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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) BELGRADE WRRF PHASE 1.5 PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING SERVICES CITY OF BELGRADE 91 E Central Ave Belgrade, MT June 2025 ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 2 of 12 NOTICE IS HEREBY given that the City of Belgrade, Montana, (hereafter “City”) is seeking proposals from firms to provide preliminary engineering, design, permitting, construction bid document development, and construction management services for the Belgrade Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) Phase 1.5 project (WO 25-03), located within the Belgrade, Montana city limits. Paper submissions (two oƯicial copies) with a USB drive with a digital version shall be delivered to the City Clerk on or before July 14, 2025, by 3:00 pm MST. Proposals shall be provided in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the firm’s name and return address and addressed to Belgrade WRRF Phase 1.5 c/o City Clerk at PO Box 810, Belgrade, MT 59714. Proposals may also be hand-delivered to the Belgrade City Hall at 91 E Central Ave. OƯice hours for City Hall are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. It is the sole responsibility of the proposing party to ensure that proposals are received prior to the closing date and time, as late submittals will not be accepted and will be returned unopened. Any administrative questions regarding proposal procedures should be directed to Camille Gregory, City Clerk at (406) 388-3559 or [EMAIL REDACTED]. Questions relating to the RFQ or selection process should be directed to Camaree Uljua, Director of Public Works at (406) 388-3578 or [EMAIL REDACTED]. DATED at Belgrade, Montana, this June 12, 2025 Camille Gregory City Clerk City of Belgrade 1st Publication: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, June 12, 2025 2nd Publication: Belgrade News, June 19, 2025 3rd Publication: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, June 26, 2025 4th Publication: Belgrade News, July 3, 2025 ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 3 of 12 I. INTRODUCTION The City of Belgrade, Montana (hereafter “City”) is seeking proposals from qualified engineering firms to provide comprehensive engineering services for the development of the WRRF Phase 1.5 project (WO 25-03) located within the Belgrade city limits. These services are expected to include preliminary engineering, design, permitting, construction bid document development, public involvement, and construction management. Professional Engineering (PE) licensure in Montana is required and must be possessed at the time proposals are submitted. If this requirement is not met and clearly identified in your proposal, the proposal will be considered non-responsive. II. BACKGROUND In September 2022, the City of Belgrade commissioned its WRRF, located at 523 Lagoon Rd, Belgrade, Montana. This facility replaced a three-celled aerated lagoon system, roughly doubling the City’s previous wastewater treatment capacity. The Belgrade WRRF has a rated treatment capacity of 1,740,000 gallons per day (gpd) average flow rate and 2,470,000 gpd maximum flow rate. Wastewater enters the facility through the Pretreatment Building (PTB) and passes bar screens and a vortex grit chamber. After preliminary treatment, flows are directed to one of two, twin treatment trains consisting of an oxidation ditch and clarifier system. The oxidation ditches accomplish primary treatment by passing wastewater through aerated and anoxic zones, while secondary treatment and settling of biosolids occurs in the clarifiers. Biosolids are pumped from the clarifiers to Cell 1 for storage, stabilization, and digestion. Treated eƯluent is discharged via three infiltration/percolation (IP) beds or land applied through the Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport (BYIA) irrigation system. The City’s WRRF is currently operating under a Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)-approved development plan. The City is seeking an accelerated project schedule to meet milestones identified by the Development Plan. Due to continued rapid growth within the City, additional wastewater treatment capacity is necessary to serve multiple approved and pending residential and commercial subdivisions. Additionally, the current system lacks a biosolids handling facility. Removal of accumulated biosolids in Cell 1 requires periodic dredging and dewatering. The Belgrade WRRF’s Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) permit (MTX000116) was renewed in October 2023. The City anticipates that modifications to this permit, as well as its groundwater monitoring well network, may be required if the Belgrade WRRF facility is modified. III. GENERAL INFORMATION Pursuant to Title 1 Chapter 8 of the Belgrade City Code, the City of Belgrade seeks to procure a qualified engineering firm (Service Provider) to provide professional engineering services described in Section IV: Scope of Work. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 4 of 12 The City shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be in the form of a Q&A and addenda, if applicable, which will be posted to the City’s website. The deadline for questions related to the RFQ is July 7, 2025, at 3:00 pm MST. The City will post a final addendum July 9, 2025, by 3:00 pm MST, if applicable. