Request for Proposals - Water Distribution System Operation
May 09, 2023
May 10, 2023
TO: Prospective Contractors
FROM: Eastover Sanitary District
RE: Water Distribution System Operation, Maintenance, and Management
PURPOSE
Eastover Sanitary District is soliciting proposals for qualified professional firms to submit a statement of qualifications for Utility Operations, Maintenance, and Management Services.
BACKGROUND
The Eastover Sanitary District (ESD) was organized under the authority provided by N.C.G.S. 130 (a) et cetra in 1998. Formation of the ESD district allowed potable water to be extended from Public Works Commission in Fayetteville through the initial phase of the project, later described as ESD 1. Loans and grants from USDA Rural Development provided the funding mechanism for water lines to be extended throughout the area west of I-95 now described as ESD1. The district was expanded to the area East of I-95, in some areas to the Sampson County line, known as ESD II.
During this expansion, the decision was made to extend a 12” water main from the Town of Dunn in neighboring Harnett County. The district constructed a 300,000-gallon elevated storage tank to provide sufficient volume and pressure for the enlarged district.
When the Northern most municipalities of Falcon, Godwin and Wade developed the NORCRESS sewer district, ESD was able to purchase capacity in this line to serve a limited area of the ESD District.
ESD currently serves approximately 3020 water customers and 627 sewer customers, residential and commercial. ESD has approximately 160 miles of water lines in place throughout the district.
Scope of Work – See Attached
Proposals will be received in the Eastover Sanitary District office, 3890 Dunn Rd. Eastover, NC 28312 at any time on or before 4:00 P.M., as per the clock located in the Eastover Sanitary District office, Friday May 26, 2023. Proposals may also be submitted by email to Lisa W. Lloyd at (manageresd@ncrrbiz.com) subject line MUST read “RFP for Water Distribution System Operation, Maintenance, and Management”. It is the sole responsibility of the vendor to ensure that the proposal reaches the destinations listed above by the designated time and hour. If submitting by email, it is recommended that vendors obtain confirmation that the email was received. Proposals received after the specified date and time will be deemed nonresponsive and cannot be considered for award. Important Note: The Execution of Proposal (Attachment A) and all other required forms must be completed, signed and submitted with proposals.
Should additional information be necessary to prepare a proposal, written questions via email relating to such information may be submitted to Lisa W. Lloyd at manageresd@ncrrbiz.com no later than 4:00 P.M., Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Written questions and responses will be shared with all prospective vendors. Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in an Addendum to this RFP. Each vendor submitting a proposal, including its representatives, subcontractors, and suppliers, is prohibited from having any communication with any employees or members of the ESD board except those employees as designated in this RFP. A vendor who does not comply with this provision may be disqualified from award of the contract.
This solicitation, all attachments and addenda are incorporated herein by reference to any executed contract resulting from this request for proposal. By submitting a proposal, the vendor agrees to meet all stated requirements, specifications, and terms and conditions stated in this solicitation. If a vendor is unclear about a requirement or specification or believes a change to a requirement would allow for ESD to receive a better proposal, the vendor is urged and cautioned to submit these items in the form of a question during the question and answer period.
All addendums and/or corrections will be sent by email to vendors who submit an intent to bid.
!IMPORTANT INFORMATION! CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: The proposal must not contain any information marked as “confidential” or as a “trade secret” or in any other manner as to indicate that it is information protected by the Trade Secrets Protection Act ( the “Act”) as set out in Article 24 of Chapter 66 of the North Carolina General Statutes, unless the Vendor has noticed the Eastover Sanitary District of its intent to designate any information in the proposal as such and received permission from the ESD to do so in writing. Vendor’s notice to the ESD must be in writing and must describe the information for which confidentiality is requested and explain how the information is a “trade secret” as defined in G.S. § 66-152(3). If the ESD determines the information for which confidentiality is requested is a “trade secret” covered by the Act, it will notify the Vendor how to mark the information in the proposal and will identify the measures that the ESD will take to protect the confidentiality of the information. Vendor’s submission of a proposal after receipt of this notice from the ESD shall be deemed to be acceptance of the ESD’s statement of how it will maintain confidentiality. If the ESD determines the information for which confidentiality is requested is not a “trade secret” covered by the Act, it will notify vendor of that determination. Any proposal marked with any information as “confidential” or as a “trade secret” or in any other manner as to indicate that it is information protected by the Act in violation of this section shall be regarded as not responsive to the request for proposal and shall not be considered.
The Eastover Sanitary District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.
