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1 CITY OF ALBANY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF EMERGENCY RENTAL REPAIR SERVICES (PLUMBING) PROPOSALS DUE: DECEMBER 17, 2020 AT 2:00 PM RFQ 2020-03 OCTOBER 16, 2020 ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 City of Albany, New York REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF EMERGENCY RENTAL REPAIR SERVICES (PLUMBING) Solicitation Number RFQ 2020-03 November 16, 2020 IMPORTANT NOTICE: A restricted period is currently in effect for this Procurement and it will remain in effect until approval of the Contract. Respondents are prohibited from contact related to this procurement with any City of Albany employee other than the designated contacts listed below refer to: Designated Contacts for this Procurement: For Project or Services Clarifications:………………………Valerie Scott For Public Procurement Process Clarifications: Laura M. Gulfo, Esq. SECTION 1: PURPOSE 1.1 The City of Albany (hereinafter referred to as the “City”) hereby requests written Proposals from contractors in various construction services to provide on-call emergency repairs to rental units in the City of Albany. Minority Business Enterprises and Women's Business Enterprises are encouraged to submit Proposals. 1.2 The goal of this solicitation is to form a list of qualified and eligible contractors who will be able to perform on-call emergency repair services, specific to plumbing services. The City solicited qualifications from eligible contractors via RFQ 2020-01 and RFQ 2020-02. Both solicitations have left the City without qualified contractors able to provide plumbing services within the City of Albany. This solicitations aims to remedy that. 1.3 The City may enter into a contract with each respondent and may add each respondent to its list of on-call contractors. When an emergency repair situation arises, the City will call upon the contractors to bid on the emergency repair project and to perform the services. SECTION 2: RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS: 2.1 Contractors may submit their Proposals either by electronic submission via BidNetDirect.com or by mail no later than December 17, 2020 at 2:00 pm. If submitting by mail, four copies of the Proposal must be received in a sealed envelope marked “RFQ 2020-02 Proposal Enclosed – Emergency Rental Repair Services” at the following address: ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Laura M. Gulfo, Esq. Assistant Corporation Counsel City Hall - Room 106 24 Eagle Street Albany, New York 12207 2.2 Each Proposal submitted will be the document upon which the City will make its initial judgment regarding each respondent's qualifications, methodology, and ability to provide the requested services. 2.3 Those submitting Proposals do so entirely at their own expense. There is no express or implied obligation by the City to reimburse any entity, firm or individual for any costs incurred in preparing or submitting Proposals, preparing or submitting additional information requested by the City, or participating in any selection interviews. 2.4 Submission of any Proposal indicates an acceptance of the conditions contained in this Request for Qualifications unless the submitted Proposal clearly and specifically states otherwise. 2.5 The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Proposals in whole or in part, to waive any and all informalities, require supplemental statements or information from any responsible party, negotiate potential contract terms with any respondent to this RFQ, have discussions with any respondent to this RFQ to correct and/or clarify responses which do not conform to the instructions contained herein and to disregard all non-conforming, non- responsive or conditional Proposals. 2.6 The City reserves the right to award the services, in whole or in part, to one or more entities, firms and/or individuals. 2.7 Any award of the services shall be conditioned on the later execution of a formal written contract. The City reserves the right to revoke or rescind any award at any time prior to the full execution of a formal written contract. 2.8 Respondents shall avoid submission of marketing materials. 2.9 All information submitted in response to this RFQ is subject to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), which generally mandates the disclosure of documents in the possession of the City upon the request of any person unless the content of the document falls under a specific exemption to disclosure. SECTION 3: QUALIFICATIONS OF RESPONDENT: 3.1 Each respondent shall provide a Statement of Qualifications which shall not exceed ten (10) pages (including resumes). This page limit applies only to the Statement of Qualifications, and does not apply to the Proposal. The Statement of Qualifications shall include the following: 1. A brief history and description of the entity/firm submitting the Proposal. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 2. Proof that respondent at all times obtains and maintains all plumbing licenses required by Federal, State and Local Laws to perform the services contemplated by this Agreement. Plumbers shall provide verification of a Valid Class A License issued for work in the City of Albany. 3. At least two references, including addresses and telephone numbers, from those who the contractor or company has performed emergency repair work. 4. A single point of contact to be on-call seven days per week and twenty-four (24) hours per day to respond to emergency rental repair work needed by the City. The respondent shall provide contact information for the single point of contact, which shall include the single point of contact’s mailing address, on-call telephone number, and email address. 