LARGE SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: MUNICIPAL WATER, STORMWATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE [PREVENTATIVE AND CORRECTIVE]

Q (Bid Bond): A Bid Bond is not required to submit now with this SOQ/RFP submission, correct?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): a WBE/MBE/SDVOB/SED goal requirement is not required with this submission, correct? The way I understand it is that it may be required down the line if the project calls for it when awarded & if deemed applicable by the City? Please confirm

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (Request for Proposal ): We ware to submit a proposal with pricing on our own company's request for proposal sheet to submit with this qualification, correct? Please confirm.

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (Request for Proposal ): We ware to submit a proposal with pricing on our own company's request for proposal sheet to submit with this qualification, correct? Please confirm.

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (Pre-bid Conference): Hi, Because the pre-bid conference was cancelled, when will it be rescheduled? Will RFP be extended? Thanks

A: The City of Mount Vernon hereby notifies all prospective respondents that it has elected not to conduct a pre-solicitation conference for this procurement. The City is not granting an extension.

Q (No subject): Is there a recommended amount of years of experience required for a project manager to manage issued task orders?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): What is the required response time for an emergency and or task order?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): What is the longest section of lining to be completed?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): 5. Is there a minimum amount of CIPP footage installed required?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): 4. Is there a minimum year of experience for Superintendents/Foreman?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): 3. Will large diameter pipe lining be included in task orders?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): 2. Will any task orders include easements with difficult access?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (No subject): 1. Will any task orders include manholes deeper than 20 VF?

A: An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.

Q (Evaluation Criteria):

