CITY OF ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA SOLICITATION OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR TRANSIT CONSULTANT SERVICES Requestor: City of Rock Hill Contact: Tracy Smith E-Mail: Tracy.Smith@cityofrockhill.com Return Proposal No Later Than January 15, 2018 @ 4:00 PM: local time. Posting Date: 12/14/17 Return Proposal To: Express/Hand Carry To: City of Rock Hill City of Rock Hill Purchasing Department Purchasing Department P.O. Box 11706 757 S. Anderson Road, Bldg. #103 Rock Hill, SC 29731-1706 Rock Hill, SC 29730 Attn: Tracy Smith, Purchasing Attn: Tracy Smith, Purchasing Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 1
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION STATEMENTS (RFQ) FOR DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OF BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM CITY OF ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL INFORMATION The City of Rock Hill seeks to identify qualified transit professionals with experience in planning, implementing and operating public transit services to guide the City in the planning, implementation and operation of its first fixed-route bus and paratransit services. BACKGROUND The Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study (RFATS) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning within the urbanized areas of Rock Hill, Tega Cay, Fort Mill, and the panhandle of Lancaster County, South Carolina. In recent years, RFATS has identified needs and opportunities for transit services in the region; and in year 2015, RFATS completed an Urbanized Area Transit Implementation Study that furthered the assessment of transit options for the improvement of mobility within the urbanized areas. As a result of the study, the City of Rock Hill was identified as one of the areas that currently meet the necessary characteristics to support public transit services. If a qualified professional or firm meeting the City s needs is identified through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, the City would expect to enter into a contract for professional services for a term of one year, which may be extended for up to two additional years at the City s discretion based on performance, need and the availability of funding. SCOPE OF WORK To be considered for selection, the Firm shall be qualified and capable to deliver the following services for the identified projects. If sub-consultants are to be used for any portion of the work, the sub-consultant should be identified and pertinent information related to their aspect of the team should be provided. The following scope of work outlines the tasks associated with the City of Rock Hill s desire to implement and operate public transit services to include a four route fixed-route bus system along with paratransit service. All deliverables shall be submitted to the City of Rock Hill within 6 months after the agreement is signed. Task 1: Existing and Future Conditions and Need Analysis Evaluate existing local research, proposals and data set forth by the City and others. Identify and document needs and potential barriers for implementing and operating a public transit system and provide recommendations for addressing those barriers. Deliverables: Technical memorandum documenting existing conditions, proposed needs and potential barriers with respect to public transit and more general travel within the City. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 2
Task 2: Develop Vision, Goals and Objectives for Implementing and Operating Transit Services. The vision, goals and objectives will address bus transit modes as well as land use, economic development, social equity, environmental and financial sustainability and a program schedule. They will also be developed in consideration of the vision, goals and objectives of various other transit planning initiatives for the City. Deliverables: Technical memorandum documenting the vision, goals and objectives, describing the rationale behind their development and identifying a program schedule. Task 3: Develop a Public Transit Implementation and Financial Plan. Identify and document implementation strategies for plan elements including discussion of priorities and timing issues. Identification of potential barriers to implementation and recommendations for addressing those barriers. Develop transit routes and schedules based on input from the aforementioned meetings with City staff. Identify days of service and hours of operation for each proposed route. Develop estimated hourly cost for fixed route and paratransit services base on private sector operation and city staff operation. Other similar transit systems will be contacted for comparison of hourly cost. Five-Year Capital and operating plan that includes financial projections. Plan will coordinate and align funding priorities at the local, state and federal level with regard to implementing a new fixed-route bus system and ADA paratransit services. Deliverables: Implementation plan detailing strategies and initiatives for implementing and operating new public transit services. Task 4: Develop a Detailed Service Plan of Proposed Operations. Types or modes of service to be provided (fixed-route bus, ADA paratransit) Routes and locations of the service Schedules/scheduling concepts Geographic service areas Days and hours of service Vehicle requirements Staffing requirements Facility requirements Estimated ridership for each service Cost to provide each of the services Develop a list of major and minor bus stops in service area to include commuter connections (CATS, etc.). Develop a common set of performance measures for assessing transit performance and level of service for different transit service types, including performance monitoring. Identify potential tools and technologies that can be used for efficiently collecting data and monitoring performance. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 3
