SLED Opportunity · MARYLAND · CECIL COUNTY
AI Summary
Cecil County DPW seeks qualified engineering firms for on-call construction management and inspection services under an open-end contract. Services include contract reviews, inspection, material testing, permitting, and support for wastewater, bridge, highway, storm water, site development, and vertical construction projects. Firms may specialize in horizontal or vertical construction management.
Cecil County Department of Public Works (DPW) is soliciting proposals from qualified professional engineering firms to provide on-call construction management & inspection services under an open-end contract. Services may include, but are not limited to, contract and constructability reviews, construction management, onsite construction inspection and material testing, permitting assistance, utility location, and surveying.
The anticipated services include support for various types of projects including, wastewater, bridge, highway, storm water, site development and vertical construction. In addition, the selected firm(s) may be required to provide technical, regulatory, and record keeping assistance in support of construction activities.
Based on the expected projects this cycle the county expects to hire firms from two categories those that excel at horizontal project construction management and Inspection and those that specialize in vertical construction management and Inspections, ( new sites and renovations). Firms should detail their ability to support either or both areas of construction.
Services will be authorized on an as-needed basis through individual task orders issued by the County during the term of the contract.
When submitting questions in the Question & Answer section of OpenGov, please makes sure to enter a subject even though it indicates it is optional. This will be helpful to the County when we are developing our responses and for others who are viewing responses to the questions.
Also, please make sure to reference the section and item number, when applicable, when asking for clarification on the RFP.
Thank you.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Attached are the pre-proposal notes as well as the attendees list.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
All contractors and subcontractors’ employees will be required to pass a background check in order to be permitted to work on the premises. Each employee shall submit the “Authorization for Access to Records” form two weeks in advance of the first day of work on the premises.
Please download the below form, complete, and upload.
Proposal Bond is REQUIREDfor this project.
Requirements for the proposal bond or certified check:
If submitting a Proposal Bond, upload a FULLY EXECUTED copy here prior to the deadline of 1:00 pm on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
OR
If submitting certified check, it shall be submitted PRIOR to the deadline of 1:00 pm on Thursday, April 16, 2026 in original hard copy format at Cecil County, Maryland, Attn: Purchasing Department, 200 Chesapeake Blvd., Elkton, MD 21921. Please upload a document stating that you are submitting a certified check instead of a proposal bond in order to respond to this question.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This procurement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Maryland. This agreement may not be modified except in writing executed by the parties.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the undersigned Organization agrees to indemnify and hold Cecil County, Maryland, its elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers, and others working on behalf of Cecil County, Maryland, harmless from and against all loss, cost, expense, damage, liability or claims, whether groundless or not, arising out of the bodily injury, sickness or disease (including death resulting at any time therefrom) which may be sustained or claimed by any person or persons, or the damage or destruction of any property, including the loss of use thereof, based on any act or omission, negligent or otherwise, of the Organization, or anyone acting on its behalf in connection with or incident toRFP 27-016Construction Management & Inspection Services - Open End Contract, except that the Organization shall not be responsible to Cecil County, Maryland on indemnity for damages caused by or resulting from Cecil County, Maryland's sole negligence; and the Organization shall, at its own cost and expense, defend any such claims and any suit, action, or proceeding which may be recovered in any suit, action, or proceeding, and any and all expense including, but not limited to, costs, attorney's fees and settlement expenses, which may be incurred therein.
The firm declares that the only person, firm or corporation, or persons, firms or corporations, that has or have any interest in this proposal or in the Contract or Contracts proposed to be taken is or are the undersigned; that this proposal is made without any connection or collusion with any person, firm or corporation making a proposal for the same work; that the attached specifications have been carefully examined and are understood; that as careful an examination has been made as is necessary to become informed as to the character and extent of the work required; and, that it is proposed and agreed, if the proposal is accepted to contract with Cecil County, Maryland, in the form of Contract heretofore attached, to do the required work in the manner set forth in the specifications.
The proposed price on the attached and Rate Structure are to include and cover appropriate labor categories, direct costs, overhead, payroll burden and means for performing the work. If this proposal shall be accepted by said County and the firm shall refuse or neglect after receiving the Contract for execution to execute the same in a timely manner, and to give certificate of insurance for the stipulated coverage, then said County may at their option determine that the firm has abandoned the Contract; and, thereupon, the proposal and the acceptance thereof shall be null and void.
In the case of firms, the firm’s name must be subscribed to by at least one (1) member. In the case of corporations, the corporate name must be by some authorized officer or agent thereof, who shall also subscribe his name and office.