A: 1 Section 6 (Phase 1 Evaluation Criteria) appears facially inconsistent with the RFQ scope. The scoring matrix references experience with historic/public buildings, HVAC/plumbing/electrical systems, armories, community centers, firehouses, and bid-ready documents, while Sections 2.2–2.4 describe municipal water, stormwater, and wastewater heavy-civil maintenance and rehabilitation. Please confirm whether Section 6 is a drafting carryover, whether the City will issue an addendum with revised evaluation criteria and scoring weights specific to the solicited infrastructure work, and which criteria respondents should follow unless and until such an addendum is issued. Award Architecture, PQL Mechanics & Scope of Qualification 2 Will this solicitation result in one master agreement with multiple prequalified contractors, separate individual contracts with each selected PQL firm, or a prequalified pool under which no executed contract is formed until a later task assignment stage? 3 Once the PQL is established, what mechanism will govern assignment of work: rotation among PQL firms, competitive mini-bid for each scope, direct selection based on capability, emergency direct award, best-fit assignment, or some combination? 4 How many firms does the City intend to place on the PQL, and will respondents be evaluated, ranked, or categorized by utility area and/or service category consistent with the Roles and Services Cover Sheet, or scored and ranked as one overall pool? 5 May a respondent be prequalified for only selected utility areas (e.g., wastewater and stormwater but not municipal water) or selected service categories? The Cover Sheet implies a menu-based capability qualification, but please confirm explicitly that partial-scope qualification will not be deemed non-responsive. 6 When completing the Roles and Services Cover Sheet, should the Prime Contractor check boxes for services (e.g., CCTV, CIPP, HazMat Abatement) that will be performed exclusively by pre-identified subcontractors, or is this sheet strictly for self-performed capabilities? 7 How should a respondent describe service exclusions, subcontracted scopes, or capability limitations in the SOQ and on the Cover Sheet without being deemed non-responsive? 8 Is there any minimum self-performance requirement or limitation on subcontracting applicable to the prime contractor, either generally or by task order/service category? 9 What is the anticipated term of the PQL and any resulting contracts (e.g., one year with renewal options, multi-year term)? 10 Although the RFQ states that placement on the PQL does not guarantee work, can the City provide any non-binding estimate of annual spend, assignment count, or expected volume by utility area or service type for resource-planning purposes? 11 If a prequalified firm declines an individual task order, emergency assignment, or mini-bid opportunity, under what circumstances, if any, will that affect the firm’s standing on the PQL? Contract Form, Order of Precedence & Governing Terms 12 Section 9.2.1 states that a sample Professional Services Agreement and/or key contract terms may be made available upon request, even though this procurement is framed as heavy-civil utility maintenance and construction services. Please provide the form of agreement that will govern this solicitation and confirm whether the governing form will in fact be a Professional Services Agreement, an on-call construction/services agreement, or another contract form. Please also identify any non-negotiable provisions affecting assignment of work, payment terms, termination, indemnity, insurance, and subcontracting. 13 The RFQ contains apparent inconsistencies between the scope of work, evaluation criteria, insurance provisions, and general terms and conditions, some of which appear to be carried over from other solicitations. In the event of conflict among the scope of work (Section 2), evaluation criteria (Section 6), insurance requirements (Sections 9.3 and 10), addenda, and the executed agreement, please confirm the intended order of precedence. 14 Please confirm the controlling submission method for this solicitation and whether any generic bid-form, price-sheet, or hard-copy instructions appearing elsewhere in the RFQ (e.g., Section 4.6) are boilerplate and not applicable to this SOQ/PQL submission. Pricing Format, Commercial Structure & Payment 15 Will the City provide a standardized unit-price schedule or cost form to ensure equitable comparison among respondents, or should each respondent create its own cost format per the examples in Section 4.2.1(d)? Additionally, will the pricing submitted with the SOQ be scored as part of the present evaluation, used for reference only, or used later in task-order negotiations? 16 Will future work assignments be compensated by the submitted schedule-of-rates, negotiated lump sum, unit-price work orders, time-and-materials, or a hybrid of those methods? Will respondents have an opportunity to reprice or negotiate assignment-specific conditions at the task-order level? 17 Should respondents submit fully burdened labor rates (inclusive of benefits, insurance, overhead, and profit), bare craft rates with separate overhead/profit markups, crew-composite rates, or sample unit prices? Please clarify the expected rate structure. 18 Will standby time, after-hours premiums, weekend/holiday rates, and emergency-response premiums be separately compensable, or must they be built into standard rates? 19 Are the following items separately compensable pay items, or are they expected to be incidental to the underlying utility work: mobilization/demobilization, traffic control, police details, dump/disposal fees, steel road plates, and pavement restoration? 20 Section 5.1(d) references “material pricing/markups (if applicable)” and Section 2.4(e) notes the City may furnish certain materials. What is the allowable markup percentage, if any, on contractor-furnished materials and on subcontractor costs? If City-furnished materials are unavailable, delayed, or incomplete, may the contractor procure substitute materials, and if so, under what approval, reimbursement, and markup mechanism will those costs be handled? 21 Will each task order identify the applicable funding source, pricing basis, scope, and not-to-exceed authorization before work begins? 22 Will retainage apply to task orders, and if so, at what rate and under what release process? Insurance, Bonds & Security 23 Section 9.3.1(b) states Commercial General Liability limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence / $3,000,000 aggregate, while Section 10(IV) states $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 general and products/completed operations aggregate with the aggregate applying on a per-project basis. Please confirm the governing CGL limits and aggregate structure for this solicitation. 24 In the event of conflict between Section 9.3, Section 10, any addendum, and the executed agreement, please confirm which insurance provisions will govern. 25 Section 10 repeatedly refers to the insured entity as both “the city” and “the district,” including language stating coverage shall be primary and non-contributory for “the district” and that the district shall be listed as an additional insured or named insured. Please confirm that all references to “district” in Section 10 are drafting carryovers and should be read as “City of Mount Vernon.” 26 Section 2.1.1 uses “Consultant,” “Contractor,” “Firm,” “Respondent,” and “Professional” interchangeably, and Section 9.3.1(d) requires Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions insurance of not less than $2,000,000 per claim. This RFQ solicits heavy-civil construction maintenance, not professional design services. Please confirm whether E&O coverage is required for all respondents, including purely construction contractors, or only for firms providing engineering, design, surveying, or other licensed professional services. If the respondent is not providing such services, will the City waive or modify this requirement? 