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RFP - CLOSED

Property Maintenance - LandCare Tier 1

Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018 at 4 p.m. ET
KRJ Enterprises, Inc City Source Associates, Inc Chatman Properties, LLC

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (the “URA”) is accepting competitive proposals from experienced property maintenance firms to perform all-season maintenance of its vacant property real estate portfolio.

Goal of the RFP

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (the “URA”) is accepting competitive proposals from experienced property maintenance firms to perform all-season maintenance of its vacant property real estate portfolio. Approximately 1,000 properties are involved and located throughout the City of Pittsburgh (the “City”). A listing of properties is included in this proposal package (‘Exhibit D*) and is also available for review online for those companies wishing to submit a proposal. The initial contract period will be for one (1) year. The properties are subject to change minimally by the URA throughout the contract period as URA ownership changes.

A mandatory pre-proposal meeting for all contractors was held on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. ET in the Wherrett Memorial Conference Room, located on the 13th floor of the URA offices, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219. A direct representative of any firm wishing to submit a proposal as lead contractor had to have been in attendance. Hard copies of the Property Maintenance RFP and property listings were available for distribution at this briefing.  There will be no additional pre-proposal meeting.

A prior RFP was released, and contracts awarded, in Summer 2018 for approximately 400 parcels of vacant land. The previously awarded parcels are not part of this RFP.

 

* Please note on Page 17 of this RFP (in Exhibit D), one parcel address and block-and-lot was corrected and highlighted in the Exhibit to reflect the correct location.  The size and type of parcel (vacant structure) were accurate in the original RFP and have not changed. 

Scope of Work

The LandCare Tier 1 RFP will be for the majority of the URA’s portfolio, including both vacant land and smaller vacant structures. The URA property maintenance is a 52 week/year effort. Maintenance of the properties includes, but is not limited to: removal and disposal of debris; cutting of grass and general overgrowth; removal of trees; snow removal and deicing of sidewalks and drives; sealing and repair of structures; responding to emergency situations; posting “No-Dumping,” “No Trespassing,” “No Parking,” and other signs as needed; repairing of fencing, cables, and damaged locks; and clean-out of non-hazardous materials from lots, both on a recurring and an as-needed basis. Tier 1 parcels have been broken down into two classifications regarding the frequency they must be maintained: “Active” and “Request Only” (maintenance activities stated above are the same regardless of classification).

Active – These parcels are often vacant land along high visibility corridors, residential neighborhoods, wooded parcels with frontage on a right-of-way, or in some other way in a location requiring routine attention. Active parcels are to be examined and maintained monthly at minimum. The Tier 1 portfolio includes 860 Active parcels.

Request Only – These parcels are heavily wooded and steeply sloped, not highly visible and not fronting right-of-ways. Should a maintenance or service request occur for one of these properties, the selected contractor must assess conditions within 48 hours and address the issues within seven (7) calendar days. Request Only parcels should still be visited once every three (3) months regardless of service request to ensure no hazardous or problematic conditions exist. The Tier 1 portfolio includes 110 Request Only parcels.

Parcel inventory list and classifications are subject to change at any point during the contract term. Overall, the inventory size should not change by any more than 10% total during the contract term.

Snow removal and deicing on both Active and Request Only will occur on an as-needed basis per City code and in response to URA requests. A schedule of property maintenance must be submitted after award of the contract.

The URA owns approximately 70 vacant structures of which the selected contractor will be required to conduct condition surveys on a quarterly basis. This survey includes reporting and photographing exterior conditions such as: open windows or doors, broken locks, fencing, crumbling or separating walls, fallen gutters or downspouts, etc. A web-based app is provided to facilitate the survey. The selected contractor and their crew(s) must have access to smart-enabled technology to complete this survey, as well as to document the regular maintenance work conducted under the terms of this contract.

Time-bound required services to be accounted for in contractor’s schedule of maintenance, regardless of parcel classification, include:

·Cut and clean all assigned URA-owned properties along Marathon Route the week before the Pittsburgh Marathon (1st Sunday in May) – Approximately 70 parcels or 20.5 acres

·Cut and clean all assigned URA-owned properties in Neighborhood Business Districts the week before summer holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day) – Approximately 150 parcels or 10.5 acres

·Cut and clean all assigned URA-owned properties in close proximity (500 feet) to schools the week before school year commences (late August) and concludes (early June) – Approximately 150 parcels or 37 acres

The above maintenance may be completed and account for the contractor’s monthly maintenance obligation and does not necessarily have to be considered over and above recurring maintenance.

The selected contractor must provide all labor, tools, equipment, materials, and technology needed to carry out the described work. Subcontracting activity is to be outlined in the RFP Summary Page ‘Exhibit A.’ If during the contract term the contractor were to engage a subcontractor NOT outlined in the RFP Summary Page, any work over $1,000 in value must receive the prior written consent of the URA.

The selected contractor must utilize the required web and mobile-based software (which will be demonstrated at the mandatory pre-proposal meeting) for reporting all activities to allow the URA the opportunity to verify completed work. Monthly invoices must be submitted to the URA by the 15th day of the following month for review and payment. The contract term will be January 15, 2019, to November 14, 2019 (ten (10) months).

Eligibility Requirements

The selected contractor should be familiar with the physical layout of the City, as well as the various City Departments that will be encountered on a daily basis while performing this work.

To be considered for this work, the qualification standards are as follows:

● Contractor is in compliance with City required licenses and is current, or has made satisfactory arrangements, with the City to become current with City taxes;

● Contractor’s business address is within the City;

● Contractor must employ a majority of City residents to conduct the work of this contract; and

● Contractor has demonstrated experience with conducting similar work as described herein.