By confirming, the proposer swears (or affirms) under the penalty of perjury that the proposing firm, its agents, and/or employees to the best of their knowledge and belief have not in any way colluded with anyone for and on behalf of the proposer or themselves to obtain information that would give the proposer any unfair advantage over others, nor have to gain any favoritism in the award of any contract resulting from this Request for Proposal. By confirming this rate structure, I acknowledge that I have read the entire Request for Proposal.
The above statements and responses are certified to be true and accurate. The firm confirms they have the capability and resources such as labor and financial capacity to perform this Contract for the Rate Structure provided, either within their organization, or with sub-consultants.
Please type in following format
9 November, 2023 at 2:00 PM EST
Please type the amount in numbers.
Provided further, that the Contractor shall, within ____ days from the beginning of such delay, unless the County shall grant a further period of time prior to the date of final settlement of the Contract, notify the County, in writing, of the causes of the delay, who shall ascertain the facts and extent of the delay and notify the Contractor within a reasonable time of its decision in the matter.
Type in the following format: three (3)
Q (Incumbents): Can you please share the names of the current incumbents for this contract?
A: Wallace Montgomery & Associates LLP, Rummel, Klepper and Kahl LLP
Q (Criteria 3): Is it compulsory that the past projects should be a Cecil county experience OR any other MD jurisdiction can suffice?
A: It is not compulsory for past project experience to be Cecil County experience. Experience in Cecil County is preferred but experience on other Maryland County contracts is also acceptable and relevant experience outside of Maryland may also be considered if it is similar in nature to the RFP scope of work..
Q (Fixed fee/profit): There isn't a space on the rate sheets for the fixed fee/profit, can we add a line on the rate sheets for fixed fee/profit? Or is it assumed to be 10%?
A: The fixed fee is set at 10% and does not need to be included on the rate sheet. Please do not modify the rate sheet.
Q (Required Documents): Section 4.7 lists “Required Documents” as proposal components, while the OpenGov platform provides separate upload fields for the Technical Proposal and Required Documents. Please confirm whether the Required Documents should be uploaded only in their respective OpenGov upload sections, or if these materials should also be included within the compiled Technical Proposal PDF (to be uploaded in the Technical Proposal field).
A: The Required Documents should be uploaded only in their respective OpenGov upload sections. The Technical Proposal should not include the required documents. The Technical proposal should be uploaded separately in the Technical proposal field.
Q (Evaluation Criterion #2): Regarding Section 13 - Evaluation Criteria (page 26), Evaluation Criterion #2 references “Key Staff/Project Team experience, reputation and qualifications pertaining to Stormwater Engineering Services”. Given that this solicitation is for Construction Management & Inspection Services, please confirm whether this reference to Stormwater Engineering Services is a typographical error and that Criterion #2 is intended to evaluate key staff experience relevant to construction management and inspection services.
A: This is a typo and has been corrected to read, "Key Staff/Project Team experience, reputation and qualifications pertaining to Construction Management & Inspection Services."
Q (Maryland PE Requirements): During the pre-proposal meeting, the “RFP 27-016 Specific Proposal Requirements” document on the screen referenced providing the “name/qualifications of a Professional Engineer licensed in Maryland who will lead the Project Team.” However, the RFP language in Section 4.7, Firm’s Record of Performance (page 8), states only that proposers shall: “Provide the name(s) of the Professional Engineer(s) Licensed in the State of Maryland that will perform or direct the work performed under this contract.” Please confirm whether the RFP requires the designated Project Lead/Contract Manager to be a Maryland licensed Professional Engineer, or whether it is acceptable for the contract to be managed by a qualified construction management professional, provided that Maryland licensed PEs are identified on the project team to perform or direct engineering work and provide technical oversight as required.
A: It is acceptable for the contract to be managed by a qualified construction management professional, provided that Maryland licensed PEs are identified on the project team to perform or direct engineering work and provide technical oversight as required.
Q (Major Subcontractors): During the pre-proposal meeting, “major subcontractors” were described as firms anticipated to be utilized regularly and on a recurring basis throughout the contract term. Given that this is an on call contract and the specific types, scopes, and frequencies of future task orders are unknown, please confirm whether proposers may include specialty and supplemental subconsultants in their proposals to demonstrate the full breadth of available services, technical capabilities, and staffing redundancy, even if such subconsultants may be utilized on an as needed basis rather than on every task order. Additionally, please confirm whether proposers may include separate rate sheets for these subconsultants as part of the proposal submission. If the County prefers to limit proposal stage subconsultant listings, please also confirm whether the prime consultant would be permitted to add specialty or supplemental subconsultants during the contract term, subject to County approval, as specific task order needs arise.
A: Proposers may include specialty and supplemental subconsultants in their proposals to demonstrate the full breadth of available services, technical capabilities, and staffing redundancy, even if such subconsultants may be utilized on an as needed basis rather than on every task order. However, please use discretion regarding the volume of information provided for subconsultants. The prime consultant will be permitted to add specialty or supplemental subconsultants during the contract term, subject to County approval, as specific task order needs arise. As indicated in the pre-proposal meeting, please provide separate rate sheets for the prime consultant and the major subconsultants.