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any informality or irregularity in any proposal received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the proposals it receives. A non-mandatory pre‐submittal conference for the RFQ will be held on June 25, 2025, at the Belgrade Library and Community Center, 205 E Main St, Belgrade, MT, 59714 at 11:00 am. City staff will discuss the scope of work, general contract issues, and respond to questions from the attendees. Staff may not be available to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this pre‐submittal conference, so attendance at this pre‐submittal conference is highly recommended. A summary of Q&A from the pre-submittal conference will be posted on the City of Belgrade website. To participate in the pre-submittal conference via Teams please contact Camaree Uljua at [EMAIL REDACTED]. The Service Provider will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of services required, and thereafter the City will negotiate with what it deems to be the most qualified firm. IV. SCOPE OF WORK The City is seeking qualified engineering firms for preliminary engineering, design, permitting, construction bid document development, public involvement, and construction management services for the Belgrade WRRF Phase 1.5 project (WO 25-03). This project is located entirely within the city limits of Belgrade, Montana, within the confines of the Belgrade WRRF. The goals of the project are as follows: Increase treatment capacity by approximately 2,000,000 gpd by repurposing Cell 1 to accommodate a Parkson Biolac or similar extended aeration, activated sludge system that is compatible and complements the WRRF’s current systems. Design and construction of a biosolids handling facility capable of producing Class B or better biosolids that are compostable at the Logan Landfill or a future City- operated facility. Full integration of all new additions to the WRRF into the City’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. SCADA system conversions for seven existing lift station facilities to integrate them into the same system used by the WRRF. Monitoring well network expansion and MPDES permit modification (if applicable). ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 5 of 12 Conversion of the WRRF’s backup power source from diesel to natural gas fuel and potential modifications to the dewatering press system within the PTB to resolve existing operational issues. The selected firm will be required to provide comprehensive engineering services necessary to advance the project to the construction phase. The scope of work includes: 1. Planning and Preliminary Design Phase a. General i. Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) – Develop a PER in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal guidelines to assess project feasibility, alternatives analysis, design criteria, construction cost estimates, and potential environmental impacts. The PER shall follow the Uniform Application for Montana Public Facilities outline. ii. Coordination of and participation in public involvement activities to present project scope, alternatives analysis, design updates, schedule updates, etc. This may include stakeholder meetings, open houses, preparation of media materials, public outreach activities, etc. Ongoing public involvement is expected throughout all phases of the project to make the public and stakeholders aware of major changes, schedule, and project progress. b. Reports i. Basis of Design Reports – Multiple reports may be necessary to cover all project components. ii. Groundwater Modeling and Fate and Transport Report iii. Environmental Report iv. Geotechnical Report c. Preliminary Design – Provide review plans at 30, 65, and 95 percent completion and provide review specifications at 95 percent completion. i. Site Design ii. Facility Design(s) iii. Monitoring Well Design (if applicable) d. Survey i. Conduct cadastral and topographic surveys, as applicable. ii. Identify utility conflicts and work with City and utility owners to coordinate relocation. e. Permitting i. Review the current MDPES permit (MTX000116). Prepare, submit, and successfully obtain any required permit modifications or amendments necessary for the project. 2. Final Design a. Provide final, stamped plans and specifications for WRRF upgrades and monitoring well expansion (if applicable). ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 6 of 12 3. Bidding a. Prepare bidding documents for project construction. b. Obtain necessary regulatory approvals from local, state, and federal agencies, as applicable. c. Identify and coordinate acquisition of required project permits. d. Prepare Engineer’s estimate of probable cost. e. Conduct meetings and reviews as necessary with City staƯ, City Council, utility owners, landowners, and the general public. f. Coordinate the public bidding and contract award process. 4. Construction Administration a. The scope and fee for construction-phase related work will be negotiated under a separate agreement. V. SCHEDULE Milestone Scheduled Date RFQ Publication June 12, 2025 Non-mandatory Pre-submittal Conference June 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM MST Deadline for Receipt of Q&A Questions July 7, 2025 by 3:00 PM MST Final Posting of Addenda July 9, 2025 by 3:00 PM MST Proposal Due Date July 14, 2025 by 3:00 PM MST Proposal Evaluations July 16, 2025 Firm Interview (if required) July 18, 2025 at TBD Recommendation of Award and Start Contract Negotiations July 23, 2025 VI. SELECTION PROCEDURE Respondents must comply with the mandatory requirements provided in this solicitation. The selection process shall be conducted pursuant to all applicable Montana law including those criteria set forth in. 1. Evaluation of RFQs - The selection committee