INTRODUCTION
The Bay County Board of County Commissioners (County) is seeking Qualifications from Firms for water and wastewater systems, to include treatment facilities, engineering services on a continuing services basis for projects within the County. Services will be on an as-needed basis to be coordinated primarily with the Utility Services Department; however other County Departments or Divisions may require and access services as well during the terms of the contract.
All professional services to be provided under this agreement shall be performed by Professionals licensed to practice in the State of Florida and in strict compliance with the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiation Act, 287.055 F.S. (CCNA). Consultants providing services under this contract shall at all times be knowledgeable of the limiting thresholds of the CCNA statutes and shall insure that full compliance therewith is maintained at all times.
All firms chosen to provide professional services to the County must submit annual statement of qualifications, performance data, hourly price schedules, and insurance certificates.
QUALIFICATIONS
All firms, to include sub-consultants, shall be State of Florida licensed professionals. Architect and/or Engineering firms shall be Florida licensed firms. Architects shall hold a Florida Professional Architect license. Engineers shall hold a Florida Professional Engineer’s license. Surveyors shall hold a Professional Land Surveyor’s License.
OBJECTIVE
This contract is intended to be a time saving device for in-house engineers, project managers, and inspectors and to augment staff in areas where specific expertise is not available or where workload will not permit timely accomplishment of budgeted projects. This contract will allow the County to solicit proposals directly from the consultant for competitive proposals for every project or task. The County, at any time reserves the right to solicit separate competitive proposals for any and all projects or tasks, regardless of fee or construction value. Selection by the County as a consultant does not guarantee that the consultant will be called on a regular basis during the contract term, nor does it guarantee a minimum level of compensation with respect of volume of work or fees. Work will be awarded to consultants based on consultant’s current workload or availability, expertise in the project area, and previous work awarded.
It is the intent of the County to contract with several firms in order to meet the anticipated need for services. The contract period shall be for three (3) years with two (2) optional one-year renewals. No price adjustments will be allowed during the first twelve (12) months of the contract. After the initial twelve (12) months, price adjustments may be considered if substantiated by the producer price index. Written notice of a request for price adjustments and proof to substantiate must be submitted to the Bay County Purchasing Department at no less than 90 days prior to the anniversary date of this contract.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Work in this category shall consist of engineering services related to water and wastewater utility systems, to include water and wastewater treatment facilities. Services may include, but are not limited to, civil engineering design services, surveying, structural engineering design or evaluation, regulatory agency permitting assistance, mechanical/electrical design or evaluation, hydrogeological services, geotechnical services, environmental studies/permits, automated process control services, professional geologist, financial documentation services, computer modeling, feasibility studies, service capacity reports, system design, programmable logic controller design and programming, review of design documents by others, expert witness services, financial documentation services, or general assistance to County staff in matters related to water and wastewater utility systems.
Examples of the types of tasks anticipated to be within the scope of services include:
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System wide infrastructure planning and evaluation, including hydraulic and water quality computer modeling.
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Preparation of construction drawings, specifications and bid documents for water and/or wastewater projects.
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Regulatory permitting and compliance issues, including monitoring, reporting and/or infrastructure needed to meet the current or upcoming requirements of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), especially as related to:
i.
Control/Reduction of Disinfection By-Products
ii.
Total Organic Carbon Removal
iii.
Lead/Copper Rule (Corrosion Control)
iv.
Residuals Management
v.
Risk Management
vi.
NPDES permit modification and/or renewal in compliance with the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and/or related to State regulations.
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Development and/or evaluation of biosolids management and land applications plans for the use or disposal of sewer sludge.
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Raw water source protection
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Raw water supply infrastructure upgrade and expansion
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Treatment plant and plant additions/modifications
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Evaluation and recommendation of disinfection alternatives
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Upgrade and/or expansion of treated water storage and pumping infrastructure
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Upgrade and/or expansion of the residuals management infrastructure
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Upgrade and/or expansion of wholesale transmission system infrastructure
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Upgrade and/or expansion of retail water distribution system or retail wastewater collection system infrastructure, equipment, and mechanical systems
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Upgrade or modification of existing SCADA system and evaluation of additional automation benefits and cost analysis.
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Programming and design of Programmable Logic Controller system. (PLC)
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Optimization of staffing, chemical usage, process control and energy usage at water and wastewater treatment facilities
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Assistance in conducting public hearings, workshops and presentation to community interest groups.
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General support services, as requested, for any technical, contractual, administrative and regulatory issues affecting the County’s water and/or wastewater system
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Other issues that may arise related to raw water quality, treatment, storage, pumping, transmission, and distribution/collection pipelines.
