Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · SANTA CRUZ
AI Summary
The City of Santa Cruz seeks qualified environmental consulting firms for construction monitoring and compliance services at the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project. This RFQ pre-qualifies firms for a subsequent RFP combined with construction management services. Proposals due May 14, 2026.
The City of Santa Cruz Water Department (SCWD) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SoQs) from consultants, individuals or firms (Consultant) who provide specialized Environmental Services for Construction to support the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant (GHWTP) Facility Improvements Project (FIP) (Project). The purpose of this pre-qualification is to short-list firms that can provide environmental compliance and construction monitoring for the GHWTP FIP – a $100 million+ construction value, progressive design-build project on an active water treatment plant – including project management, worker environmental training, and specialized biological, arborist, cultural, and paleontological resource oversight. Sought qualifications include a multi-disciplinary team of qualified biologists, qualified monitors, ISA Certified Arborists, archaeologists, and paleontologists.
SCWD is using this RFQ to pre-qualify three to four Environmental Consultants for a subsequent "Construction Management and Environmental Services for Construction" Request for Proposals (RFP). Only Consultants pre-qualified under this RFQ, in partnership with pre-qualified Construction Management firms, will be eligible to submit proposals on the upcoming integrated RFP. The SCWD’s ultimate intent is to enter into a single contract for Construction Management and Environmental Services During Construction. The two-step solicitation process involves the following:
· Step 1 (Pre-Qualification): This RFQ pre-qualifies firms for Environmental Services During Construction. A separate RFQ process is being conducted to pre-qualify firms for Construction Management (CM) Services.
· Step 2 (RFP): Following SoQ evaluation, an RFP will be issued for "Construction Management and Environmental Services During Construction" under a single contract. Only short-listed Environmental firms and short-listed CM firms from Step 1 are eligible for Step 2. These firms must partner to submit a joint proposal for the upcoming RFP.
A detailed outline of potential services that will be performed by the Consultant under the Environmental Scope is given in Section 4 Preliminary Scope of Services.
The purpose of soliciting Environmental Services During Construction is to augment City staff implementing this project. The ultimate contract will include at least two Service Orders as described in Section 4. Although the schedule for the project is not finalized, it is anticipated that construction would start the first quarter of 2027 for a 4-year duration.
The Proposer shall furnish all tools, equipment, materials, tax, apparatus, facilities, labor, transportation, supervision, and management, not specifically provided by the City, to complete work described in this RFQ.
For more information about SCWD’S current and upcoming CIP projects, please visit SCWD’s website: https://www.santacruzca.gov/Government/City-Departments/Water-Department/Capital-Investment-Program.
The SCWD is a public agency operating a water system which provides safe, high-quality water service for about 100,000 people. The Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant (GHWTP) is a critical component of the City’s water supply system as its only treatment facility capable of treating surface water. It was originally constructed in 1960 and standards and regulations enacted over the intervening 66 years necessitate the Project. The GHWTP is a conventional treatment plant treating raw water from the San Lorenzo River, north coast streams and Loch Lomond Reservoir. The Water Treatment Plant must remain fully operational throughout construction.
The Project will be constructed at the existing GHWTP, a secured and fenced facility closed to the public, located at 715 Graham Hill Road in Santa Cruz, CA. The 12.4-acre parcel is within City limits; however, it is non-contiguous to the City and hence constitutes an “island annexation” surrounded by parcels in the unincorporated County. The GHWTP parcel is located in the upper portion of a large west-facing slope adjacent to the San Lorenzo River. The majority of the existing and proposed building areas on the GHWTP parcel are situated on an upper building pad, surrounded by undeveloped portions of the parcel. Single-family residential land uses surround the GHWTP parcel on the northern, eastern, and southern perimeters. Dense tree canopy and vegetation, and scattered residential dwellings are located beyond the western perimeter on a hillside that slopes down to the San Lorenzo River, approximately 0.3 miles to the west of the Project. The Project may also utilize a temporary construction staging area located at 1941 Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz, CA and services under this RFQ/RFP process may be required at both the primary construction site and offsite staging.
