Mark A Cowart
Administrative Services,
Chief Information Officer
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
PURCHASING
2222 “M” Street
Merced, CA 95340
(209) 385-7331
(209) 725-3535 Fax
www.co.merced.ca.us
Equal Opportunity Employer
May 8, 2017
Request for Qualifications
No. 7204
For
Planning and Environmental Consulting Services
Questions and Answers submitted to date:
Questions 1-15: Submitted via email
Question 1:
Does the County have any small business or DVBE set asides or participation goals for this
RFQ? I did not see any listed, but I wanted to double check.
Answer:
No, there are no small business or DVBE goals associated with this RFQ.
Question 2:
Does the County have a list of potential bidders or potential primes, and if so, how
might I obtain a copy?
Answer:
Firms:
BaseCamp Environmental, Inc., Atkins, Planning Partners, EMC Planning partners, EMC
Planning Group, Michael Baker International, ESA, Augustine Planning Associates Inc.,
Placeworks, Circle Point, Denovo Planning Group, Ervin Consulting Group, Raney Planning
and Management, Inc., M-Group
Question 3:
Please confirm whether just one firm, or if more than one firm, will be chosen. Page 3
of the RFQ has potentially conflicting information.
Answer:
One firm will be selected.
Question 4:
Please confirm the dates for the anticipated interviews (page 9 states they are
scheduled for May 24th and 25th) May 24th is also the due date for the qualifications.
Answer:
Tentative interview dates are June 8th / 9th, 2017
Question 5:
Please confirm whether the work is required to be completed at the County offices, or
may be accomplished in the consultant’s office.
Answer:
Remote work is acceptable. Consultants are expected to attend scheduled meetings with
County Staff, other agencies, applicants, and other County Consultants as necessary and
upon request.
Question 6:
Is the County currently using a consultant for overflow work?
Answer:
No.
Question 7:
The RFQ states that projects would be routed to the consultant based on certain
criteria on an on-call basis. Is it the County’s intent that some or all services can be
provided remotely (aside from site visits, meetings, etc.), or is in-house staffing
assistance also needed?
Answer:
Remote work is acceptable. Consultants are expected to attend scheduled meetings with
County Staff, other agencies, applicants, and other County Consultants as necessary and
upon request.
Question 8:
It appears that the County is looking to fill regular positions at the Planner I, II, and III
levels. For the RFQ, is there a particular level of individual staff experience that the
County is looking for or is it the County’s intent to augment positions at various levels?
Answer:
The County is seeking advanced planning experience and knowledge sufficient to meet the
requirements of the RFQ. No particular "level" of individual experience is being sought so
long as the requirements of the RFQ are fulfilled.
Question 9:
The RFQ mentions a master contract cap and requests a schedule of hourly rates. Has
the County established a budget or cap?
Answer:
The County has not established a budget or cap at this time. Requested services are intended
to supplement the duties of current staff until such time open staff positions are able to be
filled.
Question 10:
Does the County’s planning fee schedule determine the value of each
application/project to the consultant, or will the County operate on an actual-costs
basis with fees passed through to applicants?
Answer:
The County will operate on an actual cost basis billed by the selected firm. Applicant fees
will remain unchanged.
Question 11:
The RFQ says you would like to enter into one contract with a firm that provides both
planning and environmental services, but elsewhere it sounds like there might be
more than one contract? Not sure which is correct.
Answer:
The County intends to select one firm for contract planning services.
Question 12:
As a follow-on to our first question -- are you interested in submittals from firms that
provide one or the other but not both? We are an environmental and outreach team;
we don't typically provide contract planning services.
Answer:
The County's primary interest is contract planning services. Proposals that do not include
contract planning services will not meet the requirements as outlined in the RFQ.
Question 13:
What is the duration of the contract?
Answer:
The County anticipates entering into contract for on-call planning services for a period of
one year.
Question 14:
Will these services be performed remotely or will staff need to be at the County
offices regularly?
Answer:
Remote work is acceptable. Consultants are expected to attend scheduled meetings with
County Staff, other agencies, applicants, and other County Consultants as necessary and
upon request.
Question 15:
The interviews are tentatively scheduled for the due date (May 24-May 25). How will
we be notified of the upcoming interview?
Answer:
Interview dates listed in the RFQ are incorrect. Tentative interview dates are June 8th /
9th, 2017 (see amendment on the website).