Unless otherwise directed, task orders for design projects shall include full design and administrative services during construction such as:
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Monthly site visits and generating monthly reports on the quality and stage of construction.
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All contract work is for the duration of construction including weather days or other time extensions.
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All necessary fees for civil permits are to be included in pricing and design. Engineer shall submit drawings and all necessary information required for permits.
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Engineer shall provide at a minimum 30 percent and 90 percent drawings to Bay County for review and redlines. All comments must be addressed before issuing Final 100 percent drawings to County. Engineer shall provide a full set of completed hard copy and a pdf copy.
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Standard services shall include Engineer assistance with the bidding process
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Answer all Request for Information (RFIs) during construction as part of Administrative Services and check, sign-off and approve submittals during construction.
Consultant’s specific scope of work, level of effort, time schedule, charges, and payment conditions shall be set forth in a written Task Order (Exhibit 1). Task Orders for work will be assigned to the selected firms on an alternating basis while utilizing a fair and balanced approach but may consider a firm’s specific qualifications based on the type of work requested, proximity to the project location, or staffing availability at the time of the request. Each Task Order shall be executed by authorized representatives of the County and Consultant.
The administrative process, when work assignments are issued, will be as follows:
Step 1 - County staff will contact the Consultant for a meeting to review the assignment and will describe the scope of services required in general.
Step 2 - Consultant will prepare a detailed scope of services to be provided and a time frame for completion of various phases. Consultant will prepare a computation of fees to be charged for the services based on the approved hourly rates. These documents will be submitted to the County contact for review and approval. The County may negotiate a fee for services at compensation which the County determines is fair, competitive and reasonable. Bay County shall negotiate design fee using the Department of Management Services Fee Guide Calculator for AE Services. Contract price shall include all charges for completing the work and include layout, insurance, taxes, field office and supervision, overhead and profit, bonds and miscellaneous items.
Step 3 - If acceptable to County staff making the assignment, County staff will issue a
Task Order and a Notice to Proceed. There will be a purchase order issued for each work assignment for monitoring and tracking of the budget and project funds. The fee computation will be considered to be a limiting amount, not to be exceeded without subsequent approval by County staff.
The County has an evaluation process to monitor the satisfactory performance of services under this contract. Such evaluations may be used as reference information for future solicitations issued by the County. Consultants shall participate cooperatively in the evaluation process.
SUBMITTAL DEADLINE/DELIVERY
ELECTRONIC OR PAPER SUBMITTALS for RFQ NO: 25-50 Professional Utility System Engineering Services, Continuing Services will be received by the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BAY COUNTY, FLORIDA at the Purchasing Department, 840 West 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, Florida 32401 up until 2:00 pm (CDT) Thursday, July 24, 2025. Submittals will be publicly opened immediately following the deadline. It is the sole responsibility of the Respondent to ensure that the Submittal is received on time.
Submittals for this solicitation may be submitted either electronically via OPENGOV PROCUREMENT or by paper, sealed and delivered to the Board of County Commissioners Purchasing Department, at 840 W. 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, Florida 32401.
Respondents submitting paper should submit one (1) original and one (1) electronic version of the package. The electronic version should be in pdf format on a USB drive. Electronic versions submitted via e-mail will not be accepted. If the submittal contains confidential information, such information shall be in a separate pdf document. Submittals shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope bearing the title of the solicitation, the name of the Respondent and the date for opening. Submittals shall be valid to Bay County for a period of 180 days after the opening.
Special Accommodation: Any person requiring a special accommodation at a Pre-Submittal Conference or Submittal opening because of a disability should call the Purchasing Department at (850) 248-8270 at least five (5) workdays prior to the Submittal opening. For Hearing Impaired, Dial 1-800-955-8771 (TOO), and 1-800-955-8770 (Voice).
SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS
Electronic versions of the solicitation documents are available via OpenGov Procurement.
Bid documents, plans, blueprints, or other materials may also be obtained by contacting the Bay County Purchasing Department,
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, 840 West 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, FL 32401, (850) 248-8270.
For those projects with separate plans, blueprints, or other materials that cannot be accessed through the internet, the Purchasing Department will make a good faith effort to ensure that all registered bidders (those who have been registered as receiving a bid package) receive the documents.
POINT OF CONTACT
The County Purchasing Department will be the only point of contact for this RFQ. Under no circumstances may a Respondent contact any County Commissioner, County Administrator, or County employee concerning this RFQ until after award. Any such contact may result in disqualification as per Bay County Code Section 2-124.
QUESTIONS
Respondents shall submit all questions, in writing, to the Purchasing Department at
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or FAX to (850) 248-8276. All questions shall be submitted no later than 5:00 pm (CDT) Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
