Town of St. Albans, VT


St. Albans Bay Area Wastewater Project
Request for Qualifications
Wastewater Design Engineering Services
Town of St. Albans, Vermont

Date Issued: October 19, 2021                                                 Date Due: November 10, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m.

Contact person: Corey Parent, Director of Operations,802-524-7589 ext. 108 and c.parent@stalbanstown.com.  Please also include Emmalee Cherington, Stormwater Coordinator, 802-524-7589 ext. 109, e.cherington@stalbanstown.com. All questions related to this Request for Qualifications shall be addressed, in writing, to this individual no later than 5 business days prior to the Date Due above. 

I.    INTRODUCTION 
The Town/City of St. Albans is requesting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ)s from engineering firms (Consultants) for engineering services for St. Albans Bay Area Wastewater System in the Town of St. Albans. The Municipality is seeking a consultant with expertise in wastewater design, engineering and permitting. The procurement process for selection of the Consultant will be a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS). We are not seeking a detailed scope of work or cost proposal at this time. The successful Consultant will be selected based upon their demonstrated ability to provide the highest qualified team to achieve the goals of the project through their SOQ and possible interview with the selection committee. 

The project is managed locally by Corey Parent, Director of Operations. The owner of the project is the Town and the ultimate authority for the design engineering consultant during the project rests with the Town of St. Albans Selectboard, through its Town Manager and Director of Operations.

Project development must follow the State of Vermont Clean Water State Revolving Fund requirements. 

II.    PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
All work will be accomplished in accordance with State of Vermont Wastewater and Water Quality laws and regulations.  Work shall also be in accordance of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).  

III.    PROJECT DESCRIPTION
St. Albans Bay is critical to the historical, cultural, environmental, and economic fibers of our community.  The Town of St. Albans has received a Village Center Designation for part of St. Albans Bay in 2020.  Voters also voted overwhelmingly to keep Town Hall in the Bay Area and the Town is currently constructing a 13,000 sq. ft. new Town Hall facility in the area.  Additionally, St. Albans Bay is home to a 17 Acre Municipal Park, a former DPW site (2.2 acres) to be redeveloped in the coming year, a restaurant, marina, convenience store, and dozens of year-round and seasonal homes.  In total the area we’d like to cover would include about 400 parcels of property.

The Town of St. Albans is the largest community in Franklin County, United State Census Data shows that our population has grown 16.5% since 2010 and over 37% since 2000.  

A public sewer system is critical to the future environmental and economic success of St. Albans Bay.  It is no secret that St. Albans Bay is one of the most impaired bodies of water in the State of Vermont.  A public sewer system is the third prong of our approach to clean water in our community.  Our farms are all in compliance with their required agricultural practices (RAPs) and the Town of St. Albans successfully launched a Stormwater Utility in the past twelve months.  A public sewer would help remove aging and failed septic systems from our vulnerable waterfront.

From an economic development perspective, the current Town Hall is in the Bay Area and as we move to a new Town Hall, we will need to redevelop the site.  Right now, the uses are very limited with limited septic capability on-site.  There are additional blighted properties and grandfathered camps on smaller lots that would be more likely to be redeveloped if we could provide them public off-site wastewater options.  We anticipate multiple systems might be needed.

IV.    QUALIFICATIONS BASED SELECTION PROCESS (QBS)
Project management services for this project will be procured through a qualifications-based selection process (QBS) as determined by the Brooks Act (Public Law 92-582). This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is a solicitation for a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) from qualified firms. We are not seeking a scope of work or cost proposal at this time.

V.    SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Please furnish 5 copies of the Statement of Qualifications with pages numbered consecutively.

Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) should be a narrative proposal that best represents your firm’s qualifications to perform planning, permitting, designing, and engineering services for the St. Albans Bay Area Wastewater Project. SOQ’s should include the proposed project team, technical abilities, examples of previous projects, references, a proposed schedule and any other information that you consider important. SOQ’s should also include provisions for the archeological and historic review components of the project and qualifications of all proposed sub-consultants.

We are not seeking a detailed scope of work or cost proposal at this time.

