Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · ORANGE COUNTY - CALIFORNIA
AI Summary
Orange County seeks qualified Architect-Engineer firms for green infrastructure design and related services. This RFQ establishes a vendor list for as-needed task orders supporting public works projects. Minimum qualifications include professional licenses, experience in green infrastructure, and project management expertise. SOQs due May 15, 2026.
The County of Orange (County), consisting of 22 agencies and departments and Orange County Flood Control District (District), delivers a broad range of services throughout Orange County. Services provided include public protection, public health, infrastructure maintenance, and community and social services. As the District relies on County staff to carry out its duties, the District will also be included as a party to any contract(s) resulting from this solicitation. It is the primary responsibility of the County’s public works department (OC Public Works) to enrich the community through efficient delivery and maintenance of public works infrastructure, planning, capital improvement and development services.
OC Public Works intends to pre-qualify firms to provide services for Architect-Engineer (A-E) and A-E related County-wide services for their various maintenance and capital projects. To satisfy this need, this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process will enable the County to establish Qualified Vendor Lists (QVL) for A-E disciplines to provide those services. The Qualified Vendor List (QVL) will be established through this RFQ process and will result in Board of Supervisors awarded contracts with a term of three (3) years. At the conclusion of the contract term, the County may issue a new solicitation to provide additional Respondents the opportunity to compete for future services
The County reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make multiple awards to respondents for services requested in this solicitation.
OC Public Works, on behalf of the County of Orange (County) and requires supplemental professional services to meet workload demands and project scheduling commitments in relation to Architect-Engineer (A-E) Design, Project Administration and Management Services for various projects. A-E is defined as an Architect or Engineer for design and/or engineering of a project. To supplement existing resources, County intends to issue “Architect-Engineer Green Infrastructure Services Task Orders” for use by County on an "as-needed" basis. No specified amount of work is guaranteed to Respondent. However, the amount of negotiated contracted work that will be required on an "as-needed" basis.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum. updated email address Robert.Esparza@pw.oc.gov
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Some *required questions might not be applicable to your company. Do not leave any required fields blank. Please indicate "N/A" when necessary. A required field that is left blank will prohibit your response from being submitted.
*indicates that it is required.
Respondent’s Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must meet the following minimum requirements and qualifications in order to proceed to the evaluation and scoring process. Failure to meet any of the following minimum requirements may result in the SOQ being deemed non-responsive and removed from further consideration.
Respondents must possess the following credentials and qualifications:
1. Authorization to Conduct Business
The Respondent must be legally authorized to conduct business in the State of California and capable of performing professional services within Orange County, California.
2. Minimum Years of Business Experience
The Respondent must have conducted business in the State of California for a minimum of three (3) years providing services comparable in scope and complexity to those requested by the County of Orange.
3. Relevant Professional Experience
The Respondent must demonstrate experience performing services similar to those described in this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), including Green Infrastructure planning, engineering, design, and related environmental services within Southern California.
4. Professional Engineering License
At least one (1) active principal of the Respondent must hold and maintain a valid Professional Engineer (PE) license issued by the State of California.
5. Qualified Professional Staff
The Respondent must maintain core staff that include licensed civil engineers, environmental engineers, and/or scientists with expertise in Green Infrastructure or related environmental sciences. Relevant fields may include, but are not limited to, sustainability, infrastructure planning, landscape architecture, water resources engineering, geology, hydrology, or environmental science. Such personnel must possess a minimum of five (5) years of experience performing Green Infrastructure–related projects.
6. Demonstrated Project Experience
The Respondent must have completed at least ten (10) major projects within the past five (5) years in which the Respondent served as the lead Architect-Engineer (A-E). These projects must demonstrate advanced knowledge and expertise in Green Infrastructure planning and engineering, including but not limited to:
Design of water quality Best Management Practice (BMP) structures
Development of project specifications and operational plans
Inspection of construction sites and BMP facilities
Understanding of applicable permit requirements
Compliance with federal, state, and local regulatory requirements, including but not limited to those of the California Coastal Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Natural Resources Agency, and the Santa Ana and San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Boards.
Qualifying projects may include, but are not limited to, Green Infrastructure design, construction and inspection services, BMP effectiveness studies, preparation of technical guidance documents, and delivery of technical training related to Green Infrastructure implementation.
The County reserves the right to verify all qualifications, licenses, and experience claimed by the Respondent.
