SUBMISSION INFORMATION Kenton County Fiscal Court P.O. Box 792 303 Court Street, Room 207 Covington, Kentucky 41012-0792 QUALIFICATION: Radio Project Phase II RFQ OPENING DATE: December 7, 2015 TIME: 2:00 P.M. Local Time LOCATION: Purchasing Department Submit 1 original and 4 copy(s) of the qualification. BUYER Holly Hill DATE OF RFQ November 17, 2015 REQUEST FOR BID/PROPOSAL INFORMATION Date: Telephone: Company Name: Fax: Address: City: State: Zip Code: Contact Person: Title: Authorized Signature: The signee hereby certifies that they have read and understand the contents of this solicitation and agree to furnish all information subject to all instructions, conditions, specifications and attachments hereto. The signee affirms to the Kenton County Fiscal Court the ability to meet all requirements and further affirms that the work will be done in compliance with all Federal, State and Local codes, ordinances, and regulations.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS RADIO COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT CONSULTING & ENGINEERING SERVICES GENERAL The following request for qualifications is intended to solicit responses from respondents who are qualified to provide professional consulting and engineering services for the Kenton County Fiscal Court for the replacement of the County s Two-Way Radio System. Firms interested in providing these services need to have a strong specialization in the planning, development, procurement, and successful implementation of a public safety and local government radio communications system. TARGET SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Advertisement November 17, 2015 Issuance of RFQ November 17, 2015 Deadline for RFQ Questions November 23, 2015 Deadline for Responses to RFQ November 25, 2015 RFQ Submission Due Date December 7, 2015 Evaluations of Qualifications December 10, 2015 Award/Notice of Award by December 31, 2015 Required Time Line for Completed Services Negotiated as part of contract. TERMS AND CONDITONS You acknowledge and agree that all work produced pursuant to this RFQ is work made for hire and accordingly, all data, plans, specifications, and reports are owned exclusively by Kenton County Fiscal Court. A complete copy of same shall be provided to the County and any further use of these work products shall be only with the express written consent of the Kenton County Fiscal Court. The Kenton County Fiscal Court Purchasing Manager identified below shall be the sole point of contact throughout the procurement process. All communications, oral and written (regular, express, or electronic mail) concerning this procurement shall be submitted to: Holly Hill Purchasing Manager Kenton County Fiscal Court, P.O. Box 792 303 Court Street, Room 207 Covington, KY 41012-0792 Office: 859-392-1400 Email: holly.hill@kentoncounty.org All responses will be either mailed, faxed, emailed and will be posted on the Kenton County Fiscal Courts website under procurement. The Kenton County Fiscal Court will not be responsible for any missed correspondence during the RFQ process. 2
The Respondent shall indemnify and hold harmless Kenton County, its agents, officials, and employees from and against all injuries, losses, claims, suits, costs and expenses which may accrue against Kenton County as a consequence of granting the Contract. The Kenton County Fiscal Court reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses or parts of responses, to waive any formalities and technicalities, and to accept the best evaluated response. The RFQ may be cancelled (in part or in its entirety) at any time with written notice by the Kenton County Fiscal Court. There is no express or implied obligation for Kenton County Fiscal Court to reimburse respondents for any expenses incurred in preparing responses to this Request for Qualifications. Kenton County Fiscal Court will not reimburse respondents for these expenses, nor will Kenton County Fiscal Court pay any subsequent costs associated with the provision of any additional information or presentation, or to procure a contract for these services. In case of any doubt or difference of opinion as to the services and deliverables herein, the decisions of the Kenton County Fiscal Court shall be final and binding on both parties. The laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky govern interpretation and performance of the obligations imposed on the parties pursuant to this order. Further, the successful respondent agrees that the courts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall have jurisdiction over the successful respondent with respect to any action brought by Kenton County Fiscal Court relating to the performance of the respondent's obligation hereunder. Venue and jurisdiction of any suit, right or cause of action arising under or in connection with these specifications, shall lie exclusively in Kenton County, Kentucky. REQUEST FOR NON-CONSIDERATION Request for non-consideration or withdrawal of a response must be made in writing to the Purchasing Manager and received by Kenton County Fiscal Court prior to the time set for opening. DEFAULT In case of default by the successful responder, Kenton County may procure the services from other sources. CONDITIONS FOR PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL All responses to this RFQ become the property of the Kenton County Fiscal Court. The Kenton County Purchasing Department will not return responses or other information supplied to the Kenton County Fiscal Court. All respondents shall comply with all conditions, requirements, and specifications contained herein. Any departure will constitute sufficient cause for rejection of the response. Responses to this RFQ are to be signed by an officer of the company authorized to bind the company in a contract submitted and to its provisions submitted in the RFQ. Failure to manually sign the response will disqualify the respondent. Responses are to contain a statement 3