5. Minimum of three years’ experience in providing plumbing services. 6. Proof that respondent has the capacity to provide all labor and equipment necessary to complete the work in their selected areas. 7. Proof that respondent is available to be on-call by the date of submission of the contractor’s or company’s Proposal. 8. Proof that respondent’s headquarters or principal offices are located within a thirty (30) mile radius of the City limits, given the nature of the emergency services sought by this RFQ. 9. Any additional information which would serve to distinguish the respondent from other respondents such as examples of work performed on other projects similar to the type of work sought by this RFQ, or any other special experiences or qualifications. 3.2 The City may make such inquiries it deems necessary to determine responsibility and the ability of each respondent to perform the services contemplated by this RFQ. Respondents shall furnish all information and data for this purpose as may be subsequently requested by the City. SECTION 4: SCOPE OF SERVICES: 4.1 The selected respondent(s) shall be required to provide on-call emergency plumbing repairs for rental units. 4.2 Each emergency repair job will typically amount to an expenditure by the City of less than five thousand dollars (00/100) ($5,000). ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 4.3 Qualified emergency repair contractors will be placed on the “City of Albany On-Call List for Emergency Repair Services” and will be notified when emergency repair services are needed. Upon notification, emergency repair services will have an opportunity to bid on each emergency repair project. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City reserves the right to suspend or remove any contractor from the list if said contractor has provided unsatisfactory services; has failed to adhere to the City’s time requirements for completion of the work; has failed to procure materials or equipment necessary to perform the work due to unavailability or inadequacy; has failed to meet the insurance requirements imposed by this RFQ and the resulting City contract; or has failed to meet the minimum qualification requirements referenced in Section 3 of this RFQ. SECTION 5: TERM OF CONTRACT: 5.1 Please provide a proposed time-frame for completion of the project in the proposal. 5.2 The contract period for the service contemplated by this RFQ will be two years. The City reserves the right to extend the agreement for two additional one-year periods, upon budget approval. 5.3 The selected respondents(s) will be required to execute a contract with the City. A sample City of Albany Professional Services Agreement is available upon request. The City will have the right to terminate the contract at any time, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice. SECTION 6: COST PROPOSAL: Cost proposals will be solicited on an as-needed basis when an emergency repair project arises. Contractors who are added to the City’s on-call emergency repair list will be contacted to place a bid on the project. The City has the right to award each project to a responsible bidder who will perform quality work in the time period set by the City. SECTION 7: PROPOSAL EVALUATION: 7.1 Proposals shall remain valid until the execution of a contract by the City of Albany. 7.2 Proposals shall be examined and evaluated by the Corporation Counsel's Office and the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance to determine whether each Proposal meets the requirements of this RFQ. A recommendation will be made to the Mayor for a contract award based on the following criteria: * Respondent’s demonstrated capabilities, professional qualifications, and experience in providing on-call emergency repair services to rental units. * The wherewithal of the respondent(s) to render the requested services to the City in a timely fashion. * Total proposed cost. * Completeness of the Proposal. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 7.3 The selection of a respondent’s Proposal will not be based solely on a monetary evaluation. Considerable weight will be given to the experience in the areas required and the track record of the respondent(s). SECTION 8: ALTERNATIVES: Proposals may include alternative matters or items not specified or requested in this RFQ. However, all such alternatives matters or items must be listed separately from the Proposal and the cost(s) thereof must be separate and itemized. SECTION 9: INDEMNIFICATION: To the fullest extent permitted by law, the selected respondent(s) shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City and its officers, boards, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, losses and expenses, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, for any actual or alleged injury to any person or persons, including death, or damage to or destruction of property arising out of any act or omission on the part of the selected proposer, its employees, agents or subcontractors for any work or services performed on behalf of the City. SECTION 10: SPECIFICATION CLARIFICATION: 10.1 All inquiries with respect to this RFQ shall be in writing directed to the following address: For project specific and procurement process clarifications: Laura M. Gulfo, Esq. Assistant Corporation Counsel Department of Law City Hall 24 Eagle Street, Room 106 Albany, New York 12207 Phone: (518) 434-5050 E-mail: [EMAIL REDACTED] 10.2 All questions about the meaning or intent of the specifications shall be submitted in writing. Replies will be posted via the City’s website: http://www.albanyny.gov/NewsandEvents/RFPs.aspx, along