All SOQs must be accompanied by a cover letter of introduction and executive summary of the SOQ. The cover letter must be signed by person(s) with authority to bind the Respondent. If the Respondent is a corporation, two (2) signatures are required: one (1) signature by the Chairman of the Board, the President or any Vice President; and one (1) signature by the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer or any Assistant Treasurer. The signature of one person alone is sufficient to bind a corporation, as long as he or she holds corporate offices in each of the two categories described above. For County purposes, proof of such dual office holding will be satisfied by having the individual sign the instrument twice, each time indicating his or her office that qualifies under the above described provision. In the alternative, a single corporate signature is acceptable when accompanied by a corporate resolution demonstrating the legal authority of the signatory to bind the corporation. An unsigned or improperly signed SOQ submission is grounds for rejection of the SOQ and disqualification from further participation in this RFQ process. All SOQs shall include in this first section, the Cover Page of this RFQ and any subsequent addenda issued to this RFQ with appropriate signatures as required.
The County requires that all SOQs be valid for at least three hundred sixty-five (365) calendar days. Submissions not valid for at least three hundred sixty-five (365) days will be considered non-responsive. The Respondent shall state the length of time for which the submitted SOQ shall remain valid below:
Please state 365 calendar Days if your SOQ will be valid for that period of time. If your SOQ will be valid for a different period of time please list the appropriate number of calendar days.
The County assumes no responsibility for any understanding or representation made by any of its officers, employees or agents during or prior to the execution of any Contract resulting from this solicitation unless:
Such understanding or representations are expressly stated in the Contract; and
The Contract expressly provides that the County therefore assumes the responsibility.
Representations made but not expressly stated and for which liability is not expressly assumed by the County in the Contract shall be deemed only for the information of the Respondent.
Respondent certifies that such understanding has been considered in this response.
Respondent shall certify that it meets all minimum qualifications and requirements set forth above in this solicitation.
The Respondent shall certify its willingness and ability to provide the required insurance coverage and certificates as set forth in the Model Contract.
The Respondent shall certify its willingness and ability to provide the required W-9/W-8 Requirements as indicated herein.
Effective June 3, 2006, all Respondents, entering into a Contract with County, who are not already established in Countywide Accounting and Personnel System (CAPS) as an Auditor-Controller vendor, will be required to submit to County a federal Form W-9, or form W-8 for foreign vendors. County will inform Contractor, at the time of award, if the Form W-9 or W-8 will be required.
In order to comply with this County requirement, within ten (10) days of notification of selection of award of Contract but prior to official award of Contract, the selected Contractor agrees to furnish to Contract administrator, DPA, or the agency/department deputy purchasing agent the required W-9 or W-8.
You may upload the appropriate form here or comply within the ten (10) days as described above.
Respondent must certify and select option 1 or 2 below:
Respondent certifies current/past financial, business or other relationship(s) with the County exist/existed as follows:
Disclose any financial, business or other relationship with the County, any other entity that the County Board of Supervisors governs, or any County Board member, officer or employee, which may have an impact, affect or influence on the outcome of the services you propose to provide. Provide a list of current clients, employees, principals or shareholders (including family members) who may have a financial interest in the outcome of services you propose to provide.
Disclose any financial, business or other relationship within the last three (3) years with any firm or member of any firm who may have a financial interest in the outcome of the work.
2. Respondent certifies that no relationships exist/existed as outlined in item 1 above.
A statement of compliance with all parts of this RFQ or a listing of exceptions and suggested changes must be submitted in response to this RFQ. Respondent must certify either Yes OR No:
Has your firm ever initiated discussions with competing consulting firms about the payment structure of an existing or potential future contract with the County of Orange?
The County of Orange may require that the Respondent, before awarding any subcontract, secure Non-Collusion Declarations from proposed Subcontractors. The County of Orange does not conduct business with Respondents who engage in the act of Collusion. A “Yes” answer may preclude you from moving forward in the RFQ Process.
If not, has your firm participated in any discussions with competing firms in an effort to influence the payment structure for existing or potential County contracts? Respondent must select one (1). A “Yes” answer may preclude you from moving forward in the RFQ Process.
Respondent must certify either Yes or No:
(Yes) Respondent certifies current/past litigation as follows:
Respondent shall provide detailed information regarding litigation (court and case number), liens, or claims involving Respondent, or any company that holds a controlling interest in Respondent, against County of Orange in the past seven (7) years.
Respondent must certify either Yes or No below:
(Yes) Respondent certifies past company name changes and/or ownership changes, for Respondent’s firm and any proposed subcontractor firm, as follows:
Respondent shall provide detailed information regarding any company name changes (including legal business names) in the past seven (7) years.
(No) Respondent certifies that Respondent or any proposed subcontractors have not had any company name change or ownership changes in the past seven (7) years.
The Levine Act compliance is a minimum submittal requirement of this solicitation. A Respondent’s failure to review the attachment “Campaign Contribution Disclosure Information” and provide a completed and signed copy of the attachment will render its Proposal submittal incomplete and nonresponsive.
Please complete and sign attachment “County of Orange Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form” attached hereto.
If subject to the Act, Respondent shall conform to all requirements of the Act. Failure to do so shall constitute a material breach and is grounds for immediate termination of the Contract by County. Respondent shall indemnify and hold harmless County for any and all claims for damages resulting from Respondent’s violation of this Section.