Deliverables: Service Plan detailing the design and proposed operation of each service item above. Easy to understand and interpret information, graphics and maps should also be included to represent the above items for presentations. Each deliverable shall be transmitted to the City in draft form and will be subject to a two-stage review process. City management staff will review the draft and advise the consultant of needed changes. When the changes have been made, the consultant will be advised to produce a draft for City Council presentation and review. Additional changes to the document may be required after City Council review process. Media and file formats: Reports shall be delivered to City in a current version of Microsoft Word. Reports distributed to stakeholders or placed on the internet for public access, will be in Adobe.pdf format. Presentations shall be produced and delivered in Microsoft Power Point and public versions will be delivered in.pdf format. Reports are to be dated and identified as either draft or final, as appropriate. Submittal of final reports shall be accompanied by the files, in their native format, that were used to generated graphics displayed in the reports. Implementation and Operation Oversight: After the completion of task 1 thru 4, additional professional transit assistance may be retained on an as needed basis through this RFQ process to assist City staff with start-up and operator oversight of the City s new public transit system utilizing state and local match Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding. PROPOSAL FORMAT To facilitate review of your Statement of Qualifications by the City of Rock Hill, it is requested that your submission conform to the following format: 1. Coversheet: List RFQ Statement, the name of your firm, and the name, address and telephone number of a contact person for questions concerning the proposal submitted. 2. Qualifications & Experience of the Firm: Brief history and organization of the firm, legal entity that will enter into the contract, location of the office where the work will be performed, and the name and title of the person that is authorized to enter into a master contract agreement (must be an officer, partner or member of the firm). List any subconsultant firms that will support your firm. Provide a narrative of your firm s prior experience and qualifications as it pertains to the above Scope of Work and provide a list of projects with similar scopes. This information must clearly document FTA application submittals and grant management. The selected firm must obtain a business license from the City of Rock Hill and provide proof of professional authorization in the State of South Carolina (Certificate of Authorization) prior to the execution of the agreement. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 4
3. Project Team: Provide a list of the project team members (including the office location where they currently work) that you propose to use and identify the responsibility of each team member. You do not need to list all of the sub consultant employees that may be on the team, but you should list their supervisor. Provide a brief resume for each person listing specific similar project experience, educational experience and licensure/certifications. List their specialty or role on the team, and their office locations. 4. Project Management. Approach to the Project & Quality Control: Demonstrate project management, approach to the project and quality control methods that will be employed by your firm. This section shall also include an organizational chart for each team member (including sub-consultant supervisors) and list their roles with responsibilities. 5. Capacity and Response Capability: Provide a statement of your firm s current workload and capacity to meet the project schedules. 6. References: Provide the name, address and telephone number of at least three (3) references familiar with the quality of work done by your firm of similar nature as contained in the above Scope of Work. By submission of the references, you are authorizing the City of Rock Hill to contact these references. 7. Legal, Safety, Insurance, and Financial: The Firm s submittal shall provide documentation of any history of litigation associated with project performance or professional liability during the past ten years. A short statement of any safety problems that the Firm may have encountered in projects designed or inspected. A statement or other information to describe the firm s general financial standing and current insurance coverage. 8. Other Supporting Data: Include any other information you feel to be relevant to the selection of your firm. Please list any experience with grants and projects with multiple funding sources. Also include information regarding DBE and MBE qualifications, if any. Interested firms are also requested to submit, IN A SEPARATE ENVELOPE six (6) complete copies of fee or rate proposal indicating the personnel rates and other expenses which the consultant would propose charging for these services. The envelope is to be clearly marked Rock Hill Public Transit Fee Proposal together with the name and address of the respondent. Do not include fee information in the main portion of the submittal. The consultant s proposed fees shall conform to all applicable Federal requirements. The Fee proposal shall contain information relative hourly rate by project personnel title and cost rates for any other nonpersonnel costs which would be proposed to be utilized for this work. Hourly rates, overhead and other aspects of the fee proposal shall remain constant for the duration for the one-year contract; a reasonable inflation-based cost increase may be negotiated for each contract extension, if any. The contract will be for costs incurred with a not to exceed fixed-fee for the initial one year contract term and for each contract extension, if any. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 5