with the electronic version of this RFP. Questions received less than four business days prior to the date of submission of proposals will not be answered. Only questions answered by formal written Addenda will be binding. Oral or other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect. 10.3 In addition, any changes, additions or deletions to this RFP will also be posted on the City’s website: http://www.albanyny.gov/NewsandEvents/RFPs.aspx, along with the electronic ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 version of this RFP. Respondents are urged to check the City’s website frequently for notices of any clarification of or changes, additions, or deletions to this RFP. OTHER THAN THE CONTACT IDENTIFIED ABOVE, PROSPECTIVE RESPONDENTS SHALL NOT APPROACH THE CITY’S EMPLOYEES DURING THE RESTRICTED PERIOD OF THIS RFP PROCESS ABOUT ANY MATTERS RELATED TO THIS RFP OR ANY QUALIFICATIONS SUBMITTED PURSUANT THERETO. SECTION 11: MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS: 11.1 Proposals may be modified or withdrawn by an appropriate document duly executed (in the manner that a proposal must be executed) and delivered to the place where Proposals are to be submitted at any time prior to the opening of Proposals. 11.2 If within twenty-four (24) hours after the Proposals are opened, any respondent files a duly signed written notice with the City and thereafter demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the City that there was a material and substantial mistake in the preparation of its Proposal, that respondent may withdraw its Proposal. Thereafter, that respondent will be disqualified from further Proposal on the work listed in this RFQ. SECTION 12: INSURANCE AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: 12.1 A selected respondent will be required to procure and maintain at its own expense the following insurance coverage: Workers' Compensation and Employer’s Liability Insurance: Must show evidence of Worker’s Compensation insurance at State statutory limits, a policy or policies providing protection for employees in the event of job-related injuries. This insurance requirement shall only apply to a respondent who has employees; and Commercial General Liability Insurance: A policy or policies of comprehensive general liability insurance with limits of at least one hundred thousand dollars (00/100) ($100,000) for personal injury for a single incident; three hundred thousand dollars (00/100) ($300,000) for personal injury, cumulative; and fifty thousand dollars (00/100) ($50,000) for property damage. 12.2 The insurance requirements may be met in the following ways: An individual property owner may have the City of Albany named as co-insured on a policy in the amounts equal to that required by the City, in connection with the individual job; A selected respondent may file an Owner’s and Contractor’s Protective Liability Policy, naming the City of Albany as an additional insured, for the individual job, in the required amounts; or A selected respondent may, as some have, file a blanket policy with the City, covering all work to be undertaken within the period of the policy. ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 12.2 Each policy of insurance required shall be in form and content satisfactory to the Corporation Counsel, and shall provide that: The City of Albany is named as an additional named insured on a primary and non- contributing basis, with the exception of Workers’ Compensation and Professional Liability Insurance policies. The insurance policies shall not be changed or cancelled until the expiration of thirty (30) days after written notice to the City of Albany Corporation Counsel's Office. The insurance policies shall be automatically renewed upon expiration and continued in force unless the City of Albany Corporation Counsel's Office is given sixty (60) days written notice to the contrary. 12.3 No work pursuant to the resulting contract shall commence until the selected respondent(s) has/have delivered to the Corporation Counsel or her designee proof of issuance of all policies of insurance required by the contract to be procured by the selected respondent(s). If at any time, any of said policies shall be or become unsatisfactory to the City, the selected respondent shall obtain a new policy and submit proof of insurance of the same to the City for approval. Upon failure of the selected respondent(s) to furnish, deliver and maintain such insurance as above provided, this contract may, at the election of the City, be forthwith declared suspended, discontinued or terminated. Failure of the selected respondent(s) to procure and maintain any required insurance shall not relieve the selected respondent(s) from any liability under the contract, nor shall the insurance requirements be constructed to conflict with the obligations of the selected respondent(s) concerning indemnification. 12.4 In addition, prior to releasing a permit, the City of Albany Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance is required to obtain from a selected respondent proof of worker’s compensation compliance in accordance with Section 125 of the General Municipal Law. One of the following must be submitted prior to the release of the permit to a selected respondent: Insurance Certificate showing worker’s compensation coverage; and Certificate of Disability Coverage; Completed Form CE-200 “Affidavit for New York Entities…with no Employees” stamped form the Worker’s Compensation Office; Completed Form WC/DB 101 “Affidavit that an OUT OF STATE OR FOREIGN EMPLOYER Working in NYS Does not Require…” stamped from the Worker’s Compensation Office; or Form BP-1 “Affidavit of Exemption to Show Specific Proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance Coverage for a 1, 2, 3, or 4 Family, Owner-Occupied Residence.” These forms can be filled out and Notarized in the offices of the City of Albany Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance. This option is only available to owners who reside in the residences wherein the work is to be performed. ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 SECTION 13: NON-COLLUSIVE PROPOSAL CERTIFICATE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT: 13.1 Each respondent shall complete and submit with its, his, or her Proposal the “Non- Collusive Proposal Certificate” and the “Acknowledgment” found on the two pages which follow this page. SECTION 14: PROCUREMENT FORMS AND REQUIREMENTS: 14.1 Additional requirements for this RFQ are described below. Relevant statements, where required to be submitted, must be executed and included in the submission in the following order: Iran Divestment Act Statement; and Non-Discrimination and Diversity Requirements. 14.2 Iran Divestment Act: By submission of a bid in response to this Bid request, “each bidder and each person signing on behalf of any bidder certifies, and in the case of a joint bid each party thereto certifies as to its own organization, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of its knowledge and belief that each bidder is not on the list created pursuant to paragraph of subdivision 3 of section 165-a of the State Finance Law.” The list in question is maintained by the New York State Office of General Services. For further information and to view this list please go to: If in any case the bidder cannot make the foregoing certification, the bidder shall so state and shall furnish with the bid a signed statement which sets forth in detail the reasons therefor. A political subdivision may award a bid to a bidder who cannot make the certification pursuant to paragraph a of N.Y. General Municipal Law § 103-g on a case- by-case basis. 14.3 Non-Discrimination and Diversity Requirements: Pursuant to Federal laws and regulations, the New York State Executive Law Article 15-A and the City of Albany General Code Chapter 48, Article III Omnibus Human Rights Law, the City recognizes its obligation under the law to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, marital or domestic partner, or English proficiency and to promote opportunities for maximum feasible participation of certified minority-and women-owned business enterprises and the employment of minority group members and women in the performance of City contracts. In furtherance of these rules and principles, the City encourages the participation of certified minority- and women–owned business enterprises (“MWBE”) at the City’s goal levels and the employment of minority groups’ members and women in the performance of its contracts. The City hereby notifies all respondents submitting a Proposal that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit Proposals in response to this solicitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, marital or domestic partner, or English proficiency in consideration for award. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 Further, by submission of a Proposal in response to this RFQ, each respondent and each person signing on behalf of any respondent certifies, and in the case of a joint Proposal each party thereto certifies as to its own organization, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of its knowledge and belief that: “The respondent/contractor, with regard to the work performed by it during the contract, will not discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, marital or domestic partner, or English proficiency in the selection and retention of subcontractors, including procurements of materials and leases of equipment. The respondent/contractor will not participate directly or indirectly in the discrimination prohibited by the federal, state and local laws and regulations, including employment practices. In all solicitations, either by competitive bidding, or negotiation made by the respondent/contractor for work to be performed under a subcontract, including procurements of materials, or leases of equipment, each potential subcontractor or supplier will be notified by the respondent/contractor of the respondent/contractor’s obligations under this Statement and the federal, state and local laws and regulations relative to Non- discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, marital or domestic partner, or English proficiency.” 14.4 When providing the services contemplated by this RFQ, the selected respondent(s) must comply with section 42-161 of the City of Albany Code, which requires payment of a living wage to all its employees, either hired on a part-time or full-time basis, directly working on the service contract. This requirement shall only apply to a respondent who has employees. SECTION 15: SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: 15.1 All respondents shall be required to submit a complete Proposal. As outlined in this RFQ, all Proposals shall include the following: A) Statement of Qualifications as outlined in Section 3. B) Cost Proposal as outlined in Section 6. C) Non-Collusive Proposal Certificate and Acknowledgment Form as outlined in Section 13. D) An acknowledgment of understanding that by submitting a bid the proposer certifies under penalty of perjury the above Iran Divestment Act statement, as outlined in Section 14.2 and the Non-Discrimination and Diversity statement, as outlined in Section 14.3. E) Living Wage Compliance Form, if applicable, as outlined in Section 14.4 and annexed to this RFP. F) Completed form found in Appendix A, attached hereto. 