shall consist of no less than three persons representing the City. The selection committee will review conforming proposals using the criteria contained herein. Proposals that do not contain the required documentation will be deemed nonresponsive to this solicitation and may be rejected. Responses will be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to opportunity for discussion and revision of responses, and such revisions may be permitted, after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final responses. After evaluating all conforming responses based on the criteria herein, the selection committee may eliminate one or more of the respondents from further review if they fail to meet the qualification criteria. Any respondents eliminated by the selection ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 7 of 12 committee, at any time, or for any reason, shall have no opportunity to make revisions or participate further in the selection process. 2. Interviews - After reviewing conforming proposals, the selection committee may decide to schedule interviews with qualified respondents. Each firm selected for an interview will be notified of the specific time for their interview. The format of the interview will be left up to the proposing firm; however, interviews will be a minimum of 30 minutes inclusive of questions from the selection committee, extensions may be by mutual agreement. 3. Selection and Final Recommendation - The selection committee will tally the scores for the proposals received, including interview scores. The highest-ranked firm will be recommended to the City Manager for contract award. The City will enter into negotiations with the selected firm and execute a contract upon completion of negotiations for the professional services for City Manager approval. Contract negotiations will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following elements: scope of work, project timetable, products of work, and fees. If the City is unsuccessful in negotiating a contract with the highest ranked team, the City may then negotiate with the second or third highest ranked team until a contract is executed. If the list of preferred design firms is exhausted without a contract being awarded, the City may decide to terminate the selection process or re-advertise. Requests for debriefings or selection decisions shall be made in writing to the City. All information submitted by firms and selection committee evaluations and rankings shall be considered confidential until after contract execution and award by the City Manager. The city will not reimburse any cost associated with the preparation, submittal, or presentation of any proposal. Consultant design firms are advised that in accordance with Montana law, any information submitted may be subject to public inspection. Firms are further advised that, while the City is constrained by budget for this work, the City does not consider cost proposals or estimates of fees in its evaluation of qualifications. VII. SELECTION CRITERIA The Service Provider will be selected through a qualification‐based selection process. Firms interested in providing the scope of services requested to the City shall submit a proposal that addresses the following evaluation criteria. Applicants shall organize their submissions in such a way as to follow the general evaluation criteria listed below. Information included within the proposal may be used to evaluate your firm as part of any criteria regardless of where that information is found within the proposal. Information ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 8 of 12 obtained from the proposal and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and selection process. The proposal shall at a minimum include the following: 1. Cover Sheet (1-page maximum; Pass/Fail) containing: Firm name, contact name, physical and email addresses. 2. Table of Contents (1-page maximum; Pass/Fail) 3. General Information (5 points) a. Project summary that concisely describes the project, its goals, a proposed course of implementation. b. Description of firm. c. Legal company organization and organization chart with names and roles of key personnel. d. List of applicable Montana licenses. 4. Firm Qualifications (20 points) – The firm must demonstrate successful experience and capacity to act as an engineering consultant on projects of similar size, type, and complexity. Provide the name and location of each project, the client, the contact person and phone number, project design and construction costs including change orders and percentage of original budget, and a description of the firm’s role in the project and tasks completed. Provide information about the firm, including its location. Describe the firm’s history and include information identifying the firm’s annual volume of business, financial and bonding capacities, and speak to the firm’s stability in the marketplace. Include relevant information identifying the firm’s and weaknesses along with special capabilities that may assist in the evaluation. Provide a minimum of three referrals and references from other municipalities or governments for which the firm has provided wastewater engineering services. 3. Personnel Qualifications (20 points) - Describe the experience and qualifications of the key personnel to be assigned to tasks associated with a specific service category, as well as their oƯice location. Describe your recent and current work for the City of Belgrade, if any. Describe any specialized training, certifications, or licenses held by key personnel, as it relates to the specific service category. Clearly state any professional licensing requirements applicable to the specific service category. Resumes may be considered as supplemental information for scoring this question, and do not count against the total page limit for the proposals. 