1. (a) Professional engineering services necessary for preparing a facility plan for economically distressed areas shall be procured according to the Texas Government Code, Chapter 2254 (Professional Services Procurement Act), other applicable state and local laws, and the requirements of this section. The objective of this section is to establish basic parameters from which it can be determined that applicants receiving facility planning funds obtain the necessary professional engineering services through a process that is open to all interested qualified providers. Written procedures and documentation are recommended in order to insure receipt of services of qualified professionals at a responsible cost within the reasonable constraints of location and time for performance.

2. (b) Applicants shall procure the services of a consultant to perform the facility planning services pursuant to written procedures adopted by the applicant. The applicant shall maintain documentation of compliance with each step. The procedures and documentation submitted in the selection of the consultant will generally comply with the following requirements:

   1. (1) contents of an acceptable statement of qualifications ( SOQ);
   2. (2) criteria for evaluating SOQs;
   3. (3) solicitation of SOQs;
   4. (4) review of SOQs according to criteria; and
   5. (5) negotiation of a consulting services contract.

3. (c) The procedures and documentation establishing the applicant's compliance with the procedures shall be reviewed and approved by the executive administrator prior to consideration by the board of an application for financial assistance for such services; provided however, the executive administrator may approve variations from the requirements of this subsection based on a written finding that the applicant has substantially met the objectives of this section. The executive administrator shall review the procedures and documentation to ascertain compliance with these requirements.

   1. (1) The applicant shall establish the contents of the statement of qualifications, or SOQ, for persons seeking to provide the facility planning services which will be reviewed by the applicant. The SOQ shall include at a minimum:

      1. (A) the key personnel (including subconsultants or subcontracted personnel) who will be performing tasks within the scope of services identifying such personnel by name, professional license or registration number, areas of expertise, years of experience in that area, and the elements of the scope of services for which each such personnel will be responsible and describe specific project experience that would demonstrate expertise for that element;
      2. (B) references establishing experience with government projects, facility planning phase engineering, demographic research, and residential surveys identified by specific project identification, location, project reference contact person and telephone number, and dates of engagement and completion of assignment;
      3. (C) insurance coverage held by the respondent relative to the project identifying the carrier by name, address, telephone number, and type and extent of coverage;
      4. (D) a signed and notarized statement that the respondent has no interest in the project that would conflict with the performance of the responsibilities of an engineer; and
      5. (E) a list of any litigation, arbitration, administrative action related to past or current project performance, or the subject of any professional censure or licensure suspension involving any identified key personnel, and if so, a brief description of each and including a brief explanation if the respondent has ever been terminated from an assignment for nonperformance or unsatisfactory work.

   2. (2) Criteria for evaluating the SOQ will include:

      1. (A) educational and experiential background of key consultant personnel who will perform work on the project;
      2. (B) record of success by the consultant and its key personnel, demonstrated by similar work previously performed;
      3. (C) adequacy of staff and equipment to perform the work within the time needed;
      4. (D) demonstrated ability of consultant to work effectively with other parties and public agencies related to the project;
      5. (E) demonstrated continuing interest by the consultant in the success, efficiency, and effective performance of facilities and plans on which the consultant has previously worked;
      6. (F) record of timely completion of previous projects; and
      7. (G) demonstrated capacity to carry out the kind and extent of work required.

   3. (3) The applicant shall insure a sufficient number of qualified respondents by publicizing a request for qualifications, or RFQ, once at least 21 days and once at least seven days before selection of a consultant, in a local newspaper within the geographical area in which the work will be performed and in a newspaper of the nearest major municipality. The RFQ shall contain at a minimum:

      1. (A) a general description of the project planning area and the facility planning services sought specifically including a reference to the work required pursuant to §355.73 of this title;
      2. (B) a statement that documentation of the minimum requirements for consideration which are to be submitted in the SOQ shall be available upon request;
      3. (C) a statement that criteria for evaluating the qualifications is available from the applicant;
      4. (D) a deadline by which respondents must submit SOQs to the requesting applicant; and
      5. (E) the requesting applicant's contact person.

   4. (4) The applicant shall select the most qualified respondent by order of highest qualification based on the published criteria.

      1. (A) Evaluation of the SOQs shall be performed by at least three persons: at least one resident within the applicant's customer base who will be affected by the proposed project, at least one with a technical expertise in the field for which the services are sought, and at least one from the management of the applicant. Each member of the ranking team will independently rank each SOQ based on the published criteria. The scores assigned to each SOQ will be accumulated to achieve a single ranking for each SOQ.
      2. (B) Based on the rankings, the applicant shall identify the three consultants with the highest rankings, or short list.
      3. (C) Upon completion of ranking and preparation of the short list, if the applicant deems it necessary to interview firms in order to determine the most qualified respondent, the applicant shall issue an invitation to appear for an interview to each respondent on the approved short list.
      4. (D) Upon the issuance of invitations to appear, the applicant shall form an interview panel to interview each respondent on the short list for the purpose of ascertaining qualifications of each interviewee and ultimately selecting the most qualified respondent. At the conclusion of the interviews or upon completion of the short list if interviews are deemed unnecessary by the applicant, the applicant shall identify the most qualified respondent, the second most qualified, and the third most qualified.
   5. (5) In order to complete the procurement process, the applicant shall negotiate the terms of a consulting services contract, including a task budget, with the consultant receiving the highest ranking. The contract shall be acceptable in form and substance to the executive administrator. In the event that the applicant cannot conclude an acceptable contract with the highest ranked consultant, the applicant shall negotiate the terms of a consulting services contract, including a task budget, with the consultant receiving the second highest ranking. In the event that the applicant cannot conclude an acceptable contract with the second highest ranked consultant, the applicant shall negotiate the terms of a consulting services contract, including a task budget, with the consultant receiving the third highest ranking. If the applicant cannot conclude an acceptable contract with the third highest ranked consultant, the applicant shall be required to commence the process over from the start.

Source Note:The provisions of this §355.77 adopted to be effective November 7, 2000, 25 TexReg 10925.