indicating the period during which the response will remain valid. A period of not less than ninety (90) days is required. FAMILIARITY WITH SCOPE OF WORK This RFQ is based on the Scope of Work and information included in this document. Prior to submission of any response, each respondent should be thoroughly familiar with the scope of work, information, and the general terms and conditions in this document. The failure or omission of any respondent to examine any form, instrument or document shall in no way relieve any respondent from any obligation in respect to his/her response. No allowance will be made because of lack of knowledge of this document. It is the responsibility of each respondent to ascertain the completeness of the information contained herein and thoroughly address those concerns in their response to this RFQ. SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE This RFQ will require specific performance on all criteria as stated in your response. All specifications are as written unless specifically taken exception to by you. Any exception accepted by the Kenton County Fiscal Court will be strictly adhered to. Responders must submit written requests for exceptions to any specifications/conditions with their response. Exceptions made without submission of a written request may result in disqualification. SCOPE OF WORK The Kenton County Fiscal Court is soliciting a RFQ from respondents who are qualified to provide professional consulting and engineering services for the replacement of the County s two-way radio communications system. For many years Kenton County has owned and operated a VHF and UHF conventional two-way radio system to support County operations. The current system no longer provides adequate coverage, capacity, performance, and reliability to meet the needs of users. Specifically, these issues have resulted in safety concerns for public safety personnel. In 2014, Kenton County initiated a consulting and engineering services project to develop a radio system needs assessment for replacement of the existing radio communications system. The needs assessment report provides an analysis of radio system needs, development of system alternatives, and cost estimates for replacement of the existing system. The radio system replacement project report was completed in February 2015 and will serve as the basis for development of a RFP process that will be used to procure the replacement radio communications system. The County's RFQ is designed to identify qualified firms that will provide consulting and engineering services to the County for planning, development, procurement, and successful implementation of a replacement radio communications system. The following is an outline of services to be provided: 4
A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: A strong specialization in the planning, development, procurement, and successful implementation of a public safety and local government P25 Phase 1 FDMA and Phase 2 TDMA simulcast trunked radio systems comparable in size to the Kenton County system or larger is preferred; P25 simulcast trunked radio systems are IP based networks; the selected consulting and engineering firm shall have extensive IT infrastructure experience to facilitate the proper evaluation of vendors' IP based proposals; Successfully completed a minimum of five P25 700 and/or 800 MHz P25 simulcast trunked radio system projects with multiple vendors; Have extensive experience in VHF, UHF, 700, 800, and 900 MHz radio frequency (RF) spectrum planning and FCC licensing; Have and utilize high-quality RF system design and radio propagation tools for system development and validation of proposed coverage designs submitted by vendors; Possess strong radio coverage performance verification capabilities and coverage testing experience in 700/800 MHz P25 simulcast trunked radio system environments; Have a strong working knowledge of ancillary County systems that often have interfaces to trunked radio systems including public safety communication and Emergency Operations Centers, 9-1-1 calling systems, Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems, AVL systems, and recording systems; Provide at least one Registered Professional Engineer with a RF background in the proposed Kenton County project team; Have extensive site development and construction experience to oversee new sites to be developed; Provide a proposed schedule, deadlines, and objectives that would be used to administer the system procurement support and project implementation support objectives of the scope of work; and Carry the insurance coverage required by Kenton County Fiscal Court. B. SYSTEM PROCUREMENT SUPPORT: Assimilate the Radio System Replacement Project, Phase 1 Needs Assessment Report (February 2015) as the basis for development of a RFP procurement process; Coordinate with the County project team to validate the needs assessment for system infrastructure and users and ensure an understanding of system requirements; Assist with radio spectrum coordination, acquisition, and FCC licensing; Develop the RFP in coordination with the County project team. RFP must be compliant with RFP response procedures and purchasing requirements; Assist the County with briefing proposers on RFP specifications and development of 5