5. Contract Understanding and Approach (15 points) – Describe your understanding of the current needs of the City for the professional services being requested. Identify and discuss any potential diƯiculties your company may face in providing services ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 9 of 12 to the City, as well as methods to mitigate these diƯiculties. Discuss any relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service. 6. Approach to Contract Management (20 points) – Present a brief description of how the firm intends to organize and conduct the project. Provide a narrative outlining a proposed scope of work that includes description of each task and work product, and a concise explanation of the firm’s approach to accomplishing these tasks. 7. Schedule (20 points) – Provide an overall project schedule as a Gantt chart to include: the timing and duration of major work tasks, milestone deliverables, permitting and regulatory approval timelines, and City review periods for progress or draft reports. The firm shall assume a minimum of two weeks for all review periods. Provide the firm’s current workloads and ability to proceed 9. Claims - At any time in the last ten (10) years has your firm been assessed and paid liquidated damages after completion of a project under a contract with a public owner? The proposals shall include a one‐page cover sheet plus a maximum of thirty (30) pages to address the criteria outlined above (excluding resumes). Title pages, Table of Contents and Section Divider pages do not count toward the total page count. Proposals shall be provided as a single document. A paper submission (two official copies) with a USB drive with a digital, .pdf version shall be delivered to the City Clerk at PO Box 810, Belgrade, MT, 59714 on or before July 14, 2025, by 3:00 pm MST. E-mail submissions will not be accepted. Submissions may also be hand-delivered to the Belgrade City Hall at 91 E Central Ave. Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualification: 1. Receipt of submittal past the specified cut‐oƯ date and time. 2. The number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified. 3. Adherence to the maximum page criteria is critical; each page side (maximum 8 1/2” x 11”) with criteria information will be counted. Pages that have photos, charts and graphs will be counted towards the maximum number of pages. VIII. FORM OF AGREEMENT The final form of the contract documents will be disclosed to respondents during contract negotiations. IX. CITY RESERVATION OF RIGHTS ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 10 of 12 All proposals submitted in response to this RFQ become the property of the City and public records, and as such, may be subject to public review. A submission in response to the RFQ confers no rights upon any respondents and shall not oblige the City in any manner whatsoever. The City reserves the right to make no awards and to solicit additional RFQs at a later date. This RFQ may be canceled or any or all responses may be rejected in whole or in part, as specified herein, when it is in the best interests of the City. If the City cancels or revises this RFQ, all respondents who submitted will be notified in writing. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all submissions; to add or delete items and/or quantities; to amend the RFQ; to waive any minor irregularities, informalities, or failure to conform to the RFQ; to extend the deadline for submitting proposals; to postpone award for up to 60-days; to award one or more contracts, by item or task, or groups of items or tasks, if so provided in the RFQ and if multiple awards are determined by the City to be in the public interest. The City reserves the right to reject the submission of any person/firm who previously failed to perform properly to the satisfaction of the City, or complete on time agreements of similar nature, or to reject the submission of any person/firm who is not in a position to perform such an agreement satisfactorily as determined by the City. The City reserves the right to determine the best qualified respondents and negotiate a final scope of service and cost, negotiate a contract with other respondents if an agreement cannot be reached with the first selected respondents, or reject all proposals. The successful respondents will be required to enter into a contract with the City which will incorporate the respondents' scope of service and work schedule as part of the agreement. This RFQ does not commit the City to award a contract. The City assumes no liability or responsibility for costs incurred by respondents in responding to this request for qualifications or request for interviews, additional data, or other information with respect to the selection process, prior to the issuance of an agreement, contract, or purchase order. The respondents, by submitting a response to this RFQ, waives all right to protest or seek any legal remedies whatsoever regarding any aspect of this RFQ. This procurement is governed by the laws of the City and State of Montana and the venue for all legal proceedings shall be in the 18th Judicial District Court, Gallatin County. By oƯering to perform services under this RFQ, all Submitters agree to be bound by the laws of the City and State of Montana, including, but not limited to, applicable wage