15.2 Failure to include all of the above items may result in the Proposal being considered nonresponsive. ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 NON-COLLUSIVE PROPOSAL CERTIFICATE PURSUANT TO NEW YORK STATE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW SECTION 103-D By submission of this Proposal, each respondent and each person signing on behalf of any respondent certifies, and in the case of a joint Proposal each Party thereto, certifies as to its own organization, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of knowledge and belief: The prices in the Proposal have been arrived at independently, without collusion, consultation, communication or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other respondent or with any competitor; Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in this Proposal have not been knowingly disclosed by the respondent and will not knowingly be disclosed by the respondent prior to the opening, directly or indirectly, to any other respondent or to any competitor; and No attempt has been made or will be made by the respondent to induce any other person, partnership or corporation to submit or not to submit a Proposal for the purpose of restricting competition. (date) (signature) (name and title) (name of respondent company) ---PAGE BREAK--- 12 ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY RESPONDENT If Individual or Individuals: STATE OF ) COUNTY OF ) SS.: On this day of 2020, before me personally appeared to me known and known to me to be the same person(s) described in and who executed the within instrument, and he/she (or they severally) acknowledged to me that he/she (or they) executed the same. Notary Public, State of If Corporation: STATE OF ) COUNTY OF ) SS.: On this day of 2020, before me personally appeared to me known, who, being by me sworn, did say that he/she resides at (give address) that he/she is the (give title) of the (name of corporation) the corporation described in and which executed the above instrument; that he/she knows the seal of the corporation, and that the seal affixed to the instrument is such corporate seal; that it was so affixed by order of the board of directors of the corporation, and that he/she signed his/her name thereto by like order. Notary Public, State of If Partnership: STATE OF ) COUNTY OF ) SS.: On this day of 2020, before me personally came to me known to be the individual who executed the foregoing, and who, being duly sworn, did depose and say that he/she is a partner of the firm of and that he/she has the authority to sign the same, and acknowledged that he/she executed the same as the act and deed of said partnership. Notary Public, State of ---PAGE BREAK--- 13 Living Wage Compliance City Code § 42-161 requires a living wage be paid to employees by any contractors awarded a contract by the City primarily for furnishing services to or for the City (excluding the purchase of goods or other property, the leasing of property or the development, redevelopment or rehabilitation of real property) and that involves an expenditure by the City to the contractor of at least $20,000, or the retention by the contractor of fees of at least $30,000, during a period of one year. The current Living Wage, as defined by the ordinance is as follows: If at least 70% of health care benefits are covered by employer: $ 13.27 Other: $ 15.42 Pursuant to the law, every proposal shall include a written commitment by the applicant to pay all covered employees a living wage and shall include a list of job titles and wage levels of all covered employees. Please provide titles and wage levels below for each employee who directly expends his/her time on a contract with the City. Company Name: Job Title Wage Range By signing below you are agreeing to pay all covered employees a Living Wage as set forth above for the duration of the contract with the City. Title: Date: Office Use Only Contract No: Dates: ---PAGE BREAK--- 14 APPENDIX A The City of Albany is seeking interest from plumbing contractors to provide on-call emergency repairs to rental units in the City of Albany. We are seeking to form a list of qualified and eligible contractors who will be able to perform on-call emergency repair services. The City may enter into a contract with each respondent and may add each respondent to its list of on-call contractors. When an emergency repair situation arises, the City will call upon the contractors to bid on the emergency repair project and to perform the services required. Projects are expected to typically be no more than $5,000 per job. The purpose of this Appendix is to provide prospective contractors with a one-page document to guide the response to the RFQ. Submission of this Appendix alone will not relieve the selected contractors of the obligation to sign a contract with the City of Albany or to obtain and maintain insurances listed in Section 12 of the RFQ. Areas of expected work will likely contain, but are not limited to, the areas listed in the chart below. Please indicate which areas of work you or your firm is interested in providing and submit it no later than December 17, 2020 at 2 pm in accordance with the instructions outlined in Section 2 of the RFQ. APPLICANT INFORMATION Contractor/Company Name: Description/History of Company/Contractor (if additional space needed, please attach): Mailing Address: City, State, ZIP Code: Contact Person: Telephone: Fax: Email Address: Name of Binding Agent: Area of Work Check to Indicate Interest Hourly Rate Start Date Plumbing Break in Sanitary System Break in Water Service Water Meter Installation