Q (Font Size/Proposal Readability): During the pre-proposal meeting, it was noted that offerors should avoid the use of micro fonts that may be illegible when printed. The RFP does not specify any minimum or required font size. Please confirm whether the County intends to enforce a specific font size or formatting standard, or if the intent is simply for offerors to ensure that submitted proposals are clearly legible when printed.
A: It was suggested in the pre-proposal meeting to us an 11 or 12 pt. font and that the proposal should be legible in a printed 8-1/2x11 format.
Q (Introduction Section): At the pre-proposal meeting, the County noted that the Introduction section is typically formatted as a letter, although the RFP states only that an Introduction (limited to one page) should be provided. In lieu of formatting the Introduction section itself as a letter, may offerors submit a brief transmittal letter at the front of the Technical Proposal, followed by the required one-page Introduction and all other proposal components as outlined in Section 4.7?
A: Please follow the direction of the RFP. An introduction/transmittal letter is not required. A one page introduction section is acceptable and does not need to be formatted as a letter.
Q (Evaluation criteria (Sec. 13 - pg 26)): Evaluation criterion No. 2 states “Key Staff/Project Team experience, reputation and qualifications pertaining to STORMWATER ENGINEERING services.” Please confirm this should read: “Key Staff/Project Team experience, reputation and qualifications pertaining to CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT & INSPECTION services” or otherwise please clarify.
A: Refer to question #5 above.
Q (DBE participation): Based on Sec. 7.6 of the RFP and the County's comments during the pre-bid meeting, it is our understanding that there is no DBE goal established for this contract but that the County encourages DBE participation. If an offeror includes DBEs, would those firms need to be certified by a particular agency and, if so, which one(s)?
A: It is correct that there is no DBE goal established for this contract but the County does encourage DBE participation. Maryland Department of Transportation certification is acceptable.
Q (No subject): Could you please clarify whether a joint venture needs to be legally established at the time of proposal submission, or if it may be formed after the award?
A: A joint venture does not need to be legally established at the time of proposal submission but the consultant/joint venture must be established and prepared to execute the contract within 30 days, or less, from the time of contract award. The County's goal is to have all contracts executed by July 1, 2026 so that we can start issuing task orders under the new contract shortly thereafter.
Q (No subject): Should the JV Team submit a single combined rate sheet, or individual rate sheets for each firm in the joint venture?
A: Please provide individual rate sheets for each firm in the joint venture
Q (No subject): Do we need to provide rates for all labor categories listed on the rate sheet, or only for those applicable to our team?
A: You only need to provide rates for the labor categories applicable to your project team. if needed, you may add labor categories that fit the roles of your project team.
Q (27-016 4.7 Page Limitation (org chart)): RE: 4.7 Record of Performance: Please confirm if the organizational chart counts against the 4-page limit for this section or if a 1-page allocation for the organizational chart can be added.
A: The organizational chart does not count towards the four page limit similar to the resumes.
Q (State of Maryland Business Licenses (RFP Sec. 7.1, bullet #2 - pg 15)): Are State of Maryland business licenses required only from prime consultants or from subconsultants also?
A: A State of Maryland Business license is only required by the prime consultant but it is expected that all subconsultants will be licensed in the State of Maryland also.
Q (State of Maryland Engineering License (RFP Sec. 7.1, bullet #3 - pg 15)): Are State of Maryland FIRM engineering licenses required only from prime consultants or are they also required from subconsultants that offer engineering services?
A: A State of Maryland firm engineering license is only required by the prime consultant but it is expected that all subconsultants practicing engineering will also be licensed in the State of Maryland.
Q (No subject): Section 16.7 of the RFP refers to an Indemnity / Hold Harmless Agreement that we need to confirm. This clause appears to contradict the Indemnification by Engineer verbiage shown in Section 6.12.A of the Standard Agreement, as Section 16.7 refers to any act or omission negligent or otherwise, while Section 6.12.A refers to only negligent acts. Should we assume Section 16.7 of the RFP replaces Section 6.12.A of the Standard Agreement?
A: You should assume that the Standard Agreement supersedes the RFP.
Q (No subject): Section 10 of the RFP states that the minimum level of coverage for Professional Liability is $1,000,000. However, Exhibit E of the Standard Agreement states that the minimum level of coverage is $3,000,000. Should we assume that the limits shown in Section 10 of the RFP replace the limits show in Exhibit E?
A: You should assume that the Standard Agreement supersedes the RFP. The minimum level of coverage for Professional Liability is $3,000,000.
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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