SCOPE OF WORK
Operation, Maintenance, and Management of the Eastover Sanitary District Water Distribution System
- The treatment system shall be visited and inspected as required by NCDEQ, which requires the safe delivery of drinking water;
- Primary Operator in Responsible Charge;
- 24-hour, seven day a week on call emergency response;
- Attendance at Regulatory Agency Inspections and meetings;
- Coordination with North Carolina Regulatory Agency regarding the operation of the water system;
- Upon testing of chlorine levels, collect bacteriological samples from the distribution system per the sample site plan and delivery to a certified laboratory for analysis;
- Comply with the requirements of the lead and copper program, including distribution of lead and copper educational material and coordination of lead and copper sampling, as required by North Carolina Public Water Supply Section;
- Collect and deliver to the laboratory samples according to the sample site plan for disinfection by-product monitoring as required by the North Carolina Public Water Supply Section;
- Track compliance monitoring and collect and deliver to a certified laboratory those parameters required according to the North Carolina Public Water Supply Section;
- Monitor and record key operational and process control parameters;
- Monitor inventory levels of chemicals, parts, and supplies and coordinate replenishment;
- Maintain an Operator Log recording all operational adjustments and maintenance activities;
- Notify the ESD of any permit violations or specific equipment issues or capital requirements immediately upon discovery. The contractor will indicate the reason for the violation or problems and provide an opinion of options and recommendations based on its experience in managing utilities;
- Lubricate equipment as needed;
- Contractor will read up to 3,000 meters per month;
- Resident Operator on site 40 hours a week to take care of work orders and daily tasks;
- Inspect 5 lift stations once a week;
- Lawn maintenance (Booster Pump Stations, Tower, Vault, etc.);
- Small leaks and repairs
Operation, Maintenance, and Management of the Eastover Sanitary District Wastewater Collection System
- 24-hour, seven day a week on-call emergency response;
- Respond to sanitary sewer overflows and issue verbal reports within 24 hours and written notification and report to NCDENR within 5 days;
- Notify the ESD of any violations or specific equipment issues or capital requirements immediately upon discovery and indicate the reason for the violation or problems and provide an opinion of options and recommendations based on its experience in managing utilities;
- Maintain an Operator Log at each lift station recording all operational adjustments and maintenance activities;
- Annual visual inspection of the collection system and semi-annual inspections of high-priority lines;
- Prepare Grease Education Material to be used as a template for biannual distribution to sewer customers;
- Clean 6,000 ft of the sewer collection system per year;
- Repair and/or unclog sewer lines to a depth of four feet;
- Repair and/or unclog sewer cleanouts to a depth of four feet;
- Attendance at regulatory agency inspections and meetings;
- Coordination with North Carolina Regulatory agencies regarding the operation of the wastewater system;
- Respond to customer inquiries concerning the wastewater collection system;
- Bi-Annual cleaning of 5 lift stations;
- Lubricate equipment as needed
The specifications included in this package describe the services that the Eastover Sanitary District feels are necessary to meet the performance requirements of this RFP and shall be considered the minimum standards expected of the proposer. However, the specifications are not intended to purposefully exclude potential bidders.
If the vendor is unable to meet any of the specifications as outlined therein, vendors are advised to submit questions and concerns regarding the specifications during the question and answer period described above.
If the vendor does not submit questions or concerns regarding the specifications, the Eastover Sanitary District shall assume it is able to fully comply with these specifications. The Eastover Sanitary District shall be the sole and final judge of compliance with all specifications. The Eastover Sanitary District further reserves the right to determine the acceptability or unacceptability of any and all alternatives or deviations.
METHOD OF AWARD
RFP will be awarded based on best overall value method of award.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Proposals will be evaluated and award made based on considering the following criteria to result in an award most advantageous to the Eastover Sanitary District.
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Evaluation Criteria |
Points |
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Overall Experience of Company & Demonstrated Results |
35 |
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Understanding of Scope of Work & Project Approach |
40 |
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Budget Approach/Cost Effectiveness |
25 |
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Total Points |
100 |
VENDOR’S PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Vendor’s proposal must include:
- Cover
- Cover Letter
- Table of Contents
- Background Information about the firm including the legal name, address, email and telephone number and principal(s) of the company
Overall Experience of Company & Demonstrated Results
Vendor shall provide the following information in their proposal:
- A description of the background and history of the company
- The company’s experience and qualifications as it relates to the requirements within this RFP
- Evidence of past performance and quality
- Relevance of past work
- At least three (3) references for which your company has provided services of similar size and scope to that proposed herein.
- A summary detailing the number of years in business, number of customers, and financial strength
Understanding of Scope of Work & Project Approach
Vendor shall describe the organizational and operational structure it proposes to utilize for the work described in this RFP, and identify the responsibilities to be assigned to each person vendor proposes to staff the work.
Vendor’s proposal shall include, in narrative, outline, and/or graph form the vendor’s approach to accomplishing the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work of this RFP. A description of each task and deliverable and the schedule for accomplishing each shall be included.
Budget Approach/Cost Effectiveness
Vendors must include the proposal price of the contract. Proposal price shall constitute the total cost for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and specifications herein, including all applicable charges and fees. Cost shall be all inclusive. If discount is available for prompt payment or bulk order, identify terms so it may be considered in analyzing proposal.