The Project will replace and substantially upgrade the majority of the existing water treatment processes and associated infrastructure with modern facilities. The Project will increase the City’s treatment reliability to meet current and anticipated future water quality requirements; support the treatment of wet season water to facilitate implementation of the City’s Water Supply Augmentation Strategy and Securing Our Water Future Policy; improve the ability to treat variable and degraded source water quality conditions, such as those associated with post-wildfire, severe storms, and droughts; and meet current seismic, building, electrical, and fire code requirements.
The 4/15/2026 Pre-SoQ Meeting Agenda and Attendee List is now available.
The undersigned, upon acceptance, agrees to furnish the following in accordance with the specifications and terms and conditions per City of Santa Cruz at the prices indicated herein.
The undersigned, under penalty of perjury, declares not to be a party with any other business to an agreement to propose a fixed or uniform price in connection with this proposal.
The unsigned declares under penalty of perjury that she/he is authorized to sign this document and bind the business or organization to the terms of this Proposal.
The undersigned recognizes the right of the City of Santa Cruz to reject any or all proposals received and to waive any informality or minor defects in proposals received.
The undersigned declares under penalty of perjury that the information contained in this Proposal and all accompanying documents are true and correct.
Did you read through and confirm that you met all of the proposal requirements?
Please upload your proposal here.
Please upload your proposal here without pricing included. Upload fee proposal separately in the next step.
Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.
Each bid shall be accompanied by a certified cashier’s check, or bid bond, in the amount of XXXXXof the total bid price, payable toCity of Santa Cruz, as a guarantee that the bidder, if its bid is accepted, will promptly execute the Agreement. The bidder shall guarantee the total bid price for a period of 60 days from the date of the bid opening.
Please scan and upload a copy of your bid bond/cashier's check. Bidder must also MAIL bid guarantee with a postmarked date no later thanThursday, May 14, 2026 addressed to:
City of Santa Cruz
Katy Fitzgerald
212 Locust Street
Santa Cruz,CA95060
Please have the Bidder Name, Contract Title ("Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project –Environmental Services during Construction"), and Contract Number ("RFQ No. WT-0294") listed clearly on the outside of the envelope.
The contract shall be executed by the successful bidder and shall be returned, together with the Payment Bond, Performance Bond and Certificate(s) of Insurance to City of Santa Cruz so that it is received within 14 working daysafter the bidder has received the contract for execution. Failure to do so shall be just cause for forfeiture of the proposal guaranty.
Indicate whether your business will extend the pricing, terms and conditions of this bid to other government agencies, if you are the successful bidder. Your business would be required to make this contract available to interested agencies for at least six months following the award of this contract. Interested government agencies may enter into their own contract with the successful Contractor. They may negotiate minor changes in terms and conditions.
Please download the below Local Preference Certification Form, complete, and upload.
Please download the below Non-Collusion Declaration Form, complete, and upload.
California Government Code Section 84308, commonly referred to as the "Levine Act," prohibits any member of the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz from participating in any action related to a contract if they receive any political contributions totaling more than $250 within twelve (12) months before or after the date a final decision concerning the contract has been made, from the person or company awarded the contract. The Levine Act also requires disclosure of such contribution by a party to be awarded a specific contract.
Answering YES to either of the two questions above does not preclude the City of Santa Cruz from awarding a contract to your firm or taking any subsequent action related to the contract. It does, however, preclude the identified City Council Member(s) from participating in any actions related to this contract.
Will this solicitation require a bid bond?
Would you like to have vendors respond to an electronic pricing table?
If you are NOT using the Electronic Pricing Table option, will you want proposers to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of their Response? You'll want to do this if you open your bids initially WITHOUT showing price, and then come back in after a technical evaluation to unseal pricing later.
Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?
Select YES for Request for Proposals and Request for Qualifications process.
Select YES for most solicitations.
Local Preference does NOT apply to:
Q (Was the pre-SoQ meeting mandatory?):
A: (Question was received outside of OpenGov portal from BIOMASS): Is it still possible to bid or partner with other firms if I missed the pre-SoQ meeting on 4/15/2026? Yes, your firm may still participate, as the pre-SoQ meeting was not mandatory.
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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