responses to any vendor questions with issuance of RFP addenda (if needed); Assist with the evaluation of vendor proposals to include development of an evaluation methodology and tools for RFP evaluation, participation in vendor presentations, and support of the County RFP evaluation committee; Develop documentation and assist in negotiations of potential issues that if not addressed by the vendor may degrade the County s purchasing position as well as assist the County in developing and evaluating a request for best and final offer(s) from each vendor; Assist with final evaluation of vendor proposals and potential response to any vendor protests; Support presentations to County project team, management, and Fiscal Court; and In coordination with the County project team, legal counsel, purchasing, and management, support negotiations with the selected vendor to include assistance with contract negotiations, negotiations of the statement of work, and incorporation of appropriate system acceptance testing processes. C. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT: Provide day-to-day project management and implementation support to the County project team; Coordinate and participate in design review meetings and system staging reviews with County project team; Monitor vendor progress, issues, and prepare monthly project status reports; Assist the County in acceptance testing of the new system and equipment prior to final acceptance; Assist the County with final acceptance of the system at which point the County will take ownership of the system and system warranties will begin; and Support presentations to County project team, management, and Kenton County Fiscal Court. RFQ RESPONSE ELEMENTS AND FORMAT The Kenton County Fiscal Court requires comprehensive responses to every section within this RFQ. To facilitate the review of the responses, you must follow the described response format. The intent of the response format requirements is to expedite review and evaluation. It is not the intent to constrain Respondents with regard to content, but to assure that the specific requirements set forth in this RFQ are addressed in a uniform manner amenable to review and evaluation. A response that does not provide all the information requested below may be deemed non-responsive. Your response must concisely contain sufficient information to assure the County of its accuracy and any additional information necessary to summarize the overall benefit of the response to the County. 6
A. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 1. Complete the Respondent's Information and Signature Page. 2. A resume of consultant's or firms experience, expertise, knowledge, capabilities, resources and unique qualifications in designing, bidding, and providing construction services for projects of this nature. 3. A resume of each professional team member's experience and expertise that will be assigned the project. This must include a matrix showing the projected percent of time each professional team member will spend of the project and the physical location of each team member. Additionally provide resumes for alternate team members should a member become not available to the project. 4. An organizational chart showing the consultant's or firm's organization and the principal team members that will be involved in the County s engagement. This chart must indicate consultant's or firm's project manager for this effort and all key team members and identify the areas of responsibilities for each team member. Additionally, indicate where alternate team members will fit in if required. 5. An identification of the team member who will be the County s primary contact person. This must include the firm's address and telephone number. 6. The same information must be provided for any associate firm or sub-consultant. 7. All interested parties must possess all federal, state and/or local required licenses to engage in the practice of consulting services in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. B. TECHNICAL APPROACH AND UNDERSTANDING 1. Responses must include a narrative describing consultant's or firm's understanding of the scope of services, the approach to the project, the reports and deliverables that are anticipated to be produced and a work plan that outlines consultant or firm approach and methodology 2. Responses must indicate a clear understanding of the scope of work, including a detailed project plan for this engagement outlying major tasks and responsibilities, time frames, and staff assigned for each category of the scope of work identified above. 3. Responses shall identify progress reports that will be made available during the process and key decision points. 4. Responses shall clearly distinguish your duties and responsibilities and those of Kenton County. Absence of this distinction shall mean you are assuming full responsibility for all tasks. 7
C. REFERENCES Provide references for similarly successful projects from three sources including the name of the agency, address, contact name, current telephone number, email address and a brief description of services provided. Experience and/or references with similar public/private partnerships is preferred, but not required. D. EXCEPTIONS You must clearly submit with written requests for exceptions (if any) to an item or condition required in the RFQ. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS After the responses are opened on the stated date and time, they will be reviewed for responsiveness by the Purchasing Manager. In order for a response to be considered responsive to this RFQ, it must conform to all the substantial material terms and conditions required herein. A response that does not so conform will be declared non-responsive and will not be further evaluated. The responsive replies will undergo a second evaluation conducted by members of the County. The committee will evaluate the responses based upon the following evaluation criteria and scoring matrix. The respondent selected for award will ultimately be chosen on the basis of the best evaluated response by Kenton County Fiscal Court. EVALUATION CRITERIA This proposal will be awarded to the best evaluated proposer. The following scoring will be used to evaluate each proposer's response to the RFQ. Evaluation criteria are