The Statement of Qualifications shall not exceed twenty (20) pages, including the cover, back page, letters of introduction and table of contents. Clear, external binder pages shall not be included in the page count. Font size shall be no smaller than ten (10). EVALUATION CRITERIA 1 Qualifications of the Firm: Outline and specify the qualifications of the firm to provide the requested services as outlined in the scope of work. This shall include any subconsultants that may be part of the team (if applicable). 2 Overall Qualifications of the Project Manager and Project Team: Clear identification of the project manager and team personnel that will be assigned to the project. This section shall include the demonstrated project management and quality control methods employed by the team. 3 Response Capability and Project Understanding: Preference shall be afforded to those firms that, in the opinion of the City of Rock Hill, will be able to adequately respond to requests for consultation meetings or project administration requirements, and firms having a detailed understanding of the project requirements. 4 Ability to perform work within specified time and budget. 5 Familiarity with local conditions, codes, and practices as evidenced in previous projects. 6 Historical performance of firm with the City of Rock Hill. 7 Insurance Capacity: The submitting firm (lead firm if submitting as a team) shall be able to post the minimum, specified insurance requirements for this project as follows: Professional Liability -$1,000,000.00 per claim Worker's Compensation -$500,000.00 Automobile Liability -$1,000,000.00 Comprehensive/General Liability -$1,000,000.00 per claim SELECTION PROCESS Firms shall have no contact related to this project with City of Rock Hill elected or appointed officials or City of Rock Hill employees during this RFQ process, other than the contact person specified within this document. Any such contact will subject the firm to immediate disqualification for consideration for this project. All questions regarding this RFQ must be directed by e-mail to: Tracy Smith, Purchasing and Fleet Manager, tracy.smith@cityofrockhill.com, no later than two weeks prior to the due date of the RFQ submittal. Questions later than two weeks prior to submittal of the RFQ may not be considered. The City of Rock Hill, at its sole discretion, may conduct interviews prior to selection of any firms/teams for contract consideration. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 6
It is the intent of the City of Rock Hill to appoint a selection committee to review the submitted Statements of Qualifications. This committee will review each qualification submittal and rank the submittal based on the criteria requirements specified within this RFQ. The City of Rock Hill may invite firms for interviews, but this is not a required step in the selection process. At the conclusion of the interviews (if held), the project committee will rank the firms based on the selection criteria and the interviews. The City will provide written notification to the selected firm. The selected firm will also posted on the City s website at www.cityofrockhill.com. SOLICITATION SCHEDULE The following is the solicitation schedule: Activity Completion Time/Date Advertise RFQ December 13, 2017 Deadline for Questions January 1, 2018 RFQ Submission Date January 15, 2018, 4:00 p.m. EST Estimated Award January 31, 2018 Completion of Deliverables July 31, 2018 TERMS AND CONDITIONS The City of Rock Hill reserves the right to reject any and all submissions to this RFQ if it is deemed in the best interest of the City. The City assumes no responsibility for costs incurred in responding to this RFQ. The RFQ process shall not be considered final until a letter is issued to the selected professional firm for services to be provided. SUBMISSION OF QUALIFICATIONS STATEMENT AND CONTACT PERSON Statement of Qualifications is to be submitted in 8.5" x 11" format. Facsimile or emailed copies will not be accepted. Six (6) hard copies and one (1) digital copy (PDF) shall be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on January 15, 2018 to: City of Rock Hill Attn: Tracy Smith RE: Transit Consultant Services Address: 757 S. Anderson Rd. Post Office Box 11706 Rock Hill, South Carolina 29731 All questions shall be directed, in writing, to the person specified above. Any addendums or clarifications to this RFQ will be posted on the City of Rock Hill's website at www.cityofrockhill.com. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 7
City Business License: The successful firm(s), prior to execution of the contract, must possess or obtain a City of Rock Hill Business License. Contact (803) 329-5590 to determine the exact amount or to ask any other pertinent questions regarding doing business in the City of Rock Hill. PROVISION OF SERVICE The selected firm or team shall be responsible for all services and supplies necessary to effectively perform the services as defined. This includes all labor, equipment, supplies and materials. WMBE Statement It is the policy of the City of Rock Hill to provide minorities and women equal opportunity for participating in all aspects of the City s contracting and procurement programs, including but not limited to employment, construction projects, and lease agreements consistent with the laws of the State of South Carolina. It is further the policy of the City of Rock Hill to prohibit discrimination against any person or business in pursuit of these opportunities on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, handicap, or veteran status. It is further the policy of the City of Rock Hill to conduct its contracting and procurement programs so as to prevent such discrimination and to resolve any and all claims of such discrimination. Request For Qualifications Design and Implementation Plan of Bus Transit System 8