.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: For the RFP response, can the proposer include a Table of Contents? If yes, where should the TOC be located and will it be counted towards the page limit(s)?
Response: Yes, a table of contents may be included in the Offeror's response wherever the Offeror deems appropriate. The Table of Content will not be counted toward the page limit.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: In the RFP, there is no mention of Cover/Tabs. Can the proposer include a Cover and Tab(s) at the beginning of each required section? And will these be counted towards the page limit(s)?
Response: Yes. Offeror may include a Cover and Tab(s). No, the cover and tab(s) will not be counted toward the page limit.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Will there be an addendum issued after all questions have been submitted and answered? And if so, where will we be able to access the Addendum Acknowledgement Form to include with the proposal submittal?
Response: All questions will be responded to in Vendor Registry. If an addendum is needed to change the solicitation, one will be issued. Acknowledgment of Addendum will be attached to any addendum of this solicitation if applicable.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: During the plant tour, it was mentioned that the secondary aeration tanks are over-instrumented. Could you provide further perspective on this issue? Is it a maintenance issue? Do plant staff have preferences on the most effective way to address the issue?
Response: The Secondary Aeration Tanks currently are equipped with 16 modulating flow control valves and 16 air flow meters. Not all tanks have a uniform number of dissolved oxygen (DO) probes, where some tanks have 15 DO probes, while others have only 4. The original design used the heavily instrumented tanks as “surrogates” to predict the DO profiles and control the less instrumented tanks. All of this equipment is outdoors and subject to UV from sunlight, extremes of temperature and humidity, and precipitation. It's difficult to maintain that many devices under those conditions and to develop control strategies that fail elegantly when sensors are unavailable.
Posted: 8/21/2023
Question: Would it be possible for a current process flow diagram of the Water Pollution Control Plant to be shared with consultants?
Response: Please see the WPCB Process Flow Diagram attached to the public solicitation.