List all other terms and conditions, considerations and fees. Please be sure to note any minimum requirements per service year. Vendors may attach additional sheets and a separate sheet with any other types of discounts that are available.
The Execution of Proposal (Attachment A) must be completed, signed and submitted with proposals.
IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT: As provided in N.C.G.S. 147-86.55-69, any person identified as engaging in investment activities in Iran, determined by appearing on the Final Divestment List created by the North Carolina State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147-86.57(6) c, is ineligible to contract with the Eastover Sanitary District or any political subdivision of the COUNTY.
E-VERIFY: CONTRACTOR shall comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the General Statutes. Further, if Contractor utilizes a subcontractor, CONTRACTOR shall require the subcontractor to comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the General Statutes.”
DIVESTMENT FROM COMPANIES THAT BOYCOTT ISRAEL: The CONTRACTOR certifies that it has not been designated by the North Carolina State Treasurer as a company engaged in the boycott of Israel pursuant to N.C.G.S. 147-86.81. It is the responsibility of each CONTRACTOR to monitor compliance with this restriction. Contracts valued at less than $1,000.00 are exempt from this restriction.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Providing and maintaining adequate insurance coverage is a material obligation of the CONTRACTOR and is of the essence of this Contract. All such insurance shall meet all laws of the County of North Carolina. Such insurance coverage shall be obtained from companies that are authorized to provide such coverage and that are authorized by the Commissioner of Insurance to do business in North Carolina. The CONTRACTOR shall at all times comply with the terms of such insurance policies, and all requirements of the insurer under any such insurance policies, except as they may conflict with existing North Carolina laws or this Contract. The limits of coverage under each insurance policy maintained by the CONTRACTOR shall not be interpreted as limiting the CONTRACTOR’S liability and obligations under the Contract. During the term of the Contract, the CONTRACTOR at its sole cost and expense shall provide commercial insurance of such type and with such terms and limits as may be reasonably associated with the Contract.
ATTACHMENT A: EXECUTION OF PROPOSAL
EXECUTION
In compliance with this Request for Proposal (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items/services upon which prices are proposed. By executing this proposal, the undersigned vendor certifies that this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion, that it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency. Furthermore, the undersigned vendor certifies that it and its principals are not presently listed on the Department of State Treasurer’s Final Divestment List as per N.C.G.S 147-86.55-69.
The potential Contractor certifies and/or understands the following by placing an "X" in all blank spaces:
_______ The Eastover Sanitary District has the right to reject any and all proposals or reject specific proposals with deviated/omitted information, based on ESD’s discretion if the omitted information is considered a minor deviation or omission. ESD will not contact vendors to request required information/documentation that is missing from a proposal packet. Additionally, if ESD determines it is in its best interest to do so, ESD reserves the right to award to one or more vendors and/or to award only a part of the services specified in the RFP.
_______ This proposal was signed by an authorized representative of the Contractor.
_______ The potential Contractor has determined the cost and availability of all materials
and supplies associated with performing the services outlined herein.
_______ All labor costs associated with this project have been determined, including all
direct and indirect costs.
_______ The potential Contractor agrees to the conditions as set forth in this RFP with no exceptions.
_______ Selection of a contract represents a preliminary determination as to the qualifications of the vendor. Vendor understands and agrees that no legally binding acceptance offer occurs until the Eastover Sanitary District Board, or its designee, executes a formal contract and/or purchase order.
Therefore, in compliance with the foregoing RFP, and subject to all terms and conditions thereof, the undersigned offers and agrees to furnish the services for the prices quoted within the timeframe required. Vendor agrees to hold firm offer through contract execution.
Failure to complete, execute/sign (E-signature or handwritten) proposal prior to submittal shall render the proposal invalid and it WILL BE REJECTED.
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PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #10): |
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PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR: |
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ATTACHMENT B: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
Name of Vendor: _______________________________________________________________
The undersigned hereby certifies that: [check all applicable boxes]
The vendor is in sound financial condition and, if applicable, has received an unqualified audit opinion for the latest audit of its financial statements.
Date of latest audit: __________________________
The vendor has no outstanding liabilities, including tax and judgment liens, to the Internal Revenue Service or any other government entity.
The vendor is current in all amounts due for payments of federal and County taxes and required employment-related contributions and withholdings.
The vendor is not the subject of any current litigation or findings of noncompliance under federal or County law.
The vendor has no findings in any past litigation, or findings of noncompliance under federal or County law that may impact in any way its ability to fulfill the requirements of this Contract.
He or she is authorized to make the foregoing statements on behalf of the vendor.
Note: This is a continuing certification and vendor shall notify the Contract Lead within 15 days of any material change to any of the representations made herein.
If any one or more of the foregoing boxes is NOT checked, vendor shall explain the reason in the space below:
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Signature Date
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Printed Name Title
[This Certification must be signed by an individual authorized to speak for the vendor]