The cost of preparing, submitting and presenting is the sole expense of the firm.  The Town reserves the right to reject any and all Statements of Qualification received as a result of this solicitation or to cancel this RFQ in part or in its entirety if it is in the best interests of the Town.  This Request for Qualifications in no way obligates the Town to award a contract.

VI.    SELECTION
The Selection Committee includes three members of the Town of St. Albans Staff. The Selection Committee will make a recommendation to the Town Manager and the Town Selectboard to award a contract.

The selection committee will review and evaluate all Statements of Qualifications based on the following criteria:

Review Criteria

Weight

Maximum
Points

Weighted
Points

Understanding of the Project

3

5

15

Knowledge of the Project Area

2

5

10

Availability of Technical Disciplines

4

5

20

Qualifications / Experience of Proposed Staff

2

5

10

Ability to Meet Schedules & Budgets

2

5

10

Past Performance on Similar Projects

5

5

25

Knowledge of Federal and State Standards and Policies

2

5

10

TOTAL

 

 

100


Interviews with selected consultants may begin shortly afterward and the selection of the most qualified firm and negotiations with that firm is anticipated to conclude sometime in December 2021. An anticipated start date for the project would be Winter of 2022. Notification to all responding firms of the selection will follow immediately upon the decision of the Town of St. Albans Selectboard.

The Committee will review and evaluate each statement of qualifications, based on the criteria above. Firms will then be ranked accordingly. The Selection Committee may decide to short list the highest ranked firms and request interviews if it is deemed necessary in order to choose the highest qualified firm. Upon completion of any interviews, a scope of work and cost proposal will be required from the highest ranked firm and negotiations will begin. If a scope of work and fee cannot be agreed upon within a reasonable time, negotiations with the top-ranked firm will be concluded and negotiations with the second-ranked firm will be initiated. If a satisfactory contract is not worked out with this firm, then this procedure will be continued until a mutually satisfactory contract is negotiated.

VII.    SUBMISSIONS
Consultants interested in this project should submit their qualifications to the contact’s name and address indicated by 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021.  Utilize either:

Five (5) copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted with the following information clearly printed on the outside:

•    Name and address of prime consultant
•    Due date and time
•    Envelope contents
•    Project name

SOQ’s should be double-sided and use recycled paper, if possible. Twin pocket portfolios or other simple, re-usable binding method is recommended.

Or:

Submit as an electronic submission via e-mail to Jennifer Gray, j.gray@stalbanstown.com, clearly identified as an SOQ, including the project name. Please inform the Contact Person prior to submission to avoid proposal being relegated to their spam or junk email files.

Statements of Qualifications and/or modifications received after the date and time due will not be accepted or reviewed. No facsimile machine transmitted proposals will be accepted.

The Statement of Qualifications, upon submission, becomes the property of THE TOWN.  The expense of preparing and submitting a Statement of Qualifications is the sole responsibility of the consultant.  The TOWN reserves the right to reject the Statement of Qualifications received, to negotiate with any qualified source, or to cancel in part or in its entirety this RFQ as in the best interest of the TOWN.  This solicitation in no way obligates the TOWN to award a contract.

VIII.    CONTRACTING
The Consultant, prior to being awarded a contract, shall apply for registration with the Vermont Secretary of State's Office to do business in the State of Vermont, if not already so registered.  The registration form may be obtained from the Vermont Secretary of State, 128 State Street Montpelier, VT 05633-1101, PH: 802-828-2363, Toll-free: 800-439-8683; Vermont Relay Service – 711; web site: https://www.vtsosonline.com/online.

The contract will not be executed until the Consultant is registered with the Secretary of State's Office.

If the award of the contract aggrieves any firms, they may appeal in writing to the Town of St. Albans Selectboard, PO Box 37, St. Albans Bay, VT 05481.  The appeal must be post-marked within seven (7) calendar days following the date of written notice to award the contract.  Any decision of the Town Selectboard is final.

Prior to beginning any work, the Consultant shall obtain proper Insurance Coverage.  The certificate of insurance coverage shall be documented on forms acceptable to the Town.