  • Equipment Information: A sample equipment list to perform this type of work could include:
    • Storage facility;
    • Vehicle(s), preferably with trailer;
    • High-weed cutter(s) or brush cutter(s);
    • Commercial mower(s) (33” or larger, either ride-on or walk-behind), smaller push mower(s) (22” or smaller for harder to access areas);
    • Commercial gas-powered string trimmers; and
    • Hand rakes, loppers or hand saw for pruning trees.

  • The selected contractor shall purchase and maintain the following insurance coverage and minimum limits during the contract period. With the exception of Workers Compensation Insurance, the URA must be named as "additional insured" and “certificate holder” on the contractor's policy. A certificate of insurance specifying these coverages must be provided at the time of award prior to contracting.
Insurance Amount
Workers' Compensation Insurance

As required by law

Comprehensive General Liability $1,000,000 aggregate $500,000/occurrence
Comprehensive Automobile Liability Insurance         $500,000 for bodily injury and property damage

 

RFP Timeline

RFP Reissue Date Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Questions Due Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 4 p.m. ET
Q&A Response Release Date Thursday, December 20, at 5 p.m. ET
Proposal Due Date Friday, December 28, 2018 at 4 p.m. ET
Proposal Evaluation Period Friday, December 28, 2018 - Friday, January 4, 2019

Proposal Requirements

All responses should include the RFP Summary Page (‘Exhibit A’) which can be found at the end of this document. This page should be fully completed by the respondent. ALL RESPONSES MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE RESPONSE DUE DATE AND TIME AS STATED IN THE RFP TIMELINE FOR CONSIDERATION. Any late response will not be reviewed. Submissions lacking one or more of the requested documents may be considered irregular. The URA reserves the right to reject any irregular submission and to waive any irregularity in submissions.

Each proposal submitted must contain the following in completion.

The response should follow the general structure as outlined below.

1. RFP Summary Page (‘Exhibit A’)

2. Contractor Qualification Form (‘Exhibit B’)

3. Project Narrative

a. A narrative description of the firm and its history with an emphasis on the type of work performed by the firm, the ability to handle a large property maintenance effort, and an approach, both technically and organizationally, to providing the required services; work tasks and methodology should be identified.

b. A description of the project organization and staffing to manage the work; the names and titles of all managerial personnel to be assigned to the project should be identified. The number of employees that will be dedicated to this effort, along with the equipment on-hand to adequately handle the workload must be identified.

c. A statement of similar contracts currently or previously held, identifying the client and contact persons

d. MWBE Narrative – State as succinctly as possible how your firm will incorporate Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) participation on the contract. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:

i. Ownership/partnership of firm
ii. Employment of minorities and/or women
iii. Use of MWBE suppliers  

e. Subcontractor/Partner information; If you are using a for-profit subcontractor or partner to perform any part of this work, list the business name, type, address, owner information (including if minority/woman /disadvantaged business enterprise certified), and experience.

4. Fee

The Fee shall be for the entire contract period and include all labor, equipment and materials required to perform the work.

5. Signature Page (‘Exhibit E’)

Selection Process

The URA intends to select a respondent based upon information in the response submitted to the RFP, performance in previous undertakings and other pertinent factors. The selected respondent will be chosen on the basis of the selection criteria listed below.

A review committee made up of URA staff will review each proposal submitted and shall recommend to the URA Board of Directors a proposer based upon their response to this RFP (the recommended respondent hereinafter called a “contractor”). 

The URA reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted. 

Contractor Selection Criteria

Selection will be made using the criteria below:

1. Mandatory Elements

a. The respondent(s), including any and all team members, must have no conflict of interest with regards to any other work performed for the URA or related entity.

b. The respondent(s) must adhere to the instructions contained in this RFP in preparing the submitted proposal.

2. Technical Qualifications

a. Experience and Expertise
i. The firm’s past experience on comparable issues
ii. The qualifications and capacity of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to engage with the URA

b. Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) participation

c. Fee Information

d. Business location

 

Proposal Submittal and Selection Process

All inquiries after the re-issuance of the RFP should be submitted directly to Tim Dolan via email at tdolan@ura.org.  All questions submitted by Tuesday, December 18, 2018, Noon ET will be responded to and made available to all November 14, 2018 pre-proposal meeting attendees via the email provided at said meeting by Thursday, December 20 at 5 p.m. ET.  Inquiries received after that time or via another means will not be responded to.   

Respondents must submit their proposal responses electronically to Tim Dolan via email at tdolan@ura.org.  Responses received via other means will not be considered.

MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (MWBE) REQUIREMENTS

The URA has a long history of diversity and inclusion within all its programs and activities. The URA encourages the full participation of minority and women business owners and professionals in this effort. The URA requires that all respondents demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain minority and women-owned business enterprise participation in work performed in connection with URA projects. The URA acknowledges the City’s goal of 18 percent (18%) minority and 7 percent (7%) women participation. The successful applicant will be required to submit an MWBE plan as part of the project approval process. Any questions about MWBE requirements should be directed to Diamonte Walker, director of Performance and Compliance, at mwbe@ura.org.

Legal Information

Responses to the RFP will be evaluated by a selection committee. The selected respondent(s) will be chosen based on the selection criteria listed above. The URA reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted.

The URA shall be the sole judge as to which respondent(s) meet the selection criteria. The URA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any or all responses received, to waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP, and to waive any irregularities in any submitted response.

By responding to this RFP, proposers acknowledge that the URA has no liability to any individual or entity related to this RFP or any proposal and/or the URA’s use or nonuse of any such proposal.

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