not necessarily listed in the order of importance. The County reserves the right to weigh its evaluation criteria in any manner it deems appropriate and to create a shortlist of candidates to be invited to interview. In addition, the County reserves the right to reject any or all RFQ responses and to waive informalities and irregularities in RFQ responses receive. Final approval of contract award is subject to the action of the Kenton County Fiscal Court. A. Timeliness and accuracy of project tasks, demonstrated success of bid documents and packages, demonstrated proactive project management, and demonstrated ability to work in the best interest of B. Demonstrate County. the qualifications, capabilities, experience, and sufficiency of staff resources to meet the requirements outlined in the scope of C. work. Demonstrate through proposed schedule, deadlines, and objectives how the firm would administer the system procurement support and project implementation support objectives of the scope of work. D. Evaluate information provided on the firm's track record of performance on contracts of similar nature with governmental entities. 30 pts 30 pts 30 pts 10 pts Maximum Possible Score 100 pts 8
PRESENTATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS Contract negotiations may be conducted with responsible respondents who submit Qualifications that are reasonably susceptible of being selected. Respondents reasonably susceptible of being selected based on criteria set forth in this RFQ may be given an opportunity to make a presentation and/or interview with the Evaluation Committee. Following any presentation and/or interviews, firms will be ranked in order of preference and contract negotiations will begin with the top ranked respondent. Should negotiations with the highest ranked respondent fail to yield a contract, or if the respondent is unable to execute said contract, negotiations will be formally ended and then commence with the second highest ranked respondent, etc. However, Kenton County reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to award a contract without presentations or interviews, based solely on information supplied in the RFQ responses. AWARD OF CONTRACT FORM Please submit a sample contract that your company uses for this service. We will work with the selected respondent to negotiate a contract that is acceptable to both parties. If there is a conflict with the contract and the proposal, the proposal will prevail. All other documents including the original Request for Qualifications package together with all addendums and clarifications and the successful respondents bid documents will be included by reference. NOTE: the form of contract and business points will be negotiated with the successful proposer. CONTRACT TERM The contract shall become effective from the date of acceptance and approval by Kenton County Fiscal Court. It will remain in full force and effect for an agreed term. Extensions or options to renew the term shall also be subject to negotiation. ASSIGNMENT OF PROPOSAL CONTRACT Once the Contract is awarded to the successful Respondent, the Respondent cannot assign or subcontract the work or any part thereof, without the previous written consent of Kenton County Fiscal Court, which shall not be unreasonably withheld. CONTRACT DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS After the proposal has been awarded by Kenton County Fiscal Court, the Purchasing Manager will send the awarded respondent a Notice of Award which will include a contract and a listing of other documentation required prior to fully executing the contract. Upon receipt of this notice, the vendor will have ten (10) calendar days to provide the Purchasing Manager with all of the insurance, signed contracts and any other documentation that is required by the terms and conditions of the proposal. The Contracts must be signed by Kenton County, insurance, and all other conditions required by the terms and conditions of the proposal must also be met before 9
any work may begin. If there is failure to demonstrate good faith effort in providing the necessary documentation, then the respondent will be considered to have abandoned his proposal. The proposal will then be considered as non-responsive and may be promptly reawarded to the next best evaluated proposal. NOTICE Pursuant to the provisions of KRS 45A.343, the contractor or vendor is required to reveal to the County any final determination of a violation of KRS Chapters 136, 139, 141, 337, 338 and 342 by the contractor or vendor within the previous five (5) years; and further that said contractor or vendor has been and is in continuous compliance with the provisions of KRS Chapters 136, 139, 141, 337, 341, and 342 for the duration of the contract. The failure of a contractor or vendor to reveal a final determination of a violation to a local government, or to comply with the statutory requirements, is considered grounds for cancellation of a contract and disqualification of the contractor or vendor from eligibility for any County contracts for a period of two (2) years. The Kenton County Fiscal Court reserves the right to reject any and all submissions and to waive formalities. SUBMISSION Sealed submissions are due in the office of the Purchasing Manager, P.O. Box 792, 303 Court Street, Room 207, Covington, Kentucky, 41012 no later than 2:00 p.m., Monday, December 7, 2015. Applicants shall submit one (1) original and four (4) copies of said along with copies of al supporting documents. All submissions must be returned in a sealed envelope and must be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope as a QUALIFICATION FOR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT CONSULTING & ENGINEERING SERVICES. Opening of the qualifications will be at 2:00 p.m., Monday, December 7, 2015 at the same location as stated above. 10