Contractor shall comply with County’s Safety and Loss Prevention Policy and Procedure #306 (“Contractor Safety Responsibilities”) and submit a copy of its Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) and Contractor Safety-Activity Checklist to the designated County Procurement staff as part of the solicitation and/or contract process. Contractor will notify County Project Manager of any revisions to the Safety-Activity Checklist and will provide a new Safety-Activity Checklist upon County request. The IIPP shall comply with California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 1509 or 3203 (whichever applies). Contractor shall submit other safety programs that pertain to the type of job that will be performed on site. County reserves the right to conduct inspections and audits as necessary for the purpose of evaluating any aspect of safety performance under this Contract.
Contractor is required to provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) compliant with California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 5194, for each hazardous substance that is provided, used or created as part of the goods or services provided by Contractor to County. The SDS for each substance must be sent to either the County Project Manager, as specified in the “Notices” provision of this Contract, or to the place of shipment or provision of goods/services.
Some *required questions might not be applicable to your company. Do not leave any required fields blank. Please indicate "N/A" when necessary. A required field that is left blank will prohibit your response from being submitted.
*indicates that it is required.
Enter License Number
(If more than one, include all)
If incorporated, please provide the name, contact number, and email of the person who would provide this signature authority. The Executive Signer Authority comes from the President, Vice-President, or Chairperson of the Board.
If incorporated, please provide the name, contact number, and email of the person who would provide this signature authority. The Financial Signer Authority comes from the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, or Treasurer.
If not incorporated, please provide the name, contact number, and email of the person who has the binding and signature authority of this contract.
The County requires a valid UEI number with active registration status. Your company may obtain one at no cost at https://sam.gov/entity-registration.
Please provide your company's DUNS number.
The County requires a valid D-U-N-S number prior to Contract Award. If needed, your company may obtain one at no cost at www.dnb.com. If you are unable to provide/obtain a D-U-N-S number, please indicate so in lieu of the number.
Please include the following information in this response:
Please include the following information in this response:
Please include the following information in this response:
Please include the following information in your response:
To be eligible to respond to this solicitation, the Respondent must demonstrate sufficient capacity, resources, and experience to provide the professional services in their discipline, as required by the County. SOQ should meet the following minimum requirements and qualifications to proceed to the evaluation and scoring process. Any Respondent that fails to meet all of the minimum qualifications/requirements may be noted as “non-responsive” and their proposal statement will not be evaluated. (If answer any question below is “No” or “N/A, please provide reason.
Professionals shall maintain all necessary licensing or registration required by the State of California to provide services in the State of California and/or qualified in the specific field. (Note: Some A-E disciplines may not require license and/or registration.) If No (or N/A), Select No.
Minimum of ten (10) years of experience for discipline which Respondent is submitting a SOQ. If No, provide reason for submitting proposal a statement with less than required minimum years of experience.
By selecting “Confirm” the Respondent certifies that it has provided the required number of references in accordance with Section 2.27 and has instructed each reference contact to complete and submit the Reference Questionnaire Template directly to OC Public Works Procurement by the RFQ Submittal Closing deadline.
The Respondent further acknowledges that it is solely responsible for ensuring that all reference responses are received by OC Public Works Procurement by the deadline.
Failure of reference contacts to submit completed reference questionnaires as required may result in the proposal being deemed non-responsive.
Respondent must demonstrate successful prior performance of comparable services in the public sector and provide a minimum of five (5) references. At least three (3) references must be from public sector entities comparable in size and scope to the County of Orange for which similar services have been performed within the past five (5) years.
References shall not be from County of Orange departments, and no more than one (1) reference may be provided per entity.
Each reference contact must complete the attached Reference Questionnaire Template and submit it directly to OC Public Works Procurement assigned Buyer via email robert.esparza@pw.oc.govby the RFQ Submittal Closing deadline.
Reference responses must be transmitted from an official email account of the entity providing the reference (e.g., company or agency domain email address). Submissions from personal email accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) will not be accepted.
Reference responses must be submitted on the referenced entity’s official letterhead.
Reference questionnaires must address all required questions in full using the attached template.
It is the Respondent’s sole responsibility to ensure that all required reference responses are received by OC Public Works Procurement by the deadline.
Failure to receive the required number of completed reference questionnaires, submitted in accordance with these requirements, by the deadline will result in the proposal being deemed non-responsive.
Specific Minimum Requirements, if any, as listed in the Introduction and Instructions to Respondents section, "Evaluation Process and Criteria” paragraph. If No, provide reason.
Insurance Requirements, prior to entering into a contract with the County, Respondent must provide insurance requirements as required by the County. Affirm ability to provide appropriate insurance in adequate amounts as listed in the Model Contract, "Insurance” paragraphs. If No, provide reason.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
This section shall not exceed the 25 single-sided pages Page limit. No Exceptions.