27 Please confirm the exact additional-insured endorsement requirements at award, including whether CG 20 10 11 85 or the combination of CG 20 33 10 01 and CG 20 37 10 01 will be required, whether completed-operations coverage is mandatory, whether primary and non-contributory wording is required, and whether the City will accept equivalent manuscript endorsements. 28 Because this solicitation appears structured as an SOQ/PQL qualification process rather than a traditional sealed bid, please confirm whether any bid-security requirement applies at the SOQ stage, and whether performance and payment bonds will apply to the PQL/master contract, only to individual task orders above stated thresholds, or only where expressly required by the City on a case-by-case basis. Please state any threshold dollar values and penal sum requirements. 29 Will Builders Risk or Installation Floater insurance be required on all task orders, or only on specific assignments as identified by the City? Funding-Source Compliance, Prevailing Wage & Federal Conditions 30 Given that projects may be funded by varying sources (NYSDEC, USEPA, NYSEFC, IIJA), will the applicable prevailing wage schedule (NYS Article 8, Federal Davis-Bacon, or project-specific PLA) and any MBE/WBE/SDVOB participation goals be identified individually at the task-order level before the contractor commences work? 31 Will certified payroll submissions be required on all task orders, or only on assignments subject to NYS Article 8 and/or Federal Davis-Bacon requirements? 32 Will Buy America / Build America Act (BABA) material documentation and tracking be required on a project-by-project basis, or uniformly across all assignments? 33 Section 2.4(q) requires compliance with Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 “as applicable.” Under what circumstances does the City anticipate Section 3 hiring and subcontracting requirements will apply to task orders under this contract? 34 Section 1.1.3 references a Consent Decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, New York State, and DEC that will directly shape projects under this RFQ. Please identify the Consent Decree by caption, date, and docket number or provide a public link/reference, and identify the specific compliance, reporting, scheduling, and documentation obligations that may flow down to contractors under this procurement. Emergency Response, Mobilization & Availability 35 Sections 3.1(c) and 3.1(h) reference required response times, mobilization, milestones, and completion dates, but the RFQ does not define standard service levels. Please confirm whether the City will establish standard response and mobilization requirements across all PQL assignments (and if so, what they are), or whether those requirements will be set individually at the task-order level. Please also clarify the expected mobilization windows for water main breaks, sewer collapses, pump station failures, and traffic-control emergencies. 36 Is 24/7 on-call availability required for all PQL firms, or only for firms accepting emergency-response assignments? 37 Will the City distinguish between scheduled preventative maintenance and emergency corrective work in how tasks are assigned and how contractor performance is evaluated? 38 For emergency work performed outside normal business hours, who is authorized to direct the contractor to proceed, what form of verbal/email/written authorization will support billing, and when will a formal task order or notice to proceed be issued? Permits, Restoration, Site Conditions & Field Coordination 39 Please clarify the division of responsibility for permits: which permits will the City obtain and which must the contractor obtain? For NYSDOT, county, utility, road-opening, lane-closure, and environmental permits, who leads and who bears the cost? 40 Will permit fees be reimbursable, included in task pricing, or borne entirely by the contractor? 41 Please provide or publicly identify the applicable City Engineering Specifications for pavement restoration, trench backfill, sidewalk, curb, and lawn restoration, including standard trench restoration details, asphalt section requirements, compaction standards, and warranty periods, prior to the submission deadline so that respondents may accurately formulate their cost schedules. 42 Are temporary trench patches (steel plates, cold-patch) permitted as interim restoration, and if so, what is the maximum allowable duration before permanent restoration is required? 43 Will pavement and surface restoration quantities be measured and paid separately, or are they expected to be incidental to the underlying utility work? 44 How will differing site conditions be handled at the task-order level, including unknown or unmarked utilities, abandoned infrastructure, depth discrepancies, groundwater, and contaminated soils encountered during excavation or trenchless work? Will such conditions be treated as compensable changes? 45 Who is responsible for one-call notifications, utility markout refreshes, and physical verification of critical utility crossings and conflicts, and are such verification efforts separately compensable? 46 Please clarify whether resident and business notifications for smoke testing, water shutdowns, line flushing, tie-ins, and temporary service interruptions will be handled by the City, the contractor, or a shared responsibility, and whether notification costs are separately compensable. Documentation, Reporting & Data Formats 47 What deliverable formats are required for CCTV inspections — PACP-compliant data, raw video files, written logs, GIS-compatible shapefiles, PDFs, or other formats? 48 What format is acceptable for as-built submissions and service-line material verification data (e.g., GIS, CAD, PDF, City-specific templates)? 49 Does the City maintain existing GIS, asset management, or work-order systems (e.g., CityWorks, Cartegraph, ESRI) that contractors will be required to access or populate? 50 Will the City provide assigned contractors with access to existing infrastructure maps, GIS data, as-built records, and available CCTV archives before pricing and/or acceptance of a task order, or only after formal assignment? Cover Sheet — Specialty Scope Clarifications 51 Please define the scope of “HazMat Abatement” on the Cover Sheet. Does this refer strictly to handling lead service lines and asbestos-cement (AC) pipe encountered during utility work, or does the City also anticipate contaminated soil and/or groundwater remediation during routine excavation? 52 If a respondent indicates “Pipe Burst” capability on the Cover Sheet, please confirm whether static and/or pneumatic pipe bursting is an anticipated method under this contract, and how responsibility for utility verification and risk allocation for adjacent facilities will be addressed at the task-order level. Subcontractors & Personnel 53 Can subcontractors be added after award (subject to City approval) if not yet identified at the time of SOQ submission? 54 Section 4.3 requires 30 days’ prior written notice for key personnel changes and states the replacement must be “palpably proven to be equal or more qualified.” Does this apply to all personnel identified in the Staffing Plan (including individual operators and laborers), or only to the Foreman and Principal positions? Is there a threshold below which routine personnel changes do not require formal City approval? Proximity & Familiarity Scoring 55 If Section 6 or any revised evaluation criteria continue to include proximity/familiarity as a scoring factor, please clarify how “proximity to the City of Mount Vernon” will be measured and scored, including whether the relevant measure is headquarters location, branch office, equipment yard, or dispatch point. From Noah Corwin Akela An addendum has been issued, along with a PDF attachment containing responses to the questions submitted. Please refer to the Attachments section to review the document.