rates, payments, gross receipts taxes, building codes, equal opportunity employment practices, safety, non-discrimination, etc. This project is subject to the availability of funds. X. MISCELLANEOUS ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 11 of 12 Non-Discrimination - The City of Belgrade is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Discrimination in the performance of any agreement awarded under this RFQ on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability is prohibited. The prohibition shall apply to the hiring and treatment of the awarded entity’s employees and to all subcontracts. As such, each entity submitting under this notice shall include a provision wherein the submitting entity, or entities, affirms in writing that it will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and which also recognizes the eventual contract will contain a provision prohibiting discrimination as described above and that this prohibition on discrimination shall apply to the hiring and treatment of the submitting entity’s employees and to all subcontracts. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise - Pursuant to US Department of Transportation policy and 49 CFR Part 23, the City of Belgrade supports the participation of DBE/MBE businesses in the performance of contracts financed with federal funds under this RFQ. Consultants shall conduct and document good faith efforts to involve DBE/MBE businesses in this project. If the Consultant is a DBE/MBE, a statement indicating that the business is certified DBE/MBE in Montana shall be included within the proposal. If the Consultant intends to utilize a DBE/MBE to complete a portion of this work, a statement of the Subconsultant’s certification shall be included. The percent of the total proposed cost to be completed by the DBE/MBE shall be shown within the proposal. Respondents should substantiate (within proposal) efforts made to include DBE/MBE businesses. Efforts to Reduce Barriers to Opportunity - The City of Belgrade adheres to all federal requirements relating to current Davis Bacon regulations and the Civil Rights Act through its personnel and procurement policies. The City takes proactive steps to engage all community members in public planning, support non-vehicular modes of travel through shared use trail development and retain local jobs to support social equity and reduce barriers to opportunity for those in underserved portions of the community. Efforts to Support Good-Paying Jobs and Strong Labor Standards - The City of Belgrade’s hiring process incorporates the Montana Veteran’s Public Employment Preference Act and the Montana Disability in Employment Preference Act. These acts allow eligible applicants to request a hiring preference when applying to City jobs. The City has also adopted a robust non-discrimination policy that promotes an equal employment opportunity and strictly prohibits discriminatory practices during the hiring process and while employed at the City. No Oral Agreements - No conversations or oral agreements with any oƯicer, employee, or agent of the City shall aƯect or modify any term of this solicitation. Oral communications ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 12 of 12 or any written/email communication between any person and City oƯicer, employee or agent shall not be considered binding. No Partnership/Business Organization - Nothing in this solicitation or in any subsequent agreement, or any other contract entered into as a result of this solicitation, shall constitute, create, give rise to or otherwise be recognized as a partnership or formal business organization of any kind between or among the respondent and the City. Employment Restriction and Indemnity - No person who is an owner, oƯicer, employee, contractor, or consultant of a respondent shall be an oƯicer or employee of the City. No rights of the City’s retirement or personnel rules accrue to a respondent, its oƯicers, employees, contractors, or consultants. Respondents shall have the responsibility of all salaries, wages, bonuses, retirement, withholdings, worker’s compensation and occupational disease compensation, insurance, unemployment compensation other benefits and taxes and premiums appurtenant thereto concerning its oƯicers, employees, contractors, and consultants. Each respondent shall save and hold the City harmless with respect to any and all claims for payment, compensation, salary, wages, bonuses, retirement, withholdings, worker’s compensation and occupational disease compensation, insurance, unemployment compensation, other benefits, and taxes and premiums in any way related to each respondent’s oƯicers, employees, contractors and consultants. Procurement - When discrepancies occur between words and figures in this solicitation, the words shall govern. No responsibility shall be attached to a City employee for the premature opening of an RFQ not properly addressed and identified in accordance with these documents. Governing Law - This solicitation and any disputes arising hereunder or under any future agreement shall be governed and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Montana, without reference to principles of choice or conflicts of laws. XI. ATTACHMENTS The following exhibits are incorporated in this RFQ: 1. Belgrade Lagoon Rehabilitation PSR 8 – Biosolids Management Alternatives SWOT Analysis 2. Belgrade Lagoon Rehabilitation PSR 10 – Biolac EOPCC TM 3. Belgrade Lagoon Rehabilitation PSR 12 – Revised Program Implementation Sequence 4. Source Specific Mixing Zone Report – Belgrade Water Reclamation Facility, March 2023