Note: Responses that exceed the page limit noted above will be disqualified from further consideration.
This section of the SOQ will establish the ability of Respondent to satisfactorily perform the required work by reasons of experience in performing services of a similar nature, demonstrated competence in the services to be provided, strength and stability of the team, staffing capability, work load, record of meeting schedules on similar projects, and supportive client reference. As part of its response to the following, Respondent should justify how the minimum qualifications/requirements of Scope of Services for particular Discipline have been satisfied.
Respondent shall use County form provided, otherwise all other pages used for this section will be counted against Respondent’s page limit.
Note: The aggregate money value of the sub-contractors work for any A-E Contract with the County should not constitute more than forty-nine percent (49%) of the total work under the A-E Contract.
This section of the SOQ should demonstrate availability of experienced personnel/resources of the firm’s ability to perform both current and anticipated Services to the County.
This section should include such items as: statement of commitment of ability/availability to perform Services to the County, proposed methods of approaching/completing Services, identification/ acknowledgement of adequate staff, resource allocations, and other solutions by the Respondent to provide/accomplish Services to the County as described in the Scope of Work section.
Respondents submitting exceptions to the County Model Contract of this RFQ, will receive a score of “0” for these criteria.
Any additional information Respondent would like to add related to contract service.
Respondent acknowledges that cost or pricing information, including labor classifications and fully burdened hourly rates, is not to be submitted as part of this Statement of Qualifications (SOQ).
Respondent further agrees that, upon written request by the County, it shall provide a complete schedule of proposed labor classifications and corresponding fully burdened hourly rates within ten (10) business days.
Such information will be used solely for purposes of subsequent negotiations with the highest-ranked firm, consistent with qualifications-based selection requirements.
How do you want to receive pricing from vendors for this project?
Change the number of years as necessary, but use the same format as shown below.
Do you want vendors to submit a staffing plan for this project?
Q (No subject): Will firms providing landscape architecture services only be considered?
A: Firms providing landscape architecture services only will be considered, provided they meet all stated minimum qualifications and can fully perform the scope of services outlined in the solicitation.
Q (Resumes): Can resumes be included? If yes, are they part of the 25-page count?
A: Resumes may be included; however, any resumes submitted in Part 3 – Respondent’s Responses will count toward the 25-page maximum. No exceptions will be permitted.
Q (Key Personnel / Staffing Plan – For Section II ): For the Key Personnel / Staffing Plan – For Section II – Subcontractors, since work will be authorized on a task order basis and the level of subcontractor participation will vary by task, may this field be noted as “TBD” to be determined at the individual task order level? Or should respondents provide reasonable estimated percentages for planning purposes, with final percentages established per task order?
A: Respondents should identify proposed subcontractors and provide reasonable estimated participation percentages for planning and evaluation purposes. While work will be authorized on a task order basis and actual subcontractor utilization may vary by task, the information provided will be used to evaluate the Respondent’s proposed team structure. Final subcontractor participation percentages will be established at the individual task order level. Responses indicating “TBD” only are not sufficient.
Q (References): The opportunity requires reference contacts to email the Reference Questionnaire directly to the County. However, there is also a section in the County portal for uploading documents under “References” (2.27). Could you please clarify whether respondents are required to upload any documents in this section?
A: Hi Michelle, Thank you for your question. As stated in the solicitation instructions, reference contacts are required to complete and submit the Reference Questionnaire directly to the County via email to the designated buyer. Respondents are expected to follow the solicitation instructions regarding reference submission. The “References” section within the County portal is part of the system structure, and no additional documents are required to be uploaded in that section unless specifically requested elsewhere in the solicitation.
Q (Contractor Safety Checklist): Since the Contractor Safety Checklist would be completed on an as-needed, task order-specific basis, based on the scope, location, and task-specific hazards, for this RFQ submittal, rather than submitting the Contractor Safety Checklist, please confirm whether proposers may submit an agreement to submit a Contractor Safety Checklist for each issued task order.
A: Thank you for your question. Proposers are expected to submit all required documents identified in the solicitation by the proposal due date. If the solicitation requires submission of the Contractor Safety Checklist as part of the RFQ submittal, proposers must provide the completed checklist with their proposal. Please follow the solicitation instructions and submission requirements as issued.
Q (Data Safety Sheets): Given that hazardous substances will be task-order-specific, what would you like us to include in this section?
A: Thank you for your question. Proposers are expected to provide the information requested in the solicitation to the extent applicable based on the services being proposed. If specific hazardous substances cannot be identified at this time because they will be task-order-specific, please provide your firm’s general approach, procedures, and protocols for identifying, handling, managing, and complying with applicable requirements related to hazardous substances as they arise under individual task orders.
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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