1631 SOLICITATIONS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE 11^TH STREET BRIDGE PROJECT

1631.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of §1602, the purpose of this section is to adopt a two-step procurement method to be used for procurement of a contractor to design and construct the proposed 11^th Street Bridge. The first step will be a request for qualifications (“RFQ”) to enable the contracting officer to determine which prospective contractors are qualified to receive requests for proposals (“RFPs”) and submit responses to the RFPs based on financial and professional responsibility criteria established by the contracting officer for pre-qualification of a prospective contractor to design and construct the 11^th Street Bridge.

1631.2 The District shall conduct the two-step selection process as follows:

(a) The first step consists of a request issued by the Office of Contracting and procurement (“OCP”) for qualifications from a firm or combination of firms that has expertise, ability and entrepreneurship (i) who possess the expertise to assemble the labor and capital necessary for the completion of the design and construction of the bridge (as described by the District), (ii) to manage all components of the design and construction of a project of this size, (iii) to construct and complete the proposed project in a timely manner while serving the District’s stated policy objectives; and

(b) The second step of the two-step project involves the submission of proposals in response to an RFP issued by OCP to up to five offerors determined to be the most qualified in the first step. The only offerors who may submit proposals in response to the RFP in the second step are those offerors that (i) responded to the RFQ, and (ii) were determined to be the most qualified by the contracting officer.

1631.3 The contracting officer shall give public notice of the RFQ for design-build of the 11^th Street Bridge project in accordance with Chapter 13.

1631.4 The contracting officer shall utilize the two-step process set forth in section 1631.2 above on forms prescribed by the Director.

1631.5 The first step of the process shall consist of an RFQ inviting interested prospective contractors to respond in writing with a statement of their qualifications to perform the required services, including financial and professional responsibility information. The FRQ shall provide, at a minimum:

(a) A detailed description of the proposed project site and the project;

(b) The District’s intent of the project and the design;

(c) The selection process, schedule and criteria to be used by the District in determining which prospective contractors are qualified;

(d) Submission requirements and evaluation criteria that will be used to determine whether each prospective contractor is qualified; and

(e) A statement that only proposals form up to five offerors determined most qualified in the first step pursuant to subparagraphs (c) and (d) above will be selected to submit proposals in the second step.

1631.6 The contracting officer may conduct oral or written discussions with all prospective contractors who submitted responses to the RFQ.

1631.7 The contracting officer may provide the information submitted by all prospective contractors in response to the RFQ to an evaluation panel who may recommend to the contracting officer, based upon their analysis of the information according to the criteria set forth in the RFQ, whether or not the prospective contractor is among the up to five most qualified to proceed to the second step.

1631.8 The contracting officer shall determine the financial and professional responsibility of each prospective contractor that responds to the RFQ, and whether the prospective contractor is among the up to five most qualified to proceed to the second step.

1631.9 The second step of the selection process shall follow the competitive sealed proposal procedures consistent with the requirements of this chapter, except as follows:

(a) The contracting officer shall issue an RFP only to up to five of the top-ranked offerors who have been determined most qualified in the first step;

(b) The contracting officer shall ensure that an independent cost/benefit analysis of each proposal be completed; and

(c) The RFP shall not be advertised in newspapers or publicly posted.

1631.10 The contracting officer, in his or her discretion, may pay a stipend to up to four unsuccessful offerors that have submitted responsive proposals complying with the conditions of the RFP to compensate them for a portion of their proposals development costs and to encourage competition. The contracting officer shall determine the amount of the stipend(s). If an unsuccessful offeror accepts a stipend, the District shall be authorized to retain the right to use ideas and information from the design documents and technical drawings in the proposal.